This Balsamic Shrimp and Sausage Dinner is a flavorful weeknight meal that can be on your dinner table in less than 20 minutes.

This post may contain affiliate links, please read my full disclosure here. This post was updated on 9/3/18 with photos, video, and additional helpful information.

Who doesn't love shrimp? Can you believe that there are people in this world who just don't like shrimp. It shocked me too. I don't understand why because shrimp is so delicious. Maybe because of the rumor that they are considered insects of the sea. Insect or not, shrimp is always a go to for me for a quick dinner meal. I could honestly go on and on about how great shrimp is (hehe, Forest Gump) but I'd rather get into this amazing recipe.

balsamic shrimp and sausage dinner in skillet

Balsamic Sausage Shrimp was created on a school night and a night that I was completely exhausted. I needed a quick meal and I wanted to make sure we got a good mix of veggies in the meal. The best way to do that is a skillet meal, yum yum. Side note, I hate calling this a skillet meal because I made it in my Dutch Oven, not my skillet. , after staring in the fridge in hopes that something would jump on the stove and cook itself, I decided to throw this recipe together.

How to make Balsamic Shrimp and Sausage Skillet Dinner

First, lay out all your ingredients. This is known as Mise en Place. I always pronounce it wrong but they say it on Food Network quite often. This makes cooking any dish so much easier. Who wants to be chopping an onion while the oil in the pot begins to burn. Have all your onions and peppers chopped and prepped before the stove burner even turns on. LESSON.

ingredients for balsamic shrimp and sausage skillet dinner

So this may not be the best of the best photo of my layout but it's the only photo I had the energy to take. Oh yea, my onions and garlic are missing in the photo and this recipe does not call for wine...but I sure did drink some while I cooked, hehe. I also love to watch tv on my tablet while I cook. Is there any other way to cook? I say no, the mindless tv shows must be playing while you cook. Any other cooks watch tv while the sauté?

Prepping Your Ingredients

Once you have gathered all your ingredients, you are going to julienne 1 medium sized onion and 1 green pepper. Mince 1 garlic clove or you can use the minced jar garlic. (Fresh garlic is much better but this does just fine). You will then want to chop your sausage, I used half of one of those sausage packs so about 7 ounces, and peel and devein about 6 large jumbo shrimp.

balsamic shrimp and sausage in a skillet

Oh yeah, my sausage. I chose a Pecan Smoked Andouille sausage because it was on sale. So glad I made this choice, it's sooo delicious.

First, Heat 2 TBS of olive oil over medium highish heat in a medium sized skillet, or Dutch oven, whichever you prefer or have available. Sautè the onions and peppers in oil until softened, around 5 minutes. Once softened, add garlic and sauté for about another minute.

Then, measure out and have the following ingredients ready: ½ teaspoon dry basil, ½ teaspoon dry oregano, ¼ teaspoon dry thyme, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, ¼ cup chicken broth, and 3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar.

balsamic shrimp and sausage ingredients in a skillet

Next, add your sausages and shrimp to the pan and cook for about 2 minutes. At this time, your shrimp should start turning pink and the sausage should be warming up. Next, add your basil, oregano, thyme, brown sugar, chicken broth, and balsamic vinegar and stir to combine. Heat for about another 5 minutes until everything is cooked through and looks like this.

finished balsamic shrimp and sausage dinner

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

What to Serve with Balsamic Shrimp and Sausage Skillet Dinner

Serve this Balsamic Sausage Shrimp with white rice, brown rice, or pasta for a balsamic sausage pasta and enjoy 🙂

This dish is also great for meal prep and lunches.

Looking for more quick skillet meals? Try my Zucchini Mushroom Chicken

Enjoyed this Recipe? Consider Sharing by Pinning 🙂

Click here to Pin for Later

Yield: 4 people

Balsamic Shrimp and Sausage Skillet

Name: Balsamic Shrimp and Sausage Skillet
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: american
Ingredients: 2 tablespoon olive oil; 1 onion, julliened; 1 green pepper, jullienned; 1 garlic clove, minced; 6-8 jumbo shrimp, peeled and devined; 7 oz Pecan smoked Andoullie sausage; 1/2 teaspoon dry basil; 1/2 teaspoon oregano; 1/2 teaspoon thyme; 1/4 cup chicken broth; 3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar; 1 teaspoon brown sugar

This Quick and Easy Balsamic Shrimp and Sausage Skillet Dinner is a fast, easy, and delicious dinner option for many families. Make it in less than 20 minutes. It's perfect for busy weeknights.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, julliened
1 green pepper, jullienned
1 garlic clove, minced
6-8 jumbo shrimp, peeled and devined
7 oz Pecan smoked Andoullie sausage
½ teaspoon dry basil
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon thyme
¼ cup chicken broth
3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon brown sugar

Instructions

Sautè onions and peppers in 2 TBS oil of medium high heat until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add minced garlic and stir, cook for about 1 minute.
Add sausage and shrimp. Cook for about 2 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients, stir to combine and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, making sure your shrimp is cooked through.

