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My creamy cold Cajun shrimp salad with mayo spices up your lunch and snack times with striking beauty and bold, feisty flavorliciousness, y'all!! A few select ingredients inject some of the most beloved South Louisiana flavors and textures into this savory upscale wrap and sandwich filling. Yep and yay...
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This One Fits In Everywhere, Y'all...
Cajun shrimp salad is a mayo-based dish with yellow and Creole mustards, trinity veggies, spices, and dried and fresh herbs. It's generally covered, refrigerated, and served cold alongside whole lettuce leaves and/or bread slices. It's also a great chip or cracker topping. And, it goes with just about veggie you serve it with, so it's a great tablescape filler recipe that you can use to put the perfect finishing touch on an event buffet table.
This easy New Orleans shrimp salad recipe also travels well in a cooler. So, it's just as easy to pack for Mardi Gras day munchies as it is to make in double or even triple batches for all-week-long meal prepping. For sure.
Cold Cajun Shrimp Salad Ingredient Essentials & Substitutions
- I use peeled and deveined shrimp because it makes this Cajun shrimp salad recipe as simple and easy as it is super delicious. It doesn't matter what size shrimp you use. Small to medium-sized work well in the recipe as is, while larger shrimp cut into smaller pieces are fine, too.
- I'm loyal to the local favorite Blue Plate mayonnaise, using it in this recipe and all of my other original creations. I also use regional Zatarain's Creole mustard, which has a distinctive taste that adds a subtle yet profound zing to the rest of the ingredients. You can substitute coarse ground mustard and your favorite mayo with full confidence, though, and still end up with a tasty salad, too.
- The chopped Cajun trinity veggies of yellow onion, green bell pepper, and celery add contrast, color, and crunch to this super creamy Cajun shrimp salad with mayo. Use them all to experience this recipe as intended.
- The fresh and dried herbs all lend their unique flavor profiles to this recipe. I'm a big parsley lover, so I use fresh and dried. However, you can use one or the other with great success. And, don't skip the paprika, y'all!! It adds just the right amount of smoky deliciousness into the mix that you truly don't want to miss!! Indeed!!
How to Make Creamy Cold Cajun Shrimp Salad with Mayo
Preheat the oven. Place the shrimp into a bowl, then cover with the chopped veggies and dried spices.
Toss well to combine.
Transfer the shrimp to a well-greased cast iron skillet. Then, bake until cooked through.
Pour the Cajun shrimp salad dressing ingredients into a small bowl.
Stir to combine.
Pour the cooked shrimp and veggies into a large bowl. Let cool, then toss with the dressing.
And that's it, y'all!!
This super creamy cold Cajun shrimp salad with mayo is insanely flavorful and rich. So much so that you'll likely make a mental note of whipping it up again for a lunch or even a light dinner very, very soon.
It stands out from the rest for its perfectly balanced flavors, pops of charred veggies, and perfectly seasoned shrimp. It's bold, but not spicy, and it's super-flavorful but not overpowering.
Share this creamy cold Cajun shrimp salad with mayo with those who've proven themselves loyal throughout the high and low seasons of your life story. Much food love, and see y'all on the yum side...
NOTE: This post was originally published on February 23, 2022, and was updated and republished on February 28, 2025.
Other Scrumptious Cajun Shrimp Recipes
I could eat shrimp every day, y'all!! Here are some of my other favorite Cajun shrimp recipes.
More Quick & Easy Deliciousness
If you love quick and easy meal prep, you'll want to put these other simple and stunning recipes on your radar, too.
Creamy Cold Cajun Shrimp Salad with Mayo
Ingredients
For the Roasted Shrimp and Cajun Trinity Veggies
- 1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 tablespoon chopped yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon chopped green bell pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped celery
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon parsley flakes
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- salt, black pepper, and cayenne to taste I used ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, and ⅛ teaspoon cayenne
For the Creamy Cold Cajun Shrimp Salad with Mayo
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, see notes
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon Creole mustard
- 1 tablespoon ranch dressing
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 1 tablespoon sliced green onions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Pour the shrimp and the chopped yellow onion, green bell pepper, and celery into a large bowl.
- Top with the garlic powder, onion powder, parsley flakes, paprika, salt, pepper and cayenne to taste, then toss to combine.
- Pour the mixture into a single layer in a well-greased 12-inch cast iron skillet, then clean the bowl for later use.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until a digital meat thermometer inserted into the shrimp reaches at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Remove the skillet from the oven. Let the shrimp/veggie mixture cool for a few minutes, then transfer to the bowl.
- Add the mayo, yellow and Creole mustards, ranch dressing, freshly chopped parsley and green onions to the bowl.
- Stir until very well-combined.
- You can serve slightly warm like this, if desired. For best results, cover and chill for at least one hour, but preferably 3 to 4 hours, before serving.
Notes
The information shown is an estimate provided by a third-party, online computer-generated nutrition calculator, not a registered dietitian or certified nutritionist. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods and individual portion sizes, along with other factors.
See our full nutrition disclaimer here.
Super easy and delicious
Thanks so much, Rick, I concur! 😊