If you love shrimp recipes, these shrimp cakes are for YOU! They are juicy, tender and so flavorful. These shrimp fritters always disappear fast! P.S. DO NOT skip the lemon aioli sauce.

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
This is a surprising way to use shrimp but it’s also the best way to make a pound of shrimp go a long way. Biting into juicy shrimp, fritter style, is a real treat. The cheese creates an irresistible cheese pull inside and forms a golden crust on the outside. Watch the Video tutorial and you will just know; these are GOOD!

Shrimp Calories / Shrimp Nutrition:
- Purchase wild-caught shrimp whenever possible.
- Avoid “Farm Raised Shrimp” or anything marked “Farmed,” especially coming from overseas where they may be produced in unsafe or unhealthy conditions and could lead to health problems.
- There are about 99 calories in 100 grams of cooked shrimp.
How to Devein Shrimp:
Deveining larger sized shrimp is especially important. Check out our video tutorial on how to peel and devein shrimp. You can use a small pairing knife or a deveining tool like this one from OXO.
Ingredients for Shrimp Cakes Recipe:
The ingredients here are so simple and come together quickly for an easy appetizer or side with dinner or lunch. Combining raw diced shrimp with a batter creates an irresistibly good shrimp fritter. I hesitate to call them ‘fritters’ because fritters are often deep fried but you don’t need much oil at all in this recipe. I usually use 1 to 2 Tbsp for the entire batch. Seriously though, don’t skip the lemon aioli sauce – it is everything with these shrimp cakes; dunk after dunk.


Watch How to Make Sauteed Shrimp Patties:
Watch Natasha make these cheesy shrimp cakes. You will be surprised by how easy this recipe is! If you haven’t already, to our and click the bell icon so you’ll be the first to know when we post a new video.
Cook’s Tips: Here are our favorite measuring spoons that I bragged about in the video. Also, a trigger release ice cream scoop makes it so easy to portion and and sauté these while keeping your hands clean. Also, a non-stick pan works best to keep the patties from falling apart while cooking.

Easy Shrimp Recipes to Explore:
- Coconut Shrimp with a ridiculously good 2-ingredient dip
- Shrimp Cucumber Bites – so easy and good. They fly off the plate!
- Shrimp Ceviche Salsa – we are obsessed with this shrimp salsa
- Creamy Shrimp Pasta (with our favorite Alfredo sauce!)
Print-Friendly Sauteed Shrimp Cakes Recipe:
Shrimp Cakes with Lemon Aioli (VIDEO)

Ingredients
For the Shrimp Cakes/ Fritters:
- 1 lb large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 4 oz mozzarella cheese, (1 1/2 cups shredded)
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped, plus more to garnish
- 1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, or gluten free flour
- 2 Tbsp light olive oil, or high heat cooking oil of choice
For the Lemon Aioli Sauce:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove, pressed or finely minced
Instructions
How to Make Shrimp Cakes:
- Pat dry shrimp with paper towels then dice into pea-sized pieces.*
- Transfer chopped shrimp to a large mixing bowl. Add 4 oz shredded mozzarella, 1 egg, 1/4 cup mayo, 2 Tbsp parsley, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper. Stir together then add 1/4 cup flour and mix until batter is creamy and well combined.
- Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add 1 heaping Tablespoon at a time (or a level ice cream scoop) and flatten out the tops of your fritters as you go so they are about 1/2" thick patties. Saute about 3 minutes per side or until golden brown on the edges and cooked through.
How to Make Lemon Aioli Sauce:
- In a small bowl, add mayo and stir to remove any lumps. Add 1 tsp lemon zest, 2 Tbsp lemon juice and pressed garlic clove and stir to combine.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen

