70 Favorite Shrimp Recipes

Put down the greasy beef in favor our Asian-inspired shrimp patty bound with white miso and crushed wantons. A tangy tangle of purple slaw on top seals its burger superiority.

• Recipe: Miso Shrimp Burgers

Harissa, the Tunisian chili sauce, adds even more smoky-spicy undertones to this fiery Italian-American staple.

• Recipe: Harissa Shrimp Fra Diavolo

A Low Country classic gets an instant upgrade thanks to the crispiest shrimp (hello, cornstarch!) crowning spicy, buttery grits brightened with a bouquet of fresh herbs.

• Recipe: Crispy Salt-and-Pepper Shrimp over Green Grits

This classic shrimp boil recipe is a wonderful way to quickly and easily prepare fresh shrimp. It makes a deliciously portable meal for the backyard—or the beach—and is perfect for feeding a crowd! Finish off the meal with our perfect picnic brownies or one of our delectable summer desserts.

• Recipe: Shrimp Boil

Video: How to Peel, Devein, and Butterfly Shrimp

Light, refreshing, and perfect for any time of year, this healthy summer salad can be tossed together in 15 minutes flat. The dressing uses honey, lime juice, and a few drops of hot sauce for surprising zest. The oxymoronic jumbo shrimp is flavored with onion and mint; combining it with sweet watermelon brings out its tangy fresh flavor. Feta cheese crumbles sprinkled on top make the perfect accompaniment.

• Recipe: Shrimp, Watermelon, and Feta Salad

We might be on the verge of peak poke, but that’s only because the Hawaiian roadside snack invites so many exciting and tasty variations. Tired of the tried and true trio of tuna-avocado-rice, mix it up with lemongrass poached shrimp, tender edamame, and a honey-sriracha dressing.

• Recipe: Shrimp Poke

We wouldn't lead you astray, especially when it comes to this adored seafood staple. These delicious shrimp recipes are our all-time favorites, and for good (tasty) reason. Here, you'll find more than 60 different creative ways to prepare the coastal classic, from grilled, fried, steamed, and boiled to coconut-covered, dressing-drenched, spiced, and buttered. Fresh and clean atop a bed of lettuce or peel-and-eat from a Lowcountry boil? Take your pick. It's all here. 

First up: Slather shrimp onto a tortilla, and even the least of seafood loyalists are happy. This dish of sizzling fajitas with a sweet-and-zesty slaw will spice up your summer nights.

• Recipe: Shrimp Fajitas with Mango-Lime Slaw

These scrumptious shrimp (perfect for an appetizer or main dish) are dipped in egg whites, breaded, and then baked instead of deep-fried.

• Recipe: Coconut (Un-)Fried Shrimp

Yes, it’s possible to create a brighter, leaner Waldorf salad to celebrate summer’s salad days. Just ditch the dollop of mayo and punch it up with pickled shrimp, peaches, and slices of vibrant watermelon radish.

• Recipe: Southern Waldorf Salad

Refreshing Key lime juice brightens the flavor of grilled shrimp. Guests will rave about the savory marinade, but it's the Key Lime Beurre Blanc cream sauce that pulls this dish together.

Cooking Tip: Shrimp cook quickly, which makes them easy to overcook. Prepare them just until they no longer look translucent and they will taste crisp and tender and moist. Keep an eye on them; most shrimp cook fully in less than five minutes.

• Recipe: Key Lime Grilled Shrimp

Boiled and seasoned to perfection, these individual servings of medium shrimp are a tasty start to a seaside party. Spice up store-bought cocktail sauce with a simple variation. Add 1 tablespoon each chopped fresh dill and chopped preserved lemon (or 1 teaspoon lemon zest) to one 12-ounce bottle of Heinz Original Cocktail Sauce (or your favorite brand).

• Recipe: Shrimp with Zesty Cocktail Sauce

Our sticky peanut and ponzu glaze ensures that each shiitake and shrimp skewer doesn’t dry to a crisp. All hail the return of the better, bigger (noodle-buttressed) kebab!

