Prawn Cocktail Sauce, or Marie Rose as it’s properly known, is a true retro classic that’s stood the test of time for a reason. It uses simple ingredients you’ll likely already have in the house and only takes a couple of minutes to put together.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please refer to my Disclosures Page for more details.
I suspect like me, the very thought of marie rose sauce and therefore prawn cocktail, makes most Brits think of Christmas day starters or a posh but slightly naff celebration meal out. But I think that does it a little but of a disservice. There’s a reason that despite going in and out of fashion over the years, this sauce and the ways that it’s used have endured!
Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of this recipe for it’s more than a sum of it’s parts. The Worcestershire sauce adds depth, richness and salt. The lemon juice adds freshness and vibrancy and the tabasco adds a tiny hint of spice. Of course you can seriously up that if you prefer!
How to Use Marie Rose Sauce
The clear and obvious best use of a sauce known as “prawn cocktail sauce” is to add prawns and serve as a prawn cocktail! And really there is no huge need to go too far beyond this!
A classic prawn cocktail with its bed of crisp lettuce and sauce enveloped prawns is really a fabulous starter. But to take those textures and flavours and make them into more a meal, my sandwich/baguette version is a great option.
Or with the addition of a few extra vegetables and some fat prawns for extra drama, my salad is a brilliant addition to a buffet, picnic or feast. Or pile it up, add some bread on the side and have a fabulous lunch for one.
Retro Prawn Cocktail – Shrimp Cocktail Recipe
Prawn Cocktail Salad with Marie Rose Sauce Recipe
Ultimate Prawn Cocktail Sandwich Recipe
Sticking with the prawn theme, try piling the sauce with prawns onto a hot jacket potato. Or filling puff pastry cases to make extra retro vol-au-vents. Or keep things very simple and make brown bread tea sandwiches with the crusts cut off for extra daintiness.
For another but slightly different prawn twist, use the sauce as a dip of crispy battered prawns. Or any other crispy seafood for that matter. Lemon sole goujons, scampi or even fish fingers would be lust dipped in it.
And if all else fails, this sauce is still worth making as a dip for crudites, crisps, chips/fries, etc.
Prawn Cocktail Sauce Ingredients
Mayonnaise
It’s best to use your favourite full-fat mayonnaise. If you have some that’s homemade then of course that’s a great option too. If you only use or just prefer a light mayo then that will work flavour-wise in this sauce but it will likely be a little runnier. Great if you’re using it as a dip but less so if you’re wanting to make a thick and rich prawn cocktail.
I’ve run out of regular mayonnaise on a few occasions (I’m not the biggest user of plain mayo in general) and use a jar of garlic mayonnaise instead. I have to admit I might actually like this variation more than the original.
Tomato Ketchup
We all have our favourites here. Of course Heinz is the main brand but I’m personally a Daddies Ketchup gal. Some are sweeter than others, some have more savoury notes and some are a little heavier on the vinegar. Just use your usual favourite and you can’t go wrong.
The amount of mayonnaise to mayo is actually quite small (1:4 ratio) but that fairly small amount of ketchup really does make a big difference to the sauce.
Lemon Juice
Freshly squeezed lemon juice will always be the gold standard option here, just make sure that you don’t get any of the pips in the sauce. But I am a huge fan of having a bottle of lemon juice in the fridge at all times and that’s what I use here. No shame in a bit of bottled lemon.
Worcestershire Sauce
Lea and Perrins is the original and my go-to here. But any of the own and other brand versions will have a similar enough flavour profile to work just as well in this recipe.
If you ironically need a version with no fish in it, Henderson’s Relish is a good option. Or if you don’t have anything like it in your cupboard but you do have a more Asian ingredients, a dash of fish sauce (nam pla) mixed with a little soy sauce is a good alternative.
Tabasco Sauce
Tabasco is great because it adds a little warmth to the sauce without adding a lot of liquid. If you have another preferred similar sauce, you can of course use that. Add more if you want a spicier cocktail sauce.
If you don’t have a hot sauce to add but still want the heat, you can add cayenne pepper or another hot chilli powder.
Be Flexible
There are lots of little tweaks you can use to change up your prawn cocktail sauce –
- Add a splash of brandy to the sauce. This is a classic addition for a marie rose sauce and adds a hint of extra depth and luxury.
- Add dried red chilli flakes for an extra spicy option.
- Make a version nearer to an American cocktail sauce by switching the quantities of mayonnaise and ketchup and adding a little prepared horseradish.
- Add lemon zest to make the sauce really citrus forward.
- Make a smokier sauce by adding a little smoked paprika.
- Use garlic mayonnaise or add a small amount of garlic paste for an extra layer of flavour.
- Add an Asian flair by adding wasabi paste or a dash of sesame oil.
Vegetarian or Vegan Marie Rose Sauce
This recipe is suitable for pescatarian diets as written. The only ingredient which stops it from being vegetarian suitable is the Worcestershire sauce which contains anchovies. Use Henderson’s relish or another alternative without anchovies to make it veggie.
To take it a step further and make a vegan cocktail sauce you will need to use a vegan mayonnaise. These are very easy to come by nowadays.
Make Allergy Friendly Cocktail Sauce
This recipe is free from dairy and nuts.
Gluten Free: Traditional Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce contains malt vinegar made from barley which contains gluten. Many of the own brand alternatives or Henderson’s don’t contain gluten so it is just a case of checking ingredient lists.
Egg Free: Mayonnaise contains eggs so replace this with a vegan version if needed.
Please note that this recipe may contain other allergens not referred to above and any variations suggested have not been tested unless otherwise stated. For more information regarding any dietary information provided on this website, please refer to my Nutritional Disclaimer.
Get Ahead
You can make the sauce up to a week or so in advance. It does need to be kept in a sealed container in the fridge and may need a quick stir before being used.
I wouldn’t recommend freezing the sauce, it has a tendency to split when defrosted and it isn’t very pleasant.
Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you try making this recipe – I want to know what you think and if you made any substitutions, how did it turn out?
Still Have Questions?
Simple! Just contact me and I will do my best to help as quickly as I am able. Head over to my Contact Me page, any of my social media channels or post a comment at the bottom of this page and I’ll see what I can do.
Pin Prawn Cocktail Sauce – Classic Marie Rose For Later
Hit one of the share buttons to save this page to your Pinterest boards so you can come back and find it at anytime!
Keep Up to Date
Make sure you SUBSCRIBE to my newsletter and avoid missing out on any of my newest and bonus content. Don’t worry, I promise not to spam you or bombard you too often. Plus you’ll receive a copy of my FREE 7 Day International Meal Plan!
Also please don’t forget to follow me over on my social media channels over at Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. I love to interact with my followers and I’d love you to share my content with your friends too.
More Sauce Recipes
The Recipe
Prawn Cocktail Sauce – Classic Marie Rose Recipe
Ingredients
- 100 g Mayonnaise
- 25 g Tomato Ketchup
- 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- ¼ tsp Tabasco Sauce
- 1 tsp Lemon Juice
Instructions
- Measure 100g Mayonnaise and 25g Tomato Ketchup into a small mixing bowl.
- Add 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce, 1 tsp Lemon Juice and around ¼ tsp Tabasco Sauce to the bowl.
- Mix well to combine and you're ready to go!
Karen says
Enjoyed this quick and easy sauce, perfect with a prawn cocktail.
Breanna says
These may be everyday ingredients but we loved this sauce, so much nicer than anything you can buy ready made.