This New Orleans Style Barbecue Shrimp is an easy, one-skillet dish featuring juicy plump shrimp tossed in a buttery, beer-spiked Worcestershire sauce with tons of Louisiana flavor. This iconic Louisiana dish is loved for its mix of bold, savory, and spicy flavors from various herbs, spices, and seasonings! It's perfect perfect for Mardi Gras or any gathering with friends and family, and is ready in 30 minutes!
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Note: This post was originally published on April 11, 2020 but has since been updated as of February 5th, 2024 with fresh photos and a completely updated recipe. We hope you enjoy the new look!
If food can describe a place, then these tender jumbo shrimp glazed in a sticky flavorful buttery sauce screams the vibrant city of New Orleans, Louisiana proudly!
Despite having the term BBQ on the name, you don't actually need to fire up your grill to make it, and you definitely don't need any regular barbecue sauce. The word barbeque comes from the vibrant red color of this shrimp dish, which resembles something you'd find on the grill.
Just grab a large skillet, plenty of butter, and a few other ingredients to bring this dish together. Don't forget the crusty bread to soak up the extra sauce!
If you like Cajun-inspired dishes like this, you might also want to try our Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Pasta, Cajun Seafood Boil, or our Cajun Chicken Alfredo!
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❤️Why we love this recipe
- Quick and easy recipe. Despite its big, complex flavors this dish is super easy to make! It takes 30 minutes or less to make the sauce, cook the shrimp, season, and garnish.
- Flavorful. The bold and robust combination of Creole and Cajun spices lend the dish a distinct flavor you wouldn’t want to miss. Louisiana beer, fresh lemon, Louisiana hot sauce, and Worcestershire add a delightful complexity that is out of this world delicious!
- Make it your own. Feel free to make adjustments to the amount of spices, herbs, and seasoning to your preference. Taste the sauce as you go and consider factors like acidity, spiciness, and saltiness.
- A convenient recipe for any occasion. It is simple enough to whip up on a weeknight simply served with bread or over rice but also makes a great appetizer or main for parties and celebrations like Mardi Gras!
- Protein packed and low carb! This dish is really filling, naturally! There's nothing like a protein packed, low carb meal all in one skillet.
🦐Ingredients
Here are the ingredients we used for this recipe. You can find more information for substitutions below.
- Creole or Cajun seasoning. The type of spices and herbs used varies per brand but this seasoning typically has a mix of warm, rustic, and spicy elements. Make sure to use one with no salt added to keep the dish from becoming too salty. We like to make our own spice blend (recipe here).
- Worcestershire sauce. This is a key ingredient in making the sauce! It is an umami-filled sauce typically made of ingredients like anchovies, garlic, onions, and various spices. This is one of the mair
- Beer. A dark or Amber beer is best for this recipe, but a light beer will work too. We like using Abita Amber or Abita Turbodog, since Abita beers are brewed in Louisiana and are commonplace in most households and restaurants!
- Louisiana hot sauce. Such as Tabasco sauce, Louisiana Hot Sauce, or our favorite - Crystal hot sauce.
- Shrimp. The most important thing about the shrimp you use for this dish is that it should be large shrimp! We're talking about 16-20 shrimp per pound. The original New Orleans style BBQ shrimp is prepared in all of your favorite restaurants in Louisiana using head-on shrimp. The further away you get from the Gulf, the harder it can be to acquire head-on shrimp easily, so we simply use Gulf shrimp with the shell on to infuse lots of flavor. If you can't find Gulf shrimp, just use the highest quality jumbo shrimp you can find. If you can find head-on Gulf shrimp - go for it! You can also remove the heads if you prefer. If you prefer not to peel your shrimp at the table, that's okay too, and you can just use the variety with the shell off. We prefer to use shell-on shrimp because the shells do infuse a ton of flavor into the dish, so just keep this in mind.
- Unsalted butter. Make SURE it's unsalted, or your sauce could end up way too salty. We like to be able to control the salt content from start to finish.
Visit the recipe card for the full quantities and nutritional information.
✨Substitutions & Variations
Here are a few suggestions on additional flavors to try, or simple variations to this recipe.
- Beer-free option. You can omit the beer and use seafood stock, shrimp stock, clam juice, vegetable stock, or chicken stock instead if you don't drink. Water can also be used.
