Spice Up Dinnertime With Savory Shrimp Creole

The “holy trinity” of onions, peppers, and celery is the fundamental base for much Louisiana Creole cuisine.
Spice Up Dinnertime With Savory Shrimp Creole
The sauce in this shrimp stew is tomato-rich. Lynda Balslev for Tastefood
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Jazz up your weekly meal rotation with a little New Orleans heat. Creole cuisine is deeply rooted in Louisiana’s culinary tradition, which is influenced by a melting pot of cuisines that include French, Spanish, African, Caribbean, and Native American flavors. Typical Louisiana Creole cuisine is known for fresh seafood, rice, and spice. The “holy trinity” of onions, peppers, and celery is the fundamental base for many of its dishes, which also include tomatoes, garlic, and Mediterranean herbs such as oregano and thyme.

The sauce in this shrimp stew is tomato-rich and relatively thin, unlike thicker stews or etouffee, which are thickened with a roux (a combination of butter and flour), yielding a darker, gravy-like consistency. This recipe is light and bright, with a depth of flavor that belies its ease of preparation, which is achieved in 30 minutes. That makes it a perfect addition to your weekly dinner rotation.

Lynda Balslev
Lynda Balslev
Author
Lynda Balslev is a cookbook author, food and travel writer, and recipe developer based in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she lives with her Danish husband, two children, a cat, and a dog. Balslev studied cooking at Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine in Paris and worked as a personal chef, culinary instructor, and food writer in Switzerland and Denmark. Copyright 2025 Lynda Balslev. Distributed by Andrews McMeel Syndication.