This perfectly dressed Creole Shrimp Caesar Salad with Bacon is topped with zesty shrimp and salty bacon in this divine, satisfying dish. Excellent for lunch or dinner.
Do you ever cook impulsively? You’re thinking about a dish and imagining the flavors and then you just decide to make it? Maybe it’s just how my brain works after two decades of recipe creation and development, but I do. And that’s how this Creole Shrimp Caesar Salad with Bacon came to be. I wanted a robust, satisfying salad that walked that hot-cold line. Next thing you know, it was on a plate.
Cooking impulsively can be an excellent skill to have in your repertoire. But it does come with pre-requisites. For instance, you have to know basic cooking skills. And you have to be comfortable with improv in the kitchen.
But, if you can wrap your head around it, you can mix up never-boring salads like this one. And that’s a treasure. Seriously. A good, well-dressed salad is heavenly, isn’t it?
This salad fits the bill. Lettuce is dressed with Caesar dressing (I love Marzetti’s caesar, personally, but use whatever you like — no, they didn’t pay me to say that) and toss with freshly grated romano cheese. I always prefer the flavor of romano to parmesan, but if you like parm better then you can certainly use that. Just make sure you are grating it just before using so it’s fresh and pliable.
Next you add the bacon and croutons. These add crunchy and salt. I highly recommend making the bacon ahead of time — for instance, if you make extra bacon with breakfast, it will be ready to go for this salad later.
Finally, it’s topped with flavorful, zesty Creole shrimp, which are equally easy and quick to make (a note: you should make these before you assemble the salad).
After cooking this divine salad impulsively, I realized I would want to make it again and again. So now, I’ve made sure I can. And you can too! Enjoy!
Creole Shrimp Caesar Salad
Perfectly dressed caesar salad is topped with zesty Creole shrimp in this divine, satisfying dish. Excellent for lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 12 oz raw extra large shrimp
- 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 8 cups butter lettuce or romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
- 1/4 cup caesar dressing
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
- 1/2 cup croutons
- 8 slices bacon, cooked to crisp and crumbled
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon olive oil with shrimp, Creole seasoning, garlic powder and paprika, until thoroughly and evenly mixed.
- In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the seasoned shrimp and cook, flipping once, until opaque throughout. Remove from the heat and set aside while you mix the salad.
- In a large mixing bowl, toss together the lettuce, caesar dressing and Romano cheese until thoroughly combined. Add the croutons and bacon and toss well to combine.
- Divide the salad evenly among four plates. Top each with 1/4 of the shrimp.
- Serve immediately.