The best Shrimp Cocktail (prawn cocktail) is made by oven-roasting large shrimp, then dipping them in homemade shrimp cocktail sauce!
The shrimp cooks in just 15 minutes and is such an easy appetizer for the holiday season, New Year's Eve, or party food for special occasions and celebrations.
Roasting is a great way to go versus dealing with a large pot of boiling water. A sheet pan is so much easier, with less cleanup, and adds a deeply rich, delicious shrimpy flavor...
Shrimp Cocktail Recipe
Once you try this amazing shrimp cocktail recipe, you will never buy the shrimp ring of packaged pre-cooked shrimp at the store. They never taste as fresh as when you cook your own. There really are no specialty ingredients, everything is available from any grocery store.
Cooked Shrimp Ingredients
- 2 lbs wild shrimp tail-on, peeled, deveined large/jumbo 20-25 count
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper or white pepper
Homemade Cocktail Sauce Recipe Ingredients
Your zesty shrimp cocktail sauce made at home will earn rave reviews from friends, family, and dinner guests. Serve with some chilled white wine or Champagne, and enjoy all the compliments! To make the best shrimp cocktail sauce recipe, use good quality fresh ingredients.
- ½ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup Chili Garlic Sauce Heinz or Vietnamese brand
- 1 lemon zest and lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish sauce
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup celery (3 stalks finely chopped)
- optional: ¼ teaspoon Tabasco sauce or Frank's red hot sauce
- optional: lemon wedges optional garnish
Cocktail Seafood Sauce
- In a small bowl, combine ketchup, chili garlic sauce, lemon zest and lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, prepared horseradish, finely diced celery, and Tabasco hot sauce.
- Mix well, and chill in an airtight container in the fridge.
- wild shrimp - buy tail-on, peeled deveined large 20-25 count also called jumbo. Wild shrimp is a natural seafood product and is my recommendation.
- olive oil - good extra virgin olive oil.
- sea salt - kosher sea salt is my go-to!
- ground black pepper - ground fresh is packed with flavor.
- Chili Garlic Sauce - Heinz or Vietnamese brand, these are easy to find in any grocery and a versatile condiment.
- ketchup - brings that sweet tomato flavor into the cocktail sauce and the color.
- lemon - zest and juice one real lemon, which adds amazing tang and brightness.
- prepared horseradish - adds a nice spicy kick, and balances the sweet chili sauce, for a milder sauce- reduce or omit the amount of horseradish.
- Worcestershire sauce - adds a tangy depth of umami flavor.
- celery - finely chopped adds a crisp clean crunch and makes the best cocktail sauce.
- Tabasco - or a hot sauce you love adds just the right amount of heat.
Roasting the Cooked Shrimp
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Remove the frozen shrimp from the bag, place them in a colander and rinse under cool water, they will be ready to cook in about 15 minutes from frozen.
- Peel and devein them if needed, and leave the tails on if possible, this gives your guest a little "handle" to hold as you dunk them in the dipping sauce!
- Place on a sheet pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper, toss to coat evenly, and spread into one layer.
- Roast for 15 minutes, until just pink, and they will curl up a bit and will be firm. Set aside to cool.
- Arrange them on a large platter with the homemade cocktail sauce in a bowl and some fresh lemon wedges to squeeze on top
Why This Recipe Is AMAZING!
- Roasting adds tremendous flavor versus when you boil.
- The added seasoning makes them taste incredible!
- The shrimp can be served right out of the oven.
- No waiting for boiling pots of water or draining.
- The color of the seafood is a vibrant pink.
- No pots of boiling water, messy poaching liquid to throw out, or a large bowl of ice water to fill when you roast in the oven!
- Homemade cocktail sauce is easy and SO much better than bottled shrimp sauce or seafood store versions.
Raw Shrimp Per Serving FAQ
Shrimp are graded by the seafood industry and commercial brands in different terms, and it can be confusing.
Next time you are at the seafood counter, the fresh shrimp on ice will be labeled and this will help you purchase pounds of shrimp from your favorite grocery stores.