- Use Creole seasoning instead. The components are almost similar to Cajun seasoning so these two can be used interchangeably. However, Cajun has a bolder and spicier flavor profile so you will need to add a bit more cayenne powder to the dish.
- With shrimp head on. In most restaurants in New Orleans, they opt to keep the head on. You will see people sucking on them because it adds to the experience and they are really delicious! It will be messier, but surely worth a try!
- Spice level. You can scale back on the cayenne pepper, Cajun or creole seasoning, and hot sauce to make it less spicy if you prefer.
- Add sausages. If you want to make the dish heartier, add slices of smoked sausage like andouille. This is definitely not traditional, but we know it would taste really delicious!
- Make it sweet. Adding honey or brown sugar will give the sauce another layer of flavor.
🔪Prep work
- If frozen, be sure to have plenty of time to defrost the shrimp. Rinse the shrimp then pat it dry with paper towels.
- Remove the heads, legs, and shells of the shrimp (optional) and devein them. We didn't have shrimp heads to start with, so we just removed the legs and deveined them.
- Mince the garlic.
- Slice one lemon into rounds and juice the other.
- Slice the green onions into rounds, and separate the whites of the green onions from the darker green parts.
- Cut the butter into small cubes.
- Measure the rest of the ingredients.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Make sure you're using a large enough skillet to fit all of those shrimp!
📋Instructions
To the hot skillet, add olive oil, followed by garlic and the white parts of the green onions. (Image 1) Saute for 30-seconds to a minute until the garlic is fragrant, stirring constantly.
Add the Worcestershire sauce, beer, lemon rounds, thyme, bay leaves, Cajun seasoning, smoked paprika, cayenne, pepper, and hot sauce to a large skillet with a lid and bring up to a boil. (Image 2)
Add in the shrimp and season generously with salt and pepper. (Image 3)
Toss the shrimp to coat well in the seasonings. (Image 4)
Then, cover and cook until they're just cooked through and the shrimp turn pink. This should take about 3-5 minutes depending on the size. (Image 5)
✨Pro Tip: Be careful not to overcook the shrimp, or they will become tough and rubbery.
Remove from the heat the lid and add the lemon juice and the cubed butter. (Image 6)
Stir continuously until the butter is fully melted and the sauce emulsified. Taste for seasoning and add salt and more lemon juice to taste. (Image 7)
Garnish with lemon wedges, parsley, more thyme, and green onions.
Serve with Louisiana hot sauce, a cold beer, and lots of crusty French bread or a baguette. This recipe is meant to be enjoyed with your bare hands, and it can get a bit messy! Make sure you have plenty of napkins and bread to soak up the extra savory sauce. Enjoy!
✨Tips & tricks
- Preparation is key! Make sure that all the ingredients are ready and nearby because this dish cooks quickly and you will not have time to measure or chop anything once you start cooking. The French call this mise en place - or having everything in its place and set up ready to go.
- Don't skip sautéing the garlic and seasonings. Sauté the garlic and spices briefly before adding liquids. This step helps to release their flavors.
- Get Gulf shrimp if possible, and keep the shell on for more flavor. This is optional, but it adds a wonderful flavor to the dish. We highly recommend using high-quality, Gulf shrimp if possible, for an authentic Louisiana flavor, and keeping the shell on! The shell adds incredible flavor to the dish.
- Don't overcook the shrimp. Overcooking shrimp makes them rubbery. Cook just until they turn pink and opaque, which usually takes about 3-5 minutes. Remember that the shrimp will continue to cook slightly in the hot sauce even after the heat is turned off.
- Use a good quality beer or stock. The type of beer or stock you use can greatly influence the flavor of the dish.
- Season to taste. Adjust the level of spices and hot sauce to suit your taste. Remember, it's easier to add more spice later than it is to take it away.
- Add the butter off the heat. Emulsify the sauce properly by adding the butter off the heat and stirring until it's fully incorporated. This gives the sauce a creamy consistency.
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💭Frequently Asked Questions
The following makes a very large batch, and we only use 2-3 teaspoons and reserve the rest for other recipes. DO NOT use the whole batch of the spice mix in this recipe!
- 2 tablespoons oregano
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika (or regular paprika)
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons onion powder
- 1 tablespoon thyme
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- ½ tablespoon red pepper flakes (optional, and not a traditional ingredient)
Of course! The frosting and cake layers can be made in advance and stored in the fridge (or freezer for the cake layers) for easy assembly. It can also make your life a little easier and help to ensure you take your time at each step!
