Easy Shrimp Cakes

Easy Shrimp Cakes — Easy, ready in 10 minutes, and they taste better than from a fancy restaurant!! A CRISPY exterior with JUICY and tender pieces of shrimp on the inside, with spicy mayo on the side! Great as an appetizer or main course!!

Easy Shrimp Cakes Recipe

I love shrimp and realized I didn’t have a recipe for shrimp cakes on my website and knew I needed to change that. In fact, the last time I made something similar was these Southwest Salmon Cakes way back in 2014. Whoops.

Skip the overpriced (and often tasteless) restaurant shrimp cakes and make your own in 10 minutes. They are even better than a restaurant and far more cost effective to make them at home.

They are crispy on the outside and the succulent pieces of shrimp on the inside are juicy, tender, and cooked just right. I hate overcooked rubbery fish and seafood and at about 3 1/2 minutes per side, these were cooked perfectly for my liking.

Garnished with extra green onions and lemon wedges (from my lemon tree in my front yard!), these definitely hit the spot. Hearty enough to be satisfying but they still felt light.

Ingredients in Shrimp Cakes

To make the shrimp patties, you’ll need: 

• Eggs
• Sriracha 
• Panko breadcrumbs
• Green onions 
• Salt and pepper
• Lemon zest
• Smoked paprika
• Fresh shrimp
• Olive oil
• Lemon wedges (for garnish) 

And for the spicy mayo, you’ll need: 

• Mayonnaise 
• Sriracha 

How to Make Shrimp Cakes

Simply beat two eggs, add panko breadcrumbs, lemon zest, salt and pepper, and smoked paprika before adding the shrimp.

Stir everything together, form four patties, and cook them over medium heat. I recommend keeping the heat at medium so the shrimp cakes don’t brown too quickly or get too dark. It’s the same principle as making a grilled cheese sandwich — you don’t want to crank up the heat and burn the bread before the cheese melts in the interior.

You could probably reduce the size of each shrimp cake and make 5 or 6 smaller shrimp cakes or about 7 to 8 mini cakes. Bigger was better for me — less to form into patties, less to cook and flip, and the results were hearty shrimp cakes.

One is great as an appetizer and two easily make a meal along with a nice side dish.

What Kind Of Shrimp to Use for Shrimp Cakes?

I bought one pound of fresh, raw shrimp that were deveined but still had the shells on. By the time I took the shells off, I was probably working with 3/4-pound shrimp.

You do not want to use shrimp that have already been cooked because you’re cooking it again to make the shrimp cakes and it would turn into inedible rubber.

From there, I finely chopped the shrimp on a cutting board with my knife. Although you could probably use a food processor, there is the risk of easily over-processing the shrimp and ending up with pulverized shrimp paste.

I definitely wanted to bite into distinguishable pieces of shrimp when I was eating the shrimp cakes and that’s another reason I avoided the food processor. Not to mention, it would take longer to clean all those food processor pieces and parts than to just chop the shrimp by hand.

Tips for the Best Shrimp Cakes

I added sriracha to the shrimp cake batter and while it does add flavor, I don’t think it makes them spicy. It just gives them a bit of oomph so they aren’t bland.

The spicy mayo on the other hand does have a kick but you can easily customize it to make it less spicy if you prefer. It’s a great complement to the shrimp cakes.

Panko breadcrumbs are Japanese-style breadcrumbs and are not the same as regular breadcrumbs so don’t substitute those. These are bigger, crunchier crumbs and yield shrimp cakes that have a lovely crispiness on the outside that you wouldn’t get from regular breadcrumbs.

What to Serve with Shrimp Cakes

If serving this shrimp cakes recipe as a main course, try one or more of the following sides to go with them: 

• Mashed potatoes
• Spinach, apple & cheddar salad
• Cucumber watermelon salad
• Loaded Greek salad
• Roasted broccoli 
• Roasted Brussels sprouts 

 

More Easy Shrimp Recipes:

10-Minute Honey Barbecue Grilled Shrimp – Fast, EASY, healthy, ready in 10 minutes, and the perfect way to enjoy shrimp!! Tender, juicy, and full of such great FLAVOR from the barbecue sauce and honey!!

10-Minute Orange Chili Shrimp – The sweet-and-tangy Asian-inspired orange chili sauce is perfect on these big juicy shrimp! An easy, healthy recipe that’s sure to impress and ready in 10 minutes!

Lemon Butter Garlic Shrimp With Angel Hair Pasta – This is the kind of recipe my family loves. Buttery noodles with juicy plump shrimp, flavored with lemon and garlic. And it’s the kind of recipe I love because dinner is ready in 15 minutes and it’s so easy!

Beer Battered Shrimp Tacos with Lime Crema – Fast, easy, restaurant-quality tacos at home! Juicy beer-battered shrimp, avocado, cheese, and a zesty lime crema to top it off! Perfect for weeknight dinners and easy entertaining!

Coconut Shrimp with Orange-Chili Dipping Sauce – Plump, juicy shrimp with a crispy, crunchy coconut coating!! Fast, easy, and better than you get in restaurants! Will be your new favorite shrimp recipe!

Easy Shrimp Cocktail – Goodbye overpriced deli trays. Learn the secrets to make your own perfect shrimp cocktail in 15 minutes! Juicy, sweet and sooo much more flavor!

Easy Roasted Shrimp with Green Goddess Dip – Healthy, foolproof, and ready in 10 minutes! The juicy shrimp and creamy dip are perfect together!! (it works great as a veggie dip or salad dressing too)