Shrimp Louie

This light and lovely recipe for the classic Shrimp Louie salad pairs shrimp, fresh veggies and hard boiled eggs with a tangy dressing on the side!

Why we love this recipe  

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.

Shrimp Louie 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

Ingredient notes and substitutions

• Shrimp: We use large shrimp for this recipe, but any size will be just fine. Be sure to cook the shrimp until they are just pink and opaque. Overcooked shrimp will be tough and rubbery and nobody wants that!

• Lettuce: Romaine lettuce is traditional, but you can also use iceberg lettuce, arugula, or mixed greens. You be you, lettuce-wise!
• Toppings: Feel free to add other toppings you like to your salad…avocado, croutons or whatever else catches your fancy!

Here’s how you make this recipe

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!

Recipe FAQ

Want to round out your meal?

We love a frosty glass of lemonade mint iced tea on the side, and if we are feeling ambitious, we fire up the grill and make this recipe for grilled flatbread!

And if you are feeling like you need dessert (raises hand!), you can’t go wrong with this recipe for blueberry crumble cake.

Other shrimp recipes we love

In the mood for even more salad ideas? Here’s our complete collection of scrumptious salads.

Could you leave us some stars?

If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section.

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Shrimp Louie

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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!

• Author: Kate Morgan Jackson
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 3 minutes
• Total Time: 18 minutes
• Yield: 2
• Category: Lunch
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

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for the dressing

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

for the salad

• 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 pound medium to large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 cups romaine lettuce, either chopped or use the smaller interior leaves
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cucumber, peeled and sliced
• 2 hard boiled eggs

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Instructions

1. Make the dressing by combining all dressing ingredients and letting them sit while you make the salad.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the Old Bay and shrimp and cook until shrimp are just done, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Scoop them out and pop them in a mixing bowl of ice water so they stop cooking.
3. Arrange the lettuce on two plates.  Divide up the shrimp, tomatoes, cucumber and eggs.
4. Either drizzle on the dressing or do like I do and serve it on the side.

Notes

• • Shrimp: We use large shrimp for this recipe, but any size will be just fine. Be sure to cook the shrimp until they are just pink and opaque. Overcooked shrimp will be tough and rubbery and nobody wants that!

• • Lettuce: Romaine lettuce is traditional, but you can also use iceberg lettuce, arugula, or mixed greens. You be you, lettuce-wise!

• • Toppings: Feel free to add other toppings you like to your salad…avocado, croutons or whatever else catches your fancy!