Shrimp Rolls

This shrimp roll recipe puts a Southern spin on the classic New England favorite! Ready in just 15 minutes, it’s a quick and delicious lunch or dinner served with coleslaw, potato chips, hush puppies, or pickles.

If you love shrimp as much as we do, be sure to try these garlic butter shrimp with Old Bay, these crispy fried shrimp, and this Southern shrimp and grits recipe, too!

After a lifetime of summer vacations spent on the Vineyard, my mom has mastered the art of the New England lobster roll — served on a buttered, toasted, split hot dog bun with just a touch of mayo to let the lobster shine. On a warm summer day, there’s just nothing better than a chilled sandwich and a cold beverage.

This Shrimp Roll Recipe is the Southern Version of New England Lobster Rolls

Since we live in the southeast where lobster is not exactly easy to come by, I’m putting a Southern spin on one of our favorite summer meals with these New England-style shrimp rolls. After all, shrimp is abundant around here, it’s more affordable than lobster, and it’s absolutely delicious when turned into a shrimp sandwich filling! Make the shrimp rolls ahead if you’re entertaining, or whip up the no-cook meal in about 15 minutes.

Made this for a quick weekend lunch. It was great! I only subbed out green onions for regular onions because that’s what we had on hand. We used king hawaiian sub rolls. We will definitely add this to our meal rotation.

– Mallorie

How to Make Shrimp Rolls

This shrimp roll recipe, also called shrimp sandwiches or shrimp salad sandwiches, is a delicious combination of cooked, diced shrimp, celery, and green onion in a mayonnaise-based dressing. The filling is traditionally served in hot dog buns, but you can eat the shrimp sandwich filling on its own, over lettuce greens, with crackers, or tucked inside a croissant. It’s versatile, easy, and always a hit! You’ll find detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the overview:

1. Pat the shrimp dry so that it doesn’t water down the dressing. Combine the shrimp, celery, and green onions.

2. Whisk together the dressing. Add the mayonnaise mixture to the shrimp mixture; toss to coat. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

3. Butter the cut sides of the hot dog buns, and then griddle them in a cast iron pan until they’re golden brown. Fill each bun with the shrimp sandwich filling and garnish with fresh dill or parsley.

Serving Suggestions

Offer a couple of quick sides to round out the meal and your summer picnic is complete! We love shrimp rolls with baked potato wedges, house salad with candied pecans, a simple green salad tossed with Dijon vinaigrette or pepper jelly vinaigrette, cucumber salad with vinegar, Southern macaroni salad, spaghetti salad, vinegar coleslaw, classic three bean salad, corn salad, fruit salad, grilled potatoes, or my grandmother’s easy potato salad recipe. Plus, don’t forget a cold drink! A chilled beer, a glass of white wine, a pitcher of sweet tea or freshly-squeezed homemade lemonade will all be perfect.

Left out the vinegar and it was perfect!

– Diane

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Shrimp Rolls

5 from 4 votes

Prep: 15 minutes minutes

Total: 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Calories 414 kcal

Author: Blair Lonergan

A light and refreshing shrimp roll recipe is the perfect addition to your next summer picnic!

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Ingredients

  

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• 1 lb. peeled and deveined cooked shrimp, chopped into bite-size pieces (see note below if starting with raw shrimp)
• 1 stalk celery, finely diced
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• ⅓ cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
• ¼ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
• 4 hot dog buns, split
• 2-3 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
• Optional garnish: fresh parsley or additional dill

Instructions

• Pat shrimp dry and place in a large bowl. Add the celery and green onions; toss gently to combine.
  
• In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, vinegar, dill, Old Bay and sugar. Add the mayonnaise mixture to the shrimp mixture; toss to coat. Taste and season with kosher salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
  
• Butter the cut sides of the hot dog buns. On a griddle or in a cast iron skillet, toast the buns buttered-side down, until golden brown. Fill each bun with shrimp salad. Garnish with additional dill or freshly-chopped parsley.
  

Notes

If you’re starting with raw shrimp, you will need to cook them before proceeding with the recipe. To do so, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once the liquid boils, turn off the heat. Add the shrimp to the hot water and allow the shrimp to poach, uncovered, for a couple of minutes (stirring occasionally) just until they turn pink. While the shrimp cooks, prepare an ice bath by combining cold water and a lot of ice in a large bowl. When the shrimp is just pink and opaque, transfer the shrimp to the ice bath to immediately chill and stop the cooking process. Allow the shrimp to sit in the ice bath for 10 minutes. Drain, pat dry, and peel (if necessary). Pat dry again, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.

Nutrition

Serving: 1shrimp rollCalories: 414kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 28gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 309mgSodium: 1271mgPotassium: 195mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 296IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 251mgIron: 4mg

Keyword: new england shrimp roll, shrimp roll, shrimp roll recipe, shrimp rolls, shrimp rolls recipe

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: American

Author: Blair Lonergan

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Recipe Variations

• You can use just about any seafood that you prefer in this shrimp roll recipe. Swap out the shrimp and replace it with imitation crab, real crabmeat, or lobster meat. You can also use a combination of seafood — for instance crabmeat and shrimp. Just make sure that you have a total of 1 pound of cooked seafood for the recipe.
• Add finely diced red onion instead of the green onion for a little bit of zesty flavor. Alternatively, you can use chives instead of green onions for a mild flavor.
• Swap out the dill for other fresh herbs, such as parsley, basil, thyme, or oregano.
• Add horseradish to the sauce for a bit of spice.
• Instead of toasted hot dog buns, serve the shrimp salad mixture on croissants, brioche buns or other sandwich rolls, pita bread, with crackers, or on top of salad greens.
• Scale the recipe up or down to suit the size of your family. For instance, if you’re feeding a larger group, double all of the ingredients.

More Popular Shrimp Recipes to Try

Honey Garlic Shrimp

15 minutes mins

Marinated Grilled Shrimp

35 minutes mins

Sheet Pan Italian Shrimp

20 minutes mins

Originally published in May, 2021, this post was updated in June, 2025.