Easy grilled or pan-fried shrimp served with three festive sauces: red Romesco, golden curry aioli and zesty green avocado. I like to refer to this dish as ‘party shrimp’ because it’s great as finger food with a glass of wine or as a starter for your next dinner party. This recipe is gluten-free, paleo, low-carb and Whole30-friendly.
Whether you call them shrimp or prawns doesn’t matter for this spectacular finger-food recipe. You can jumbo king prawns or smaller-sized shrimp, which are flash-grilled in a frying pan with just a touch of salt and pepper. The stars of the recipes are the three sauces.
I wanted to create a little trio of colours to reflect the festive season, so I opted for green, red and golden yellow. All three sauces can be made ahead of time and leftovers are fantastic as condiments. Of course, you don’t have to make all three. Choose the one you like best and go with that. They will also go well with chicken or beef kebobs, grilled halloumi, tofu and veggie kebobs or whatever you’re serving.
How To Make Grilled Shrimp With Three Sauces
Here is a quick video to show you how I make grilled shrimp or prawns directly in a frying pan. You will also see how I make all three sauces, two of which are done using a food processor and one with a blender. If you don’t have either, fine chopping and whisking skills will be required. Below, you will find more details about each of the sauces and the full recipe with ingredients and nutritional breakdown for shrimp and all the sauces individually.
Red Pepper Romesco Sauce
I fell in love with Romesco sauce in Spain and have been making it at home ever since. It’s a bright, zesty sauce made with roasted red peppers or tomatoes, almonds or other nuts, olive oil, vinegar, and a touch of garlic. There are many variations, of course, but this is my super simple recipe. It’s paleo, Whole30 and vegan-friendly.
I use roasted pickled peppers you can get in a jar from the conserves and pickles section of the supermarket. Alternatively, you can roast or bake a whole red pepper or two in the oven ahead of time. I used a little lime juice, but you can also use lemon juice, apple cider vinegar or any other vinegar.
You can use raw or toasted almonds (flakes, whole or chopped). I think toasted almonds are WAY tastier and I simply spread the flakes on a baking tray and popped them in the 200 C/400F oven for 4-5 minutes.
Leftover Romesco sauce can be used on top of grilled vegetables, as a salad dressing, as a sauce with fish or chicken, stirred through zucchini noodles, other paleo noodles, or regular pasta, if you wish.
Creamy Curry Aioli Sauce
This little sauce number is inspired by the traditional garlic aioli and the creamy curry Coronation sauce. I used a little curry and turmeric powder, which gives it that gorgeous colour. A little hot mustard for a kick, but it’s optional.
Shrimp with curry sauce is a really nice flavour combination and this aioli sauce will keep in the fridge for a few days you can serve it with scrambled eggs, in wraps, like a chicken salad dressing, taco condiment and more. I used both mayo and plain yoghurt, which can be replaced with a dairy-free version.
Coriander Avocado Sauce
To complete our trio of shrimp sauces, we have this gorgeous, green coriander and avocado sauce. It’s pretty much guacamole but a little heavier on coriander and lime. It fits pretty much any dietary requirement and goes well with shrimp. Leftovers can be used in tacos and wraps, in a salad, naked burrito bowl, over tuna steaks and more.
More Shrimp Recipes You Might Like
Surf & Turf Salad With Creamy Dressing
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Prawn Stir-Fry With Broccoli & Cashews
Shrimp Tomato & Avocado Salad Stacks
Lemongrass Cauliflower Shrimp Fried ‘Rice’ (Paleo)
Shrimp & Green Onion Fritters With Sriracha Mayo
Description
Learn how to make easy grilled shrimp in a pan together with three fabulous sauces: red pepper Romesco, curry aioli and green avocado sauce. This is a festive, party shrimp recipe that your guests will love!
Romesco sauce (red)
Curry Aioli Sauce
Green Avocado Sauce
- Make the sauces first. For the red and the green sauce, I used a food processor. Add all ingredients and whiz together to process. I stop and open the lid a couple of times to scrape the bits off the sides and to stir the sauce slightly, then whiz again to make sure everything is incorporated and blended.
- The Romesco sauce doesn’t have to be completely smooth, it should have a little texture. For the green sauce, you can add a little more water if you like it thinner.
- For the curry ahioli sauce, I used a small blender beccause it’s a smaller batch. You can also whisk all ingredients in a bowl as you don’t need to process any firm ingredients. Use grated garcli in this case.
- How to cook the shrimp. Heat a large frying pan or a griddle pan over medium-high heat. Once really hot, add the olive oil. Add the shrimp in two batches, as to not overcrowd the pan. Cook for 1 minute on each side, until they change coloul and get that little golden glow. Season with just a touch of salt and pepper and transfer to a bowl.
- You can plate the cooked shrimp on a large platter with all three sauces or pick one of the sauces and go with that.
Notes
Store leftover sauces in the fridge for 4-5 days (1-2 days for the avocado sauce!). Below nutritional breakdown is for the shrimp without sauces.
Romesco sauce nutrition (per 2 tablespsoons): 169 cal, 15 g fat, 5.5 g carbs, 2 g fibre, 3 g protein.
Curry aioli sauce (per 1 tbsp): 65 cals, 6 g fat, 0.5 g carbs, 0.7 g protein.