Would YOU try these sauteed shrimp fritters? We think you will be impressed 😉



Hi Natasha,
I made these last night and was a treat. Added celery for the remaining shrimp I did not have on hand. Thank you.
I’m so happy you loved it, Lisa!
I never write reviews of things I try after watching a video on YouTube but this recipe really is excellent. I’ve made it 3 times so far and that never happens either. Twice I made it exactly as written and once leaving out the mayo to save calories as I was eating half the recipe as my dinner. It was still delicious and satisfying. The sauce is also great if you have fresh lemons but once I used some chipotle mayo and that was pretty tasty too. Love your energy Natasha. Your pizza dough recipe is a keeper too.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Melanie! I’m so happy this was a keeper!
Hi Natasha,
I made these before they are so
Delicious!!
Question
Can I make it refrigerate it and make Patties and fry the next day?
Thanks
Hi Ho Anne, that would be fine, just keep it covered and refrigerated until ready to use.
Can I use cooked shrimp for this? I have a lot in my freezer and would like to use them up.
Hi Naz, I have had some people report good results using pre-cooked shrimp in this recipe, but it depends on the recipe. I always suggest using what is recommended in a recipe before modifying it.
Absolutely delicious ! I make these all the time. So yummy! I want to try this recipe using crab.
Yum! I bet this would be so good with crab! I hope you love this recipe!
I’ve made these atleast 3X now and they always fall apart ….I followed the recipe to the tee and they are not staying together , they keep breaking apart while cooking ……any advice ????
Hi Laura, a non-stick pan works best to keep the patties from falling apart while cooking. Some of our readers also noticed the cakes falling apart when they chopped the shrimp too big. Try making the shrimp cuts slightly smaller and that should help!
The end result was so yummie. Slightly crispy and just the right amount of cheesy goodness. I used almond flour (that is all I had) and it was still very tasty. I don’t think there would be a noticeable difference at all in taste if I used regular four.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
First off I mixed everything like the recipe said to a tee , then I used a pan that was NOT non -stick and they all got stuck to the bottom !!! She should tell you to use a non-stick pan or your gonna end up chiseling the shrimp cakes off the bottom of the pan. Also they didn’t seem to hold together too well
( maybe I didn’t cut the shrimp small enough ) but pieces were falling off of each one. All in all these are delicious ….and you absolutely have to make the Aioli sauce !!!!
Hi Laura, we have this note in the recipe “a non-stick pan works best to keep the patties from falling apart while cooking.”
Omg so good, did take me longer for prep as i like top and bottom vein removed and really dried them with toweling. Followed recipe exactly as I always do not make alterations when first trying a recipe and they were so perfect and delicious
I made them smaller as I want for appy over xmas. Had a two pound bag and used one but will do the others tomorrow. I am freezing them so hope they reheat as good which I am sure they will. They seriously are so yummy and I am very picky.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Denise! I’m so glad these were a hit!
Has anyone made these and frozen then just reheated. Trying to do some appys ahead if time for Christmas. Please let me know thanks
Hi Denise, I haven’t tried freezing these shrimp cakes, but if I did, I would probably freeze them already cooked, or they may not stay together well. If you experiment, let me know how it goes!
I have this question too. I have a lot of frozen shrimp that I want to defrost at once, and I’d like to freeze the extra cakes for another time. Did you try this? Was it successful?
Added just a little of each of the following; diced sweet pepper, seasoned salt and powdered chipotle pepper. Natasha, your recipe is excellent!!! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
I have made these and they are truly amazing! I would like to be able to freeze these once they are cooked, can they be frozen and reheated at a later date? How long will they keep in the freezer? How best to reheat?
Hi Kimmer, I haven’t tried freezing these shrimp patties but if I did, I would probably freeze them already cooked or they may not stay together well. If you experiment, let me know how it goes!
I would like to make this for a party I would like to fry the shrimp cakes and then keep them warm in oven. Will they fall apart if rewarded
Hi Sandy, keeping them warm in the oven is a great idea, but I wouldn’t do it for too long. Please note, if the shrimp is cooked too long or too high of a heat, they will turn rubbery. You can also reheat in the microwave just until warmed through.
Made these for the 4th time. They’re so good!! I add green onion to the shrimp and for the sauce I use half mayo ,half greek yogurt, and add dill. Thank you for this recipe 😉
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Sam!
Made these tonight and my husband licked the plate! I should’ve doubled the recipe, because now he wants me to make them on Wednesday with the other 1 lb of shrimp we have left. Made mostly as directed, but didn’t have mozzarella so used cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, omitted the salt (because of the change in cheeses), used 3 tsp dried parsley and added a little schiracca for a little more bite, delicious!!
Thanks for sharing that with us, Rachael. It is awesome to hear that your husband loved it so much!
I love your recipes. I especially like that most of the time the ingregients item you usually have on hand. Only 1 thing would really help, a break down for smaller households.Some people are cooking for only 1. And when you say a pound of shrimp ???how many would that be? Thanks
Hi Janet, The serving size can be found at the beginning of the print-friendly recipe card (located at the bottom of the recipe post). The nutrition label shows counts “per serving.” On our printable recipe, you’ll have the option to change the number of servings. Hover over the number of servings highlighted in red and slide it to how many servings you would like to make. I hope that helps!
Hi there,
I’m ready to make these but I’m worried about the flour….will the flour taste really get cooked out?
Love your recipes, Susan
Hi Susan, that’s right, you can’t taste the flour. I hope you love this recipe!
Hi Natasha, These are “Awesome”. Made them three different times. The last time I added some diced spring onion that I needed to use up. It kicked them up perfectly. As always they are delicious and the recipe is flexible. Thank you.
Yum! THat’s so great! I’m happy you enjoyed this recipe, Gail!
Hi Natasha. I made these last night for dinner, it was so good. My husband loved it. It’s now in my recipe binder. Love your videos. TWO THUMBS UP!!!
I’m so glad this was a hit, CJ!! That’s so great!
Don’t know where to give the thumbs up but these look delicious. I love shrimp and can’t wait to make these this week. Your recipes are always YUM
Thank you so much! I hope you’ll love all the recipes that you will try.