This shrimp po’ boy recipe uses juicy sautéed shrimp and a light, creamy cabbage slaw on whole wheat bread for a slimmed-down take on the famous Louisiana shrimp sandwich. No deep frying here!
Shrimp Po’ Boy Recipe
I love going to New Orleans and eating all the amazing cuisine. This lighter shrimp po’ boy recipe is inspired by my last trip there. Rather than deep-frying the shrimp, the shrimp gets sautéed with lots of spices, then topped with a fresh-herb buttermilk slaw and served on a whole-grain French baguette. It’s delicious, high-protein, and a delicious sandwich if you’re looking to switch things up! If you’re looking for a fried version, try my air fryer shrimp sandwich. I also love this crispy salmon sandwich.
Lightened-Up Shrimp Po’ Boy
Louisiana shrimp po’ boy sandwiches are traditionally made with battered fried shrimp. Switching deep-fried for pan-seared shrimp already lightens up this classic sandwich so much!
- Enjoy anytime: Sandwiches for dinner are a great way to make a quick weeknight meal. They’re also great to prepare for picnics and lunches.
- Quick and filling: This po’ boy recipe takes about 20 minutes to make an it’s very substantial, despite its lighter ingredients.
- Less bread, more shrimp: I scoop out some of the inside of the baguette to give you a bigger sandwich, with fewer carbs and calories. There’s more room for that delicious, juicy shrimp!
Serve these shrimp sandwiches with a side of crispy air fryer French fries or sweet potato fries.
Ingredients You’ll Need
The ingredients in a shrimp po’ boy are simple. Here’s what you’ll need. See the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Shrimp – Large or jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined with the tails also removed.
- Seasonings – I toss the shrimp with cumin, sugar, garlic, and low-sodium Old Bay seasoning.
- Olive oil or your preferred cooking oil for sautéing.
- French baguette – I like to use whole-grain or multi-grain French bread. You can use regular baguette, ciabatta rolls, hoagie rolls, or any bread you’d like.
- Lemon and hot sauce for serving.
Herby Cabbage Slaw
You can dress your shrimp po’ boy with classic coleslaw, or I like to make a version of my light, quick cabbage slaw:
- Greek yogurt – Or plain yogurt. You can substitute it with mayo if you’d like a richer dressing.
- Buttermilk – If you don’t want to use buttermilk, double the yogurt.
- Mayonnaise – I use light mayonnaise.
- Fresh herbs – Finely minced shallot, chives, parsley, and garlic. Swap chives with green onions if needed.
- Cabbage – To give the slaw color and variety, I like to use a mix of shredded red cabbage and green cabbage. I toss in shredded carrots also.
How To Make a Shrimp Po’ Boy Sandwich
To make a shrimp po’ boy at home, you’ll toss the slaw ingredients, sauté the shrimp, and layer everything onto a toasty baguette. You can eat these sandwiches open-faced or closed. See the recipe card below the post for printable directions.
- Make the slaw. First, make the dressing by combining Greek yogurt with buttermilk, mayonnaise, shallot, chives, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper. Next, add the shredded cabbage and carrots and toss to coat.
- Season the shrimp. Separately, toss the shrimp with cumin, sugar, garlic, and Old Bay.
- Cook the shrimp. Now, sauté the shrimp in olive oil for about 2-3 minutes per side. The shrimp will be opaque and curled into a “C” shape when they’re done.
- Prepare the baguette. Meanwhile, slice the baguette into thirds, and slice each third in half horizontally. If you’d like, scrape out the inner soft part of the bread, leaving the outer crust. Afterward, toast the bread until it reaches your desired crispness.
- Assemble. Lay out the toasted baguette halves, and top each sandwich first with the shrimp, then the slaw. Serve right away with lemon wedges as a garnish (also great for squeezing over the shrimp!).
Recipe Variations
You can assemble the sandwiches on sourdough or high-protein oat sandwich rolls if you don’t have a baguette. Here are more ways to adapt this po’ boy recipe:
- Swap Old Bay for Cajun seasoning.
- If you don’t want to use yogurt, double the buttermilk.
- If you prefer, you can grill the shrimp instead of sautéing them in a skillet.
- Or, swap sautéed shrimp with breaded shrimp.
- Skip the bread and make it a crunch wrap-style sandwich with a large tortilla.
Storage
Refrigerate leftover shrimp and slaw separately up to 2 days. To serve again, heat the shrimp and assemble the sandwiches as usual.
More Shrimp Recipes
Shrimp Po’ Boy
Equipment
Ingredients
Herb Buttermilk Slaw:
- 1 tablespoon 0% fat Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon low fat buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon light mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon shallot, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh chives, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh parsley, finely minced
- 1 small garlic clove, crushed
- Pinch Kosher salt, and Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3/4 cups thinly sliced red cabbage, about 1/4 a small head
- 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced green cabbage, about 1/4 a small head
- 1/2 cup pre-shredded carrots
For the Shrimp:
- 6 ounces large peeled and deveined shrimp, tails removed
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 medium clove garlic
- 3/4 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning, use 30% Less Sodium for less sodium
- 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
- 7.5 ounces multi-grain or whole grain French baguette, about 3/4 of a loaf
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
- hot sauce, optional for serving
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine Greek yogurt, buttermilk, mayonnaise, shallot, chives, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper.
- Add the red and green cabbage and carrots, mixing to evenly coat. Set aside.
- In another medium bowl, combine the shrimp, cumin, sugar, garlic and Old Bay.
- Gently toss, evenly coating the shrimp. Set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the olive oil then the shrimp and cook until shrimp are opaque and cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side.
- While shrimp are resting, slice the baguette into 3 even pieces, then slice each of the 3 pieces in half horizontally.
- Remove the inner soft part of the bread, leaving the outer crust.
- Toast in toaster oven (or broil in the oven) until desired crispness.
- To assemble: Top each sandwich with 2 ounces of shrimp and 2/3 cup slaw.
- Serve immediately with lemon wedges.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Notes
- Swap Old Bay for Cajun seasoning.
- If you don’t want to use buttermilk, double the yogurt.
- If you don’t want to use yogurt, double the buttermilk.
- If you prefer, you can grill the shrimp instead of sauteing in a skillet.
- Skip the french bread and make it a crunch wrap with a large tortilla.
