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.
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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 😉
The whole family loved them. Next time I might add more flour or perhaps some breadcrumbs so they bind together better. They were a little too free form for me. It was stressful trying to flip them because they always seemed too loose, like they were on the verge of falling apart.
This recipe looks delicious! I am making them in a smaller size to serve as an appetizer at an upcoming party. Do you think that I could mix them the day before and then fry them right before the party? Thank you!
Hi JoEllen! I have not tested it myself but I think it would work fine to mix everything and refrigerate it and them fry them right before the party. Let us know how it turns out.
Hi Natasha. Thank you for your recipe. I am a huge fan and love all your recipes. This shrimp cakes are the bomb(great). My family were impressed.
Thanks so much for sharing that with us, so happy to hear that!
Delicious!!! Made these for friends and family and they were a huge hit. The combination of cheese and shrimp was excellent.
Didn’t have parsley so added green onions to add some colour and it tasted great!
That’s wonderful! Thanks a lot, Steph for sharing that with us. We’re happy that you enjoyed our Shrimp Cakes!
These are the BEST flipping shrimp cakes I have ever eaten!
You’ve got to make this recipe. I used frozen shrimp from the grocery store.
Thank you Natasha!
Hi Mary! I’m so glad you loved the recipe. Thank you for sharing that with us.
I was craving seafood today and had some shrimp in the freezer so googled and came across your recipe. I’m sooo glad I did! So easy and absolutely delicious. I will definitely be making them frequently!
Wonderful, Denni! So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Would you be able to make this like a half shrimp/half crab cake?
Hi Sheila, I haven’t tried that mix, but I imagine it will work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
I made these many times now. I have added extra cheeses, paprika, dijon mustard, w-shire sauce, green onion, and some bread crumbs to hold them together…………One time i even added some fresh corn off the cob……………Then I add tarragon to my lemon aoli………love these babies!
So glad you love the recipe, Pam! Thank you for the feedback.
So good, so easy. We have tons of crab in the PNW so I was looking to switch it up a bit. No matter the age, these were a hit. Thank you.
That’s wonderful, Jeff!
I made these for dinner the other day and they were so DELICIOUS and they are still delicious as left overs!! I’ll definitely be making these again!!!
That’s wonderful, Kat! Thank you for the feedback.
I’ve done these many times, excellent recipe!!! Has anyone tried them in an Air Fryer yet??
Hi Karla! I haven’t tried these in an air fryer but here’s what one of our readers wrote: “These are really good! Love the lemon aioli too. I rotate between that and a spicy sauce. I made these in the air fryer and they came out great. I preheated it to 350 and lightly sprayed olive oil on top. I did for a total of 14 minutes flipping the cakes halfway through. Already made these a couple of times. Yum!” I hope this is helpful.
The shrimp cakes and lemon aoili was amazing. Look forward to more of your recipes!
Thank you for your good comments and review, Susan!
Made these shrimp cakes twice – everyone loved these. The first time made them exactly as written, and the second time added red bell pepper, celery and chives (finely chopped) and old bay seasoning instead of salt & pepper. I will be making these a lot more since everyone request them. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
So glad you love it, Janice! Thank you for sharing.
Hi!! Can I use pre-cooked shrimp instead?? If so, how much cooking time per side would you recommend? I don´t want to over-cook the shrimp. Thank you!
Hi Maria, 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.
Killer… yielded 9 cakes. Used fresh gulf shrimp. Substituted tsp old bay for salt/pepper. Also put a tbs butter in the olive oil.
Sounds great, Mark. Thank you for your comments and feedback!
Made it! Ate it! And will make it again! This were wonderful and the aioli took them to the next level. Made them for Super Bowl last night but I should have made two batches. The went faster than the Chief’s receivers! HaHa!
Hi Kristin! Wonderful to hear. Thank you for sharing. I’m so glad they were a hit.
I added some green onion to the to this recipe and people loved it.
Nice, thanks for sharing and review!
Could I make them ahead and freeze them? Would love to bring these camping, where I always get seafood cravings but don’t have a full kitchen to cook. I’d reheat in a cast iron pan or blackstone.
Hi Caroline, 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 did not have mozzarella in the frig but I did have Gouda cheese. OMG… These are the best shrimp cakes ever. During crabbing season I will try to make them with lump crab.
Thank you thank you and thank you!
Hi Ronnie! You’re so very welcome. I’m glad the recipe still worked out for you. Thank you for sharing. I’m happy to hear you loved it!
My daughter is allergy to dairy products; what do you recommend to replace the cheese in the recipe?
Hi Cissy, the cheese helps to hold them together and does add some flavor, but I think they would still work without the cheese. One of my readers mentioned they planned to use vegan cheese. I hope that helps.
I would just follow the way she made them and not modify a thing. They where made that way for a reason.
Thank you, Rich! I always recommend making recipes as written the first time around.