Shrimp Burgers
These Shrimp Burgers feature juicy, flavorful shrimp patties packed with finely minced shrimp and veggies. Make these patties into delicious shrimp burgers topped with your favorite toppings, like fresh tomatoes and avocado and/or homemade guacamole.
Enjoy shrimp and avocados in more of my favorite easy recipes like Shrimp Salad Stuffed Avocado and Avocado Shrimp Salad.
These juicy burgers are so full of flavor! They’re loaded with fresh veggies, cilantro, and of course, are made out of shrimp. On their own, these shrimp burgers are amazing… but when you throw them together with a nice dollop of smashed avocado, and they become total rock stars.
The guacamole on these burgers isn’t your usual guac! However, I do have a more traditional Guacamole recipe you’ll also love. These burgers are topped with smashed avocado that’s been made flavorful with just fresh lime juice, salt, chili powder and cumin. The chili powder and cumin perfectly balance the fresh cilantro and veggies!
Shrimp avocado burgers are ideal for summer. They’re bursting with vibrant flavors and plenty of perfectly cooked shrimp. Ideally, they should be served with a Piña Colada to really enjoy that signature summery flavor! Next time you want to impress everyone at the pool party, this is the recipe to use.
Ingredient Notes
Shrimp – You can use fresh or frozen shrimp, just make sure they’re fully thawed and liquids are drained off prior to using.
Vegetables – The shrimp patties are filled with yellow onions, celery, garlic, bell peppers, green onions and cilantro.
Lemon – Freshly squeezed lemon juice and zest adds the most amazing fresh flavor.
Bread Crumbs – I recommend using panko bread crumbs for the very best consistency. These are used to help bind the patties so they hold their shape while cooking. Use gluten free panko bread crumbs if need to keep the recipe gluten free.
Cayenne Pepper – You can add more or less of this to your patty mixture depending on your spice tolerance.
Avocado – Test to see if your avocado is ripe by giving it a gentle squeeze. It should have a little softness to it but still be pretty firm.
Lime Juice – Make sure this is freshly squeezed for the very best flavor.
See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and instructions.
How to Make Shrimp Burgers
Blend half of the shrimp. Pulse half of shrimp (8 oz.) in a food processor until blended well. Scrape it out into the strainer over a mixing bowl.
Blend the veggies. Add the onion, celery, garlic, bell pepper, green onion, and cilantro to the food processor and pulse until finely diced (1). Scrape the veggies out into the strainer over a mixing bowl.
Blend the remaining shrimp. Add remaining shrimp, lemon juice, and lemon zest to the food processor and pulse a few times to finely minced (2). Scrape it out into the strainer as well (3).
Strain the veggies. Press on the veggies in the strainer to get as much juices out of it as you can (4). Discard the juices (5) in the mixing bowl and add the shrimp and veggies into it.
Mix everything together. Add egg, mayo, bread crumbs, salt, and cayenne pepper to the mixing bowl (6). Mix everything well until all ingredients are evenly incorporated (7).
Form the patties. Use an ice cream scoop to get even amount of shrimp mixture and shape the patties. Form burger patties that are about 4 inches in diameter and ½ inch thick (8).
PRO TIP: Grease your hands with some oil to make it easier to shape.
Cook the patties. Add the patties to the pan with oil and don’t cook too many at one time. Give them a little room in between. Cook shrimp patties for 7-9 minutes on each side, until all done and firm to the touch in the center (9).
Recipe FAQs
Yes! Whole preparing the shrimp burgers, use gluten-free panko bread crumbs and use gluten-free buns to serve them as sandwiches.
I recommend using Brioche buns for this shrimp burger recipe because they’re delicate and soft, so they best compliment the delicate shrimp patties.
The best toppings include smashed avocado (scroll down to the recipe for more info) and fresh sliced tomatoes. You can also add some lettuce, thinly sliced red onion, and sauces like avocado dressing, ranch, or remoulade.
You have so many options! A few of my favorites include Mashed Potatoes, Mashed Cauliflower, Oven Roasted Potatoes and Coconut Rice (my personal favorite). Or, stay on the lighter side with veggies like Grilled Corn on the Cob, roasted cauliflower, and Cucumber Salad!
Tips for Keeping the Shrimp Burgers Together
- Make sure to pat the shrimp dry whether you’re using fresh or thawed shrimp.
- Press the juice out of the veggies in the fine mesh strainer.
- Mix the ingredients for the burgers well so that everything is evenly incorporated throughout the mixture.
- Don’t shape patties too thick or too thin, about 1/2 inch in thickness is ideal.
- Cook over heat that’s a little lower than medium so the burgers have time to cook through without cooking too fast on the outside.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan. Leave some room between the patties.
- If possible, use a non-stick cooking pan and make sure to use oil.
- Once you’ve added the shrimp patties to the pan, let them cook undisturbed.
