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New Orleans BBQ Shrimp are buttery, tangy, and full of zesty Cajun flavor. They’re not cooked on a barbecue grill or slathered in barbecue sauce, so the name might be misleading, but you’ll love the ease of these simple oven-baked shrimp. It’s a quick weeknight dinner or party appetizer that’s ready from start to finish in less than 30 minutes!
New Orleans BBQ Shrimp
In spite of the name, New Orleans-style BBQ Shrimp actually has very little to do with barbecue. Instead, the iconic Louisiana dish includes oven baked or sautéed shrimp in a rich, Worcestershire-spiked butter sauce with plenty of lemon, garlic, herbs and spices. They’re always prepared with the shell-on for maximum flavor, and served peel-and-eat-style for a fun, messy, and delicious happy hour snack or easy dinner. Roll up your sleeves, grab a cold drink, and don’t forget plenty of French bread or cornbread for sopping up that extra sauce!
Why do they call it BBQ shrimp?
Since the tangy, buttery shrimp are neither cooked on a barbecue grill or basted in barbecue sauce, the name might be confusing. In fact, the only real similarities between NOLA BBQ shrimp and the more traditional barbecue sauce that we all know and love today, is that the two sauces include a lot of the same notes: zesty (but not too spicy), sweet, salty, tangy and rich. One New Orleans chef claims that it’s called barbecue shrimp “only because when it comes out, it kind of looks like it’s got a reddish tint.” Regardless of the misnomer, this is an amazingly delicious recipe that has stood the test of time!
Ingredients for Barbecue Shrimp in Oven
This is a quick overview of the simple ingredients that you’ll need for a pan of Cajun BBQ shrimp in the oven. As always, specific measurements and step-by-step instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Butter: the base of the sauce, you’ll need a lot of salted butter for this recipe — 1 ½ sticks, to be exact!
- Olive oil: adds richness to the sauce and has a higher smoke point than butter.
- Worcestershire sauce: a classic ingredient for authentic Louisiana BBQ shrimp! It might seem like a lot, but the Worcestershire sauce contributes a powerful umami flavor to the dish.
- Garlic and green onions: for even more savory flavor.
- Kosher salt, black pepper, paprika, thyme, rosemary, oregano, cayenne, and bay leaf: the herbs and seasonings that really bring this sauce to life! I prefer fresh herbs when they’re available, but dried herbs from your pantry will also be fine.
- Lemon: for a bright, tangy, acidic touch.
- Shrimp: use shrimp heads and shells on, if available. I like “jumbo” or “extra large” shrimp (16-20 count per pound) for their meaty texture.
How to Make BBQ Shrimp
It can be quite challenging to find quick, easy dinner recipes that all 4 of my boys agree on! With this New Orleans barbecue shrimp, the kids always clean their plates. In fact, the last time I served the dish for supper, my older two boys went back for seconds and my pickiest little guy helped himself to three servings! With it’s garlicky, buttery, and lemony sauce, I like to think of it as a Creole version of shrimp scampi. You just can’t go wrong…
- Bring the sauce to a simmer in a large cast iron skillet or Dutch oven.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the shrimp.
- Toss to coat the shrimp in the sauce.
- Bake the shrimp in a 400° F oven for about 13-15 minutes, or until the shrimp are pink and the tails are just slightly curved. Stir and baste with the sauce occasionally as it cooks.
- Remove the bay leaf, then spoon the shrimp and the sauce into bowls for serving.
What goes with NOLA BBQ Shrimp?
Serve the shrimp on their own as an appetizer or happy hour snack with cold drinks! We tend to enjoy them as a quick weeknight dinner, too. If offering the dish as an entrée, here are some additional sides to eat with your bbq shrimp:
- French Baguette, a loaf of crusty Dutch Oven Bread, Skillet Cornbread or Honey Cornbread to sop up that extra sauce in your bowl.
- Southern Buttermilk Biscuits, Aunt Bee’s 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits or Drop Biscuits
- 3-Ingredient Sour Cream Muffins
- Homemade Coleslaw or Vinegar Coleslaw
- Tomato, Cucumber and Onion Salad
- Cucumber Dill Salad
- Hush Puppies or Hoe Cakes
- Charleston Red Rice, or Rice Pilaf
- Sauteed Spinach with Garlic
- Southern Collard Greens
- Southern-Style Green Beans
- Okra and Tomatoes
- House Salad with Candied Pecans
- Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese, Crock Pot Mac and Cheese or Creamy Stovetop Mac and Cheese
- Southern Macaroni Salad, Classic Pasta Salad, or Easy Pasta Salad with Mayo, Lemon and Basil
Storage
The leftover shrimp and sauce will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 days, but it’s never quite as good. I recommend enjoying the shrimp warm from the skillet! Reheating shrimp can sometimes lead to over-cooking, which results in tough, rubbery shrimp (not ideal).
