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I have a heritage rich in many of things. Cajun cooking is not one of them.
Yet, I LOVE cajun food! I love blackened fish sandwiches, gumbo, and now these babies. For anyone who doesn’t know, po’boys are traditional sandwiches served in Louisiana that are usually served on baguette-style bread. They most often consist of some kind of deep-fried seafood and often a remoulade sauce of some kind. I LOVE fish and shrimp, but I am trying to eat healthy foods, so I wanted to skip the fried part.
Heaven help me, I love these. We’ve eaten them twice, and we’re already talking about eating them some more.
True, these aren’t traditional, in that the shrimp isn’t fried and we used ciabatta rolls, but the idea still stands. I used a homemade blend of cajun seasoning (the same blend I use for gumbo), but you can certainly use a commercial spice mix. The beauty of these is that they come together really quickly and taste fantastic.
I’ve found that roasting shrimp really allows them to stay tender and succulent instead of tough and rubbery (as can happen when they’re over-cooked). If you like, you can certainly skewer the shrimp and grill them before putting them on sandwiches.
You can certainly use frozen shrimp for this recipe (I often do). To thaw, just run them under cool (NOT hot) water for a few minutes in a colander until they’re thawed.
We served these on ciabatta buns with lettuce, tomato, and my mom’s recipe for tartar sauce. Best of all, they were super speedy to make, since the shrimp only need to roast for a few minutes–just enough time to slice up tomatoes and tear lettuce. They are a fast, easy, flavorful solution when your schedule is crazy, and this week…whose isn’t?
- 1lb shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed
- 2 Tbsp Cajun seasoning (more or less to taste)
- 4 sandwich buns (toasted if desired)
- lettuce, tomato, and tartar sauce for serving
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, toss shrimp with Cajun seasoning and stir to coat. Spread shrimp out on a baking sheet coated with nonstick spray or brushed with olive oil. Roast at 450 degrees for 4-6 minutes or until opaque.
- Make sandwiches by layering shrimp, lettuce, tomato, and tartar sauce.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Ohhhh these sound yummy. I think we should put you in charge of meals this week.
Maybe I could have you ‘supervise’ since you will be on vacation.
Can’t wait to have you here!
I’d be happy to!
Oh good lord, Emily, these are mouthwatering! I could definitely use a little spice in my dinner routine, and these would be perfect for the leftover shrimp I have in the freezer. Definitely pocketing this recipe to make sometime soon. Merry Christmas to you and Michael!
Oh these look great! I love cajun shrimp and have never tried them this way. I’ll have to give this one a whirl!
Hi! My mom told me about your food website so I had to come check it out! This recipe looks yummy…I wil have to try it!
I love that the shrimp on these aren’t fried! This looks like such an easy meal, but good enough to impress friends for lunch or supper, too. I’m going to have to try this one soon! Thanks.
These look so good! Having been born and raised in New Orleans, I couldn’t help but put in my two cents
instead of just roasting the shrimp, you should try doing them up as barbecue shrimp–a traditional NOLA dish that has nothing to do with BBQ sauce or smoked meats. There are great recipes all over the net for them, and man are they quick, easy, and DELICIOUS. Love your blog 