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 😉
Unclear. Where do you find a printable recipe’, if there is one? You say 4 oz of cheese or 1 1/2 cups shredded but it shows you using 1/2 cup?
Hi Gene, it is 4 oz of cheese or 1 and 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese.
Looks great! Can almond or coconut flour be used to replace the flour? If so, how much ? Can’t wait to try it!
Hi Andrea, Although I haven’t tried it this way myself, our readers have reported using almond flour as a substitution and they loved it!
Can you freeze these??
HI Sheryl, 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!
Natasha, can the shrimp cakes be baked on parchment paper?
Hi Terri, I haven’t tested them as baked shrimp cakes so I can’t say for sure. I had one reader report good results with baking but she didn’t share details of how she baked them.
I am allergic to seafood. What meat substitution would work? I was thinking breakfast sausage.
I haven’t tested that. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
Can you use bread crumbs instead of flour? Has anyone used a little Old Bay seasoning for added flavor?
Hi Pattie, I think that would work and I haven’t tried that seasoning here but I think it’s worth experimenting. I hope you love these shrimp cakes!
Made these tonight. Dee-lish! Everyone in my family loved them, including my 3 year-old son, who also helped me prep. Thanks for a great recipe–I’ll search the sight for more winnners!
That is the best when kids love what we parents make. That’s so great! Thank you for the wonderful review, Craig!
I made these this evening. My sister-in-law has to watch her sodium intake, so I changed a few things. Instead of mayonnaise I used Greek yogurt and for salt I used Mrs. Dash. I will definitely be making these again.
That’s so great! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Love your recipes
You’re so nice! Thank you!
So we had a family gathering and made this recipe as a team effort. We decided to divide the shrimp sizes into two, one small-sized and the other bigger-sized. While both tasted great, a majority of us preferred the bigger-sized shrimp because we can taste it much better. And by the way, the dip matches the shrimp cake perfectly, Natasha! Just a question, what do you recommend adding to the dip to make it spicier? Thanks!
Hi Elizabeth. I’m glad you all enjoyed it! Some Sriracha or tabasco will do the trick!
These are wonderful. I just made a batch, following the recipe fairly closely. I did add some Old Bay seasoning. Since it was for the family, I did not add cayenne or hot stuff. For me I would!
The lemon sauce is great, too!
Can’t eat shellfish. Can I use a white fish (sole, talapia, haddock, etc) instead
Hi Edith! I haven’t tried this exact recipe with fish. We do have this salmon cakes recipe you can try. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
Hi……
These shrimp cakes look AMAZING but not KETO friendly if you use white flour.
I’m wondering if either almond flour or coconut flour would work just fine and which do you think would taste better!
I’m pretty strict on the KETO program so I am looking for what to substitute the flour for in many recipes.
It would be great, if when you post a blog, to incorporate any substitutions….
Thank you….. 🙂
Hi Lainey, Although I haven’t tried it this way myself, our readers have reported using almond flour as a substitution and they loved it!
Very easy and so delicious!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
These were delicious! Super easy too, just a pain to dice the shrimp, but so worth it. The lemon aioli was the bomb! Thanks for the great recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
I tried to make these tonight I was really excited about making these because I’ve been seeing the recipe video on Facebook. I don’t know how or where I went wrong but these shrimp cakes did not turn out right. I tried the pan fry method the cheese burned and the inside was still raw. I also tried using an air fry because this method worked with the chicken cakes I made last weekend. I added more flour thinking the batter needs more binder so now I am currently using the oven to see if I can get an edible result.
Hi Monica, if the cheese burnt and the inside was still raw, it definitely sounds like the heat was too high. I would suggest turning down the heat so it can cook through adequately without browning too fast.
Do you have a version of this without the cheese?
Hi Gregg, the cheese helps to hold them together and does add some flavor but I think they would still work without the cheese. 🙂
I am planning to make them with vegan cheese because I cannot dairy. I am not sure if you can have vegan cheese?? good luck 🙂
What constitutes a serving size? Thanks!
Hi Carla, This recipe serves 6 people if they have 2 fritters a piece. Usually a serving size is referred to as a recommended portion.
It’s 1:30 am, and i want to run to the supermarket and buy the ingredients….OMG they look delicious !!!
Thats the best! Thank you for sharing that with us!
These were awesome!! I doubled the recipe and fried larger-sized patties for a main course. The aioli is wonderful. The only tedious task was dicing the shrimp (which were large size—I’ll buy smaller ones next time. A real winner. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it. Thank you for the wonderful review!
First time every leaving a comment for a recipe! Your recipe is amazing! I put the cakes into fresh baked bread and added a fresh fruit salad on the side. It worked great together! 😉
I’m so inspired reading your review. Thank you!