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This classic shrimp salad recipe is creamy, lemony, and full of crunch from celery and red onion. Extra small cooked shrimp, fresh dill, and parsley make it easy to scoop into lettuce cups, pile onto a sandwich, or enjoy straight from the bowl. Give it 15 minutes of prep and 1 hour in the fridge before serving.
Shrimp salad is the unsung hero of the “meat salad” world. I’ll never turn down a delicious chicken salad or even a tuna white bean salad, but shrimp salad is where my heart truly sings. It was not something I grew up eating because shrimp would have been way too costly.
But as an adult, yes, please! The first time I had shrimp salad was on the first big girl vacation I ever paid for—a cruise to the Caribbean. I remember it being on the 24-hour room service menu, and I knew I had to try it. It was delicious (and I ordered it every single night for a late-night snack), but I knew homemade would be better.
That’s when I settled on learning to make THE BEST shrimp salad recipe EVER!
This version gets its tang from fresh lemon juice and zest, with plenty of flavor from dill and parsley. I use pre-cooked extra small cocktail shrimp to keep the prep simple. No need to turn a cold shrimp salad into a big cooking project!
The waiting is the hardest part! That hour in the fridge gives the flavors time to come together. The 15-minute prep time doesn’t include chilling.
Ingredients needed
- Extra small cooked shrimp: This recipe uses 1 pound of fully cooked frozen and defrosted cocktail sized shrimp. If you have raw, uncooked shrimp, you will need to peel, devein, cook, and cool your shrimp before mixing together your salad.
- Celery and red onion: Finely diced vegetables add crunch without leaving big pieces of onion in every bite.
- Mayonnaise and Dijon mustard: These make the creamy dressing. Keep the amounts in the recipe card below.
- Fresh lemon juice and zest: Both go into the dressing for that bright, tangy flavor.
- Garlic, fresh dill, parsley, kosher salt, and black pepper: Grated garlic and chopped herbs season the dressing. The recipe card has all the exact measurements.
How to make
- Start with cooked, cooled shrimp. Add them to a medium mixing bowl with the finely diced celery and red onion.
- Whisk the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, grated garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, dill, parsley, Dijon mustard, kosher salt, and black pepper.
- Mix and chill. Pour the dressing over the shrimp and vegetables, stir to coat, then cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Serve cold. Spoon the salad into lettuce cups, tuck it into a roll, or grab some crackers and dig in.
How to serve shrimp salad
While I’m happy to eat this straight from the bowl, here are a few other scrumptious ways to serve shrimp salad.
- Serve it spooned on top of a leafy salad made from chopped romaine lettuce, baby spinach, or mixed greens.
- Toast a split-top roll and pile shrimp high inside to make a shrimp roll. This is very similar to a lobster roll but made with shrimp!
- Scoop it up with a nice crunchy cracker.
- Add shrimp salad to a lettuce cup for a tasty summertime light meal.
- Wrap it up in a vegetable or flour tortilla for a quick lunchtime wrap.
- Toast some sourdough bread (or your favorite bread!) and turn it into a delicious sandwich.
Shrimp Salad Questions
What to serve alongside
Substitution and adaptations
Are you looking to make this with fewer calories? Maybe add some more protein? Don’t have dill on hand? Don’t worry! I have you covered with a few fun and delicious substitutes.
- Starting with raw shrimp? Peel and devein them, fully cook them, and let them cool before making the salad. The recipe card instructions start with using precooked defrosted and drained frozen shrimp. Don’t want that to sneak up on you!
- For a tangier dressing, try Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise, or a 50/50 mix of yogurt and mayonnaise.
- Change up the fresh herbs with oregano, chives, or basil.
- Add chopped red bell pepper or tri-colored sweet peppers for another vegetable option.
- For extra zip, add a spoonful of grated horseradish like I did for my Creamy Horseradish Cucumber Salad.
More shrimp recipes
Classic Shrimp Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound extra small cooked shrimp, thawed if frozen
- ½ cup finely diced celery, about 2 celery ribs
- ¼ cup finely diced red onion, about 1/4 large red onion
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest, freshly zested
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
For cooked shrimp:
- If using frozen cooked shrimp, let your shrimps defrost and drain following bag directions until no longer frozen. Shell if needed and lightly pat dry. If using freshly cooked shrimp keep cold until ready to use. Shell if needed.
For raw shrimp:
- If using frozen raw shrimp, let your shrimps defrost, shell, devein, and cook your shrimp in your preferred fashion. You can steam, grill, broil, bake, or pan cook. Let shrimps cool. If using fresh raw shrimp, cook your shrimps in your preferred fashion. Let cool.
Making the salad:
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl add shrimp, celery, and red onion.
- Whisk together mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, minced dill, minced parsley, Dijon mustard, kosher salt, and black pepper in a small mixing bowl.
- Pour the whisked mayonnaise mixture over the shrimp and stir to combine.
- Cover the salad and let sit in the fridge for 1 hour to let the flavors meld together.
- Serve cold and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Notes
- If using frozen shrimp, let it defrost and drain it before using.
- If using fresh shrimp, make sure to fully cook and cool before making this salad.
- Store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
- If taking this salad to a party, it should be kept cold as it contains seafood and mayonnaise.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this tonight to go with our grilled vegetables and it was the perfect side dish!
This is such a classic recipe. My mom used to make this every summer. This recipe tasted just like it!
Hi Debbie! Yes – I agree! A total summer classic!
Just made this with some left over shrimp from a Valentine’s dinner at a restaurant that the food was just so so.
This took the shrimp to the next level! Thank you for the recipe!