• Recipe: Grilled Shrimp Satay with Shiitake Mushrooms, Baby Bok Choy, and Udon Noodles

This pretty shrimp ceviche-style dish makes for a delicious warm-weather appetizer. The secret to keeping the summer dish fresh is to let the ingredients chill for several hours so the flavors will mix. Then cook the shrimp until just done and marinate them with the lime juice and other chilled veggies. Serve in your best glassware for extra-special presentation. 

• Recipe: Shrimp Ceviche

Video: How to Make Ceviche

Shrimp scampi collides with everyone’s favorite (and easiest!) Roman delicacy: cacio e pepe (literally, cheese and pepper). Consider this your sophisticated take on mac n’ cheese.

• Recipe: Cacio e Pepe with Sauteed Shrimp

Fact: Ninety percent of shrimp eaten in the U.S. are imported (7% from Gulf and 3% from Atlantic and Pacific oceans).Thailand is the U.S.’s largest importer of shrimp, and other major players include Indonesia, Ecuador, China, and Vietnam.

For this Asian-inspired dish, ginger, shiitake mushrooms, soy sauce, red chile, sesame, and snow peas combine for a flavorful spoonful of soup that will keep you warm on a chilly night indoors. 

• Recipe: Hot-and-Sour Soup

Fact: Did you know that Gulf shrimp accounts for most of the wild shrimp eaten in the U.S.? The oil spill in the Gulf has renewed a lot of questions about safety, and right now Gulf seafood is the most watched and regulated in the world.

Alternate these prosciutto-wrapped shrimp with nectarines on a skewer and marinate with a soy sauce drizzle to create a sweet-tasting (and easy-to-serve), grilled seafood dish that's sure to be a crowd favorite. 

• Recipe: Honey Shrimp Skewers

Look for I.Q.F. on the label for the freshest shrimp on the market. It means “individually quick frozen,” and it's easier to manage than 5-pound frozen bulk blocks. Once thawed, frozen shrimp is just as perishable as fresh so make sure you are buying recently thawed seafood. Or, buy them I.Q.F. frozen.

Whisk, toss, and grill, and suddenly you have this wonderful dinner of Grilled Shrimp Panzanella Salad. It's that simple. Because it can be refrigerated up to two hours before serving, it's a perfect make-ahead dish. 

• Recipe: Grilled Shrimp Panzanella Salad

Fact: More than 80 percent of the shrimp sold in America is imported. Most of the local-versus-imported debate focuses on environmental and health concerns. Many countries allow coastal deforestation and United States-banned antibiotics. To ensure you buy chemical-free shrimp, ask your fishmonger for wild American shrimp.

• Recipe: Grilled Shrimp Kebabs

Fact: Shrimp accounts for about 25 percent of all seafood sold in the United States, making it the best-selling creature of the water.

• Recipe: Cheesy Shrimp and Grits

Fact: Shrimp not only tastes great, but it’s also waistline friendly―a 6-ounce portion has only 180 calories and 3 grams of fat. Plus, it’s versatile and easy to prepare. You don’t have to be a trained chef to get a wonderful shrimp dinner on the table in 10 minutes.

• Recipe: Grilled Shrimp and Asian Barbecue Sauce

Fact: Almost all shrimp you buy is frozen at sea or shortly thereafter. More than likely, “fresh” shrimp is actually thawed. Truly fresh shrimp appears more translucent than thawed shrimp, and its highly perishable nature makes it rarely available. The United States imports 80 to 90 percent of the shrimp its residents consume, so it stands to reason that the product is shipped frozen.

Recipe: Fresh Gulf Shrimp in Barbecue Butter

Cooking Tip: When buying any seafood, use your nose. Shrimp should smell mildly of the sea, but not like iodine, ammonia, or low tide.

