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Shrimp Po Boy is the ultimate sandwich for seafood lovers! Tender shrimp drizzled in a creamy, spicy sauce and topped with crunchy cabbage on a soft roll, it is the perfect balance of flavor, texture, and color.
The first time I visited New Orleans I ordered a Shrimp Po Boy for my first meal. We had been walking around the French Quarter for hours and decided to pop into a popular local restaurant. I knew I had to have one as soon as I saw Po Boy on the menu. You can’t find a sandwich like this anywhere else in the world. The ingredients are so simple, but together, it makes the best sandwich ever.
Create the best sandwich with a spicy, buttery shrimp that cooks up in just 20 minutes, then combined with a creamy cajun sauce. It is no wonder that shrimp sandwiches are so popular because they are super easy to make! You can serve them as an appetizer or main course, but either way, you’ll want to keep this recipe around for when you need a quick meal.
Ingredients in this Shrimp Po Boy
These sandwiches are so easy to put together and taste scrumptious!
- Butter – Start with 4 tbsp but add more if needed
- Garlic – Fresh cloves, minced
- Shrimp – Medium to large, uncooked, peeled and deveined
- Creole seasoning –
- Hoagie rolls or French bread – Bratwurst buns work great too. This recipe makes four big sandwiches.
- Shredded cabbage – You can use shredded lettuce too.
- Toppings – Sweet pickles, dill pickle chips, tomato slices, and Dijon mustard – all optional toppings, see more topping ideas below.
Po Boy Sauce (aka Remoulade)
Remoulade is a classic Cajun-style condiment made with mayo, ketchup, and horseradish that is perfect for Po Boy sandwiches. Deli mustard and other herbs and spices can also be added to the sauce to give it more of a depth of flavor. Our smooth, creamy remoulade sauce atop the tender shrimp takes these sandwiches to the next level.
Serve this sandwich hot or cold alongside some Baked Potato Wedges, and use the sauce as a dip. When I make this recipe, I first make the sauce. Then, I put it in the fridge while I make the rest of the meal. That way, the flavors have a chance to incorporate together.
Preparing a Shrimp Po Boy
There are three ways you can season and prepare shrimp for this sandwich recipe. For any of these, start with fresh or frozen shrimp that have been peeled and deveined for convenience. After preparing the shrimp, cook the shrimp using one of these methods!
- Sautéed Shrimp – For this recipe, we just sautéed up some shrimp using butter, garlic, and a spicy kick of Creole seasoning. If you don’t have creole seasoning in your kitchen try our favorite Tony Chahere’s Creole Seasoning.
- Breaded Shrimp – If you like breaded and deep-fried shrimp, you can bread it in cornmeal and a flour mixture and cook in batches on medium-high heat, frying in hot vegetable oil until the shrimp is golden brown and dry on paper towels. Season with Cajun or Creole spices for bold flavor.
- Grilled Shrimp – You could also grill your shrimp. Try seasoning your shrimp with a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, a little dash of hot sauce, cayenne pepper, kosher salt, Cajun seasoning, onion powder, or spicy brown mustard. Grill the shrimp over medium-high heat on the grill until cooked through.
Where Did the Name Po Boy Come From?
This Southern favorite sandwich originated in Louisiana in the late 1920s. Streetcar workers who were on strike against a streetcar company were given free fried shrimp sandwiches by a local restaurant. The restaurant employees nicknamed the strikers “poor boys,” and so the name “shrimp po’boy” caught on. Traditionally, this shrimp po boy recipe is a classic sub sandwich served on a soft baguette roll with meat, usually fried seafood (oysters, shrimp, catfish, etc.). On occasion, you’ll find it served with roast beef or chicken.
Po Boy Bread
French bread, specifically a soft and crusty French bread loaf, is the best choice for making authentic and delicious Po’ Boys. The texture and flavor of French bread perfectly complement the crispy shrimp and zesty toppings, creating a savory, mouthwatering sandwich. The bread’s light and airy interior provides a nice contrast to the crunchy shrimp, while its crusty exterior helps hold the fillings in place. A crusty hoagie roll or Bratwurst bun will work great too.
Traditional Toppings
Traditional Po’ Boy toppings are an essential part of the sandwich’s flavor and texture profile. These toppings can be combined in various ways to create a personalized and delicious Po’ Boy that suits individual tastes.
- Shredded Lettuce or cabbage – Provides a refreshing and crunchy element to balance the richness of the shrimp.
- Sliced Tomatoes – Adds juiciness and a hint of sweetness to the Poboy.
- Pickles – Tangy and crunchy with a contrast to the savory flavors.
- Mayonnaise – Provides creaminess and enhances the overall taste.
- Hot sauce – Adds a spicy kick for those who enjoy a bit of heat.
- Sliced onions – Add a zesty and slightly pungent taste to the sandwich.
- Coleslaw – A creamy and refreshing topping that adds texture and a delicious crunch.
- Jalapeño peppers – For those who enjoy extra heat, jalapeño peppers can be added for a spicy kick.
“Absolutely delicious and easy. Just made it and added Old Bay instead of Creole seasoning. Will definitely make again. Simple ingredients to make a good meal. Thanks.”
