Chilled Shrimp Cucumber Cups with Creamy Herb Sauce

Crunchy cucumber cups are the base for chilled shrimp in a creamy lemon & fresh herb sauce! It’s the perfect summer and party appetizer! 

Are you a textural person when it comes to the food you eat? I do. For me, I need a bit of crunch to a sandwich so I’ll add potato chips or carrot sticks to it. Or when I’m eating something crunchy, I need a creamy element. Even my ice cream 99.9% of the time needs a different textural element to it for me to truly love it.

That’s where these cucumber cups come into play. They are creamy, crunchy, tart, bright, light, fresh, and honestly every other adjective I can think of that comes across as “these are damn good!”

The Perfect Snack

I was cleaning my freezer and found a bag of pre-cooked jumbo shrimp. I typically only buy this when I have a shrimp cocktail as Mr. Fantabulous loves that but he wasn’t in the mood for it. Since I had already taken the shrimp out and let it thaw I had to use it up.

I whipped up quick citrus and fresh herb sauce for it as I had every intention of making this into a chilled shrimp salad but I didn’t want a salad any longer. I then texted 2 of my girlfriends as I was stuck on how I wanted to serve it. I kept saying cucumber cup but wasn’t sure what to put with it. So I texted the two of them with a bajillion ideas.

This is what I eventually settled on and man was I happy I did! These little canapés are more than bite-size (as my shrimp were huge so I had to cut the cucumbers bigger) but my word is they are delicious!  They are a killer snack, appetizer, or light dinner!  Let’s make these!

Ingredients Needed

Now normally you can substitute dried herbs for fresh but trust me on this, you WANT the fresh herbs for this recipe. Fresh dill and parsley are what truly make this recipe SING!

• Shrimp – cooked, cooled, deveined, and tails removed (save the tails for seafood stock!)
• Creamy –  mayo and sour cream
• Seasonings – sea salt and black pepper
• Citrus – fresh lemons
• Herbs – fresh dill and parsley
• Vegetables – cucumbers, radishes, and green onions

Prep the Sauce

1. To a bowl, add the mayo and sour cream.
2. Next, add on the chopped fresh herbs, onions, salt, and pepper.

3. Add the juice of one lemon to the bowl and mix to combine.

The mixture will be thick. Taste for seasoning. Sometimes I add a little more salt depending on how I feel and my tastebuds are. It should be creamy, light, and bright with just a hint of citrus.

4. Next, spoon the mixture onto the chilled shrimp and mix to combine.

At this point, you can totally eat it as-is or cover it with plastic wrap and let it chill an hour before serving. It’s totally your call.

But you know me, I had to make it all fancy-schmancy and turn it into an appetizer with some added crunch! 

Seriously, this would be PERFECT any time of year whether it’s a backyard cookout, game night with neighbors, baby shower, bridal shower, or holiday party… this is one of those recipes that truly can go with any season or event!

Making Cucumber Cups

This dish can be made with cucumbers, zucchini, squash, or even mini bell peppers for edible cups. I went with zucchini as that’s what I had on hand.

Leaving the skin on is totally optional. I’m one of those Zebra people meaning I want some skin but not a lot so I peel mine to give it zebra stripes.

1. Peel (or don’t peel – your choice) your cucumber and cut them into 1 1/2″ round pieces. *Note: Adjust the size of your cucumber cuts to the size of your shrimp. I’m using jumbo shrimp so I needed a bigger cup.

2. Using a teaspoon, place the rimmed side down in the middle of the cucumber cup and press to create a circle outline. You want to use just a bit of force (but not too much) as you want it to just pierce the flesh.

3. Next, take the tip of a chef’s or parry knife and inside it at an angle tracing around the circle.
4. Pull the knife out and, with the tip of it, pop out the core. It should look like a cone when it comes out.
5. Take a 1/2 teaspoon scoop and use that to scoop out the inside flesh to make it more open inside. You want it to be hollow inside but do not pierce or break the walls of the cucumber or go through the bottom.

What to do with cucumber flesh

All those bits of cucumber flesh save for a salad or smoothie. For the smoothie just toss them in a freezer bag and put them in the freezer for later.

Let’s Assemble the Cucumber Cups!

This is where the fun part begins… well okay, technically the fun part is actually eating them but this is where you get to have the kids involved if you’d like.

1. To each hulled cucumber cup, add in 1 of the coated shrimp with about a teaspoon or two of sauce.
2. Next, add in a thinly shaved radish or two along with a sprig of fresh dill.

That’s it. They are THAT easy!

Making Cucumber Cups in Advance  

These can absolutely be made up to 2, maybe 3 days, in advance. Mine lasted 4 in the fridge assembled.

My recommendation is if you are going to assemble them, place 2-3 paper towels down in a container. Add the assembled cups in a single row and cover with an air-tight container.

Before serving you may need to add a drizzle or two of the cream ( you should have some leftover) and enjoy!

Substitutions

Oh, how I love these parts. As I said, I do NOT recommend using dried herbs as you won’t get that freshness that really makes this dish shine!

• Cucumbers – you can use squash, zucchini, mini bell peppers
• Mayo and sour cream – you can use Greek yogurt or a lighter mayo/sour cream but you need both to balance the flavors
• Seafood – You could use cooked crab, lobster, or scallops
• Radishes – These really give such great balance to the dish. However, you could use Jicama, White Turnips, Horseradish root, beetroot…

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