Once upon a time, I ate my way through New Orleans’ French Quarter . . . the famous home of fried beignets, dirty rice, shrimp creole and more. Although I loved all of my experiences there – especially the pontoon boat swamp tour and the live music – what I remember most is the food.
That’s probably why when it came time for me to get a job waiting tables in college, I only applied to one place – the local cajun restaurant.
Many bowls of creole later, I made the transition to a gluten-free diet and decided to recreate old favorites with ingredients that work for my family. I hope you love the deep, buttery base and bold, zesty tomato kick of this shrimp creole recipe as much as we do. And don’t worry, there’s a dairy-free option if you need it that still delivers on richness and flavor.
Shrimp Creole Recipe (Gluten-Free, Dairy Optional)
Ingredients
- 8 tbsp butter (or coconut oil if dairy-free)
- 1 ½ cups white or yellow onions (chopped)
- ¾ cup green bell peppers (chopped)
- ¾ cup chopped celery
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 ½ lbs tomatoes (or 3 cups whole peeled tomatoes that have been drained)
- 1 tbsp fresh garlic (chopped)
- ½ tsp gluten-free Worcestershire sauce (optional)
- ½ – 1 tsp organic hot sauce
- 1/3 cup water (divided into 2 bowls – one with 2 tbs and one with 1/4 cup)
- 2 tbs arrowroot flour
- 1 ½ pounds wild-caught shrimp (peeled and deveined)
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (optional)
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1½ tsp onion powder
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1½ tsp dried oregano
- 1½ tsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 1½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ cup green onions (chopped)
Instructions
Prepping Your Tomatoes:
- If you're using fresh tomatoes: Peel and quarter the tomatoes, then squeeze them in your fist to remove excess juice. Next, roughly chop them into medium-size chunks. You can use a food processor instead of chopping if you prefer.
- If you're using whole, peeled tomatoes: Drain the liquid from the tomatoes and roughly chop them into medium-size chunks. You can use a food processor instead of chopping if you prefer.
How To Make Shrimp Creole:
- In a large saucepan, melt butter or coconut oil over medium heat.
- Add the onions, peppers, and celery and saute until they are soft (about 6 to 8 minutes).
- Stir in the bay leaves, tomatoes, garlic, and 1/4 cup water or chicken broth.
- Bring the mixture up to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
- Add the Worcestershire and hot sauce and continue simmering for about 15 minutes. If the mixture becomes too dry add some water.
- While the mixture is simmering, measure out the creole seasonings (paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, thyme, salt) and mix them together. Place them in a bowl with the shrimp and toss until the shrimp are well-coated.
- Place the shrimp in the pan and cook for 5-8 minutes or until the shrimp turn pink and curl up.
- Whisk the arrowroot flour and water together and add it to the saucepan. Stir in the parsley if using. Continue to cook for 4 to 6 minutes.
- Remove the shrimp creole from heat and add salt, hot sauce or additional Worcestershire sauce sauce if desired. It should already be somewhat thick, but will continue to thicken as it cools enough to comfortably eat.
- Place rice or cauliflower rice into individual bowls and top with shrimp creole. Sprinkle with green onions (if using).
If You're Making Cauliflower Rice:
- Cut the 1-2 heads cauliflower using the method shown in this post. Place the cauliflower florets in a food processor and pulse until it's roughly the size of rice, then steam it for a few minutes. It's ready when it's firm but not crunchy.
Notes
Tried this recipe? Nutrition
More Cajun Inspired Recipes
Dirty Rice – Ground pork, cajun spices, bacon and minced chicken livers (promise you can’t taste them) give this deeply flavorful rice it’s signature dirty appearance. When I make it I always put leftovers in the fridge for another meal . . . and then eat it before that meal arrives. 🙂
Blackened Shrimp & Scallop Fondue – Blackened shrimp, sweet scallops, mushrooms and tender spinach are folded into a white wine cream sauce and topped with melty cheese. So good!
Chicken & Sausage Jambalaya – I highly recommend using andouille sausage in this recipe. It’s delish!
Homemade Cajun Seasoning – Zesty, savory and so delicious, this seasoning is amazing as a dry rub for pan-seared meat, sprinkled on hot french fries, stirred into homemade ranch dressing, and in so many other dishes that might surprise you.
No, actually Im at work right now and im thinking about eating my chicken livers with onions and rice which is my lunch lol but anything with shrimp makes me drool 😛 i’ll check this recipe at home.
