Easy Shrimp Cakes — Easy, ready in 20 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!
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Easy Shrimp Cakes Recipe
Skip the overpriced (and often tasteless) restaurant shrimp cakes and make your own in 20 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
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Shrimp Cakes
Making homemade shrimp patties is quick and easy! Here are the basic recipe steps:
- 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.
Recipe FAQs
You’ll want to use panko breadcrumbs, which are Japanese-style breadcrumbs.
No, panko breadcrumbs 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.
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.
Enjoy the shrimp patties with homemade spicy mayo on the side or drizzled on top — they work well as an appetizer or entree when served this way. You can also stack the shrimp cakes between buns with lettuce, tomato slices, etc. as sandwiches.
Yes you can however since I don’t tend to do it that way, consult the exact cooking temp and time needed by doing a quick internet search. My guess is 370F for about 8 minutes total, flipping once halfway through.
Tips for the Best Shrimp Cakes
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.
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.
What to Serve with Shrimp Cakes
Storage
In the Refrigerator: This recipe will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.
In the Freezer: While I personally don’t freeze them, technically the recipe will keep airtight in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To Reheat: I use my microwave for quickness and ease and reheat my leftovers for about 30 seconds on high, or as needed. But you can use your oven, whatever is best suited for you. Note that leftovers will not have that same crispy texure.
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Easy Shrimp Cakes
Ingredients
Shrimp Cakes
- 2 large eggs
- 1 to 2 tablespoons sriracha, optional and to taste
- ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons green onions, finely chopped plus more for garnishing
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, regular paprika may be substituted
- 1 pound fresh shrimp, cleaned and finely chopped
- 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
Spicy Mayo
- ½ cup mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
- 1 tablespoon sriracha, or to taste
- lemon wedges, for garnishing
Instructions
Shrimp Cakes
- To a large bowl, add the eggs, optional sriracha, and whisk to combine.
- Add the panko, green onions, salt, pepper, lemon zest, smoked paprika, and stir to combine.
- Add the shrimp and knead the mixture with your hands to evenly distribute the shrimp within the other ingredients. Form 4 large patties.
- To a large skillet, add the olive oil, shrimp cakes, and cook over medium heat for about 3 to 4 minutes per side. I recommend keeping the heat at medium so the shrimp cakes don't brown too quickly or get too dark. While they cook, make the spicy mayo.
Spicy Mayo
- Add both ingredients to a small bowl and stir to combine.
- When shrimp cakes are done, garnish with green onions, and serve with spicy mayo and lemons.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Originally posted February 25, 2019 and reposted March 8, 2024 with updated text.
Could you make these an hour or so in advance and then fry them when your guests arrive?
I haven’t tried doing that but it sounds plausible and like it could work. You’d want to do a dry run though just in case it doesn’t work out so well is my advice!
Really delicious 😋
Thanks so much Sarah – glad they turned out really delicious for you!
Just made this for dinner while visiting Florida. Easy to follow instructions and results were delicious. I cut back on the siracha for personal taste. My man said “wow”. One patty was enough when served with brown rice lemon pilaf and green salad.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Rosemary, and I am glad you really enjoyed the shrimp cakes and that 1 was filling enough when served with brown rice pilaf and a salad. I am glad your man even said “wow” – love that!
great
Oops so sorry no corn in the shrimp cakes…….was looking at the crisp salmon cake recipe! My apology!
hi are my eyes deceiving me or is corn mixed in with the shrimp cakes?
Have you tried making these in an air fryer? I wonder how long they’d take. Looks delicious!
I have not but I bet that it would work out well.
Thanks for this easy, delicious recipe. Will definitely make these again. I served them on buns with lettuce, tomato and siracha mayo.
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad that you will definitely make them again!
Thanks for this easy, delicious recipe. Will definitely make these again. I served them on buns with lettuce, tomato and siracha mayo.
This was so easy and tasty, I will definitely make it again. A new favourite!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad it’s a new favorite and you’ll definitely make them again!
This was so easy and tasty, I will definitely make it again. A new favourite!
Your recipes are wonderful! But I wish that when you print off the recipes the picture was included. I keep notebooks of recipes and always seem to cook the ones with a picture the most. Most people like to see what they are cooking.
So this is a dilemma because I get complaints from people if I have it set up to print the photo as well that I am ‘wasting their ink’ so in an effort to cut down on that, it’s not included. BUT you can copy paste directly from the screen into an email and grab the top photo.
I’ve never had shrimp cakes but these look delicious–especially with some spicy mayo! So cool you have a lemon tree! I have thought about trying to grow an indoor dwarf variety but not sure it will get enough sunlight with all our grey winter skies around here.