Prawn Cocktail Sauce

How to make Marie Rose Sauce

Prawn cocktail, also known as shrimp cocktail, is a seafood dish consisting of shelled, cooked prawns in a Marie Rose sauce. 

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*Post updated December 2023

Perfect last-minute starter for Christmas dinner or Thanksgiving.

You can even make mini ones - good for party food!

Prawn cocktail was very popular as a starter dish in the '70s and '80s, but it's still served to this day.

Old-fashioned it may be, but I love prawn cocktails, then again, is there much I don't like in the way of food - possibly not! With that said you will still find it on restaurant menus to this day.

What's the difference between prawn cocktail sauce and Marie rose sauce?

Prawn cocktail sauce is also known as Marie Rose Sauce or seafood sauce, so they are pretty much the same thing. Both are super easy to make.

Thousand Island dressing is different and usually contains finely chopped capers and gherkins. 

Of course, you can use it to make a thousand island-dressing prawn cocktail rather than this.

All you do is mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl - no cooking is involved!

Wondering what prawn cocktail sauce is made of?

Here are the ingredients

• mayonnaise - I use Hellmann's mayonnaise

• tomato ketchup

• Worcestershire sauce

• Tabasco sauce

• sweet smoked paprika 

• fresh lemon juice

• freshly ground black pepper

• cooked prawns (shrimp)

• iceberg lettuce

• lemon wedges

Put some prawns on top of the lettuce. There's no need to fuss with exact measurements - just taste as you go and add a bit more of whatever you feel it needs.

So the amounts in my recipe are a guide - you can make any amount you wish.

How long does prawn cocktail sauce keep? 

You can make your prawn cocktail in advance, the sauce will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days if kept in an air-tight food container.

However, to make it in advance, keep the prawns separate from the sauce and mix them together just before serving.

Oh, and by the way, prawn cocktail is actually rather nice served on top of a jacket potato!

Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating in the recipe card below!

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Starter,

English

Yield: 2

Author: Jan Bennett

Prawn Cocktail Sauce

Back to the 60's, 70's and 80's good old Prawn Cocktail!

Prep time: 5 MinTotal time: 5 Min

Ingredients

For the sauce

• 4 heaped tablespoons of Hellmann's mayonnaise
• 2 heaped tablespoons of Heinz tomato ketchup
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce - or to taste
• dash of Tabasco sauce - or to taste
• fresh lemon juice - to taste
• 1 teaspoon of paprika
• freshly ground black pepper

To serve

• 2 handfuls of cooked prawns (shrimp)
• baby sweet gem leaves - or shredded iceberg lettuce
• lemon wedges
• paprika - to sprinkle over before serving
• freshly ground black pepper - to sprinkle over before serving

Instructions

1. In a medium-sized bowl mix the sauce ingredients together. The sauce should be lovely and bright in colour and taste nice and tangy.
2. You may want to add a little more Worcestershire sauce, ketchup or tabasco sauce.
3. Serve the sauce on top of the lettuce and prawns, sprinkling with a little more black pepper.
4. Add a wedge of lemon on the side for squeezing over.

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