You are going to LOVE this simple recipe! 🥰
Shrimp Stir Fry with Spicy Cream Sauce
Shrimp or chicken, spicy or not, this simple low carb stir fry is super easy and very versatile, with a delicious combination of textures & flavors.
Plus it looks very impressive, but can be made freezer-to-table in short time. 😉
I’ll show you exactly how I made this, but also give you lots of creative variations to try too in case you don’t like seafood or want to try it different ways…
Feel free to get creative and add your own flair! Ideas include: your choice of meats, alfredo sauce instead of a spicy cream sauce, add things like roasted peppers, onions, garlic & tomato. Leave out the nuts if you like, or for my keto vegetarians: sub the meat with fried avocado chunks or grilled zucchini sticks – the ideas are endless.
Tip: this spicy cream sauce is AMAZING drizzled over grilled salmon too!
This makes for a great “freezer to table” healthy dinner when you need to throw something together last minute on a busy night. 😉
The two main ingredients are Broccoli Slaw and cooked frozen shrimp.
I got both at Kroger, but I’ve seen the Broccoli Slaw in the produce section at Wal-Mart too. The shrimp will be with the frozen seafood.
I used ALL of both large bags of shrimp & slaw because I had company, but also because it reheats so well as leftovers – so this is great for fast meal prep.
You can stuff it in a low carb wrap for “shrimp tacos” as a second meal the next day, for example. Yum! 😋
Note: you can freeze the broccoli slaw, and use it straight from the freezer into a frying pan, so I like to stock up on it to keep on hand for fast meals.
Above you can see that the broccoli slaw is just a whole food mix of broccoli, red cabbage & carrot. Some people freak out about the carrot in this, but there’s not a ton in there, and it’s still only 2 net carbs per serving.
I’ve been eating this for all 9 years of my keto weight loss journey with no problem. 😉
It’s great for both cold salads & keto friendly slaws and hot dishes too.
There are so many creative ways you can use it!
Unlike zucchini noodles which get mushy or limp, broccoli slaw stays FIRM – so it’s a great low carb replacement for rice or noodles in a sauté or stir fry style dish.
I toss the whole bag in a non stick skillet with 2-4 tbsp of butter over medium heat. I usually start with 2 tbsp of butter, and add more if I think it needs it – and salt to taste.
I often add macadamia nuts or pili nuts and simply sauté over medium heat to your preference. I like my nuts a little “toasted” and the broccoli slaw a bit softened & browned too – but you can cook it less or more to suit.
The Spicy Chili Pili Nuts are my favorite! I was out so I used macadamia nuts, which soften when you cook them for that perfect toasted crunch.
Thaw the shrimp first: I dump the frozen shrimp in a large mixing bowl and cover the shrimp with water. I leave the shrimp out at room temperature, changing the water once or twice and it thaws pretty quick that way. Then simply drain all the water off, pluck off the tails, and pat them dry.
While the shrimp is thawing, I start the broccoli slaw on medium heat, tossing often to heat/soften evenly.
Tip: Don’t overcook the shrimp, just sear them!
The shrimp are already fully cooked so you don’t want to “cook them” and make them tough. I sear them in butter (about 2 tbsp) hot and fast, then remove the skillet from the heat and make the sauce right in the hot skillet.
I poured off the melted butter after a few seconds to sear the shrimp real quick, then added the melted butter back in with the cream cheese & spicy mayo – which all melted together pretty quick in the hot skillet with the hot shrimp, even removed from the heat.
Spicy Cream Sauce
The spicy cream sauce is super simple and GREAT on so many different foods.
You can drizzle it over grilled salmon, over roasted vegetables, it’s good on bunless burgers with grilled onions even – yum!
I kinda “wing it” depending on what I have on hand…
I usually just add 2 tbsp of spicy mayo to the melted butter that’s already in the skillet. You can add 2 ounces of cream cheese to make it even more thick & rich.
This time I added 2 tbsp of Philadelphia Chive & Onion Cream Cheese, 2-4 tbsp of spicy mayo (to suit) and two more tbsp of butter to the hot skillet with seared shrimp that I just removed from the heat.
Just toss it around a bit and put it back over the heat for a second if you need to, but it melts down easily into a nice creamy sauce. 🙂
Kraft makes a Chipotle Aioli that I see in local stores a lot, but the ingredients aren’t great and the flavor doesn’t compare to Primal Kitchen’s Chipotle Lime Mayo – but that one will do in a pinch.
You can also use or make alfredo sauce instead, or pimento cheese melts down into a nice cream sauce – just add a little melted butter if you want it thinner.
Cream cheese and butter melted down together works fine too – and you can add in minced garlic, diced onion or peppers, or whatever flavors & spices you prefer.
It’s pretty hard to screw up, so you can just wing it – and add more of one thing or another to balance out the flavor and consistency. Worst case scenario you just end up with more delicious cream sauce. 😉
My preference is Primal Kitchen Chipotle Lime Mayo which I have seen at stores more lately, but I just add it to my Netrition orders. This one:
That stuff ^ is DELICIOUS and my preference, but you probably have something on hand already to make a nice cream sauce with all the ideas & variations I shared above for now.
It’s soy-free, and the flavor is OUTSTANDING – not overly spicy, just enough of a kick to really jazz up a meal. 😉
Plate the sautéed broccoli slaw first, then top with the shrimp, drizzle extra spicy cream sauce over the top and finish with a dash of freshly ground pepper.
Total perfection! 🥰
👩🍳 🍤 🍳 🥦
Such an easy meal!
This was a fabulously delicious combination of textures & flavors. 👌
Looked fancy and impressed my company, but oh so easy. 😉
If you don’t have broccoli slaw, something like this is great over roasted broccoli or creamed cauliflower too. I’ve also served it over cauliflower rice.
The pili nuts or macadamia nuts are always a great addition to cauli rice! It gives it a nice nutty crunch, and you can add the cream sauce or pimento cheese to cauliflower rice to really jazz it up too.
The spicy cream sauce is also great with chicken…
In a hurry I use Tyson Grilled & Ready frozen chicken breast strips, which thaw super quick when you brown them in butter in a skillet over medium heat. I keep those on hand as well for quick meals when I don’t have anything thawed out to cook.
I hope this gave you some new ideas to work with to mix things up a little this week…
I look forward to hearing if you try it, and what variations or creative additions you try!
I’ve been “eating out of the freezer” a lot lately, so wanted to share one of the better meals I put together “freezer to table” – because this is one of my favorites for a keto quickie, with chicken or shrimp, broccoli slaw or cauliflower rice.
One more idea…
You can use the raw broccoli slaw to make a “spicy keto slaw” by simply adding the spicy mayo. If it’s too spicy you can halve it with regular mayo.
I have some canned tiny shrimp in the pantry so thought to make a cold “spicy shrimp salad slaw” to eat on cold crisp cucumber slices, or rolled up in a low carb wrap.
That sounds pretty good actually. I’m off to make it!
Best,
Lynn Terry
aka @LowCarbTraveler
Discount Code: LOWCARBTRAVELER
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