Lighter Shrimp Newberg Recipe

Shrimp Newberg is a beloved classic seafood dish, known for its rich, creamy sauce and tender shrimp. This lighter Shrimp Newberg recipe is my mother-in-law’s traditional version, which I have adapted to be healthier using lighter ingredients without sacrificing flavour. It’s a delicious, elegant meal, easy enough for a weeknight dinner, but perfect for special occasions.

(Apologies for the photograph in this post, it was originally published in 2011, and will be updated very soon!)

How This Recipe Came To Be

Not long after I met the man who would become my husband, his lovely sister gave me one of two copies of a book of their mum’s recipes that they had complied and illustrated by hand when they were kids. It is a precious resource I refer to regularly, and in the early days of my relationship with my husband, knowing how to make his mum’s recipes got me a lot of brownie points!

One of the recipes is for a traditional Shrimp Newberg. I decided to make it one evening when my son was still quite young, and I was worried about some of the spicing which seemed a bit intense. I also wanted to reduce the calories in the dish, which normally includes heavy or double cream.

After several test runs, I came up with this lighter Shrimp Newberg recipe, one that we still enjoy all these years later.

This lighter Shrimp Newberg recipe comes together very quickly, so be sure to have all your ingredients ready before you start. Don’t let the idea of the vinegar put you off, it boosts the flavour of this dish in the most amazing way!

Lighter Shrimp Newberg Recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 red pepper, thinly sliced

4 tablespoons sherry vinegar

2 tablespoons flour

½ cup (125 ml) sherry

½ cup (125 ml) single cream or half and half

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

salt and pepper

1 pound of cooked shrimp (thawed if frozen)

2 handfuls of asparagus, cut into thirds and lightly steamed for about 3 minutes

Cooked rice to serve

Gently sauté the onion in the oil over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes.  Add the sliced red pepper and sauté five minutes more.

Turn the heat up a bit, add sherry vinegar and cook, stirring constantly, for two to three minutes until it has mostly cooked away. Lower the heat again, sprinkle the flour over the vinegar soused onions and stir to mix.  Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.

Now add the sherry, a bit at a time, stirring after each addition. The mixture should thicken up after each addition. Then add the milk a bit at a time, also stirring after each addition. Add the mustard and stir through. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add asparagus and shrimp and heat through. The sauce should be a nice consistency at this point, but if it is a little thick just add a tiny bit more milk. Serve over rice. I put a basket of hot crusty rolls on the table with this and they were the perfect accompaniment.