Retro Shrimp Cocktail Christmas Tree –A classic party food favorite with a kitschy Christmas twist.
Retro Shrimp Cocktail Christmas Tree
Chilled shrimp and homemade cocktail sauce on a festive Christmas tree inspired display. Inspired by this Vintage Shrimp Tree and Cocktail Sauce Recipe that I initially stumbled upon on Pinterest. I was looking for a fun retro appetizer for a Christmas party, and I knew I had to recreate this recipe and share the photos and process. This is such a fun idea to surprise your guests with and makes an amazing centerpiece for a party or holiday. It’s a little weird, like all the best kitschy recipes are, but the food it still delicious. I love to see vintage party food but a lot of the fun ones have crazy recipes which is why this is perfect. I think it’s time for the shrimp tree to make a comeback.
Supplies for a Shrimp Tree
- Foam Cone – I used a 24 inch by 5.75 inch foam cone I found at Hobby Lobby. The biggest I could find to make an impression! A smaller cone would be easier to store so consider what will fit in your refrigerator before buying.
- Toothpicks – look for toothpicks that are rounded on one side to avoid poking yourself and guests.
- Kitchen Scissors – for trimming the kale.
- Red Ribbon or Premade Bow
- Hot Glue – for attaching bow to toothpick.
Ingredients for a Shrimp Tree
- Chilled Cooked Jumbo Shrimp (20-25 count per pound) – for this large tree, I used 4 pounds of high quality frozen shrimp and thawed it myself for maximum freshness.
- Curly Kale – I used 2 1/2 bunches.
- Curly Parsley – (optional) Original recipe called for curly parsley on the tree but I only used it for a small accent garnish.
- Lemon Wedges
- Ketchup
- Chili Sauce
- Horseradish
- Fresh Lemon Juice
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Hot Sauce
How to Make a Shrimp Tree
- Start by buying a foam cone that will fit in your refrigerator. A white foam cone or a green floral cone will both work.
- Safely thaw frozen cooked shrimp in the refrigerator overnight. Drain and pat dry. Keep shrimp refrigerated until ready to add to cone.
- To create the cone, cut alongside kale stems to create the longest strips of kale possible and discard stems. You will have two kale strips from each leaf.
- Starting at the bottom of the cone, use largest kale strips with curl edge pointing down and wrap around the cone. Use toothpicks to secure.
- Working quickly, use toothpicks to attach well chilled shrimp to cone in a spiral pattern. For best results, keep shrimp over ice while working to attach them. If you need to take a break, return shrimp and cone to refrigerator to make sure it stays chilled.
- Attach bow to top of cone. I hot glued the bow to a toothpick and inserted the toothpick into the top of the cone.
- Return shrimp tree to refrigerator and keep chilled until ready to serve.
- Prepare homemade cocktail sauce and serve with shrimp tree.
Keeping the Shrimp Cold
It’s important for food safety and for enjoyability that the shrimp stays chilled. Here are a few tips for keeping the shrimp tree cold:
- Keep shrimp cold while working on the tree and work quickly to attach the shrimp.
- Once the kale is attached, refrigerate the tree so the kale is also cold before attaching the shrimp.
- Make sure you refrigerator in prepared to hold the tree and can accommodate the size cone you are using.
- Wait until the last minute to remove completed shrimp tree from refrigerator and serve right when guests arrive.
- Consider the size of the tree and how many other appetizers you will have at the party. You can also make two smaller trees and keep one refrigerated until the first tree is done.
Serving Sizes
I used the largest cone I could find, which was 2 feet tall and fit 4 pounds of jumbo shrimp. This would work well for a larger party. 4 pounds of shrimp would generally feed 16 people as an appetizer calculating 1/4 pound per person which in this case would be about 5 shrimps per person. I think you can easily scale the recipe down as needed. Use a smaller tree for smaller serving size. If you want to use the tall tree for a statement piece, you can also just add shrimp to the front of the tree.
More Christmas Appetizers
- Christmas Charcuterie Cups
- Snowman Cheese Ball
- Rudolph Cheese Ball
- Christmas Wreath Charcuterie Board
- 4 pounds Chilled Cooked Jumbo Shrimp (20-25 count per pound)
- 3 bunches Curly Kale
- Lemon Wedges for serving
- 1/2 cup Ketchup
- 1/2 cup Chili Sauce
- 3 tablespoons Prepared Horseradish
- 2 teaspoons Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 3 dashes Hot Sauce
- Curly Parsley optional
-
Start by buying a foam cone that will fit in your refrigerator. A white foam cone or a green floral cone will both work.
-
Safely thaw frozen cooked shrimp in the refrigerator overnight. Drain and pat dry. Keep shrimp refrigerated until ready to add to cone.
-
To create the Christmas Tree, cut alongside kale stems to create the longest strips of kale possible and discard stems. You will have two kale strips from each leaf. Starting at the bottom of the cone, use largest kale strips with curly edge pointing down and wrap around the cone. Use toothpicks to secure. Chill tree before attaching shrimp to help everything stay cold.
-
Working quickly, use toothpicks to attach well chilled shrimp to cone in a spiral pattern. For best results, keep shrimp over ice while working to attach them. If you need to take a break, return shrimp and cone to refrigerator to make sure it stays chilled. Attach bow to top of cone. I hot glued the bow to a toothpick and inserted the toothpick into the top of the cone. Return shrimp tree to refrigerator and keep chilled until ready to serve.
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Whisk together ketchup, chili sauce, horseradish, fresh lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Chill before serving.
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Andie
OH! HOW! CUTE! I’m obsessed with how mine turned out and love how festive it is. Will definitely be saving this recipe for more use in the future❤️
Toni
What a really fun idea!! I love it! Thanks so much for sharing!
April
This is such a super fun idea! I really love it and I think it’s going to look GREAT as a centerpiece at a Christmas party.