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    Home » Recipes » Snapper with Shrimp Creole Sauce

    Snapper with Shrimp Creole Sauce

    Published: Oct 16, 2015 · Modified: Jun 10, 2022 by Linda Baker · This post may contain affiliate links

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    Snapper with Shrimp Creole Sauce starts with a Creole trinity of onions, celery, and green pepper, then adds some spice and salad shrimp. Pour it over a crispy fillet of fish and you have a wonderful low-fat delicious dish, easy enough for every day, good enough for company

    A plate of Snapper with Shrimp Creole Sauce adorned with fresh herbs.

    The making of Snapper with Shrimp Creole Sauce

    BB loves those little salad shrimps on salads. He also loves to over-buy when I send him to the grocery store. If I tell him I need one lemon, he'll come home with three. So when I make my recipe for Butter Leaf Lettuce with Shrimp and Fresh Herb Dressing and send him to the store for a quarter-pound of salad shrimp, he'll come home with ¾ pound instead - leaving me to find new ways to use the left-over pre-cooked shrimp. This recipe for Snapper with Shrimp Creole Sauce is one of my solutions for excess shrimp, although I think it is totally fresh-bought pre-cooked shrimp-worthy.

    INGREDIENTS AND SUBSTITUTIONS

    • Fish - Snapper, Rock Cod, or another thin white fish such as tilapia. Make sure you remove any bones with a pair of tweezers or fish pliers. Needle nose pliers work well, just be sure you are ONLY using them in the kitchen and not grabbing the ones from the garage.
    • The Cajun Trinity - Onion, celery, and green bell pepper. While you could use yellow, red, or orange peppers, green bell peppers are traditional.
    • Garlic - Just a clove or two. 
    • Salad Shrimp - Found frozen at most fish counters, or in the frozen food section of your supermarket. You could use fresh small (21/25) shrimp and par-cook them. To par-cook, bring some salted water to a simmer, add the shrimp and cook until they just turn pink. Remove to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Or cut larger shrimp into smaller pieces. 
    • Tomatoes - Fresh or Canned Diced Tomatoes in Juice - If using canned, I like to chop these in my mini-processor so the pieces are fairly small, not big cubes. If using fresh, peel and dice. Seed if desired.
    • Chicken Broth - Homemade or low-sodium, please. When I do buy chicken broth I try to get one with the LEAST amount of aromatic added to it. 
    • Fresh or dried Herbs - Thyme and oregano. 
    • Spices - Worchestershire sauce, cayenne pepper, and Slap Ya Mama Cajun season mix. Slap Ya Mama seasoning mix is a combination of salt, red pepper (cayenne), black pepper, and garlic powder. 
    • Flour and Cornmeal - For dredging the fish. You could use either/or if desired. Or even some fine bread crumb.

    WHAT IS THE CAJUN TRINITY?

    Many (most) cuisines have their own trinity of vegetables to start a dish, often called a mirepoix.  A mirepoix is simple a combination of generally three ingredients that add the flavor essence of the cuisine. For the French, it's onion, carrot, and celery. For Spain, it's called a sofrito which is a combination of onions, garlic, and tomato. This recipe starts with the Creole trinity,  chopped onion, green bell pepper, and celery. The peppers must be green to add the true flavor for a Creole dish. Red, yellow, and orange peppers are lovely peppers but are just too sweet to get the true Creole flavor.

    SNAPPER WITH SHRIMP CREOLE SAUCE IS QUICK AND EASY 

    After a quick sauté of the vegetables, add some fresh chopped tomato if it's summer and you can get some nice fresh tomato. I grow them every summer in my garden. If you don't have a garden or fresh tomatoes, (or it's in the middle of winter) canned work perfectly well. If you do use canned diced tomatoes, chop them up a little more finely than what comes in the can. You want the tomato to melt into the sauce. Then add a bit of fresh or dried thyme and oregano, a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper to give it a kick, and some chicken stock to make it saucy. Once these have cooked for a few minutes, about 5 - 7, add the shrimp and just stir them gently around to get them hot and well coated in sauce. They are already cooked, they are small, it doesn't take long.

