This light and lovely recipe for the classic Shrimp Louie salad pairs shrimp, fresh veggies and hardboiled eggs with a tangy dressing on the side!
Welcome to my newest shrimp salad crush, the good old classic Shrimp Louie salad.
This Shrimp Louie tends to show up on old-timey country club menus along with its cousins Cobb Salad and Salad Nicoise, and while I love most of how the old classic is made, I needed to put my own tweak on it.
I’m hoping that this is one that my seafood-averse sweet Southern daughter will go for, since she has cracked the seafood door open by actually eating shrimp now and then. Especially if I whip up one of my other faves, peel-your-own shrimp cooked in beer. YUM.
What is Shrimp Louie Salad, anyway?
According to my research, this Shrimp Louie recipe originated in the early 1900s in San Francisco, and since that is the town where the Southern husband proposed to me, it already had a head start in terms of my love and affection.
It is traditionally made with shrimp, lettuce, egg and tomato, and (here’s where it lost me) it’s liberally tossed with Thousand Island Dressing.
Now, I am not a fan of liberal salad dressing (see my recipe for Steak Caesar Salad for example) and Thousand Island reminds me of that thing our moms used to do when we were kids – mixing ketchup and mayo together as a dip.
However, I did want to come up with a solution that gave a nod to the original Shrimp Louie dressing recipe dressing without glooping it all over the light and lovely shrimp and veggies.
So I did my favorite salad trick, which is to put it in a little cup on the side of the dish, so you can either dip your fork into it before you spear up a shrimp, or you can lightly drizzle your own amount on.
AND, since I was already messing with a classic, I added a little chili sauce in place of the ketchup, and some Worcestershire to give it a little oomph.
I did use mayo, because you need it for the creaminess, although next time I might throw caution to the wind and swap out the mayo for sour cream. But I am being classic here. :)
Ingredients You Need to make Shrimp Louie Salad!
Here’s how you make (almost) classic Shrimp Louie Salad!
STEP 1: Start by making that dressing, which is as easy as combining the chili sauce, mayo, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper and letting it sit while you prepare the rest of the salad.
STEP 2: Cook up the shrimp in a pot of water season with Old Bay until the shrimp are just done, about 3 minutes. Scoop them out and put them in a mixing bowl filled with ice water so they stop cooking – this will keep them nice and tender, and also cool them off a little for your pretty salad!
STEP 3: Arrange the lettuce on two plates and divide up the shrimp and eggs – I also added some cherry tomatoes and cucumber, which is also not super traditional but IS super colorful and scrumptious.
STEP 4: As for that dressing, do with it what you will! I served it on the side but if you feel like drizzling it over the salad is the right thing to do, drizzle away!
more tips for making shrimp louie salad!
You can! I always think shrimp cooked right before you serve it tastes best, but pre-cooked shrimp is a timesaver if you are in a rush.
Old Bay is a seafood seasoning that is a mixture of celery salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, paprika and a few others. You can find it in the spice aisle of your grocery store, and it adds a delightful flavor to your shrimpies. And if you want to try your hand at mixing up your own, here’s a recipe for the homemade version!
Yep, especially if you are serving the dressing on the side. If not, drizzle it on right before you serve it up. And keep everything in the fridge until it’s time to eat.
Pop your question in the comments section below and I promise to answer pronto!
So there you have it – the best Shrimp Louie Salad recipe I know!
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Classic Shrimp Louie Salad
Prep Time: 15 minutes- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: Lunch
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
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Pin RecipeDescription
This light and lovely recipe for the classic Shrimp Louie salad pairs shrimp, fresh veggies and hardboiled eggs with a tangy dressing on the side!
Ingredients
For the dressing
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons chili sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
For the salad
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- ½ pound medium to large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 cups romaine lettuce, either torn or use the small interior leaves
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ cucumber, peeled and sliced
- 2 hardboiled eggs, peeled and quartered
Instructions
- Make the dressing by combining all dressing ingredients and letting them sit while you prepare the rest of the salad.
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the Old Bay seasoning and the shrimp and cook until the shrimp are just done, about 3 minutes. Scoop them out and put them in a mixing bowl filled with ice water so they stop cooking.
- Arrange the lettuce on two plates. Divide up the shrimp, tomatoes, cucumber and eggs.
- You can either toss the dressing with the ingredients or do like I do and serve it on the side.
Notes
Need to add something to your kitchen equipment to make this recipe? Below are some of the items we used in the Framed Cooks kitchen to help cook this up. These are affiliate links to things we use and love, which helps to pay for all that bacon I keep buying (without any extra cost to you)! Thanks for using them to keep our kitchen cooking…xoxo!
Excellent cool summer dinner !
★★★★★
We will have to put it on our list to have together! xoxo