These easy shrimp cakes are a wonderful way to transform shrimp into a delicious meal the whole family will love! These shrimp cakes come together in just 20 minutes too!
Seafood is a weakness of mine and shrimp is up there as one of my favourite things to eat! We always, ALWAYS have shrimp in the freezer and incorporating it into our meals is a frequent occurrence. Among of our favourite shrimp dishes are these tender, flavourful shrimp cakes!
If you have never experienced a shrimp cake before, you need to change that asap! You have likely heard of (and eaten) crab cakes before, but shrimp cakes are just as wonderful and as their crab cake cousins. They are also a more affordable option.
To make these, chopped shrimp is mixed with panko breadcrumbs, eggs, veggies, lemon zest and seasonings. After forming the patties, they are pan-fried till they are wonderfully golden-brown. The result is a delicious cake that is delicate and flavourful.
These shrimp cakes are delicious as they are, but the recipe lends itself well to tweaks based on your own preferences.
Feel like adding more veggies? I’ve made these with corn and even chopped kale before and they taste wonderful. You can also add herbs or even jalapenos to switch up the flavours.
They always come out tender and delicious every time we have made them!
What kind of shrimp should you use for shrimp cakes?
While fresh, raw shrimp would be the best choice, I often use frozen raw shrimp that has been thawed. Raw shrimp will give you the best texture. The shrimp will cook when it is being fried in the shrimp cake and be nice, juicy and tender.
Can you use cooked shrimp? Yes you can. While raw shrimp always makes the most tender, soft shrimp cakes, you could use cooked shrimp for this recipe. In fact, I sometimes do (and did in the process shots I took for this recipe) since its all I had on hand. This is a great way to use up cooked shrimp!
So if you are wondering what to do with that bag of cooked shrimp or shrimp ring from a recent party, these shrimp patties are definitely a good option!
Whether you are using raw or cooked shrimp, you can follow the recipe as stated.
What do you need to make shrimp cakes?
- Shrimp: peeled and deveined. As mentioned, raw shrimp will produce the best, most tender shrimp cakes but in a pinch you can use cooked shrimp.
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Veggies: Red pepper and green onion, finely chopped.
- Mayonnaise: Adds moisture and helps the cakes bind.
- Lemon zest
- Large eggs: whisked. The eggs help bind the shrimp cakes.
- Seasoning: Paprika, salt and pepper. Other seasonings can be added to this based on your preference. These include seasoning mixes like Old Bay seasoning or lemon pepper.
**Note: Ingredient quantities and full instructions are in the recipe card at the end of this post.**
How to make Easy Shrimp Cakes
- Chop the shrimp. First, gently pulse shrimp in a food processor until coarsely chopped, but not pureed. Alternatively, you can finely chop them.
- Mix all the ingredients together. In a large bowl, combine the shrimp with all of the remaining ingredients. Use a fork to combine everything.
- Form the shrimp cakes. Divide mixture into 6-8 portions (depending on how big you would like to make them) and form each into a patty.
- Cook them! Heat cooking oil in a large pan, over medium high heat. Cook the shrimp patties for approximately 4 minutes on each side or until they are cooked through. You will likely have to do this in batches. [If the shrimp cakes are browning too quickly on the outside, lower the temperature to ensure they cook through evenly]
Serve with lemon wedges, sour cream or your favourite dipping sauce, if desired.
What to serve with Easy Shrimp Cakes
This recipe is great as an appetizer served simply with a dipping sauce and lemon wedges. It also works well as a meal.
To make these into a meal, we love serving them with a fresh salad like my Green Bean Salad with Lemon Herb Vinaigrette, Mediterranean Couscous Salad, or Radish Cucumber Salad (love this crunchy salad paired with the tender shrimp patties).
Vegetable side dishes are another favourite of ours to help keep this a light meal. Sides like Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob, Roasted Sugar Snap Peas, or Baked Green Bean Fries are some of our go-tos.
If you wish to make these into a more substantial meal, you can also serve them with rice (Perfect Baked Rice and Baked Coconut Rice are my favs) or even potatoes (like Air Fryer Seasoned French Fries or Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries).
Storing leftovers and reheating
While meals are usually tastiest when they are freshly made and that includes this recipe, this recipe does very well when reheated. I love making these ahead as part of our weekend meal prep.
To store leftovers, once the cakes have cooled completely, transfer them to an airtight container. Then store them in the fridge. They will keep for a few days kept this way.
To store these for a longer period of time, you can also freeze them. Simple place cooled shrimp cakes in a freezer bag or freezer safe container and store for a few months.
To reheat shrimp cakes, heat a little oil in a skillet over medium and add the shrimp cakes. Cook them until they are warmed through. If you are heating a larger quantity and want a hands-off approach, you can also warm them in the oven at 350F.
I hope you enjoy this recipe!
-Cathy
You may like these other shrimp recipes:
Air Fryer Shrimp
Shrimp & Corn Chowder
Teriyaki Shrimp and Asparagus
Did you love this recipe? Please consider leaving us a comment and a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below.
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Easy Shrimp Cakes
Ingredients
- 1 lb raw shrimp peeled and deveined
- 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 red pepper finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons green onion finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 large eggs whisked
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Gently pulse shrimp in a food processor until coarsely chopped, but not pureed. Alternatively, you can finely chop them.
- In a large bowl, combine the shrimp with all of the remaining ingredients. Use a fork to combine everything.
- Divide mixture into 6-8 portions (depending on how big you would like to make them) and form each into a patty.
- Heat cooking oil in a large pan, over medium high heat. Cook the shrimp patties for approximately 4 minutes on each side or until they are cooked through. You will likely have to do this in batches. [If the shrimp cakes are browning too quickly on the outside, lower the temperature to ensure they cook through evenly]
- Serve with lemon wedges, sour cream or your favourite dipping sauce, if desired.
Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.
Hi, is there any alternative to mayonnaise?
Hi Alba! You can try adding another egg instead of the mayonnaise.
One of my favorite shrimp recipes. I added a couple dashes of siracha.
OMG I made them for dinner came out so delicious.my 2 hungry jack eat them up. Thank for sharing
So happy you enjoyed these!
These came out delicious and I actually forgot to put mayonnaise…I used bread crumbs also…definitely making these again yum and thanks for the recipe
You’re so welcome! So happy you liked them!
Can you put them in the air fryer?
Yes, you can easily cook these in the air fryer. I haven’t done so yet though so I am not sure about cooking times.
I had left over shrimps from a previous dinner so it was great finding your recipe. Which was so easy .Tts a good recipe. I enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing!
So happy you found this recipe! I love using it for leftover shrimp!
Wow! These shrimp cakes are fantastic!
I just served a double batch to visiting family. It was a major hit. I used my own homemade mayonnaise and used fresh eggs from my chickens. Since it was a huge batch, I placed them in the oven, along with the slider rolls, after frying them. This recipe will definitely be repeated.
So happy to hear you all enjoyed them!