Recipe Variations
- Swap out the paprika and cayenne and use Creole or Cajun seasoning instead. This seasoning can be salty, so you will likely want to reduce the amount of salt that you add to the sauce, or use unsalted butter.
- For a dish that’s less messy and easier to eat, you can use peeled shrimp. You might want to amp up some of the other seasonings to make up for the lost flavor from the missing shells, though.
- Use frozen unpeeled shrimp for convenience. To quickly thaw the shrimp, place them in a colander and run under cold water.
- As written, the sauce is not too spicy. It has a hint of “kick” from a little bit of cayenne, but is still very kid-friendly. If you like a spicier dish, increase the cayenne or add some hot sauce!
- Cooking for a smaller family? Cut all of the ingredients in half and prepare just 1 pound of shrimp.
Tips for the Best BBQ Shrimp Recipe
- Head-on shrimp are best, when available. The head on the shrimp is important because it contains the fat and the protein, which contributes a lot of flavor to the dish. If you can’t find head-on shrimp, then use shell-on shrimp.
- I recommend either “Jumbo” (21-25 count per pound) or “Extra-Large” (26-30 count per pound) shrimp. These larger shrimp are more impressive, have better flavor, and are “meatier” than their smaller counterparts. They’re also more expensive, so take that into consideration and purchase the size that best fits your budget.
- The total cooking time will vary depending on the size of your shrimp. You might need to bake larger shrimp for up to 20 minutes, while smaller shrimp will be done in about 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on the shrimp when basting with sauce and pull them out of the oven as soon as they turn pink.
More Shrimp Recipes to Try
- Frogmore Stew {Lowcountry Boil}
- New England Shrimp Rolls
- Sheet Pan New Orleans Barbecue Shrimp
- Shrimp Pasta Salad
- Marinated Grilled Shrimp
- Cajun Shrimp Pasta
- Crispy Fried Shrimp
- Southern Shrimp and Grits
BBQ Shrimp {New Orleans Style}
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) salted butter
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 green onions, sliced
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons minced fresh thyme (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
- 1 ½ teaspoons minced fresh rosemary (or ½ teaspoon dried rosemary)
- 1 teaspoon fresh oregano (or ½ teaspoon dried oregano)
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced
- 2 lbs. shrimp, unpeeled (I use “jumbo” shrimp with 16-20 ct./lb.)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
- In a large cast iron skillet or Dutch oven, melt the butter with the olive oil over medium heat. Add the Worcestershire sauce, garlic, green onions, salt, pepper, paprika, thyme, rosemary, oregano, cayenne, bay leaf and lemon slices. Increase heat and bring to a simmer. Once the mixture simmers, remove from the heat.
- Add the shrimp to the skillet with the sauce; toss to coat.
- Transfer the skillet to the oven. Bake for about 13-15 minutes, or until the shrimp are pink, stirring occasionally and basting with the sauce.
- Remove the skillet from the oven. Remove the bay leaf. Spoon shrimp and sauce into bowls and serve.
Notes
- Head-on shrimp are best, when available. The head on the shrimp is important because it contains the fat and the protein, which contributes a lot of flavor to the dish. If you can’t find head-on shrimp, then use shell-on shrimp.
- I recommend either “Jumbo” (21-25 count per pound) or “Extra-Large” (26-30 count per pound) shrimp. These larger shrimp are more impressive, have better flavor, and are “meatier” than their smaller counterparts. They’re also more expensive, so take that into consideration and purchase the size that best fits your budget.
- The total cooking time will vary depending on the size of your shrimp. You might need to bake larger shrimp for up to 20 minutes, while smaller shrimp will be done in about 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on the shrimp when basting with sauce and pull them out of the oven as soon as they turn pink.
- Swap out the paprika and cayenne and use Creole or Cajun seasoning. This seasoning can be salty, so you will likely want to reduce the amount of salt that you add to the sauce, or use unsalted butter.
- For a dish that’s less messy and easier to eat, you can use peeled shrimp. You might want to amp up some of the other seasonings to make up for the lost flavor from the missing shells, though.
- Use frozen unpeeled shrimp for convenience. To quickly thaw the shrimp, place them in a colander and run under cold water.
- As written, the sauce is not too spicy. It has a hint of “kick” from a little bit of cayenne, but is still very kid-friendly. If you like a spicier dish, increase the cayenne or add some hot sauce!
- Cooking for a smaller family? Cut all of the ingredients in half and prepare just 1 pound of shrimp.
