Thick, tasty Shrimp Burgers where the sweet, succulent shrimp really shines! Slathered with delicious tartar sauce, and on a brioche bun, this sandwich is heaven!
Years ago, while living in North Carolina, I visited the lovely state of South Carolina several times. Gorgeous beaches, pleasant climate, friendly people, and of course, awesome food! (Charleston, anyone?) Once, I saw “Shrimp Burger” on a menu. I have to admit, I was a little skeptical. Because how could you make shrimp into a burger? And, to be perfectly honest, why? Well, I tried it. Then I knew. And once you try this sweet, succulent Shrimp Burger, you will know, too!
The difficult part of making a burger out of shrimp is the choice of a “binder”. It has to stick together in a cohesive, hand-held unit. Because you know we don’t want all of those gorgeous shrimp falling out of that sweet brioche bun, along with the briny tartar sauce. For these Shrimp Burgers, a paste is made from shrimp and mayonnaise, along with some Old Bay Seasoning. Then the rest of the shrimp are incorporated, making a lovely mixture to form thick, panko-coated Shrimp patties.
This quick meal is bound to get rave reviews! Just a few minutes to make the tartar sauce and form the patties, and they cook in 10 minutes or less. What could be better?
Enjoy!
If you’re looking for burgers, take a look at my Turkey Burger with Special Sauce, this awesome and flavorful Asian Style Ginger Pork Burger, or this amazing Lamb Burger that cooks in its bun, or for something really different, my Homemade Doner Kebab sandwich.
Other shrimp recipes include this amazing Spicy Shrimp Corn Chowder or this Shrimp Cobb Salad with Cilantro and Lime.
Recipe Details
This Shrimp Burgers recipe is easy and straightforward. I saw this Shrimp Burger recipe prepared on Cook’s Country, and have followed that recipe with the exception of changing the spices.
I’ve made these burgers with both fresh and thawed (previously frozen) shrimp. I do not recommend using FROZEN, thawed shrimp! When I used previously frozen shrimp, my burgers were lacking in both flavor and texture. It was difficult to even shape the burger. I suppose if I were to add more panko this could’ve been prevented, but I still don’t recommend this. Use Fresh shrimp!
First make the tartar sauce, by mixing all of the ingredients together. Put the sauce in the fridge while you make the burgers.
Then, you’ll want to grind the panko into a coarse powder. You can do this using small portions in a spice grinder, or in about 30 seconds, or 15 pulses in a food processor. (I use This one) Pour the ground panko into a shallow bowl that you can use to dredge the Shrimp Patties. Then, make a paste in the processor by using about 1/3 of the Fresh (not frozen!) peeled, deveined, tail-off, shrimp, some mayo and Old Bay Seasoning.
Next, you’ll want to create a binder for your burger, and this is done by creating a “paste” made of ground shrimp, mayonnaise and spices. To the paste, add the whole shrimp, then pulse 4-5 times. You want to be able to see shrimp pieces, but there should no longer be any whole shrimp in the mix. If you don’t have a food processor, cut each shrimp into 2-3 segments and mix with the paste.
Once you have your shrimp mixed in, add the chopped scallions and form patties. The recipe should form 4 patties, each 3/4” thick. I made 1 1/2 recipes, in order to make 6 patties. Then dredge each patty in the ground panko, pressing it in a bit, but shaking off any excess panko.
Heat a skillet over medium heat, and add the oil. Once the oil shimmers, add the patties and cook 3-5 minutes per side. The panko should become dark, golden brown, and crispy. I cooked some in a non-stick and some in a regular, flat-bottomed skillet, and greatly preferred the result in the regular flat-bottom skillet – 4 minutes per side was perfect over medium heat.
Be sure to check the temperature if you have a thermometer – it should be 140-145F. Or cut one open. You should see bits of pink from the cooked shrimp. If it is still opaque, it needs more cook time. Put the cooked patties on a nice brioche bun, slather with tartar sauce. A leaf or two of lettuce, and some sweet or dill pickles are a nice addition, too!
Ground Panko 
Shrimp and spices ground to a paste 
Add whole shrimp, pulse again Burger Patties 
Patty with Panko 
Tartar Sauce Ingredients
Shrimp Burgers
This recipe was made on Cook’s Country in 2015. The only adaptation I made was to substitute Old Bay Seasoning for the spices (paprika, salt and pepper) they used. The best thing about this tender burger is you can really taste the sweet and succulent shrimp.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Total Time: 30 min
- Yield: 4 Patties 1x
- Category: Burgers
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the Tartar Sauce:
- 3/4 cup Mayonnaise
- 1 small Shallot, minced
- 1 Tbsp Capers, chopped
- 3 Tbsp Dill pickles, minced
- 1 tsp Brine from the pickle jar
- 1/4 tsp Pepper
For the Shrimp Patties:
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 20 oz. (600g) FRESH Medium-Large Shrimp (20–24 or 26-30/lb), peeled, deveined, tail-off
- 2 Tbsp. Mayonnaise
- 1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
- 3 Scallions, chopped finely
- 3 T Canola or Vegetable Oil
Instructions
Make the Tartar Sauce:
- Mix all Tartar sauce ingredients together in a bowl. Place in fridge while you cook the patties.
