This creamy Cajun Shrimp Soup has the flavor of gumbo but is less time consuming to make!
This cozy shrimp soup was our dinner on New Year’s Day. It was a meal without much fanfare. I mean, the soup was really good, but it wasn’t eaten like a holiday dinner. In fact, we ate it at the coffee table with my brother-in-law while taking turns playing a ridiculous video game. New Year’s just isn’t a big deal at our house. 
I did make the Black Eyed Pea Dip in an attempt to insure our good luck in the coming year, but generally I don’t care about staying up until midnight on December 31st or doing anything special on New Year’s. It’s more of a day to feel sad that Christmas is officially over, take down the Christmas tree, and, in this case, console myself with wine, soup, and video games. What do you do for New Year’s? 
Of course, this spicy, creamy shrimp soup can be enjoyed any time of year. It’s similar to gumbo, but it doesn’t have a dark roux, contains milk, and has the rice cooked right in. If you want the taste of gumbo on a weeknight, this soup is a good bet! It’s great leftover for lunches too. 
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| Prep Time | 5 minutes |
| Cook Time | 40 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 3 tbsp. butter
- 1 onion diced
- 4 ribs celery diced
- 1 green bell pepper seeded and diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced or crushed
- 1 tsp. Cajun seasoning
- 3 tbsp. all purpose flour
- 4 c. reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1 c. uncooked long grain white rice
- 1 c. milk
- 1 lb. thawed peeled shrimp (if using large or jumbo shrimp, cut them into bite-sized pieces)
- hot sauce or cayenne pepper to taste
Ingredients
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- Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, bell pepper, and Cajun seasoning. Saute until vegetables are starting to get tender, about 7 minutes. Stir in garlic, and cook a minute longer.
- Stir in flour until vegetables are coated. Stir in the chicken broth about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until smooth before adding more. Once the mixture is liquidy instead of pasty, you can pour the rest in all at once and stir well. Bring to a low boil.
- Stir in rice, reduce heat to a simmer, and cover. Cook 20 minutes, stirring once or twice during cooking making sure to scrape any rice off the bottom of the pan.
- Turn heat back to medium, stir in milk, and bring back to a simmer. Add shrimp, and cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until shrimp are pink and cooked through. Remove from heat and serve immediately to avoid overcooking the shrimp. Add hot sauce or cayenne pepper to the whole pot or individual servings to suit your taste.
Remember that Cajun seasoning contains salt, so use hot sauce or pepper to increase the heat without making your soup too salty.
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Jov says
Made this tonight. It was FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!! Going in the pile of recipes to make again. And again.
Andi says
Thanks so much, Jov! I’m really happy to hear you liked it!
Kelly - Life Made Sweeter says
Same here, we don’t do very much on New Year’s anymore especially after kids. It was hard for us to even stay up until the count down haha. This soup looks fabulous! It’s super cold here and this creamy cajun soup looks perfect for warming up with. Love how easy it is to whip up too!
Andi says
I hope you are eating lots of soup and staying warm :) Thank you, Kelly!
Annie @Maebells says
Oh yum!! We don’t do very much on New Years either. Actually, this year my husband and I realized the last time we made it to midnight on new years was 2008! hahaha! We are old people.
He has been asking for gumbo, but I haven’t gotten around to it. This looks a great easy version that he would love! I like that the rice is cooked right in there too!
Andi says
Haha that is so funny about 2008! We’re probably about the same. It’s not worth it, although I stayed up until midnight last night trying to optimize my page load time. That’s actually useful though instead of just staying awake to say happy new year ;) Glad you like the soup, Annie. It works great with rice flour instead of wheat flour. Hope you are having a good weekend!
Jen @ Yummy Healthy Easy says
Making this! Pinned and dying to try – yum!
Andi says
Thank you, Jen! I hope you like it!
Christina @ The Beautiful Balance says
I can relate. I can never stay awake for New Years and I’m usually burnt out on the holiday festivities before the ball drops. This soup looks incredible though and I love the short list of easy to find ingredients!
Andi says
Thanks so much, Christina! Glad you like it :)