Another great option is to buy high quality preferably wild shrimp that is flash frozen at the peak of freshness.
A good average serving size* per person is about 4 ounces of shrimp, here is a way to know what the package means:
Extra Colossal U/10 2-3 serving
Super Colossal U/12 2-3/serving
Colossal U/15 3-4/serving
Extra Jumbo 16/20 4-5/serving
Jumbo 21/25 5-6/serving
Extra Large 26/30 6-7/serving
Large 31/35 8-9/serving
Medium Large 36/40 9-10/serving
Medium 41/50 10-12/serving
Small 51/60 12-15/serving
Extra Small 61/70 15-17/serving
Tiny 71+ 18+/serving
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French Onion Dip is an easy appetizer with rich flavor from caramelized onions and fresh simple ingredients. This party appetizer tastes even better if you make it a day or so ahead!
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Shrimp Cocktail Recipe
Ingredients
cooked shrimp
- 2 lbs wild shrimp tail-on, peeled, deveined large/jumbo shrimp 20-25 count
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper or white pepper
homemade shrimp cocktail sauce
- ½ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup Chili Garlic Sauce Heinz or Vietnamese brand
- 1 lemon zest and juice
- 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish sauce
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
- 1 cup celery 3 stalks finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon Tabasco sauce or Frank's red hot sauce
- lemon wedges optional garnish
Instructions
make cocktail sauce
- In a small bowl, combine ketchup, chili garlic sauce, lemon zest and lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, prepared horseradish, finely diced celery, and Tabasco hot sauce.
- Mix well, and chill in an airtight container in the fridge.
roast the shrimp
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Remove the frozen shrimp from the bag, place in a colander and rinse under cool water. Your shrimp will be ready to cook in about 15 minutes from frozen.
- Peel and devein the shrimp if not already clean, and leave the tails on if possible, this gives your guest a little "handle" to hold the shrimp as you dunk them in the dipping sauce!
- Place on a sheet pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper, toss to coat evenly and spread into one layer.
- Roast 15 minutes, until just pink, and they will curl up a bit and will be firm. Set aside to cool.
- Arrange the roasted shrimp on a large platter with the homemade cocktail sauce in a bowl and some fresh lemon wedges to squeeze on top.
Notes
shrimp
I recommend buying good wild-caught shrimp vs farm-raised, the flavor and natural product are worth a bit extra on the price. Now, the packages can be confusing! I have a full chart of shrimp in this recipe post, but here are some of the common shrimp sizes and names to help you navigate your purchase. For this recipe, any shrimp will work, but I would buy jumbo or extra-jumbo shrimp. Once you defrost them, they shrink in size as the ice melts away! Extra Jumbo 16/20 4-5/servingJumbo 21/25 5-6/serving
Extra Large 26/30 6-7/serving
Large 31/35 8-9/serving
Medium Large 36/40 9-10/serving
- wild shrimp - buy tail-on, peeled deveined large 20-25 count also called jumbo. Wild shrimp is a natural seafood product and is my recommendation.
- olive oil - good extra virgin olive oil.
- sea salt - kosher sea salt is my go-to!
- ground black pepper - ground fresh is packed with flavor.
- Chili Garlic Sauce - Heinz or Vietnamese brand, these are easy to find in any grocery and a versatile condiment.
- ketchup - brings that sweet tomato flavor into the cocktail sauce and the color.
- lemon - zest and juice one real lemon, which adds amazing tang and brightness.
- prepared horseradish - adds a nice spicy kick, and balances the sweet chili sauce, for a milder sauce- reduce or omit the amount of horseradish.
- Worcestershire sauce - adds a tangy depth of umami flavor.
- celery - finely chopped adds a crisp clean crunch and makes the best cocktail sauce.
- Tabasco - or a hot sauce you love adds just the right amount of heat.
Love that this recipe is no boil! So easy to make and delish!!
Thanks, Seanna!!! It's so much easier and tastes fabulous. Thanks for your comment!
Oh my goodness- this is the BEST cocktail sauce and the shrimp. YUM! Such a flavorful recipe we serve each holiday season. Incredible flavors!