Make the Shrimp Burger Patties:
- Process the panko by pulsing 15 times or blending 30 seconds to grind it to a coarse sand texture. Place panko into a shallow bowl, where you can dredge the shrimp patties before cooking them,
- Using a food processor or blender, take about 1/3 of the shrimp, the mayonnaise, and Old Bay seasoning. Blend into a paste by pulsing 8-10 times or processing about 15-20 seconds.
- To the paste, add the remaining shrimp. (If you don’t have a food processor, then cut the peeled, deveined shrimp into 2-3 segments apiece and add to the paste and stir until well-mixed). Pulse the processor 3-5 times, scraping down the sides as needed. You should be able to clearly see segments of shrimp, but no whole shrimp. Remove the mixture to a separate bowl.
- Stir in the chopped scallions.
- Form the mixture into 4 equal sized balls, then press down on them to form round patties. I like to do it this way to ensure the patties are equal sized, because it’s easier to make add/subtract from the balls of mixture than it is to the patties already formed. (If you’re making ahead of time, place plastic wrap over the patties at this point and refrigerate up to 8 hours before cooking)
- Dredge the patties in the ground panko, removing to a separate board or plate prior to cooking.
Cook the Patties:
- In a large, flat skillet, heat the oil over Medium heat. Once it shimmers, add the patties. Cook 3-5 minutes per side until golden brown and insides are 140-145F. If you don’t have a thermometer, cut the patties open and determine whether it is fully cooked. If you see areas of pink, this denotes the shrimp is cooked. You should see no translucent areas.
- Serve patties as is, or on buns (brioche!) with tartar sauce and leaf lettuce.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Patty
Keywords: Shrimp Burgers, South Carolina Shrimp burgers, Southern Shrimp Burgers
How have I never had a shrimp burger!? I’ve probably had every other kind of burger, haha! I will need to give these a shot, since burgers and sandwiches are a mainstay for us. The kids will eat pretty much anything if it’s in burger form! Gotta try these! XO
★★★★★
Hope you get the chance to try these, Katherine! I know I’ll be making them on repeat here! Hope you have a fantastic Christmas, my friend!☺️😘
making dessert or main meal is so difficult on weekend because they always want something new and this site is my hack lol thanks for making different recipes i can copy lol 🙂
★★★★★
I have never had shrimp burgers before Laura. I’m definitely interested now, after your description and the amazing photographs. I can’t wait to give these a go sometime next year. In the meantime I hope you and your family have an amazing Christmas!!
★★★★★
Thanks, Neil! I’m glad these piqued your interest! I plan on making these on repeat, I loved them so much! Hope you get the chance. I hope your Holidays are wonderful, too!
Holy cow, this sounds like a great recipe. I have used shrimps in all kinds of recipes, salad, stirfry, cocktail, fritters but never in a burger. I can’t wait to try it!
Thanks, Balvinder! I hope you get the chance! Let me know what you think of them! And thanks for visiting!
I have never seen, or even thought about using shrimp to make a burger, but it sounds like an awesome idea and your burgers look amazing! I totally need to try this!!
Thanks, Kelly! I’m glad others are as shocked as I was to even think shrimp could be made into a burger! But definitely give it a try, it’s so good! And easy!
You had me at Charleston, Laura! I do remember seeing shrimp burgers on menus, but my unadventurous kid self didn’t try them. My current self would totally try them, but, well, upstate New York is a long way from Charleston. (But if you want Chicken Parm, then we’ve got you covered there! Haha.) I’m digging this recipe, and I totally want to make these here at home. Sounds delicious!
★★★★★
Thanks, David – I hope you get the chance to try these, I imagine you’ll be hooked, like I am! And that Chicken Parm sounds delish – the awesome Italian joint is not all that plentiful here. I’ll send you a shrimp burger if you send me a chicken parm – how’s that sound?
Shrimp burgers, yummo! I haven’t had one in years. I used to travel to the Charleston area often and have fond memories of enjoying a shrimp burger at a little place in Oyster Creek, SC. All the ingredients for your shrimp burger are doable and I’m in for anything that makes me think warm beach just now.
★★★★★
Yay! Thanks, Ron! Glad you’re shrimp burger fan! I agree, it’s all easy here! Glad I could help you find a beach, at least in your mind!
Oh goodness I would LOVE these. You can tell how moist they are, and fabulous flavors! Way better than salmon burgers. Can’t wait to try these. And easy with a food processor. Yum.
Thanks, Mimi! These are indeed wonderful! I particularly loved how the flavor of the shrimp was front and center! And I agree, the food processor makes it all so easy!