-Sue
Frequently Asked Questions
Our favorite is Tony Chahere’s Creole Seasoning. You can find it in any regular grocery store and it’s the best!
You may see the term remoulade sauce when it comes to making a po boy. Basically, it’s a spicy sauce, made with mayo and savory herbs and condiments. You’ll love the sauce in this recipe, and you can use it for much more than just po boy sandwiches.
Other Favorite Recipes from New Orleans
As you can see from these Shrimp Po Boys, we are big fans of the delicious flavors in the deep South; so make sure to try some of our yummy copycat recipes from our visits there:
Shrimp Po Boy
Video
Ingredients
For the Creamy Cajun Sauce:
- 1 cup mayonnaise Best Foods or Hellmann’s
- ⅔ cup ketchup
- 3 Tablespoons horseradish sauce
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ to 1 Tablespoon Creole seasoning depending on how spicy you like it
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
For the shrimp:
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound shrimp medium to large, uncooked, peeled and deveined
- Creole seasoning to taste
- 4 French-style hoagie rolls or French bread (Bratwurst buns or work great too)
- shredded cabbage or lettuce
Instructions
- Combine sauce ingredients in a mixing bowl until smooth. Set aside.
- Heat a large skillet to medium heat, add butter and garlic. When the butter is hot and melted, add shrimp. Sprinkle Creole seasoning over the shrimp. It can be a little spicy so only sprinkle it to your personal taste. When the shrimp is pink all the way through, remove it from heat. Do not overcook.
- Split the rolls open and divide the shrimp evenly between each roll. Top with the creamy Cajun sauce and shredded cabbage, to taste.
Notes
- If you like breaded and deep-fried shrimp, you can bread it in cornmeal and a flour mixture and cook in batches on medium-high heat, frying in hot vegetable oil until the shrimp is golden brown and dry on paper towels.
- You could also be seasoning your shrimp with a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, a little dash of hot sauce, cayenne pepper, kosher salt, Cajun seasoning, onion powder, or spicy brown mustard.
- Replace shrimp with fried catfish (or any other kind of white fish), oysters, soft-shell crab, lobster, or other types of seafood if desired.
This recipe looks absolutely amazing!! I have some seafood-lovers in my family that would go crazy over this dish!
What a great option for a sandwich! Sounds interesting and delicious! I cannot wait to try…
Gosh I’d love to visit New Orleans one day so I can eat all this food! In the meantime, I’m going to make this po boy! So good!
The sauce is really good. Made beer battered po boys with this sauce. Also made some surf and turf loaded fries topped with the sauce. Can be used for anything.
I made this recipe last night and used Extra Spicy Prepared Horseradish… It was AMAZING! Thanks for sharing!
oooh extra spicy! I love it! That is my kind of Po Boy!
Made these for dinner last night!!! Wonderful! Didn’t have ketchup on hand so I used cocktail sauce instead. Can’t wait to make again : ) Thanks for sharing the recipe!
So glad you liked it! Way to be resourceful by using cocktail sauce! Glad it turned out well. 🙂
Delicious! Just made this exact recipe and it was fresh and tasty and I will surely make it again!
I’m so glad you liked it, this is one of my favorite sandwiches!
Oh.My.Goodness!! This was awesome! The sauce is so so good! Quick and easy to make anytime….. it’s a recipe that is outside of the usual quick dinner meals….I will definitely be making this more often…..it will become a regular dinner meal!
Hi Beth- so glad you liked the Po’ Boys! So easy, right?? Thanks for taking the time to come back and comment!
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I cooked the shrimp in olive oil and added some onion, and it was wonderful! It was a winner for sure! I toasted the bread as well.
Thanks for sharing Kimberly! I’m glad it was a winner for you!
Made this tonight, very tasty! Will make again.
So glad you liked it! Thank you for taking the time to comment!
Thanks for this recipe…my family loved it, especially the sauce!!
I’m so glad you liked it! Thank you for sharing your success with one of our recipes!
Made these for supper last night and my 20 year old son, who is my worst food critic, LOVED them and thought they were fantastic! Thanks for a great recipe, as my son said, this is a keeper.
Thanks for sharing your success! That is quite a compliment!
I made this! Great sauce. It’s the good balance but I’ve also made it with half the amount of Mayo and it was just as good. Also the second time around I used more garlic in the pan on the shrimp and rolled the shrimp in breadcrumbs. Thanks for sharing this recipe!!
Great tips! Thanks for sharing!
Use Dukes mayo, it’s just better.
I tried these tonight and they are beyond fantastic! My family loved the sauce! We paired them with homemade potato wedges and it was heaven! Earned an A from everybody! 🙂
So happy to hear it!!!! Great idea to pair them with potato wedges! Thanks for the comment!
Going to make this recipe this coming week for guest, what kind of Roll did you use? Thanks for a suggestion
Hoagie rolls or bratwurst buns work the best for me!
Made these for my husband’s birthday last night. They were excellent! Thank you for sharing such a delicious recipe!
This was fabulous! We used the sauce for dipping and cut the bread! Was outstanding…definitely a keeper!
I made this last weekend and it was delicious! The sauce was great and can be used as a dipping sauce.