Scratch “yet” off that sentence. Apparently it is not too early for me to be craving creole, but it IS too early to form grammatically correct sentences!
This looks amazing! Definitely going to try this! Thanks for sharing…:)
How awesome that you like liver, Maria Castro! I still have to trick myself into eating it 🙂
Denise Lee – I’d love to know what you think when you try it! I tried to keep the heat down in the basic recipe so that everyone can adjust to taste. Would love your opinion on whether it’s too little/too much.
Hey Heather, well, I made the Creole for dinner tonight, and let’s just say I have a bunch of wusses to cook for! I loved it, and will make it again, but will cut back on some of the heat…not because I want to, but I just don’t want to hear 4 people at the table breathing like they’re in labor. 😉 Thanks for sharing it!
Lol Denise, you have a way with words! I’m glad YOU liked it and I hope they will enjoy your adapted version the next time around 🙂
In Colombia is very common to eat chicken organs, specially if you dont have money to buy the “fancy stuff” like chicken breast lol I cant do cow liver hahah dont ask me why its weird, oh and your book totally brought me back to childhood the chicken soup with chicken feet was my favorite as a kid but I used to call them chicken hands as a kid hahaha 🙂 Love Nourished Baby BTW
This looks amazing! Is there a nutritional reason for peeling and de-seeding the tomatoes? I’m usually too lazy, but I assume that doing so makes them more digestible. How necessary is it? Thanks!
The peels won’t cook down into the sauce, so it makes the texture weird if you leave them on. And I de-seed to remove extra moisture so it’s nice and think. Hope that helps!
recipe help: The instructions for the shrimp stock and bisque are listed after the tomatoes, not the shrimp.
(You did pique my interest, though! I was very interested in what I could make from tomato “shells”. LOL.)
Lol, Sunny! Thank you for catching that!
This looks divine. Any suggestions on butter alternatives for this one. I am on a dairy free diet at the moment as my breastfeeding baby cannot tolerate it.
Hi Pru! You might try coconut oil or lard. It won’t taste quite like a traditional creole but I bet it would be good!
Made this tonight for my husband and friends…it was a hit! Great flavor 🙂
Yay, so glad to hear that Andrea! Thanks for coming back to let me know!
Heather,
I LOVE you for your bean flour and creole recipe. Last time, I tried to thicken it with coconut flour. Yuck. I mean, it was still good, but it was gritty, not thick.
I just wanted to make a note about your mention of Tobasco. I would probably recommend Louisiana over Tobasco, if available, which I think it pretty much is everywhere. The only ingredients are peppers, vinegar, and salt, while tobaco actually contains sugar and some other weird stuff.
I am making this right now for dinner. 🙂 It will not be as good and certainly not as pretty as yours since I am using off-season tomatoes. I hope the kids eat it! They like shrimp but not sure about the veggies in it. Well, *I* want it!
I also have the shrimp shells making stock now. I already bought some crab for chowder later this week, I’ll just make and use the shrimp stock for that. Good use of “leftovers” and will make a very rich and nourishing dish.
Another wonderful post! I can’t wait to make this recipe – my family just LOVES shrimp recipes. I’m featuring it on http://www.facebook.com/simpledailychange on 4/3/2013 at 4pm PST.
Is the navy bean flour just for thickening? Could I use regular flour (wheat) flour instead or does the navy bean flour add a nice flavor component also? Thanks!
Hi Heather,
I just made this recipe the other night, and it was a huge hit! I couldn’t get fresh shrimp that day, so I wound up making it with chicken thighs instead, and it was still amazing. My fiance inhaled it and requested that I make it again sometime.
Thanks so much!
Lauren
Ohhh, now I want to try it with chicken. Thank you for the idea, Lauren – and glad you liked the recipe!
Is it possible to make this without the navy bean flour and have it still taste good? We’re on the cure tooth decay diet so trying to avoid beans. Maybe coconut flour? Or skip it altogether?
I’m not sure, Megan. It might work with a thickener like arrowroot powder, but I’m not sure that’s on Ramiel’s protocol. (It’s been awhile since I looked at his). But if it does, I can’t say how much to use because I haven’t tested it. Sorry I can’t be more helpful.
Hi Heather! I’m new to your site!
I just saw this…. Do you live in Louisiana?!! I just moved here! I’ve here at LSU!
I am desperate for food recipes Just found out I have celiac, would love any help you can send my way!!!! Love food