If you’ve never had baked shrimp with a homemade cocktail sauce, then you’re truly missing out on THE BEST way to eat shrimp cocktail! Packed with protein and low in carbs, this mouthwatering appetizer or meal satisfies your hunger and tastes wonderful. A naturally gluten free recipe, each serving contains less than 5 grams net carbs per serving, making it the perfect gluten free keto or low carb lunch, dinner, appetizer, or snack!
My family devours this in about 5 minutes every time I make it and I think the best part is that it includes a homemade sauce, not just some store-bought, overly processed cocktail sauce. In fact, my homemade cocktail sauce includes ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, sriracha, and hot sauce. As a mom, I love the fact that my toddler is eating a healthy source of protein.
You will totally impress your guests with my foolproof and these warm, baked shrimp, dipped in a delicious homemade cocktail sauce! You’ll never want to eat store-bought cocktail sauce again after making this! I grew up eating cold shrimp cocktail and I must say, this recipe is a total game changer and has everyone around me wanting more!
What is the Best Shrimp?
You can use any kind of shrimp you want. If you want to feed a large group of people, I recommend doubling the recipe. The types of shrimp you can use include:
- Raw or uncooked
- Fresh or frozen (it’s nearly impossible to find fresh shrimp; we use frozen)
- Wild caught, if available
- Tails on, making it easier to grab and go
- Peeled and deveined (this is what I use)
What is Shrimp Cocktail?
If you’re shopping for shrimp at the grocery store, you’ll see shrimp rings with cocktail sauce, sold as a pair. It’s usually next to the frozen shrimp or near the fish. Let me tell you that this homemade baked shrimp with a cocktail sauce that is made from scratch is absolutely divine and healthy!
It’s the perfect appetizer for a potluck, summer party or cookoff, barbecue, and of course, it’s everyone’s favorite on Christmas Eve at my parents’ house! My baked shrimp recipe with complementary cocktail sauce will BLOW YOUR MIND with the deliciousness level! It reminds me of a fancy dish I would order at a restaurant.
Ingredients in Shrimp Cocktail
Shrimp. Buy peeled and deveined shrimp. You can use cooked or uncooked shrimp with tails on or off.
Extra virgin olive oil. Use high quality extra virgin olive oil for the best taste.
Salt. Salt is used to season the shrimp.
Pepper. Freshly cracked black pepper tastes best in this recipe.
Ketchup. Use your favorite kind of ketchup to make the cocktail sauce.
Horseradish. If you want your sauce to be spicy, use 4 tablespoons and if you want it to be mild, use 3 tablespoons. If you really despise horseradish, omit it.
Lemon juice. It enhances the flavors of the rest of the ingredients.
Worcestershire sauce. Just a small amount goes a long way in terms of flavor enhancement.
Sriracha. Sriracha is a zesty chili sauce that adds spice.
Hot sauce. A small amount of hot sauce blends in well with the other ingredients. If you’re wanting spicy, use 2 tablespoons. If you’re leaning towards mild, use 1 tablespoon.
How to Cook the Shrimp
Baked shrimp is easy and you never need to flip them. Although I buy cooked shrimp, you can buy raw shrimp but I like to buy them cooked and deveined, leaving much less work for me.
Bake the shrimp in the oven on a foil-lined baking sheet. Massage olive oil, salt, and pepper all over the shrimp. Cook them based on the timelines specified in the next section below.
Shrimp Baking Times
Shrimp cooks quickly and it’s critical not to overcook. When they’re pinkish-orange, they’re done. For a quick guide on how long to cook the size shrimp you have, see the chart below.
- Medium (26-30 shrimp): bake 8-9 minutes
- Large (21-25 shrimp): bake 9-10 minutes
- Extra-large (16-20 shrimp): bake for 10-11 minutes
- Jumbo (11-15 shrimp): bake 11-12 minutes
How to make the best Cocktail Sauce
To prepare the cocktail sauce, add the ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, sriracha, and hot sauce to a medium bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate it until ready to serve with the baked shrimp.
If you want more spice, use 4 tablespoons prepared horseradish. If you want it more mild, use 3 tablespoons. If you want more spice, use 2 tablespoons hot sauce; for milder, use 1 tablespoon.
You can make the cocktail sauce ahead of time up to three days as that’s about as long as the sauce will last.
Our Most Popular Shrimp Recipes
Shrimp Cocktail
Equipment
Ingredients
Shrimp
- 1 lb. shrimp peeled and deveined, cooked or uncooked, tails on or off
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- pepper freshly cracked
Sauce
- 1/4 c ketchup + 2 tbsp
- 1-2 tbsp horseradish use less for mild and more for spicy
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp sriracha
- 1-2 tbsp hot sauce use more for more spice and less for a milder taste
Garnish
- lemon wedges
Instructions
- Wash the shrimp then pat them dry with paper towels. Preheat the oven to 450° F.
- To prepare the cocktail sauce, add all the sauce ingredients to a medium bowl and stir well. Cover and refrigerate until the shrimp is done, or until you’re ready to bake and serve the shrimp.
- Line a baking sheet with foil and pour the dried shrimp on it. Drizzle the olive oil, salt, and pepper over the shrimp. Use your hands to massage it around the shrimp.
- Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes. You do not want to overcook them. As soon as they turn pinkish-orange, they’re done. When you remove them from the oven, it’s important to quickly transfer them from the baking sheet to a plate to stop the cooking.
Nutrition (per serving)
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