New Orleans Style Shrimp Remoulade Salad

Shrimp Remoulade is a well known New Orleans dish that is said to have been created at the venerable Arnaud’s restaurant back in 1918. It is basically just boiled shrimp paired with Louisiana remoulade sauce but…y’all, this is an unusually delicious combination.

Sometimes the simplest foods are the best!

This is a close up of a rectangular white plate. You can see a red dishtowel in the distance. On the plate is some bright green arugula topped with shrimp in remoulade sauce. This is a recipe for shrimp remoulade salad.

These days shrimp remoulade is often served as a starter at a current day Reveillon dinner. Reveillon is a New Orleans holiday tradition that dates back to the early 1800’s. Way back then the inhabitants of the city used to begin their Christmas celebration with a late night dinner after returning from midnight mass.

This tradition had almost completely died out by the 1940’s but was revived in the 1990’s by various restaurants in order to attract more restaurant guests and tourists. Now several restaurants provide Reveillon feasts and often these prix fixe meals with several courses are a great bargain.

Friends and family are also reviving the tradition with meals in their homes.

We don’t have Reveillon where I live and I don’t want to wait for a holiday to enjoy this dish.

I think it is perfect for a light and easy lunch or dinner.

Ways to serve shrimp remoulade

As mentioned shrimp remoulade can be served to share as a starter.

It is also amazing with fried green tomatoes. Just put a piece of sauced shrimp on each tomato and drizzle on a little extra remoulade. This can be served plain or on a bed of lettuce. So good!

You can even just have the un-sauced shrimp with the remoulade sauce on the side for dipping like a shrimp cocktail.

But my favorite is the shrimp remoulade salad. Simply toss the shrimp with the sauce and serve on a bed of lettuce.

Let’s talk about the Remoulade Sauce

Here is our recipe for remoulade sauce. The list of ingredients might look a little long but it is quick and easy to make.

Do be aware that you will need to make the sauce in advance in order to let it chill a bit before mixing with the shrimp. You can easily make it the night before which makes this a super fast and easy meal for a busy day.

My recipe will make plenty of remoulade for a pound or two of shrimp with some sauce leftover.

If you just aren’t in the mood to make your own remoulade sauce, Arnaud’s, the restaurant that invented shrimp remoulade, sells their own top secret sauce.

a small white ceramic bowl filled with Louisiana remoulade sauce. There is a blue dishtowel and some green parsley in the background and some lemons in the foreground.

Let’s talk about the shrimp

If you live near the ocean and can get fresh shrimp – go for it!

However, if you, like me, do not live near the ocean you are better off purchasing frozen shrimp. That “fresh” shrimp that you see on ice in the seafood section of the grocery store has typically been frozen and thawed.

Use medium shrimp for shrimp remoulade because you will find it easier to eat and the smaller pieces equal more remoulade sauce.

You can purchase your shrimp either already peeled and deveined or, especially if you are lucky enough to have access to fresh shrimp, you can peel and devein it yourself.

If I’m purchasing frozen shrimp I like to buy it already peeled and deveined. It just makes life much easier and this recipe much quicker.

Cook however many shrimp you want to serve!

Here’s how to cook your shrimp

  • Add 1/2 of a sliced lemon or lemon juice and a couple of teaspoons of salt or some Old Bay seasoning to a pot of water and bring to a boil
  • When making shrimp for this salad I don’t add very much seasoning to the boiling water. You are going to be putting the shrimp in an ice bath and eventually tossing it in a very flavorful sauce before serving so a lot of seasoning in the water is not necessary.
  • While waiting for the water to boil put some ice in a bowl.
  • Add the shrimp to the boiling water and boil for about 2 minutes or until the shrimp is pink and opaque.
  • Drain the shrimp and immediately put on ice to stop cooking and cool.

Mixing up the shrimp remoulade

  • After the shrimp has cooled dry it a bit so that the sauce will stick better and place it in a bowl.
  • Start adding the remoulade sauce spoonful by spoonful tossing with the shrimp with the until fully coated

Serving the shrimp remoulade salad

  • Serve over the coated shrimp over a bed of greens. I love it with arugula but I realize that not everyone is a fan of this peppery green so it is also excellent over Bibb or Butter lettuce.
  • Some optional additions for your salad are hard boiled eggs, thinly sliced radish and avocado.
  • After placing your sauced shrimp and any of your extras on your lettuce you may want to sprinkle on with some sliced green onion, or some chopped parsley, or some tarragon…or not…totally your preference…
  • …and…
  • ENJOY!
This is a close up from the top down of a rectangular white plate with some scroll work on the short end. On the plate is some bright green arugula topped with shrimp in remoulade sauce. This is a recipe for shrimp remoulade.

Thanks for stopping by!