Notes

Suggested Tools for Balsamic Shrimp and Sausage

Cast iron skillet or stainless steel skillet

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 126Unsaturated Fat: 0g

Although myforkinglife.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Under no circumstances will myforkinglife.com be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information.

Fried Catfish is a traditional southern recipe that I have learned to love. A cornmeal breading fried to a perfect golden brown make this recipe a real treat.

Fried Catfish on a plate with lemon slices

This post contains affiliate links, please read my full disclaimer here.

Full Recipe Ingredients/Instructions are available in the
recipe card at the bottom of the post.
You can find important tips/tricks in the
blog post.

Fried Catfish

I have been craving Catfish for a whole week. I can't explain why because I'm not the biggest fan of Catfish. I'm also not the biggest fan of fried foods. Either way, I was determined to buy and fry some Catfish.

My first task was to actually find Catfish. First, I strolled through the aisles of my local supermarket expecting to find either frozen or fresh Catfish. I found none. I do wonder why Catfish isn't as popular as other brands of fish. Then again, Catfish are ugly so that may explain it. I then hopped over to my local Walmart (since Walmart has everything) in hopes of finding some frozen Catfish fillets. I found some!!! Right in the frozen section next to the Tilapia!!! I chose not to buy it. It was at that moment I decided maybe I should try and buy fresh Catfish. I live in a city with ample fresh fish markets. So after the realization that I wasted my time and gas travelling to the supermarket and Walmart, I headed over to my closest local fresh fish market. This is where I purchased my Catfish. They skinned it, filleted it, and boned it while I sat in the market embracing the smell of fresh fish.

Once I made it home, I began the process of prepping my Catfish. First, I soaked it in milk. Why? Because the internet told me so, that's why.

Then, I covered it and slipped them in the refrigerator around noon.

When dinner time rolled around (7pm in our house), the fun started. First, I prepped my deep fryer. Oh my deep fryer. I love it. It's one of those fancy ones I invested in that drains the oil once frying is done. I poured the oil in my deep fryer and let that oil reach to around 350 degrees. My fancy deep fryer indicates when my oil is ready (Another reason I love my fancy deep fryer.)

Then I pre-heated my oven to 225 degrees. You will see why later.

While my deep fryer was getting hot, I prepared my Catfish making station. In one dish, I poured about ½ cup of Hot Sauce (I use Franks).

Next, I combined my breading mixture in a shallow dish; ¾ cups very fine cornmeal, ½ cup flour, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning, and ½ teaspoon paprika. After mixing, it looked like this.

Then I was ready to fry. I like to place my deep fryer basket in the oil before I place my food in. A trick I learned from my hubby. That way your food won't stick to the basket.

I took my catfish fillets out of the milk. Then I drank the milk because I was thirsty. Jokes!!!! I threw the milk away. THROW THE MILK AWAY. Don't drink it, don't eat a bowl of cereal with it, throw it out, it's just nasty to drink fish milk.

Then I dipped my fillets in the hot sauce, coating both sides. Then I dipped fillets in breading mixture, coating both sides, and then slowly place them in the fryer. I was able to fit about 2 fillets in the fryer at a time.

I fried them fillets for about four minutes, until they were golden brown and floating nicely at the top.

I removed the catfish and placed them on a baking sheet and placed them in my pre-heated oven to keep them nice, warm, and crunchy. I then repeated with other pieces.

And then there was this

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Fried Catfish…Yummy Yums

Author: Tanya

Ingredients

1 lb Catfish filleted with skin removed
1.5 cups milk
½ cup hot sauce
¾ cup very fine cornmeal
½ cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
½ teaspoon paprika
oil for deep frying

Instructions

Soak catfish in milk for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Heat oil in a deep fryer, enough to cover the fish or whatever your deep fryer suggest, to 350 degrees.
Place hot sauce in shallow dish.
In another shallow dish, combine cornmeal, flour, salt, black pepper, old bay seasoning, and paprika.
Remove catfish from milk and coat in hot sauce. Then coat fish in breading mixture and fry to golden brown, about 4 minutes. Fry 2 fillets at a time.
Place fillets in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining pieces.