    Snapper with Shrimp Creole Sauce

    THE FISH

    I used snapper (sometimes called rock cod) in this dish, but you could use another white fish in its place. Whatever you use, make sure the bones are all removed, nothing worse than taking a bite of fish and getting a mouthful of bones that you have to gracefully extract. The combination of cornmeal (I used coarse cornmeal) and flour give the fish a nice coating and crunch. You may notice I didn't use salt on the fish as the Slap Ya Mama seasoning mix has plenty. If you find the cornmeal/flour mix is not adhering well to your filet, try spraying the seasoned filet with a little non-stick cooking spray to help it stick.

    Snapper doesn't take long to cook as the filets are generally less than a half-inch thick, so it's important that your pan and oil are hot so the coating gets crisp by the time the fish is cooked, not soggy. Soggy coating is not good.

    I served this with some brown rice and steamed fresh broccoli, although the broccoli missed the photoshoot.

    A plate of Snapper with Shrimp Creole Sauce adorned with fresh herbs.

    Snapper with Shrimp Creole Sauce

    LindySez
    Snapper with Shrimp Creole Sauce starts with a Creole trinity of onions, celery, and green pepper, then adds some spice and salad shrimp.  Pour it over a crispy fillet of fish and you have a wonderful low-fat delicious dish, easy enough for every day, good enough for company
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 15 mins
    Total Time 30 mins
    Course Fish & Seafood
    Cuisine American
    Servings 4 Servings
    Calories 452 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • For the Shrimp Creole Sauce
    • 1 tablespoon grapeseed or other neutral oil
    • 1 cup chopped onion
    • ½ cup diced or thinly sliced celery with some leaves if possible
    • ½ cup diced green peppers green peppers are key to the Creole Trinity
    • 2 teaspoons chopped garlic about 4 cloves
    • ¾ cup diced tomato fresh or canned
    • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried
    • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano or ½ teaspoon dried
    • 3 dashes Worcestershire sauce this is a technical term dash, so just dash, not pour
    • 1 - 2 dashes of cayenne pepper to your spice level
    • 1 cup low-sodium or homemade chicken stock or as needed
    • ½ pound cooked "salad" shrimp or small shrimp or cut up larger shrimps, deveined and shells removed
    • Salt and pepper to taste
    • For the Fish
    • 4 red snapper rockfish filets, or other thin white fish, remove any bones
    • 1 - 2 tablespoons Slap ya Mama seasoning*
    • ½ cup each flour and cornmeal mixed together in a shallow bowl
    • 2 tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral oil for frying
    • Freshly chopped parsley for serving, if desired

    Instructions
     

    • Prepare the Creole Sauce: In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium heat; add the onion, celery, and peppers; cook, stirring until they have just wilted and given up some of their juice, then add the garlic, cook for 1 minute.
      Add the tomatoes and cook until soft.
      Stir in the thyme, oregano, and cook for 2 - 3 minutes, then add the Worcestershire sauce, cayenne,, and chicken stock.
      Stir well and cook for about 5 minutes, adding more stock if the sauce seems to dry. Stir in the shrimp and cook until the shrimp are hot and well coated in sauce. Set-aside.
    • Prepare the Fish: Season the fish with the Slap ya Mama seasoning mix on both sides, then dredge in the flour/cornmeal mixture until lightly coated (I used a little cooking spray on the filet to help the coating stick). 
    • Heat the oil in a large skillet; when hot, add the filets in a single layer, cook until browned on one side, about 3 - 4 minutes, then turn and brown the other side also 3 - 4 minutes. 
    • Remove the fish from the pan and plate; top with the shrimp Creole sauce. Sprinkle with fresh parsley, if desired.

    Notes

    *Slap ya Mama is a Cajun Seasoning that is easily found in most markets. If you don't have any or don't wish to purchase it, it's a combination of salt, red pepper (cayenne), black pepper, and garlic powder.
    You could use all flour or all cornmeal. Or even fine bread crumbs.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1 servingSodium: 833mgFiber: 3gCholesterol: 191mgCalories: 452kcalPolyunsaturated Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 2gFat: 13gProtein: 62gCarbohydrates: 21g
    Keyword creole, crispy snapper with creole sauce, fish, salad shrimp, trinity
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

     

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Renz

      October 16, 2015 at 12:48 pm

      This looks good. I do a shrimp creole too, but I always use large shrimp. Can you believe I eat snapper all the time, but coming from the Caribbean we always eat it whole. This would be a nice introduction with it filleted.

