Classic Shrimp Salad
I grew up eating shrimp salad in the summer time! My mom always used a creamy mayo dressing and we’d often pile the fresh, cool and creamy shrimp salad into croissants and enjoy it like the best sandwich ever. You can use shrimp salad any way you’d use chicken, egg or tuna salad! Serve it with crackers, good bread, or even in lettuce cups.
My shrimp salad recipe is simple and classic, but it relies on perfect ingredients! Tender, perfectly cooked shrimp, crunch celery and a mayo-and-Dijon dressing that needs really good-quality mayo. I usually buy deveined shrimp to make prep easier, and I often cook the shrimp a day ahead of time if I’m making shrimp salad for a summer party or get-together.
Classic, Simple Shrimp Salad Ingredients
- Shrimp: Shrimp is the star of shrimp salad (shocker, I know) so start with high quality shrimp! . Frozen shrimp can be fine, as long as there are not a lot of additives. Wild-caught, American shrimp are the BEST, if you can spring for them.
- Mayo: I’m usually a Best Foods mayo girl (called Hellman’s on the east coast), or I just tried Graza’s new mayo and it’s pretty delicious, too.
- Dijon mustard: Every creamy salad I make has Dijon mustard because the sharp flavor balances out the creamy mayonnaise.
- Lemon: Just one lemon is enough, but be sure to use the zest and the juice.
- Fresh dill: A MUST! Fresh dill brings this salad to life with a lot of herbaceous flavor. Parsley or chives would be a good swap for the dill if you’re not a dill fan.
- Onion: I love the sharp bite of fresh red onion, but a very fine dice is KEY so that the onion flavor isn’t overpowering.
- Celery: Fresh celery gives a lot of wonderful crunch!
- Seasonings: Old Bay, sugar, garlic powder, salt and pepper
- Worcestershire sauce: Just a splash for a savory boost.
How To Make The Best Creamy Shrimp Salad
Find the full, detailed recipe instructions at the bottom of this post.
- Cook the shrimp. I cook the shrimp the same way I would for shrimp cocktail! Just a quick poach in boiling water. Keep a close eye on the shrimp and don’t over cook them.
- Drain the shrimp and let them cool for a few minutes.
- Whisk the dressing ingredients together.
- Chop the shrimp.
- Stir the shrimp, onion, celery, and fresh dill into the dressing.
- Chill the shrimp salad for at least 30 minutes.
- Serve!
Tips For Success
- Add extras as you please! I LOVE capers, and usually add them. Hard cooked eggs are also delicious (I always add them to potato salad), or even creamy cubes of avocado. Shrimp and avocado are a terrific pair!
- For perfectly cooked shrimp, dunk them in an ice bath as soon as you take the cooked shrimp out of the boiling water. This will stop the cooking immediately and ensure that each shrimp is fresh, tender, and not overdone.
- Eat the salad fresh! It keeps for up to two days in the fridge, but this salad is best eaten fresh.
- Speaking of freshness, you could use pre-cooked shrimp, but the salad tastes best if you cook the shrimp yourself. It’s just better when everything is super fresh.
More Classic Shrimp Recipes
Nothing Shrimpy About It!
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