Green avocado sauce (per 1 tbsp): 80 cals, 8 g fat, 2.5 g carbs, 1.5 g fibre, 0.5 g protein.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6-8 shrimp
- Calories: 86
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 168.1 mg
- Fat: 3.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 0 g
- Protein: 14.4 g
- Cholesterol: 115 mg
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Grandma Denny’s Homemade Ranch Dip
My Grandma Denny’s Homemade Ranch Dip was a Denny family favorite long before anyone heard of Ranch Dressing! And this family favorite Ranch Dip is a delicious low-carb and keto dip recipe and in my family this makes an appearance at every holiday gathering!
PIN Grandma Denny’s Homemade Ranch Dip to try it later!
My Grandma Denny’s Homemade Ranch Dip is one of my favorite memories from childhood! As early as I can remember, my Grandma Denny made a fantastic dip that she served with carrots and celery as an appetizer at every family gathering. In those days we called Grandma’s homemade ranch dip just *Vegetable Dip* as if there was only one kind of dip that could possibly be served with veggies.
This was long before the introduction of Ranch Dressing to the American culinary scene, and obviously my Grandma Denny was ahead of her time, because now people all over the country are eating Ranch Dip with veggies. And in my own extended family, there would never be a holiday gathering without this delicious homemade Ranch Dip on the table.
Of course there’s nothing wrong with making Ranch-Style Vegetable Dip using a package mix if that time-saver works for you. But my grandma’s Homemade Ranch Dip is a bit fresher tasting as well as being low in carbs, and if you usually use the mix but don’t have a package on hand I bet you’ll love my Grandma’s recipe.
Grandma Denny always used full-fat mayo and sour cream, but for anyone wanting lower fat you can obviously make this with reduced-fat products if you prefer. Or if you don’t like mayo, you might prefer the variation below for Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip, made with Greek yogurt and blended cottage cheese for a higher protein, lower-fat dip.
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
Can you make this dip with onion powder?
I love the flavor the grated onion gives to my Grandma Denny’s homemade ranch dip. But if you prefer or want to save time, just use 1 tsp. onion powder.
Can you make this homemade ranch dip with Greek Yogurt?
I sometimes make a variation of this that I call Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip that’s lower in fat and higher in protein. For that variation follow this recipe but replace the sour cream with one cup of cottage that’s blended in the food processor until it’s nearly smooth and replace the mayo with one cup fat-free Greek Yogurt. (This is the version I would make when I was strictly following the original South Beach Diet.)
Want a version of ranch dip with more texture?
You can make a variation of this homemade ranch dip recipe with a little chopped red onion, finely diced cucumber, and finely diced red pepper if you’d like a chunkier dip. I would use about 2 T of each.
How to Make Grandma Denny’s Homemade Ranch Dip:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- My Grandma always used Bon Appetit Seasoning Salt as the secret seasoning in her vegetable dip, but it’s no longer being made (sob!) If you still have Bon Appetit, use it, but now I use Beau Monde Seasoning (affiliate link). If you’re in Europe you can also use Trocomare Seasoning. (affiliate link)
- Grate a small amount of raw onion into a bowl. (I use the large side of a box grater; don’t use a microplane grater which just turns the onion to liquid.)
- Add mayo and sour cream to bowl.
- Then add Beau Monde Seasoning and dried dill weed (affiliate link).
- Mix all ingredients together well with a whisk. You can use a food processor as well, but the whisk is quicker.
- Let the dip chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour or two for best flavor.
- Serve with raw vegetables like celery, sugar snap peas, bell pepper strips, jicama, radishes, broccoli, or cauliflower.
- This is also good with carrots or as a dip for baked sweet potato fries for those who don’t mind more carbs.
- I tested this out on my friend Robin and she gave it two thumbs up!
More Tasty Vegetable Dips You Might Like:
Weekend Food Prep:
This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Ingredients
- 1 cup sour cream (see notes)
- 1 cup mayo (see notes)
- 1 tsp. grated onion
- 2 tsp. dried dill weed
- 2 tsp. Beau Monde Seasoning (see notes)
Instructions
- Grate onion into a bowl, using the large side of a box grater or flat grater (not a microplane grater.)
- Add all other ingredients to the bowl and stir together with a whisk (or you can use a food processor, but it’s not necessary.)
- Chill an hour or so before serving.
Notes
I only use Daisy full-fat sour cream and full-fat mayo for this recipe but if you prefer to make a lower-fat version of the recipe you can definitely use reduced fat sour cream and mayo.
My Grandma always used Bon Appetit Seasoning for this. When that was discontinued I started making it with Beau Monde Seasoning (affiliate link), which is almost identical in flavor.
This will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks. Nutritional information doesn’t include vegetables and is calculated on 1/4 cup serving size.
Recipe from my Grandma Denny, who was a wonderful cook!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 245Total Fat: 26gSaturated Fat: 6gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 564mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 1g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Did you make this recipe?
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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Grandma Denny’s Homemade Ranch Dip is great for low-carb diets.Eat with low-carb vegetables like celery, sugar snap peas, jicama, bell pepper strips, radishes, broccoli, or cauliflower for low-carb diets. If you’re making this for the original South Beach Diet the Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip variation above is better for South Beach.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Appetizers to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
Kalyn was making this dip recipe long before the existence of the internet, and it was first posted on this site in 2005 (probably without a single photo in those days.) The recipe was last updated with more information in 2023.
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Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
- Calories N/A
- Total Fat N/A
- Saturated Fat N/A
- Cholesterol N/A
- Sodium N/A
- Total Carbohydrates N/A
- Protein N/A
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