      Reply
      • LindySez

        October 16, 2015 at 1:08 pm

        I love whole fish! I'll bet yours is fresh and delish. I do a shrimp creole with large shrimp too, but this works better over the fish, and uses up all those little shrimps my hubby is fond of overbuying 🙂 Cheers ~ Lindy

        Reply
    2. Michele

      October 16, 2015 at 12:56 pm

      This looks amazing! I Love recipes that have big flavors and are healthy too! Cant wait to try this 😉

      Reply
      • LindySez

        October 16, 2015 at 1:07 pm

        As I'm fond of saying, "Life is too short to eat mediocre food" ...so I'm totally with you Michele. And better when it's both easy and low-fat! Thanks for stopping. Cheers ~ Lindy

        Reply
    3. Jenn

      October 16, 2015 at 1:29 pm

      The creole trinity is my go-to! Love this tasty recipe!

      Reply
      • LindySez

        October 16, 2015 at 4:11 pm

        Yes Mam, it does make the Creole Creole! Cheers ~ Lindy

        Reply
    4. Dini @ The Flavor Bender

      October 16, 2015 at 2:03 pm

      YUM! I can't believe how delicious this looks 🙂 those flavours sound incredible!!

      Reply
      • LindySez

        October 16, 2015 at 4:10 pm

        Thanks Dini, coming from the Flavor Bender, that's high praise indeed. The flavors do go so nicely, as well as the textures. I hope you try it soon! Cheers ~ Lindy

        Reply
    5. Vicky from @Avocado Pesto

      October 17, 2015 at 9:30 am

      Love the idea of a Shrimp creole sauce on fish. I actually just made snapper fillets last night for the first time (in a tomato, chipotle in adobo and coconut milk sauce) and loved it. Not sure why I haven't been cooking with this fish all along!

      Reply
      • LindySez

        October 17, 2015 at 9:34 am

        Oh wow, that sounds YUMMY...I love this fish. It's so mild and versatile. Cheers ~ Lindy

        Reply
    6. Teresa

      October 18, 2015 at 10:13 am

      I've never tried Creole cuisine before, but always wanted to - thank for the recipe I think I will give it a try 🙂 I too always over buy, I can't help it... 🙂

      Reply
      • LindySez

        October 19, 2015 at 8:09 am

        I hope you do give it a try Teresa. And that over-buy thing must be genetic, last night I asked him to get me a leek, and he got three, so now I have to figure out what to make with two extra leeks 🙂 Cheers ~Lindy

        Reply
    7. Kimberly

      October 20, 2015 at 5:18 pm

      I love anything Creole ... and snapper is one of my favorite fish ... so I bet I would LOVE this combination! Putting this on the to-make list ASAP!

      Reply
      • LindySez

        October 21, 2015 at 9:17 am

        It is so easy and tasty. Thanks for stopping by Kimberly. Cheers ~ Lindy

        Reply
    8. Marissa @ OMG FOOD

      October 20, 2015 at 9:47 pm

      Yes, please! You've got some tasty ingredients going on there. I actually haven't had red snapper in a long time and now I'm craving this, but it's almost 1am. Any chance you can teleport me this dish? 🙂

      Reply
      • LindySez

        October 21, 2015 at 9:17 am

        Wish I could, but it's easy enough to make, even at 1:00AM if you just had all the ingredients there at hand 🙂 Hope you enjoy it at whatever hour! Cheers ~ Lindy

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Lindy.

    I am a home-trained chef who loves to cook and eat delicious food. As I like to say, "Life is too short to eat mediocre food". And I find too much food out there is mediocre. I don't think good food needs to be fussy, or difficult to prepare. Most of my recipes are fresh, quick, easy, and tasty while keeping both calories and fats in check. 

    More about me →

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