Three years ago, my friend Jessica came back from a coastal road trip and wouldn't shut up about this Florida shrimp pie she'd tried at some little seafood market. "Safa, you HAVE to make this," she kept saying, scribbling notes on a napkin about flaky crust and sweet shrimp. Honestly? I thought it sounded weird. Seafood in a pie? But she kept going on about how the lady at the market said it was her grandmother's recipe, something Gulf Coast families had been making forever.
Why You'll Love This Old Fashioned Florida Shrimp Pie
Back making this probably 200 times for family dinners, potlucks, and that one time for Lucas's teacher (she asked for the recipe immediately), here's why it works. The crust is buttery and actually flaky-not that sad, soggy kind. And the filling? You can taste the shrimp. That sounds obvious, but so many recipes drown everything in cream and cheese until you might as well be eating cardboard. This one lets the Florida shrimp pie be shrimp. It fills you up without making you want to pass out on the couch after. You can throw it together in the morning and bake it whenever.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Old Fashioned Florida Shrimp Pie
- Ingredients for Florida Shrimp Pie
- How To Make Florida shrimp pie Step By Step
- Smart Swaps for Different Needs
- Florida shrimp pie for Variations
- Equipment for Florida shrimp pie
- Storing Your Florida shrimp pie
- What to Serve With Florida Shrimp Pie
- Top Tip
- The Secret Recipe My Cousin Will Never Share
- FAQ
- Time to Make Some Coastal Magic!
- Related
- Pairing
- Florida shrimp pie
Ingredients for Florida Shrimp Pie
The Shrimp Base:
- Large shrimp
- Unsalted butter
- Yellow onion
- Celery stalks
- Fresh garlic
- All-purpose flour
- Heavy cream
- Whole milk
- Fresh lemon juice
- Old Bay seasoning
- Fresh parsley
- Sea salt
- Black pepper
The Crust:
- All-purpose flour
- Cold unsalted butter
- Ice water
- Salt
- Shortening
Finishing Touch:
- Melted butter for brushing
- Egg wash
See recipe card for quantities.
How To Make Florida shrimp pie Step By Step
Back teaching this to my neighbor Carol and my sister-in-law (who both said they'd never made pie crust before), here's the method that works every time:
Make the Crust:
- Cut cold butter into flour and salt until it looks like peas
- Add ice water one tablespoon at a time
- Form into a disk, wrap it up, chill 30 minutes
- Roll out two circles
Prepare the Filling:
- Sauté onion and celery in butter until soft
- Toss in garlic for one minute
- Sprinkle flour over everything, cook 2 minutes
- Slowly whisk in cream and milk
- Add seasonings and lemon juice
- Fold in raw shrimp
- Let it cool 15 minutes
Assemble:
- Line pan with bottom crust
- Pour in cooled filling
- Top with second crust
- Pinch edges closed and cut vents
- Brush with egg wash
Bake:
- Let it sit 10 minutes before cutting
- Start at 425°F for 15 minutes
- Drop to 350°F
- Bake 35-40 minutes until golden
Smart Swaps for Different Needs
From making this for my lactose-intolerant cousin and my friend who hates celery, here's what actually works:
Seafood Options:
- Gulf shrimp → Bay scallops
- Large shrimp → Rock shrimp (sweeter, more delicate)
- All shrimp → Half shrimp, half crab meat
Dairy Alternatives:
- Heavy cream → Half-and-half (makes it lighter)
- Whole milk → Seafood stock (way lighter)
- Butter → Olive oil (less rich)
Crust Variations:
- Homemade → Store-bought (nobody will know)
- Traditional → Puff pastry (looks fancier)
- Double crust → Single crust with biscuit topping
Seasoning Swaps:
- Parsley → Dill or tarragon
- Old Bay → Cajun seasoning (spicier)
- Lemon juice → White wine (richer)
Florida shrimp pie for Variations
Cheesy Gulf Coast:
- Toss sharp cheddar into filling
- Sprinkle Parmesan on top
- Stir in cream cheese for extra richness
Veggie-Loaded:
- Throw in bell peppers
- Add corn kernels
- Mix in spinach
- Fold in mushrooms
Individual Portions:
- Make as hand pies
- Great for lunches
- Freezes really well
- Perfect for parties
Lighter Version:
- Use phyllo dough layers instead
- Swap cream for Greek yogurt
- Add more vegetables
- Cut butter by half
Equipment for Florida shrimp pie
- Deep-dish pie pan (9-inch)
- Heavy-bottomed skillet
- Rolling pin
- Pastry cutter
- Sharp paring knife
Storing Your Florida shrimp pie
From making this for meal prep and testing how long it actually lasts:
Refrigerator (3 days):
- Let it cool completely before covering
- Store in airtight container
- Reheat at 350°F for 20 minutes
- Tent with foil if it's browning too fast
Freezer (2 months):
- Wrap tight in plastic, then foil
- Write the date on it
- Thaw overnight in fridge
- Reheat covered, then uncovered last 10 minutes
Make-Ahead Strategy:
- Put it all together and bake when ready
- Make filling day before
- Keep it in the fridge
- Make crust, wrap and chill
What to Serve With Florida Shrimp Pie
Back serving this at maybe 30 dinners, I know what works. Keep it simple-the pie is rich enough that you need sides that won't put everyone in a food coma. White rice or wild rice is what I usually do because it catches any sauce that leaks out. Throw in a green salad with vinaigrette (skip anything creamy), some roasted asparagus or green beans, and you're good. Garlic bread if you want something to wipe your plate with. Summer? Corn on the cob. Lucas picks rice every time and says the pie "needs something to sit on." Hard to argue with that.
