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–+ servings
A plate of shrimp cocktail with lemon wedges and cocktail sauce on ice.
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5 from 5 votes

Classic Shrimp Cocktail

I love this classic shrimp cocktail recipe. Great for entertaining, or a refreshing, crunchy appetizer/dinner idea with shrimp cocktail sauce.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Appetizers
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4
Author: Lindsey Baruch

Ingredients

For The Shrimp

  • 1 pound shrimp cleaned and deveined
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup salt
  • 6 cups water
  • 1/2 lemon juice and peels

For The Cocktail Sauce

  • 1/2 cup sweet ketchili or do half ketchup and half chili sauce
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • zest of 1/2 lemon
  • 1/2 tablespoon prepared horseradish
  • 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce adjust with more if preferred
  • pinch of black pepper
  • lemon wedges to serve

Instructions

  • Start by boiling water in a large pot of 6 cups of water with sugar, salt, lemon juice and lemon peel. While boiling, set aside an ice bath (ice and water) in a large bowl.
  • Once it comes to a boil, turn off and remove from heat. Add your shrimp (cleaned and deveined), cover your large pot, until fully cooked, about 4 minutes until you have your poached shrimp!
  • Drain your shrimp and transfer to your ice bath to cool and chill throughout.
  • In the meantime, make your cocktail sauce in a small bowl by mixing sweet chili sauce, ketchup, lemon juice, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, pepper and lemon zest. Stir until combined.
  • Serve your shrimp cocktail over ice on a platter and your sauce, as well as lemon wedges or lemon halves.

Nutrition

Calories: 147kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 183mg | Sodium: 7.27mg | Potassium: 317mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 2IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 90mg | Iron: 1mg