This Spicy Confetti Shrimp will turn any meal into a party!
I found this Spicy Confetti Shrimp recipe when I was at a Mardi Gras fundraiser several years ago. It was one of those “Taste of…” events, where restaurants showcase small samples of their best dishes. I saw this beautiful shrimp dish. It was plated with just one shrimp per small plate, as it was just a “taste”. My first thought was that chef had thrown confetti on each dish for the party.
Upon closer look, (and taste) I discovered that it was actually finely diced bell peppers, chiffonade of basil, and purple cabbage. I was blown away. It was such a simple, yet beautiful presentation! (This post was originally published on March 10th, 2014, and has been updated to contain nutritional information. As an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.)
All I could think about is how great this shrimp would look and taste on a big plate. After chatting with the chef for a bit, he graciously gave me the basic ingredients and an outline of the recipe. He instructed me to use “butter, lots of butter, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic”. There is a nice kick at the finish, which made me start thinking about what I would call it when I tried to re-create it, Confetti Shrimp? Celebration Shrimp? Spicy Shrimp? I finally settled on Spicy Confetti Shrimp.
Use finely diced vegetables and herbs for “confetti”.
There is a recipe called Diablo Shrimp. Since the Devil is in the Details with this recipe, that was a close contender. The key to getting all the vegetables to look like confetti is to mince, or finely chop them. You can get the same flavors with a larger dice, but if you want it to look like an explosion of confetti on the plate, you need to cut the veggies fairly small…almost to a mince. I serve it with rice and extra confetti on the rice. For a completely low-carb and keto friendly version, substitute cauliflower rice for the white rice. I cut the basil and the cabbage very finely, but in a chiffonade cut, which you can read more about here.
Ready in under 30 minutes!
While this looks impressive and complicated, the most time consuming part of the whole meal is finely chopping the vegetables. The shrimp itself takes just a few minutes, which means you can have the whole dish ready in under 30 minutes. You will use about 1/3 of a red, yellow and orange bell pepper, which means you’ll have to save the rest for another meal. Here are a couple of ideas for the rest of the bell peppers and purple cabbage.
Some of the items used in this post are available at my Amazon Affiliate Store.
Spicy Confetti Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pound large shrimp cleaned, deveined and peeled
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or more
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
- 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 cups Red, yellow and orange bell peppers finely diced
- 1/4 cup Purple cabbage finely sliced
- 1/4 cup Purple onion finely diced
- 1/4 cup Basil cut chiffonade
Instructions
- Toss shrimp with cayenne, smoked paprika, garlic and Old Bay seasoning in a bowl. Let sit while you mince the veggies.
- Heat butter over medium high heat and sauté the shrimp, 2 or 3 minute per side or until opaque and cooked through. Add Worcestershire sauce, stirring to coat shrimp.
- Remove the shrimp from a pan with a slotted spoon. Add veggies and sauté another 2-3 minutes. Drizzle any remaining juices over the shrimp.
- Sprinkle finely diced purple onion and bell pepper "confetti" and chiffonade of basil and cabbage over shrimp and rice.
Patty Haxton Anderson says
I am here because of Brandi and Aunt Bee’s Recipes to say congratulations on receiving the Liebster Award. Your blog is wonderful. I hope you got a chance to visit mine.
Cynthia says
Thanks patty! I will be sure to stop by!
Debi @ Life Currents says
Beautiful presentation & awesome dish. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Cynthia says
Thanks Debi! Much appreciated!
Joanne T Ferguson says
G’day! looks like a great and healthy recipe! I have bookmarked and shared the love today too!
Cheers! Joanne
YUM! Love shrimp aka prawns here!
Cynthia says
Thank you Joanne!
Sheena @ Hot Eats and Cool Reads says
What a beautiful plate and great recipe! Pinning!!
Cynthia says
Thank you Sheena!
Debbie says
Gorgeous AND simple. Love the zingy flavors, can’t wait to make it
Cynthia says
thanks Debbie! Let me know how you like it!
Laurie@FoodisLove says
What a Beautiful flavor combination! Great Recipe!
Cynthia says
Thank you Laurie!
Christina says
It really does look like confetti all over the dish! What a great idea for a Cinco de Mayo or for any celebratory meal! Beautiful!
Cynthia says
Thank you Christina, I hadn’t thought about Cinco De Mayo, perfect!
Heidy L. McCallum says
Fantastic Shrimp recipe, definitely a MUST try!!!
Cynthia says
Thank you Heidy!
Margo Hope says
Love this recipe and can’t wait to share it at one of my Pampered Chef home cooking classes! The rice will cook up perfectly in our microwave rice cooker during the prep time of the shrimp and veggies, and the shrimp will be extra delicious prepared on our great grill pan! So that is how I plan to share it. I LOVE the beautiful confetti presentation. I think you chose the perfect name for this esthetically appealing dish that is sure to please the palate!
Cynthia says
Margo, that sounds perfect! You’ll be able to show off a lot of kitchen tools as you prep it! Let me know how it goes!
Maggie @ The Love Nerds says
This looks amazing! We absolutely love shrimp in this house. You are very right about the confetti look; so pretty!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
How fun! My husband would looooove these! Thanks for sharing!
Megan Keno {Country Cleaver} says
So creative! This looks absolutely delicious.
fabiola@notjustbaked says
Spice and shrimp is the best combo!
Steph @ Steph in Thyme says
I love these beautiful colors and how it’s called “confetti.” How fun!
Marjory @ Dinner-Mom says
Beautiful presentation! Confetti that you can eat…perfect for a party!
Brandon @ Kitchen Konfidence says
These flavors!!! Sounds SO tasty. Beautiful plating too.
Matt @ Plating Pixels says
I’d love to go to Mardi Gras. Lots of great flavors here and the way you arranged the shrimp is so cute!
Anita says
This is such a pretty dish! I love shrimp and the flavors here sound amazing!
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious says
Just a stunningly beautiful dish! So impressed by this one Cynthia!
Beth says
I love the confetti part! I’m not a shrimp girl, but this is making me change my mind!
allie @ Through Her Looking Glass says
Delicious dish Cynthia! I love the confetti!!! Perfect for Mardi Gras or any other celebration.
Catherine says
Dear Cynthia, what a delicious and pretty dish. Looks absolutely wonderful! xo, Catherine
Laura @ Family Spice says
Definitely edible confetti – love all those beautiful colors!