This comforting baked casserole brings together tender Gulf shrimp and crisp asparagus in a creamy, savory base enriched with onion, pimentos, and a touch of sour cream. Finished with melted cheese and a golden, buttery panko topping, it’s a vibrant dish that balances freshness with indulgence—perfect for a family dinner or a special gathering.
Shrimp and Asparagus Casserole
This casserole is based on a vintage recipe from the 70s, that was apparently very popular as it appears in every single community cookbook I have!
It used canned asparagus and almost always cream of mushroom. From there ingredients can vary widely, as every single recipe I researched was pretty different and seems to be personal from cook to cook.
Sometimes made with the addition of cream, milk or evaporated milk, sliced or chopped boiled eggs, sliced stuffed olives, peas, pimentos, water chestnuts, sometimes sliced almonds and topped with fresh breadcrumbs, cracker crumbs or even potato chips.
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Granted, you may not find the most perfect fresh asparagus at the end of the year as you would in spring, but yes, it's available year-round, as are frozen spears, but I decided to try it using fresh asparagus anyway and adding some shrimp instead. You can certainly substitute canned asparagus as well, of course!
I was going to make a homemade cream sauce but decided to keep the cream soup, and you can use chicken, mushroom, onion or the many herb variations. I've used cream of shrimp in the past, but it appears to be discontinued sadly.
Here's what you'll need to make my Shrimp and Asparagus Casserole:
For the Topping:
- 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
For the Asparagus:
- 1-pound fresh asparagus
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1-pound medium (41/50 count) peeled Gulf/Wild American raw shrimp, peeled & deveined
- Kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper, Creole or Cajun seasoning and Old Bay seasoning, to taste
- 3 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1/3 cup minced onion
- 1/4 cup minced bell pepper (any color)
- 1/2 rib celery, minced
- 2 (10.5 ounce) cans condensed cream soup (chicken, mushroom, onion)
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 (4 ounce) jar pimentos, drained
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
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Here's how to make it!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Plan to use an oven safe skillet to pass in the oven, or butter or spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish; set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Plan to use an oven safe skillet to pass in the oven, or butter or spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish; set aside.
Snap the ends off of the asparagus, peel ends and cut into 3 to 4 sections. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and microwave, covered with a vented lid or cover, with one cup of water for about 6-7 minutes on high. May also steam or use your favorite skillet prepping method. Drain and set aside.
I used my air fryer to roast the asparagus instead- spraying it with extra virgin olive oil using my EVO oil sprayer (#ad) and instead of salt and pepper, I'm using Jane's Krazy Mixed Up Salt blend (#ad) here.
Air fry at 400 degrees F for about 4 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of the spears.
Note: Just like ovens, individual air fryer brands differ in wattage and how they cook; monitor any air fryer recipe the first time you make it to adjust time as needed. Total time will also depend on the size of the asparagus.
Meanwhile, toss shrimp with salt and pepper, Creole or Cajun seasoning and Old Bay seasoning.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a skillet (preferably oven safe as aforementioned) and sauté the shrimp just until no longer translucent; remove and set aside.
Though I recommend a medium (41/50 count) shrimp in the recipe, I had some jumbo Patagonian (20 count) pink shrimp in the fridge that I needed to use so I seasoned them and cooked them in my Anyday microwave pan (#ad) and then just chopped them more to medium size after cooking.
Put the lid on, lift vent and about 3-4 minutes on high for these larges ones is all it takes!
Note: Microwave ovens vary in how they cook among brands, even with the same wattages. Adjust cooking times as needed depending on size of shrimp. Use any microwave safe, vented bowl, preferably glass or ceramic, or lacking a vent, top dish with a plate to allow ventilation.
For the topping you'll want some melted butter, panko breadcrumbs and a little bit of dried parsley.
Combine and set aside.
For the casserole, you could get by with just minced onion, but I wanted to use the trinity. Didn't have fresh veggies so I'm using some rehydrated C'est Tout dried trinity (#ad) - onion, bell pepper and celery that I've mentioned here on the website before. I tell y'all what, it's sure handy to keep on hand. I used 1/3 cup of the dried trinity reconstituted 4 minutes in the microwave with 1 cup water
Add the other two tablespoons of butter to the skillet and sauté the onion or trinity for 3 minutes.
Reduce heat to low and stir in the soup, sour cream and pimentos until fully heated through.
Fold in cooked shrimp, asparagus and half of the breadcrumbs, stirring until warmed through.
Taste and add/adjust salt and pepper, Cajun and Old Bay, as needed.
If using an oven safe skillet, top with the cheese, or turn out into prepared casserole and sprinkle with cheese.
Sprinkle remaining breadcrumbs all over the top.
Transfer immediately to oven and bake, uncovered, for about 15-20 minutes or until cheese has melted and topping has browned.
To serve, spoon over hot cooked rice or noodles.
For more of my favorite casseroles, check out this collection on my Pinterest page!
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2024/0515-19