Classic Prawn Cocktail

A proper prawn cocktail with a homemade Marie Rose sauce that beats anything from a jar. Cold, plump prawns are folded through a creamy, faintly spiced dressing and piled over shredded lettuce with a squeeze of lemon. It's the easiest starter you'll ever make and it always disappears first.

Nothing says a proper dinner quite like a prawn cocktail. The trick is a homemade Marie Rose sauce, balanced so it’s creamy but sharp, with a whisper of heat and a hit of lemon. Use cold, well-drained cooked prawns and crisp lettuce, and keep everything chilled right up to serving. Simple, retro and genuinely delicious.

Ingredients

• 300g cooked cold-water prawns — peeled, thawed and thoroughly drained if frozen
• 4 tbsp good mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• ½ tsp Tabasco or other hot sauce — or a pinch of cayenne
• 1 tbsp lemon juice — plus wedges to serve
• 1 tsp brandy — optional, but classic
• ½ Little Gem or iceberg lettuce — finely shredded
• ½ cucumber — deseeded and finely diced
• 1 pinch sweet paprika — to dust
• 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley — finely chopped, optional

Method

1. Tip the prawns onto kitchen paper and pat them dry. If they're at all watery the sauce will slacken and slide, so drain them well and check they smell fresh and clean, not fishy.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, lemon juice and brandy (if using). Taste and adjust: it should be creamy, tangy and gently spiced. Season with a little salt and black pepper.
3. Add the drained prawns to the sauce and fold gently until every prawn is coated. Cover and chill for at least 10 minutes while you prepare the glasses.
4. Shred the lettuce finely and dice the cucumber. Divide the lettuce between four glasses or bowls and scatter over the cucumber.
5. Spoon the dressed prawns generously over the lettuce, letting a little sauce trickle down the sides.
6. Dust each with a pinch of paprika, scatter over the parsley and tuck a lemon wedge on the rim. Serve cold, straight away, with thin buttered brown bread.

Serve it with

• Thin slices of buttered brown bread
• Lemon wedges
• A crisp, cold white wine
• Cayenne or extra hot sauce for those who like heat
• A simple green salad

Why this works

A homemade Marie Rose lets you balance the ketchup's sweetness against sharp lemon and Worcestershire, so the sauce lifts the prawns rather than smothering them. Draining the prawns keeps the dressing thick and glossy instead of watery.

Common swaps

• Use large king prawns for a more luxurious version, roughly chopped if very big
• Swap the brandy for a splash of sherry, or leave it out entirely
• Greek yoghurt in place of half the mayonnaise for a lighter dressing
• Chopped chives or dill instead of parsley
• Avocado slices layered in for a retro prawn-and-avocado twist

Common mistakes to avoid

• Not draining the prawns, which waters down the sauce and makes it slide off
• Overloading with ketchup so it turns sweet and one-note instead of balanced
• Assembling too far ahead, so the lettuce wilts and goes limp
• Serving it warm; prawn cocktail should be properly cold and refreshing

Storage, freezing & reheating

Storage: Best assembled and eaten fresh. Keep the dressed prawns and the shredded lettuce separate in the fridge and combine just before serving; use within a day.

Allergen notes: contains Crustaceans, Egg, Fish, Gluten. Always check individual product labels.

Estimated nutrition

Per serving, estimated from typical ingredient values — not a substitute for precise dietary calculation.