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Are you ready for the ultimate summer time dinner? These amazing shrimp salad rolls are out of this world!
Let’s start by talking about how simple yet flavorful these shrimp rolls are. The combination of fresh shrimp, crisp celery and herby dressing creates a burst of flavors in every bite. The shrimp is cooked to perfection, juicy and tender, and when combined with the crunchy celery, refreshing lemon, and warm curry, it’s like an explosion of freshness in your mouth.
All of this and only 10 minutes to make! No, that’s not a typo. Seriously, it only takes 10 minutes to make this fantastic shrimp salad dinner. Whip up the dressing by hand in a mixing bowl, fold in the shrimp and scoop the salad into a hot dog bun. Fast, easy and no cooking what-so-ever. Summer time dinners don’t get better than this.
About the Ingredients
Shrimp – I prefer my shrimp roll to have small bites of shrimp rather than full size shrimp. It helps with the ratio of dressing to shrimp and evens out the balance with the bun too. For shrimp salad I use 100 count shrimp, which are the miniature shrimp. My fish market sells them by the pound already cooked or you could always give them a quick sear in a pan with a little butter if you get them frozen. They will cook in under 60 seconds so don’t take your eyes off the pan.
You can use larger size shrimp too. But I would highly recommend giving large shrimp a rough chop so the pieces aren’t so big.
Salad dressing – Mayonnaise is the base for this dressing. Add in chopped celery, lemon juice, old bay seasoning, salt, pepper, curry and scallions.
Hot dog buns – I personally like the sweetness of potato buns for seafood salads. Another favorite is top sliced buns so the salad doesn’t fall out when you make the sandwiches.
How to Make Shrimp Salad Rolls
Mix up the Dressing
Begin by combing the dressing ingredients in a small mixing bowl. The dressing should be creamy but not too thick.
Fold in the Shrimp
Make sure the shrimp is dry before adding it to the dressing. Wet shrimp will make for runny salad. You can place the shrimp in a colander or just pat it dry with a paper towel. Then fold the shrimp into the dressing to coat each shrimp.
Assemble the Sandwiches
Toasted bread gives shrimp salad rolls an added layer of texture. The crunch of the bread is a nice compliment to the creamy dressing. Toasting the buns also prevents the bread from becoming soggy quickly, so don’t skip this part.
Either toast the bread in a 450°F oven on a baking sheet for about 5 minutes or simply open the buns and place them in a toaster.
Fill your toasted buns with 1/4 of the shrimp salad and garnish the tops with chopped scallions.
Recipe Substitutions & Variations
A lot of seafood salads are complemented by tarragon. Tarragon is a seasoning that has a light licorice and almost citrus taste. Take it from me though, a non-licorice eater, it is not overwhelming. It pairs beautifully with shrimp, lobster or crab so don’t be too quick to write it off if you’re not necessarily a fan of most licorice. To give it a try, just swap out the curry powder in the recipe for dried tarragon, using the same measurements.
Make It A Shrimp Cobb Salad
To enjoy your shrimp salad, but lighten it up a little bit, try making it into an entrée Shrimp Cobb Salad. When making the shrimp salad in the recipe, increase the amount of dressing you mix up by 1.5x. Set the extra portion of dressing aside and finish the shrimp salad recipe as written.
In a large serving bow, start with a nice big bed of lettuce. Toss the lettuce with the reserved dressing. Then place the shrimp salad on top. Finish it off with some additional toppings such as:
- bacon bits
- shredded cheddar cheese
- hard-boiled egg
- avocado slices
- cherry tomatoes, halved
Make Ahead Instructions
I don’t love making seafood in advance and holding onto it. However, seafood salads tend to hold up in the refrigerator just fine. If you want to make this shrimp salad ahead of time I’d recommend putting the salad together and refrigerating it for up to 24 hours.
When you’re ready to serve your shrimp salad rolls give the salad a stir before dishing it out onto freshly toasted buns or rolls.
FAQ’s and Recipe Tips
A shrimp roll is made of shrimp and a mayonnaise or butter based dressing. The added flavors usually include citrus and herbs.
I don’t like to keep cooked fish longer than 24 hours but kept cool in the refrigerator, a shrimp salad made with fresh shrimp should be good for 2 days.
There are about 450 calories in a shrimp salad roll, using this recipe.
Shrimp will have a distinctly rotten smell once it has gone bad. You’ll know it when you smell it.
The Recipe for Shrimp Salad Rolls
The recipe is attached below for easy downloading and printing. If you test it out be sure to leave a note in the comments below. I’d love to hear what you thought. Serve these shrimp rolls with healthy couscous salad for a complete meal that can be served cold. Enjoy!
Shrimp Salad Rolls
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup celery chopped
- 1½ tsp old bay seasoning
- 1 tbsp scallions chopped
- 1/8 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
For the rolls:
- 1 lb miniature shrimp (100 count) cooked
- 4 hot dog buns
Instructions
- Mix the ingredients together in a small mixing bowl.1/3 cup mayonnaise, 2 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 cup celery, 1½ tsp old bay seasoning, 1 tbsp scallions, 1/8 tsp curry powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper
- Add the shrimp to the dressing and stir to coat.1 lb miniature shrimp (100 count)
- Toast the buns and fill with shrimp salad. Top with additional scallions for garnish.4 hot dog buns