Italian Marinated Shrimp

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

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:

• Ingredient Notes
• How to Make Italian Marinated Shrimp
• My Top Tips
• Substitutions & Variations
• Make-Ahead & Storage
• More Delicious & Helpful Posts
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Ingredient Notes

For my Italian Marinated Shrimp you will need:

• 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.

How to Make Italian Marinated Shrimp

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

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

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.

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.

Make-Ahead & Storage

This recipe is meant to be made 1 to 2 hours before serving. However, you can make the 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.

More Delicious & Helpful Posts

📖 Recipe