Storing and Reheating
Storing: Make sure to store leftover shrimp burger patties in the refrigerator, in an air-tight container. Properly stored they should be good for 2-3 days.
Reheating: You can easily reheat them for a couple of minutes in a pre-heated cooking pan over medium-low heat. I do not recommend using a microwave to reheat them.
Tools For This Recipe
(Affiliate links)
Digital Instant Read Thermometer
Cutting Board – use plastic cutting board when working with raw meats!
Mixing bowls – stainless steel with grip
More Easy Burger Recipes To Try
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Shrimp Burgers Recipe
Equipment
- Mixing bowls, cutting board, knives see more tools above in the post
Ingredients
Shrimp Burgers:
- 1 lb raw shrimp peeled and de-veined
- ½ medium yellow onion
- 2 celery ribs
- 1 green onion stalk
- 1 small red bell pepper
- 3 lg. garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro leaves not packed
- 1/2 lemon – zest
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 egg
- 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1/2-2/3 cup Panko bread crumbs
- ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper more or less depending on your spice tolerance
- Salt
- 2 Tbsp oil for cooking
To Make The Burger:
- Brioche burger buns
- tomato slices
- 1 Avocado
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/4-1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
Shrimp Burgers:
- Set a large fine mesh strainer over a mixing bowl.If the shrimp is wet, pat them dry with a paper towel.
- Pulse half of shrimp (8 oz.) in a food processor until blended well. Scrape it out into the strainer over a mixing bowl.
- Add yellow onion, celery, garlic, bell pepper, green onion, and cilantro to the food processor, (you may have to chop them into big chunks to fit better,) and pulse until finely diced. Scrape the veggies out into the strainer over a mixing bowl.
- Add remaining shrimp, lemon juice and lemon zest to the food processor and pulse a few times to finely chop. Scrape it out into the bowl.
- Press on the veggies in the strainer to get as much juices out of it as you can. Discard the juices in the mixing bowl and add the shrimp and veggies into it.
- Add egg, mayo, bread crumbs, salt, and cayenne pepper to the mixing bowl. Mix everything well until all ingredients are evenly incorporated.
- Preheat a large (preferrable non-stick) cooking pan over medium to medium-low heat and add some cooking oil.
- Use an ice cream scoop to get even amount of shrimp mixture and shaper the patties. (Tip: grease your hands with some oil to make it easier to shape.) Form burger patties that are about 4 inches in diameter and ½ inch thick. You will end up with 5-6 patties.
- Add the patties to the pan, don't cook too many at one time. Give them about an inch in between. Cook shrimp patties for 7-9 minutes on each side, until all done and firm to the touch in the center.
Burgers:
- While burgers are cooking, smash the avocado in a small bowl with a fork. Add lime juice, salt, chili powder, and cumin. Mix well. (Increase amount of avocado and spices in accordance to however many burgers you are preparing.)
- Build cooked shrimp burgers with some tomatoes on the bottom and a hearty dollop of smashed avocado on top.
Notes
- Make sure to pat the shrimp dry whether you’re using fresh or thawed shrimp.
- Press the juice out of the veggies in the fine mesh strainer.
- Mix the ingredients for the burgers well so that everything is evenly incorporated throughout the mixture.
- Don’t shape patties too thick or too thin, about 1/2 inch in thickness is ideal.
- Cook over heat that’s a little lower than medium so the burgers have time to cook through without cooking too fast on the outside.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan. Leave some room between the patties.
- If possible, use a non-stick cooking pan and make sure to use oil.
- Once you’ve added the shrimp patties to the pan, let them cook undisturbed.
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in May 2016.
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
I’m a little confused! Do you discard the juices? Or do you put then back in the bowl and use? Please clarify..
Hi Ingrid,
You will discard the juices. If you look at the recipe card it is in the 5th step. (Press on the veggies in the strainer to get as much juice out of it as you can. Discard the juices in the mixing bowl) I hope that helps.
I’ve noticed that lately, your recipes are available to PIN ???
Hi, you can go to the recipe card at the top you will see Pin if you click that it will let you pin it. Let me know if that doesn’t work for you.
Totally awesome, have been looking for something like this site for quite a while. Found other sites that are good but not like this one.
Like other comments, these tasted great but would not stick together. I would probably try a different recipe net time.
Hi Tom!
When you say that it would not stick together, do you mean as you are trying to form the raw patties or breaking while trying to flip?
I haven’t ran into this problem really when making shrimp burgers or shrimp meatballs but I have ran into this problem when making vegetarian burgers. Those tend to be hard to flip too. It’s best to use non stick pan because this type of mixture had a higher chance of sticking. Also, use a wider spatula so it gets under the whole patty. It’s also important to let the patties cook enough on one side before trying to flip them. Flipping too soon can cause them to break more. So maybe lower the temperature and cook them a little longer on one side before trying to flip.
Also, you can always form small patties and make them into sliders and serve on slider buns.
Let me know if you have more questions or something specific I can help figure out!