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Home » Recipes » Salads & Side Dish Recipes

Italian Marinated Shrimp

Published: Jul 1, 2022 by Jan Nunes

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Vertical image of a plate of shrimp garnished with green onions, celery leaves, and a lemon half with text overlay.
Vertical image of a plate of shrimp garnished with green onions, celery leaves, and a lemon half with text overlay.
Vertical image of a plate of shrimp garnished with green onions, celery leaves, and a lemon half with text overlay.

Italian Marinated Shrimp is ready in 1 hour when you use your favorite Italian salad dressing as a marinade.

Vertical image of a plate of shrimp garnished with green onions, celery leaves, and a lemon half.

This recipe uses your favorite Italian dressing to make delicious, marinated shrimp that doesn’t require grilling or cooking because you use cooked shrimp from your local fish market that has already been peeled and deveined.

Just add a squeeze of lemon and some fresh herbs to round out the flavors and you have a gorgeous dish for a casual dinner or an elegant buffet.

Even better yet, this dish can be served as a main course, salad, side dish, or appetizer.

Jump to:
  • Ingredients
  • Instructions
  • Substitutions & Variations
  • Make-Ahead & Storage
  • My Top Tips
  • More Delicious Posts
  • 📖 Recipe

Ingredients

Ingredients with text overlay. Clockwise from top right: cooked shrimp, lemon, chopped green onion, Italian salad dressing.
  • Cooked Shrimp - Select medium-sized shrimp that are 26 to 30 per pound. Most seafood counters offer shrimp that are already cleaned and cooked.
  • Italian Salad Dressing - A well-seasoned Italian vinaigrette dressing is ideal.
  • Lemon - You will need lemon juice and a halved lemon makes a nice garnish.
  • Sliced Green Onions - These add another flavor note and make a pretty green garnish.

Please see the recipe card for the exact quantities.

Instructions

Squeezing fresh lemon juice by hand into Italian salad dressing.

Whisk. In a large bowl whisk together the Italian salad dressing and fresh lemon juice.

Cooked shrimp in a stainless steel bowl with Italian marinade.

Combine. Add the cooked shrimp and gently toss to cover each shrimp with the marinade.

Sealing the shrimp in a covered container to marinate.

Chill. Cover the bowl and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

Marinated shrimp plated and garnished with green onions, celery leaves, and a lemon half.

Garnish & Serve. Transfer the marinated shrimp to a serving bowl or platter and garnish with the sliced green onions.

How Long Can I Marinate Shrimp?


Cooked shrimp can be marinaded for up to 2 hours in an acidic marinade without toughening the texture.

However, if the shrimp is raw and the marinade is acidic, you can only marinade shrimp for up to 30 minutes without changing the texture of the shrimp to soft or mushy.

Substitutions & Variations

We enjoy this recipe for marinated shrimp as written, but there are a few tweaks you can make that are also delicious!

  • Spicy - add chili pepper flakes to the marinade for a bit of heat. Try ⅛ teaspoon per pound and then add more to your taste.
  • Dill - Dill weed has a bright and aromatic flavor that is popular in seafood dishes. Add a few fresh sprigs of dill before serving.
  • Lime - change up the citrus and try lime juice instead of lemon.
Close up view of marinated shrimp with celery leaves and green onions.

Make-Ahead & Storage

This recipe is meant to be made 1 to 2 hours in advance of serving. But, you can make this marinated shrimp up to 5 hours ahead of time if you don't add the lemon juice to the marinade.

Cooked shrimp will become tough if left in citrus juice for several hours, so add the lemon juice just before serving if you plan to make this in advance.

Seafood is always best if consumed the same day it is prepared. However, this marinated shrimp can be kept in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to 2 days.

My Top Tips

Seafood Safety

Seafood should never have a fishy, sour, or ammonia smell. These are signals the seafood will make you sick. Even if you get just a whiff of these odors you must not eat it. It is impossible to cook, marinate, or freeze away the danger of spoiled seafood.

When working with seafood always work quickly to minimize the time that it is not refrigerated.

Shrimp Size

I like the size of shrimp that are 26 to 30 per pound. They are substantial and have the best flavor and presentation.

Shrimp Tails

You can leave the tails on the shrimp or remove them. I've made this dish both ways for family and guests and have had compliments on both versions and the tails look very pretty on the shrimp.

Overall if I am using the shrimp for an appetizer I leave the tail on. If the dish is a side dish or part of the main course, I take the tails off.

Portrait image of cooked shrimp, garnished with sliced green onions and celery leaves.

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📖 Recipe

Square image of a plate of shrimp garnished with green onions, celery leaves, and a lemon half.

Italian Marinated Shrimp

4.60 from 5 votes
Encharted Cook | Jan Nunes
Italian Marinated Shrimp is ready in 1 hour when you use your favorite Italian salad dressing as a marinade.
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Prep Time 10 mins
Chilling Time: 1 hr
Total Time 1 hr 10 mins
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 6 Servings
Calories 87 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • ⅓ Cup Italian Salad Dressing
  • 2 Teaspoons Fresh Lemon Juice
  • 1 Pound Cooked Shrimp, 26-30 Count Per Pound
  • ¼ Cup Sliced Green Onion, Green Tops Only

Instructions
 

  • Whisk. In a large bowl whisk together the Italian salad dressing and fresh lemon juice.
    ⅓ Cup Italian Salad Dressing, 2 Teaspoons Fresh Lemon Juice
  • Combine. Add the cooked shrimp and gently toss to cover each shrimp with the marinade.
    1 Pound Cooked Shrimp
  • Chill. Cover the bowl and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.
  • Garnish & Serve. Transfer the marinated shrimp to a serving bowl or platter and garnish with the sliced green onions.
    ¼ Cup Sliced Green Onion

Notes

Substitutions & Variations
  • Spicy - add chili pepper flakes to the marinade for a bit of heat. Try ⅛ teaspoon per pound and then add more to your taste.
  • Dill - Dill weed has a bright and aromatic flavor that is popular in seafood dishes. Add a few fresh sprigs of dill before serving.
  • Lime - change up the citrus and try lime juice instead of lemon.
Make-Ahead & Storage
You can make this marinated shrimp up to 5 hours ahead of time if you don't add lemon to the marinade. Cooked shrimp will become tough if left in citrus juice for several hours, so add the lemon juice just before serving if you plan to make this in advance.
Seafood is always best if consumed the same day it is prepared. However, this marinated shrimp can be kept in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to 2 days.
My Top Tips
Seafood Safety
Seafood should never have a fishy, sour, or ammonia smell. These are signals the seafood will make you sick. Even if you get just a whiff of these odors you must not eat it. It is impossible to cook, marinate, or freeze away the danger of spoiled seafood.
When working with seafood always work quickly to minimize the time that it is not refrigerated.
Shrimp Size
I like the size of shrimp that are 26 to 30 per pound. They are substantial and have the best flavor and presentation.
Shrimp Tails
You can leave the tails on the shrimp or remove them. Overall if I am using the shrimp for an appetizer I leave the tail on. If the dish is a side dish or part of the main course, I take the tails off.

Nutrition Per Serving

Calories: 87kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 0.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 558mg | Potassium: 110mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 182IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 0.3mg

All nutritional information on this site is an estimate. Your results may vary.

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