Bloody Mary Shrimp Cocktail

This easy appetizer recipe is the perfect blend of shrimp cocktail meets everyone’s favorite brunch cocktail. Bloody Mary Shrimp Cocktail is easily made ahead of time and has tons of wanna impress flavors. Get fancy and serve in lettuce cups, as a stand-alone platter, or in individual cocktail cups. 

This recipe has been bouncing around in my mind for years, ever since I heard Colleen from Souffle Bombay talk about her famous Bloody Mary shrimp. And now that I have Brunch Junkie, a bloody mary-inspired spice blend, I knew I had to give it a try. 

Instead of using a traditional mixed cocktail sauce, this recipe uses a diluted Bloody Mary mix to marinate the shrimp in. It’s the perfect mix of a classic shrimp cocktail infused with the zing and just the right amount of spice of a Bloody Mary. And yes, there is vodka in this recipe, so it is for those 21 and over. Please eat responsibly. 

What you need for this shrimp recipe 

• Steamed shrimp, thawed peeled and deveined. Use medium or large for this. 
• Girl Carnivore Over Easy Spice Blend – for a bright pop of flavors
• JewCanQue Brunch Junkie Spice blend  – this really beefs up the ‘Bloody Mary-ness’ of this recipe. 
• Worcestershire sauce 
• Ketchup
• Vodka – if you can find black pepper-infused vodka, now would be the time to use it. Otherwise, regular high-quality unflavored vodka is best for this recipe.
• Hot Sauce – pick your favorite here if you want to add a deeper smoked undertone use Chipotle tabasco or stick with a classic like Franks to just add heat.
• BBQ Sauce – we used Head Country Smokey Hickory to add a depth 
• Prepared horseradish – make sure to not get horseradish ‘sauce’ but the pure grated horseradish.
• Black pepper
• Celery sticks, onion, and garlic. 
• Fresh lemon juice
• Jewel or bib lettuce to serve
• Lemon wedges for garnish. 

How to make Bloody Mary Shrimp Cocktail

Start by patting the shrimp dry and then liberally season with Over Easy and Brunch junkie, making sure you coat both sides.

Then whisk the Worcestershire, ketchup, vodka, hot sauce, and bbq sauce together in a large bowl. 

Add the horseradish and black pepper and stir to combine

Add in the chopped celery, onion, and garlic 

Squeeze in a spritz of fresh lemon juice and give everything a quick stir.

Next, add the shrimp and toss to coat.

Marinate the shrimp for 2 to 4 hours. 

Finally, when ready to serve, arrange jewel lettuce leaves on a serving platter and spoon a few shrimp into each, with extra sauce if desired. 

Recipe Tips

This recipe can be stored in an airtight container overnight. Eat the leftovers within a day. Otherwise, the shrimp start to lose their firm texture in the marinade. 

You can choose to omit the vodka from this recipe. Add a splash of water as a substitute for vodka to thin out the mixture. 

If you can’t get your hands on Brunch Junkie but want another festive kick, try using Old Bay seasoning.

To serve these shrimp, look for jewel lettuce or bib lettuce at your market. Arrange the lettuce as individual cups. If you want people to be able to grab and go without getting messy, remove the tails for them before plating. You can also serve in a tray and allow people to serve themselves or in individual martini glasses with small celery sticks for that classic shrimp cocktail look.

What are the best shrimp for appetizers?

For this bloody mary shrimp cocktail, I like to use large shrimp. Big enough for a good bite, but not shrimp that are so big they take a few bites. 

When it comes to shrimp, you want to pay attention to the size, small, medium, large, jumbo. These are typically sold by the pound and it usually says on the package how many shrimp to expect per pound.

With large shrimp, you will usually get 31 to 35 per pound and can portion out around 5 to 6 per guest as an appetizer. 

Unlike our BBQ skewered shrimp or New Orleans BBQ Shrimp, this recipe use pre-steamed shrimp. You can find them in the frozen seafood section of the grocery store or at the seafood counter. 

