WW Recipe of the Day: Chunky Shrimp Cocktail Sauce (0 WW Freestyle SmartPoints)
Shrimp cocktail is an all-time favorite of mine dating back to when I was a kid and it was a special Christmas Eve treat.
Still my go-to date night or party treat, it's not surprising that I have a shrimp cocktail sauce recipe or two in my files.
Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail
In addition to being tasty, shrimp cocktail is healthy and low in calories. Three ounces of plain cooked shrimp has just *0 WW Freestyle SmartPoints.
And most bottled cocktail sauces have about *3 WW Freestyle SmartPoints in a generous ¼ cup serving.
By making your own cocktail sauce with less sugar, you can decrease the points even more.
Is it any wonder shrimp cocktail has become my go-to appetizer of choice on Weight Watchers?
I've gathered several of my favorite shrimp cocktail sauce recipes here for easy access, as well as a tip or two on preparing the shrimp. Enjoy!
More About Shrimp
Shrimp come in several sizes from tiny to colossal and are labeled by the number of shrimp per pound. The best size for cocktails are medium (16 to 25 shrimp per pound).
You can buy frozen raw shrimp either in the shell but not deveined or shelled and deveined. Most frozen cooked shrimp come already shelled and deveined, making them a quick easy option.
Frozen raw shrimp are better when thawed before cooking. Most brands include preferred directions for thawing right on the package so be sure to follow them for best results.
How to Make Shrimp Cocktail
Shrimp cocktail is nothing more than cooked shrimp accompanied by a tangy cocktail sauce. So all you need to do to make shrimp cocktail is cook the shrimp and make (or buy) a sauce.
Most of the time to keep things quick and easy, I just thaw and drain already cooked peeled shrimp when making shrimp cocktail, so all I need to do is arrange them on a platter and make a simple cocktail sauce.
If you prefer to cook them yourself, here's what you need to know.
Boiling is the most popular way to cook shrimp for cocktail.
How to Shell & De-Vein Shrimp
You can shell and de-vein them either before or after you cook them, it's totally up to you.
To peel them, start at the large end and peel away the thin shell.
To de-vein them, make a a shallow cut down the center back (outer curved side) with a small sharp knife and pull out the dark vein.
Rinse away any remaining bits of the vein under cool water.
Here's a helpful video from Epicurious which shows how to peel and de-vein the shrimp:
How to Boil Shrimp
To boil the shrimp, allow 1 quart of water per pound of shrimp, and 2 tablespoons of salt for unshelled shrimp and 1 tablespoon for shelled.
Bring the salt and water to a boil in a pot, then add the shrimp, cover the pot and simmer just until the shrimp turn pink. This should take about 3 to 5 minutes depending on the size of your shrimp.
Drain and if still in the shell, shell and de-vein them, leaving the tails on.
Chill them thoroughly.
While the shrimp chill, you can make your cocktail sauce any way you like it - it smooth or chunky, spicy, mild, traditional or with the ingredients required to turn it into a Mexican shrimp cocktail.
If you don't know how to make shrimp cocktail sauce, I've got several great homemade cocktail sauce recipes here for you to chose from.
Shrimp Cocktail for Weight Watchers
When you are ready to serve, arrange your shrimp attractively on a platter and serve with your favorite sauce and lots of cocktail napkins.
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Chunky Shrimp Cocktail Sauce?
According to my calculations, each ¼-cup serving of this chunky shrimp cocktail sauce has 21 calories and
0 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
0 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
0 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
0 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
If you've made this Chunky Shrimp Cocktail Sauce, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it.
Chunky Shrimp Cocktail Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 can (14-½ ounces) diced tomatoes with onions, undrained
- 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and stir to combine.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Serve with chilled shrimp.
Recipe Notes
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
If You Like WW Friendly Shrimp Cocktail, You Might Also Like:
- Favorite Shrimp Salad Recipes
- Easy Healthy Shrimp Recipes
- WW Friendly Shrimp Creole
- Easy Shrimp & Wild Rice Casserole
- Healthy and Quick Shrimp Recipes
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
Subscribe to Get: Top 10 Reader Favorite Recipes
The Top 10 Most Popular Recipes (PDF) on Simple Nourished Living + Weekly Support Emails with Tips & Easy Healthy Recipes Not Found Anywhere Else!
Lorraine
Thankfulness to my father who shared with me regarding this blog, this
website is actually awesome.
Julia
One of the great recipe with shrimp I have found on the web. Really looks deliciuos. I need to try this at home today.
Thanks for sharing an awesome recipe.