Scroll to see two recipes: both the shrimp for the salad and the best Caesar salad dressing out there!
Caesar salad may be the most popular salad in all of America. Unlike many salad options out there, a Caesar is pretty basic with the ingredients consisting of simply romaine lettuce, parmesan cheese, croutons, and Caesar dressing. And, if you start making it fancier than that, many will push back as this salad is pretty perfect without adding more to it. But, that said, placing some chicken, salmon, steak or shrimp to it definitely elevates the salad to main entree level.
Make your home Caesar salad that much more special by topping with cajun shrimp. It’s just that little extra something that makes your home meal taste like eating out.
This recipe is fairly easy. The biggest challenge is simply finding good shrimp. I only buy jumbo/extra large shrimp and I try to find shrimp caught in USA coastal waters. From there, I try to find frozen, raw, peeled and deveined shrimp. After these are thawed and rinsed, you are ready to sautee them.
Make one big salad for your family or gathering for a WOW presentation.
Add some French bread and your meal is complete.
Cajun Shrimp Caesar Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound deveined and peeled shrimp thawed
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon cajun seasoning I prefer salt-free
- 2 heads of washed romaine chopped
- 3/4 cup shaved parmesan cheese
- 3/4 cup breadcrumbs or you could use croutons
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse your shrimp and drain any excess water. If they need to be peeled, do so before cooking.
- Mix olive oil and cajun seasoning. Note: if you are using cajun seasoning with salt, use half the amount and then add a pinch of chili powder, garlic powder, and cayenne seasoning. Otherwise, it may be too salty to use one tablespoon. Different brands blend different amounts of salt, so it's best to use salt-free and then add a little salt and pepper while cooking.
- Heat a large skillet with the olive oil mixture over medium-high heat. Once hot, add shrimp. Try to keep them in a single layer across the skillet. Shrimp cooks quickly, so turn them after about 90 seconds and they will be finished cooking when opaque all the way through, in about 3-4 minutes.
- Set cooked shrimp aside in another bowl.
- In the sautee pan used for the shrimp (do not wash the pan!) heat it again over medium-high heat and once hot, add the breadcrumbs and cook them until browned, about 2-3 minutes. When complete, set aside.
- Chop the washed romaine lettuce and layer it into your large bowl on onto your large serving platter: romaine lettuce, a little cheese, black pepper, breadcrumbs, and salt. About three layers. Then, add dressing (there is a caesar dressing below here which is AMAZING or use your favorite store-bought. My favorite store-bought is by "Simply Dressed." Toss salad with dressing
- Add shrimp to the top and sprinkle again with cheese and add black pepper.
Nutrition
Caesar Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 2 oz. can of anchovy filets
- 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp Tabasco sauce
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp coarse ground black pepper
- 1 cup olive oil*
Instructions
- In a food processor combine anchovies garlic and lemon juice. Process until pureed. Add Dijon mustard, Worcestershire and Tabasco and process until combined. Add Parmesan and black pepper and process. With machine running slowly add olive oil.
- * It is important not to use extra virgin olive oil, as it will impart too much olive flavor to the dressing.
Nutrition
For another great salad dressing, and one that only requires a whisk to combine ingredients, check out our Basic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing Recipe and you’ll be making it all summer long.