When my in-laws come over and I'm trying to look like I have my life together, I'll make roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon, Caesar salad, and some decent bread. Looks like effort without actually killing me. Just don't do anything else heavy or creamy-I paired this with mac and cheese once and we all regretted it. The pie is what matters. Everything else just gives you something to eat between bites of pie and keeps things from feeling too heavy. Rice, vegetable, maybe bread. Done.
Top Tip
- My Aunt Rita worked at a fish house back in the 70s and has been dealing with Florida shrimp pie longer than I've been alive. One afternoon in 1982, she left her peeled shrimp in a bowl with lemon juice while she answered the phone. Ended up being a long call-her sister had drama, as usual. When she got back 20 minutes later, the Florida shrimp pie had gone slightly pink at the edges from the acid. She almost tossed them but decided to cook them anyway because wasting food wasn't something she did.
- Best Florida shrimp pie she'd ever made. They stayed tender instead of turning into little rubber erasers, and the lemon flavor went all the way through instead of just coating the outside. Now I do it on purpose-toss the raw Florida shrimp pie with lemon juice, let them sit exactly 15 minutes, then add them to the sauce. I've tested it against the regular way about 20 times now, and Rita's method wins every single time. Even Lucas noticed the difference and said it tastes "more like the ocean." Kid's never even been to the ocean.
The Secret Recipe My Cousin Will Never Share
My cousin Maya has been making Florida shrimp pie longer than I have-she got the recipe from her ex-husband's family down in Apalachicola before things went south. She'll share most of her recipes, but this one? Nope. Says it's the one good thing she got out of that marriage. I've eaten her version maybe a dozen times, and it's better than mine. Drives me crazy. Flakier crust, Florida shrimp pie that's somehow more tender, and this flavor I couldn't figure out no matter how many times I asked.
Last Thanksgiving, after three glasses of wine, she caved. She adds a tablespoon of sherry to the filling. Not cooking sherry-real sherry from a bottle she hides in her pantry just for this. And the part that really got me: she brushes the bottom crust with a thin layer of Dijon mustard before dumping in the filling. Not enough that you taste mustard, but enough to cut through all the cream with this little bit of sharpness.
FAQ
What is the official pie of Florida?
Key lime pie is Florida's official state pie since 2006. But savory Florida shrimp pie has been a Gulf Coast thing for generations, especially in fishing towns. It's not official, but it's what locals actually eat regularly instead of saving for tourists.
What is aFlorida shrimp pie ?
Shrimp pie is basically a savory pastry filled with Florida shrimp pie in a creamy sauce. Think chicken pot pie but with seafood. Good versions balance the rich filling with flaky crust and let the shrimp flavor come through. Coastal families have been making their own versions for over 100 years.
What is Florida shrimp pie ?
Florida Florida shrimp pie usually means pink, white, or brown shrimp caught in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic waters off Florida's coast. Wild-caught ones taste sweeter and more delicate than farm-raised imports. Peak season is May through August, but you can find them year-round at most fish markets.
How to reheat Florida shrimp pie?
Reheat at 350°F for 20-25 minutes covered with foil. Take the foil off for the last 5 minutes to crisp up the crust. Don't microwave it-makes the pastry soggy and the Florida shrimp pie rubbery. Let it rest 5 minutes after reheating. Internal temp should hit 165°F.
Time to Make Some Coastal Magic!
Now you've got everything for this Florida shrimp pie-from buying shrimp at the store to Aunt Rita's lemon thing that happened by accident and turned out great. This isn't some fancy restaurant recipe that needs special training. It's what regular people down by the coast have been making forever when they want dinner to feel like an occasion without losing their minds over it.
What I really like about this recipe is how it doesn't fall apart if you mess up a little. Crust looks weird? Doesn't matter once people eat it. Don't have the exact amount of shrimp? Get close and you're good. Stuck with frozen instead of fresh? Just thaw them right and it's fine. That's coastal cooking-practical, no drama, doesn't try to be fancier than it is.
Need more recipes that work for actual life? Our Easy Acorn Squash Recipe is what I make when I need a side that looks like I tried but really took 10 minutes. Got apples? Try our Best Apple Crisp Recipe-been making it since Lucas was three and he still bugs me for it. And if you want another dinner that makes people beg for the recipe, our Easy Marry Me Chicken Recipe is stupid good. Lucas wants it once a week minimum, and honestly, so do I.
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Florida shrimp pie
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Start by preparing the crust dough for the pie.
- Cut cold butter into the flour mixture to form crumbs.
- Gradually add ice water to the dough mixture.
- Roll the dough into circles for the pie crust.
- Sauté onions and celery in butter until softened.
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