This quick and easy recipe for prawn cocktail brioche buns takes the classic prawn cocktail and assembles the retro appetiser on sweet brioche buns to create deliciously simple shrimp sliders. Peeled cooked prawns coated in a classic seafood sauce are arranged on a bed of mini cos leaves and garnished with fresh fragrant dill. Serve with dishes of seafood sauce on the table so guests can add more.
Brioche buns are having a moment here in Australia. Whether bought from a fancy bakery or a certain German budget supermarket we’ve all come to love during this cost of living crisis, when fresh and warm brioche buns taste rich and sweet and make your home smell like a French boulangerie. These make fantastic appetisers or finger food for a Christmas gathering.
They also make one of our best prawn recipes, these fantastic prawn cocktail brioche buns – or shrimp sliders, for our American readers. Essentially, a prawn cocktail between two pieces of bread – sweet soft fluffy brioche buns – these petite prawn burgers make the retro 1970s appetiser for these frugal times that are mid 2020s.
If you enjoy these, also try our creamy shrimp dip recipe and this spread of chilled cooked prawns with dipping sauces, which is what my mum and I are having for Christmas lunch.
Still looking for Christmas menu ideas? Browse our Christmas recipe collections for Chrissy cooking inspo, and recipes for the best Christmas day breakfast and Christmas day brunch, best dips for crackers and crudités and Christmas cocktails for festive parties, best Christmas starters, best Christmas salads, best Christmas seafood recipes, alternatives to traditional Christmas roasts, vegetable sides, and best desserts for Christmas.
We’ve also got recipes for homemade edible Christmas gifts, my traditional Russian-Ukrainian Christmas food, Christmas menu ideas for casual gatherings for non-traditionalists, last minute Christmas meal ideas, and ideas for Christmas leftovers. We also have Christmas gift ideas for home cooks from pro chefs and last minute Christmas cooking and entertaining tips from the world’s best chefs, Australia’s finest chefs, and cookbook authors, food writers and editors.
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Prawn Cocktail Brioche Buns Recipe for Delicious Shrimp Sliders
If you’re fond of the prawn cocktail, you’ll love this quick and easy recipe for prawn cocktail brioche buns or shrimp sliders. Buy cooked prawns and brioche buns and these will be on the buffet table in 15 minutes. I prefer to make a classic seafood sauce, but if you used store-bought they’d be done in 10 minutes or less.
Australian prawns are plentiful and affordable here, especially the wonderful big black tiger prawns, sold cooked in their shells at Aldi this week. They’re deliciously rich, meaty and sweet. I’ve got a pack in the fridge for Christmas Day. Also delicious and great value but not as great tasting, are the cooked fresh prawns in the fridge (not freezer) at IGAs right now.
Sadly, there are no fish markets in our neck of the woods – and I’m literally in the woods here at mum’s in central Victoria, surrounded by box-ironbark forest and grassy woodlands – so we’re dependent on supermarkets. After seeing my husband and cat again, the next thing I’m looking forward to seeing again are the local markets, farm fresh produce, and fresh seafood.
Just a few tips to making this recipe for prawn cocktail brioche buns or shrimp sliders, as these are so easy they don’t even need a recipe.
Tips to Making this Prawn Cocktail Brioche Buns Recipe
I literally only have a few tips to making this recipe for prawn cocktail brioche buns or shrimp sliders, as these are so quick and easy to pull together that you’ll never have to look at a recipe again after making them.
Brioche Buns
This shrimp slider recipe calls for eight brioche buns, as they come in an 8-pack but obviously adjust the amount to suit the number of guests. Blown the Christmas budget on the prawns and it doesn’t stretch to brioche buns?
Use burger buns, soft sesame rolls, hot dog buns, Turkish bread, the thick Japanese-style thick white fluffy bread used to make a tamago sando (Japanese egg sandwich), or just plain white supermarket bread – when super fresh and soft it will do the job.
It’s summer here in Australia but if you’re in the chilly northern hemisphere you may wish to warm the brioche buns in an oven on low while you’re making the seafood sauce.
Slice the brioche buns in half and lay 2-3 mini cos leaves on each base. Wait, what? No butter? Brioche tastes buttery, plus there’s that creamy seafood sauce, so I don’t think they need it, but of course you could spread on a generous layer of good quality French butter.
Seafood Sauce
I really don’t like store-bought seafood sauce but if you’ve found a brand you like by all means use it and it will save you a few minutes. Otherwise, make your own seafood sauce in a large bowl, as you’re going to toss the prawns in it.
Make the seafood sauce by stirring your favourite mayonnaise and tomato sauce (ketchup) until combined, then add the lemon juice, finely diced purple shallot, the spices and seasoning, and finely chopped fresh dill, and stir until well combined.
Transfer half the sauce to serving dishes for the table, so your guests can dollop more sauce on top of the prawns if they like.
The Prawns or Shrimps
If you want to buy fresh raw prawns, I have detailed tips for cooking prawns in this classic prawn cocktail recipe. But the whole point of this recipe was to give you a quick and easy idea for a casual Christmas Day gathering, so buy peeled cooked prawns or shrimps.
Prawn tail on or off? Prawn tails on look prettier plus some of us like to munch into them. If you don’t, or you think your guests might not, slice the tails off then toss the prawns in the seafood sauce and stir through to coat them lightly. Your guests can add more if they like.
Use small tongs to arrange a few prawns on each brioche bun, sprinkle with more fresh dill sprigs, and serve with dishes of seafood sauce on the table. These are fantastic with glasses of bubbly or cold craft beers.
Prawn Cocktail Brioche Buns Recipe for Shrimp Sliders
Ingredients
- 8 brioche buns
- 1 baby cos lettuce - or little gem, washed and patted dry
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup tomato sauce - (ketchup)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 small purple shallot - finely diced
- ½ tsp ground paprika
- ½ tsp ground chilli powder - optional
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 4 tbsp fresh dill - finely chopped
- 24 cooked prawns or shrimps - shells removed except tails
- 2 tbsp fresh dill sprigs - for garnishing
Instructions
- Slice the brioche buns in half and lay 2-3 mini cos leaves on each base.
- In a large bowl, make the seafood sauce by stirring the mayonnaise and tomato sauce (ketchup) until combined, then add the lemon juice, finely diced purple shallot, spices, seasoning, and finely chopped fresh dill, and stir until well combined. Transfer half the sauce to serving dishes for the table.
- Add the peeled cooked prawns or shrimps to the bowl and stir through to coat lightly in the sauce. Use small tongs to arrange 3 prawns on each brioche bun, sprinkle with more fresh dill sprigs, and serve with dishes of seafood sauce.
Nutrition
Please do let us know in the comments below if you make these shrimp sliders or prawn cocktail brioche buns, or whatever you’d like to call them, as we love to know how our recipes turn out for you.
