This delicious Shrimp Salad has crunchy celery and red onions in a creamy mayonnaise-based dressing seasoned with Old Bay Seasoning and fresh dill. It’s always a crowd-pleasing appetizer or satisfying lunch.
I love the speed and convenience of cold salads! I often make Classic Tuna Salad and Imitation Crab Salad, but this is my go-to recipe when I’m craving shrimp.
This refreshing salad is quick and easy to prepare, and highly versatile. There are several ways it can be customized to suit your taste. You’ll probably want to make a double batch – it’s that good!
Ingredients
- Shrimp
- Red onion and celery are needed for that flavorful crunchy texture!
- Mayonnaise
- Dill – Fresh is best, but I’ve also made this with dried dill. You’ll need to reduce the amount to ½ to 1 teaspoon if using dried dill.
- Old Bay Seasoning is my go-to seasoning in this recipe. It has a flavor that is both spicy and savory, with notes of celery seed, bay leaf, paprika, and pepper.
- Lemon juice – Bottled lemon juice will definitely work but I prefer freshly squeezed.
How to Prepare
Make the dressing. Stir together the mayo, lemon juice, dill, and Old Bay Seasoning in a medium bowl until combined. Cover and refrigerate.
Cook the shrimp. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and cook the shrimp for 2 to 3 minutes, or until they’re pink and opaque.
Transfer the shrimp to an ice water bath to stop the cooking process. This will help to ensure that your shrimp are not overcooked.
Drain the shrimp and pat dry with paper towels. Add the cooked shrimp, red onions, and celery to the prepared dressing. Stir to coat as evenly as possible.
Common Questions
Absolutely! Just be sure that they’re thawed before cooking. Here is a helpful resource on how to properly thaw frozen shrimp.
When stored properly in an airtight container, it will last for up to 2 days in the fridge. You’ll need to give it a good stir before serving.
It’s not recommended to freeze salads with a mayonnaise-based dressing because the texture of the mayonnaise changes significantly after defrosting.
Recipe Variations
Make this shrimp salad your personal favorite to suit your taste. Here are a few ideas:
- Swap out the mayo for Greek yogurt or low-fat mayo to make it healthier.
- Add dijon mustard for a tangy twist.
- Add garlic powder for a hint of garlic flavor.
- If you love heat and spice, add crushed red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, or chopped jalapeño.
Serving Ideas
Serve this shrimp salad:
- on a bed of lettuce
- with crackers
- in a wrap
- in a sandwich or crescent roll
Number of Servings
This recipe yields approximately 2 ½ cups, which is 2 lunch servings or 5 appetizer servings. It can be easily doubled, tripled, or quadrupled.
If you want to increase the number of servings, toggle the number of servings on the print screen of the recipe card. Please note that the final images shown are 2 batches.
More Shrimp Deliciousness
Shrimp Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound medium shrimp in their shells peeled and deveined
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- ¼ cup chopped red onion
- â…“ cup chopped celery
Instructions
- Stir together mayonnaise, lemon juice, Old Bay Seasoning, and dill in a medium bowl until combined. Cover and refrigerate.
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the shrimp and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until shrimp are pink and opaque (do not overcook).
- While the shrimp are cooking, prepare a large bowl of ice water.
- Remove the shrimp with a large slotted spoon and transfer to the bowl of ice water.
- Once the shrimp have completely cooled (about 2 to 3 minutes), drain in a colander. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels.
- Add the cooked shrimp, red onions, and celery to the bowl of prepared dressing and stir to coat as evenly as possible. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
- If using dried dill, reduce the amount to ½ to 1 teaspoon.
- Greek yogurt or low fat mayo can be substituted for mayonnaise.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- This recipe yields approximately 2 ½ cups.
Nutrition
If provided, nutritional info is a courtesy, is not guaranteed and should only be considered as a guideline.
Originally published April 8, 2016. Updated with new photographs, new text, and recipe slightly revised May 2023.
I also add ripe olive slices to this. As well as red pepper flakes.
Easy and my guests loved it! This will be my go-to shrimp salad. I did mix small shell macaroni with it and loved the fact that the quantity of the mayonnaise did not overpower the overall flavors.
I made the recipe and let it sit overnight before adding the macaroni. Totally marinated to perfection.
Glad I found this one.
I ate something similar to this at a seafood restaurant in Dallas in the late 1970’s All I remembered it containing was lots of celery, tiny shrimp and boiled eggs, maybe scallions. OThe dressing was pretty much yours. It was THAT memorable. Yum…
Ok. This was YUMMY.
Advice to anyone thinking about making this….the longer you let the flavors meld in the fridge the better it is… truly. I was concerned at first that it was too mayonnaise-y BUT after an hour in the fridge it was PERFECT…and its probably going to rock even more tomorrow!!! (( I will confess that I did add a dash of garlic since I am a garlic hound!…lol) but it was amazing…thank you thank you
Thanks so much, Jill – So glad you enjoyed the shrimp salad! 🙂
Love this salad best I’ve had in a long time.Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Hi Karen, I’m so glad you enjoyed it… thank you! 🙂
We’re making this tonight, so I’ll write again. What I loved about your website was the ability to increase the recipe.
Thank you – look forward to using your site further.
Thanks so much, Cindy… I hope you enjoy the shrimp salad! 🙂
I abandoned a shrimp salad recipe I had used for 40+ years for your recipe, but I do roast my shrimp in the over rather than boiling them. Perfect shrimp salad recipe! Thank you.
Wow, thanks so much, Lucy! So happy to hear you love it! 🙂
My mother and I used to get a shrimp sandwich when I was much younger….but could only remember the taste…and not where we bought the sandwiches. So, for years we have been trying different locations, and their shrimp sandwiches…with no luck. I finally broke down (20+++ years later) and tried this recipe.
Although my first taste (immediately after making the mix) was a bit mayonnaise’y, that once it’s rested…OH MY GOODNESS!! YUMMMMMY! Its finally a shrimp mix that has got the right amount of dill!!
Thank you so much for sharing this super simple recipe!
Gepetta
Sweet memories… thanks so much for sharing, Gepetta! So happy you loved the shrimp salad!
Can I use already cooked shrimp?
Hi Denise, yes you can. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Could I get more information on this recipe, such as carbs, etc?
By the way, my husband loves it.
Hi Luwana, thanks so much! I don’t have nutritional info for this recipe. You can Google “nutritional calculator” and there are a lot of online free resources to enter ingredients of recipes for nutritional values. Hope this helps! 🙂
I came up with:
201 Calories
14.2 g Total Fat
1.7 g Carbs
15.9 g Protein
Thanks for a cool and simple recipe!
Thanks so much, Stephanie! 🙂
I’d recommend deveining the shrimp before boiling. I added small langostino that I purchase by the bag at Costco (thaw & drain very well). Great recipe.
Can you use frozen shrimp for shrimp salad?
Hi Elizabeth, As long as the shrimp are thawed and fully cooked and peeled they’re fine to use in this salad. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
I just tried this simple shrimp recipe today. Love it!