Shrimp, Okra, & Corn Succotash is a flavorful and colorful side dish turned into a main course. Make the most of your abundant summer vegetables with a Southern favorite full of Cajun spice.
This past spring, we moved into a house on an acre and all I could think of was making a huge garden.
This summer, the garden started growing okra like CRAZY. We can pick it and the next day have five more to pick. We also ended up with tons of tomatoes! I cut the “suckers” off the tomatoes and replanted them – it is tomato city over here.
We can’t grow corn because we have evil wildlife that digs things up a eats our plants! (Here’s my 1 of 50 sunflower seeds that grew. The birds and squirrels ate them ALL as they started to sprout. We had one survivor (for a day before it was eaten!))
We have been trying to come up with fun and tasty ways to use our okra and aside from gumbo, our favorite dish so far has been this Shrimp, Okra, & Corn Succotash.
What is Succotash?
Succotash is a Southern side dish – based off of corn, okra, tomatoes. It is so easy to make but it is so fresh and flavorful. It is a great way to use the summer vegetables that are in abundance in most Southern gardens and are also cheaper at the grocery store.
🥘 Ingredients
When I make succotash, I use the vegetables that are in season or things that we need to use up. My favorite combination has been: corn, okra, green beans, red onions, orange bell peppers, jalapeños, and cherry tomatoes. I served this over orzo – also not necessary.
I added shrimp to this dish to make a main course, but you could just as easily skip the shrimp to make a side dish or add tofu to keep it vegetarian.
📖 Options
You can add any fresh veggies that you have but always start with a base of corn, okra, & tomatoes.
You can add lima beans, zucchini, bell peppers – whatever sounds good.
🥣 How to Make It
To make succotash, begin by cooking your corn. (If you do not have access to fresh corn or if you want to save time, you can use frozen corn.)
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Suggestion: Never boil your corn in water with salt! It can make the kernels tough and chewy.
Once the water is boiling, drop in your corn and boil for 4 – 7 minutes.
While your corn is boiling, dice up your veggies and season your shrimp. (Toss and coat in half a teaspoon of Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning and let sit.)
Remove your corn. It should be soft but still crunchy – it will still cook more once thrown in the pan. Let cool and cut the corn kernels off the cobs.
Next, heat 3 tablespoons of butter in a skillet until it melts. Add your diced red onions to the butter and begin sauteing.
Once your onions are translucent, add your garlic and shrimp to the pan.
Cook your shrimp until they are pink and then flip them over. Shrimp can overcook really easily so make sure you watch them.
Cook until the second side is pink and remove them from the pan.
Add a tablespoon of olive oil to your pan and add your veggies, starting with okra and bell peppers.
Leave out the tomatoes until the very end.
Once the okra is cooked well, add your corn. Season your vegetables with 1 teaspoon of Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning and 1 tsp salt.
Continue cooking for 5 – 10 minutes and add your shrimp back to the pan with your cherry tomatoes.
Add a few more shakes of Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning and serve either alone or over orzo or rice.
How yummy does that look?
Can you Make Paleo Succotash with this Recipe?
TOTALLY. Just follow the recipe as instructed, but use ghee in place of butter and leave out any corn or lima beans. Add extra peppers! Yum.
🥫 Storage/Shelf Life/Reheating
Refrigerate any leftovers for 3 – 5 days in an airtight container – leftover shrimp degrades in quality pretty quickly.
How Do You Reheat Shrimp Succotash?
Reheat on medium power for 1 – 2 minutes. If you overheat leftover shrimp, it will overcook and get tough.
Other Succotash Ideas
Here’s another Succotash we just made. I called it “Leftover Vegetable Succotash.” It is made of zucchini, broccoli, red onion, corn, okra, garlic, and I added fresh cherry tomatoes from our garden at the end! Yum! We ate this with some Mealthy Air Fryer CrispLid Crispy Chicken Thighs. The crisp lid is a topper for an Instant Pot, and it works just like an air fryer!
Have You Tried This Recipe?
Please rate it and leave a comment below. I would love to hear what you think!
Shrimp, Corn, and Okra Succotash
Equipment
- a frying pan
Ingredients
- 1 – 2 pounds medium/large shrimp Fresh or frozen (but defrosted) is fine!
- 2 + 1/2 teaspoon Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning Use 1/2 teaspoon to preseason the shrimp, then use the rest as you cook. You can buy Tony's on Amazon!
- 3 tablespoons butter Ghee works really well also!
- 1/2 cup red onion diced
- 2 – 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 – 4 ears corn If corn is not in season, 2 cups of frozen corn will work as well but will need to be cooked longer.
- 1 – 2 cups okra, diced Fresh is best, but you can also use frozen okra!
- 1 cup green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces You can use fresh or frozen green beans.
- 1/2 cup bell pepper, diced I use whatever color we happen to have on hand.
- 1 medium jalapeño diced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt salt is to taste – I like 1 teaspoon, you might like more salt!
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
Instructions
- Begin by cooking your corn. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. (If you do not have access to fresh corn or if you want to save time, you can use frozen corn.)
- Once the water is boiling, drop in your corn and boil for 4 – 7 minutes.
- While your corn is boiling, dice up your veggies and season your shrimp by tossing and coating with half a teaspoon of Tony's Chachere's Creole Seasoning. Let the shrimp sit.
- Next, remove your corn. It should be soft but still crunchy – it will still cook more once thrown in the pan.
- Let cool and cut the corn kernels off the cobbs.
- Next, heat 3 tablespoons of butter (or ghee) in a skillet until it melts and add your diced red onions to the pan to saute.
- Once your onions are translucent, add your garlic and shrimp to the pan. Cook your shrimp until they are pink and then flip them over. Shrimp can overcook really easily so make sure you watch them.
- Cook until the second side is pink and remove them from the pan.
- Add a tablespoon of olive oil to your pan and add your veggies, starting with okra and bell peppers. Leave out the tomatoes until the very end.
- Once the okra is cooked well, add your corn. Season your vegetables with 1 teaspoon of Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning and 1 tsp salt.
- Continue cooking for 5 – 10 minutes and add your shrimp back to the pan with your cherry tomatoes. Add a few more shakes of Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning and serve either alone or over orzo or rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is approximate and is automatically calculated, so should only be used as a guide.
This dish was simply amazing!!!! We added some lemon juice at the very end and it made the dish pop with added flavor!!! Thank you for the recipe!!
I’m so glad you liked it!!
This dish looks so good, and perfect for the summertime. I love shrimp dishes!
Looks so good, we love shrimp dishes, they’re so easy, light and delish! Thanks for sharing 🙂