This Ultimate Prawn Cocktail Sandwich is for when you’re craving all the flavours and textures of a classic prawn cocktail but you want to make it a meal! Soft baguette, crisp lettuce and delicious prawns in a creamy, tangy sauce might just be the perfect sandwich combination.
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I wasn’t really planning on publishing this as a recipe, indeed I’m bowled over that you’re here and you’ve found it! But when I was in the depths of testing my Marie Rose Sauce and Retro Prawn Cocktail recipes and had what was quite frankly an excess of prawns in sauce, I grabbed some of the other ingredients that I had around, shoved them in a baguette. And the results were too good not to share.
Of course you don’t need to use a baguette, you can use this filling in any bread. And you don’t need to add the lettuce etc if you want to make a really classic prawn sandwich – but with the pep of marie rose sauce rather than just mayonnaise – a classic tea sandwich.
How to Serve The Ultimate Prawn Cocktail Sandwich
With a napkin and a bib because I’m not going to lie, this is a messy sandwich. Quite frankly I wouldn’t blame you for employing a knife and fork. If you wrap the baguette tightly in baking paper then cut it in half like you’re working in a fancy deli, the sandwich will actually keep together quite well as you eat it.
You do need to be a little careful with prawns and keeping them at a proper temperature so this isn’t the best sandwich for lunchboxes or picnics unless you have a really good cool bag/box. But also the prawns are best eaten at room temperature so if you aren’t eating the sandwich straight away – which really is best, make sure to store it in the fridge but take it out around half an hour before you want to eat it.
The sandwich really is a full and contained meal in itself but I really won’t judge you for adding a side. A pile of air fried chips would be glorious. A bag of crisps would be classic – especially a bag of prawn cocktail flavour!
Prawn Cocktail Sandwich Ingredients
Prawns
I used a mixture of small cooked prawns and slightly larger king prawns when making this recipe. I like the slight variation in texture and visual interest that provides. But you can use any prawn you like as long as they’re cooked and fully peeled.
For convenience I do choose to use ready cooked prawns in this recipe but you can cook them from scratch if you prefer. It is best to simply boil them whilst making sure not to overcook them or the prawns can become rubbery.
Frozen prawns are readily available and absolutely fine to use here. Just make sure they are fully defrosted and dried to within an inch of their life.
Prawn Cocktail Sauce
Rather than totally repeating myself, I would suggest that you look at the dedicate post for the sauce where I’ve discussed each individual ingredient in detail along with allergen swaps etc –
Prawn Cocktail Sauce – Classic Marie Rose Recipe
Lettuce
The lettuce you use needs to be of a crisp and crunchy variety. I’ve used simple and traditional iceberg lettuce but you could also use romaine/cos or little gem lettuces.
You could change things up by using something less traditional like rocket/arugula, baby spinach leaves or pea shoots. Whilst the additional flavour is great, I do believe losing that textural crunch is a shame.
Cucumber
The cucumber just adds a little bit of freshness and more crunchy texture to the sandwich. You can peel it or scoop out the seeds if you prefer – just go with your hearts desire. I will make a confession and say that I personally hate cucumber so I leave it out entirely! I do wish I liked it though.
Be Flexible
This is really less of a recipe and more of a combination suggestion. Sandwiches don’t need to be prescriptive. Use whatever bread your heart desires – I’m a big fan of sandwiches made out of my homemade bagels.
Switch out the crunchy lettuce for baby spinach or rocket (arugula) and the cucumber for griddled red peppers. Or any other salad veg that you desire.
Or try one of these variations on the theme –
Vegetarian or Vegan Prawn Cocktail Sandwiches
You can buy plant based prawns so you could substitute those for the regular prawns and I’ve given suggestions for how to veggie/vegan-fy the sauce in my cocktail sauce post. But honestly, at this point I’d really suggest just considering a different sandwich.
Make Allergy Friendly Prawn Cocktail Sandwich
This recipe is free from 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. And naturally you’ll need to use a gluten free bread instead of the baguette.
Egg Free: Mayonnaise contains eggs so replace this with a vegan version if needed.
Dairy Free: Switch out the salted butter for a dairy free alternative.
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 sauce several days in advance and store it in the fridge. You can add the prawns to the mix around 24 hours before you plan to serve. Again store covered in the fridge.
I wouldn’t recommend cutting the lettuce or cucumber in advance of making the sandwich. A good layer of butter will help prevent the bread from getting too soggy too fast. So if you really need to you can make the sandwich a couple of hours in advance, wrap it and store it in the fridge. But it really is best made and eaten fresh.
Leftover Prawn Sandwiches
You can wrap, refrigerate and eat the rest of the sandwich later the same day. Maybe the following day at a push. But if you don’t fancy that, the best thing would be to scrape out the prawns and as much filling as possible and save that. It won’t freeze but but can be added to some fresh bread or served as a salad or jacket potato topping.
Prawn Cocktail Sandwich Tips
Other than the sauce ratios and roughly the amount of prawns to sauce, this recipe is really just a suggestion of quantities – stuff that sandwich in anyway your heart desires.
Do make sure to taste the sauce and don’t be scared to adjust the seasonings to your preference.
No matter whether you buy the prawns ready cooked or cook them yourself, you must make sure that they are fully dried before adding to the sauce. They do tend to come out of the packet quite wet.
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.
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More Prawn Recipes
The Recipe
Ultimate Prawn Cocktail Sandwich Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 30 cm Baguette
- 2 tbsp Salted Butter
- 200 g Lettuce - see note 2
- 50 g Cucumber
- Fresh Chives
For The Prawns in Sauce
- 300 g Cooked & Peeled Prawns - see note 1
- 100 g Mayonnaise
- 25 g Tomato Ketchup
- 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- ¼ tsp Tabasco Sauce
- 1 tsp Lemon Juice
Instructions
Prepare the Prawns in Sauce
- Thoroughly dry around 300g Cooked & Peeled Prawns.
- Put the prawns into a bowl and measure in all of the sauce ingredients – 100g Mayonnaise, 25g Tomato Ketchup, 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce, 1 tsp Lemon Juice and around ¼ tsp Tabasco Sauce.
- Mix to thoroughly combine all of the sauce ingredients and prawns. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Prepare the Garnishes
- Prepare around 200g Lettuce by slicing into halves or quarters depending on the size of the lettuce.
- Remove the lettuce core and discard.
- Cut the lettuce into thin strips and set aside.
- Thinly slice around 50g Cucumber. – around 10 slices.
- Finely slice a few Fresh Chives.
Build The Sandwiches
- Cut 2 x15cm/6" Pieces of Baguette.
- Slice each piece of baguette horizontally and
- Spread around 2 tbsp Salted Butter on the soft insides.
- Add an even layer of cucumber slices to each baguette.
- Split the prawn mixture across each of the sandwiches.
- Top with the shredded lettuce and sprinkle on the chopped chives.
- And serve!
Hannah says
I love prawn cocktail and this sandwich really hit the spot.
Lesley says
Made this for lunch for the my family this weekend, went down a treat and we all loved the sauce!