We don't recommend cooking the dish with shrimp straight from frozen, but with that said, we usually use thawed frozen shrimp to make this recipe! Since we live in the Midwest, it can be hard to source high quality, fresh, Gulf shrimp, so we always buy it frozen and thaw it before using.
A piece of bread is commonly served on the side to mop up all the sauce off the bowl. Feel free to use any type of crusty bread you prefer.
The original recipe for New Orleans barbecue shrimp recipe comes from Pascal's Manale Restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana. The tangy sauce became an instant classic when the dish was first put on menus in the mid-1950's.
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📖 Recipe
New Orleans BBQ Shrimp
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 12 cloves garlic minced
- 4 whole green onions white parts and green parts separated
- 2-3 teaspoons Cajun seasoning no salt added if possible (to taste)
- ½ - 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper to taste
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup beer brown Louisiana beer if possible (can sub seafood, veggie, or chicken stick)
- 1 whole lemon cut into rounds
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
- 2 whole bay leaves
- 2-3 tablespoons Louisiana hot sauce to taste
- 2-3 teaspoons kosher salt to taste, and depends on what type of cajun seasoning you have
- 2 pounds jumbo shrimp with shell on for more flavor (Gulf Shrimp if possible, 16-20 shrimp per pound)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into cubes (1 stick)
- Parsley, green onions, and thyme for garnish
- Lemon wedges, Louisiana hot sauce, and crusty bread for serving
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, followed by the minced garlic and the white parts of the green onions. Saute for 30 seconds to a minute until the garlic is fragrant, stirring constantly.
- Add in 3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, ½ cup of beer, the lemon rounds, 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme, 2 bay leaves, 2-3 teaspoons of Cajun seasoning (to taste), ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika, ½ - 1 teaspoon of cayenne (to taste), ½ teaspoon of black pepper, and 2-3 tablespoons of hot sauce to a large skillet with a lid and bring up to a boil.
- Add in the shrimp and toss to coat, then cover and cook until shrimp are just cooked through, about 3-5 minutes depending on size.
- Remove the lid and add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, then turn off the heat and add in 8 tablespoons of cubed butter. Stir continuously until the butter is fully melted and the sauce emulsified. Taste for seasoning and add salt and more lemon juice to taste.
- Garnish with parsley, more thyme, and green onions. Serve with Louisiana hot sauce and crusty French bread. Enjoy!
Save This Recipe! 💌
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Video
Notes
- Preparation is key! Make sure that all the ingredients are ready and nearby because this dish cooks quickly and you will not have time to measure or chop anything once you start cooking. The French call this mise en place - or having everything in its place and set up ready to go.
- Don't skip sautéing the garlic and seasonings. Sauté the garlic and spices briefly before adding liquids. This step helps to release their flavors.
- Get Gulf shrimp if possible, and keep the shell on for more flavor. This is optional, but it adds a wonderful flavor to the dish. We highly recommend using high-quality, Gulf shrimp if possible, for an authentic Louisiana flavor, and keeping the shell on! The shell adds incredible flavor to the dish.
- Don't overcook the shrimp. Overcooking shrimp makes them rubbery. Cook just until they turn pink and opaque, which usually takes about 3-5 minutes. Remember that the shrimp will continue to cook slightly in the hot sauce even after the heat is turned off.
- Use a good quality beer or stock. The type of beer or stock you use can greatly influence the flavor of the dish.
- Season to taste. Adjust the level of spices and hot sauce to suit your taste. Remember, it's easier to add more spice later than it is to take it away.
- Add the butter off the heat. Emulsify the sauce properly by adding the butter off the heat and stirring until it's fully incorporated. This gives the sauce a creamy consistency.
Brett Raso says
G hughes BBQ Sauce isnt exactly Keto since it has corn starch and sucralose. Better off with Guy Gone Keto.
Briana says
Ketosis is a metabolic state, not a food, so we tend to be pretty lenient with ready-made ingredients. To each their own, but we do definitely recommend making bbq sauce yourself for the cleanest ingredients/quality control! We don't prefer the Guy Gone Keto sauce flavor so we didn't mention it here.
Marsha says
Love love this recipe. It was so quick, so easy and so delicious. Thank you. Now to try another.
Briana says
That's wonderful Marsha! Thanks so much for your comment. 🙂 We hope you love our other recipes!