If you have frozen uncooked shrimp and want to use them for this recipe, simply steam the shrimp with a steamer basket for 4 to 5 minutes until they turn bright pink. You can even steam them right from frozen. Just make sure to check the steamer and give it a shake to ensure every shrimp has cooked through. 

It’s easy to tell if your shrimp have already been steamed or not – just look at the color. Raw shrimp are translucent with a grey color. Cooked shrimp will be white and pink.

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5 from 4 votes

Bloody Mary Shrimp Cocktail

Take shrimp cocktail to a whole new level with a quick and easy bloody mary sauce to marinate them in before serving. But watch out, this recipe does use vodka, so keep it +21!

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American, seafood

Author: Kita Roberts

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time2 hrs

Servings: 6

Calories: 956kcal

Ingredients

For the Shrimp

• ▢ 1 lbs steamed Shrimp thawed, peeled and deveined
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Girl Carnivore Over easy
• ▢ 2 tablespoon Brunch junkie

For the Bloody Mary Sauce

• ▢ ¼ cup Worcestershire
• ▢ ½ cup Ketchup
• ▢ ¼ cup Vodka
• ▢ 1 – 3 teaspoon Hot sauce
• ▢ 2 tablespoon Bbq sauce
• ▢ 2 – 4 tablespoon horseradish
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Black pepper
• ▢ 2 stalks Celery finely chopped
• ▢ ½ Onion minced
• ▢ 4 Garlic cloves minced
• ▢ 1 Lemon

To Serve

• ▢ Jewel or bib lettuce
• ▢ Lemon wedges for garnish

Instructions

Prep the Shrimp:

• Pat the shrimp dry.
  1 lbs steamed Shrimp
• Place the shrimp in a large bowl and season both sides with Over Easy and Brunch junkie.
  1 tablespoon Girl Carnivore Over easy, 2 tablespoon Brunch junkie

Marinate:

• Add the Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, vodka, hot sauce, and bbq sauce to a bowl and stir well.
  ¼ cup Worcestershire, ½ cup Ketchup, ¼ cup Vodka, 1 – 3 teaspoon Hot sauce, 2 tablespoon Bbq sauce
• Mix in the horseradish and black pepper.
  2 – 4 tablespoon horseradish, 1 teaspoon Black pepper
• Add the celery, onion, and garlic.
  2 stalks Celery, ½ Onion, 4 Garlic cloves
• Add the lemon juice and mix once more to combine everything.
  1 Lemon
• Add the shrimp and toss to coat the shrimp.
• Cover with plastic wrap and marinate the shrimp in the fridge for 2 to 4 hours.

Serve:

• When ready to serve, if using lettuce cups, arrange them on a platter with a few shrimp in each.
  Jewel or bib lettuce
• Leave additional shrimp in a serving bowl near by with more lettuce cups to allow people to help themselves to more. 
Garnish with lemon wedges.
  Lemon wedges

Notes

This recipe can be stored in an airtight container overnight. Eat the leftovers within a day. Otherwise, the shrimp start to lose their firm texture in the marinade.

You can choose to omit the vodka from this recipe.

Adjust the heat of this recipe to suit your tastes by increasing or decreasing the hot sauce and horseradish. However, as with a good Bloody Mary, it should have a little bite. 

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Bloody Mary Shrimp Cocktail

Amount Per Serving (1 g)

Calories 956 Calories from Fat 54

% Daily Value*

Fat 6g9%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Trans Fat 1g

Polyunsaturated Fat 2g

Monounsaturated Fat 1g

Cholesterol 730mg243%

Sodium 3485mg152%

Potassium 2896mg83%

Carbohydrates 103g34%

Fiber 11g46%

Sugar 59g66%

Protein 98g196%

Vitamin A 896IU18%

Vitamin C 118mg143%

Calcium 644mg64%

Iron 12mg67%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Nutrition information provided is an estimate. For specific health concerns, please put the recipe into your Dr recommended nutrition calculator.

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