Recipe: Coconut Shrimp with Maui Mustard

Fact: Hundreds of shrimp species swim in the seas, and some have minute differences we would never notice on our plates. Warm-water shrimp grow larger, but tend to taste less sweet than their cold-water cousins. Freshwater shrimp are usually farm-raised and prized for their size. Regardless of raw shrimp's color, which can range from white to yellow to brown to striped, all shrimp turn pink when cooked.

Recipe: Flying Trapeze Shrimp

Fact: The terms used to describe shrimp size―small, medium, large, jumbo, colossal―mean different things in different locations, and the jargon has no industry regulations. The more universal technique measures shrimp by the count, or number. If the shrimp are “16-20s,” that means there are 16 to 20 shrimp per pound, regardless of the label’s large, extra-large, or jumbo designation.

Recipe: Shrimp and Brie Linguine

Tip: Large shrimp are fairly easy to devein. Simply slit the back with a paring knife and lift the vein out with the knife point. But don't feel you have to devein. If you can't see the vein when the shrimp is raw, chances are you won't when it's cooked. Similarly, smaller shrimp have smaller veins, often not visible. Deveining comes down to aesthetics, not hygiene. If the veins don't show, don't bother.

Recipe: Cornmeal-Cumin-crusted Shrimp with Red Pepper-Chiplote Dipping Sauce

Cooking Tip: Experiment with shrimp steamed, boiled, sautéed, or fried. You can serve it shell and tail on, shell off and tail on, or shell and tail removed. When paired with a sauce, serve shrimp peeled and remove the tail. For finger food, leave the tail intact, as it makes a convenient "handle."

Recipe: Curry-Mango Shrimp

Fact: Unlike most other foods, shrimp are identified by size. Because the meaning of the term “large” varies, you’ll often find shrimp labeled by number per pound. For example, “26–30” means there are 26 to 30 shrimp, totaling one pound of seafood.

Recipe: Shrimp Seviche with mango and Habenero

Fact: Peeling and deveining shrimp (often called P&D) removed about half the weight, so a 26–30 P&D shrimp is larger than a 26–30 unpeeled. As a general rule, use small or medium shrimp in salads, fillings, and stir-fries, and large ones for kebabs and peel-and-eat meals.

Recipe: Bacon-wrapped Shrimp with Basil-Garlic Stuffing

Fact: On average one shrimp has 10 legs.

Recipe: Shrimp, Tomato, and Watermelon Salad

Fact: "Green" is the name for raw, uncooked shrimp.

Recipe: Coconut Shrimp and Rice Pilaf

Fact: 50% is the size of a shrimp's head in comparison to its body

Recipe: Honey-glazed Shrimp

Cooking Tip: Scampi is a style of shrimp that has been broiled or sautéed, usually in butter and garlic

Recipe: Grilled Lime Scampi

Recipe: Tropical Fruit, Avocado, and Grilled Shrimp Salad

Cooking Tip: Here is a good estimate on buying shrimp for 6 people (about 2 pounds): 24 jumbo fresh shrimp (or) 30 large fresh shrimp. If buying for 4, about 1-1/2 pounds.

Recipe: Grilled Shrimp with Sangrita

Fact: Whether boiled, fried, sautéed, or grilled, America’s favorite crustacean, shrimp, makes the mouth water and the mind wander to a coastal locale. Discovered accidentally in a fishing net, this finger-length crustacean was dubbed schrimpe, the Middle English word for “small, puny person.” Shrimp have long since become a staple in the culinary world, with versatile recipes for almost every palate.

Recipe: Vietnamese-Style Prawns and Hearts of Palm with Green Tea Noodle Salad

Cooking Tip: When buying shrimp, you should consider several factors. Fresh versus frozen is perhaps the most obvious. Keep in mind that shrimp spoils quickly, and freezing helps maintain quality. Another consideration is where the shrimp come from. Recently enacted country of origin labeling stipulates that seafood must be clearly marked with location of harvest.

Recipe: Grilled Shrimp Gazpacho

All beer buffs worth their hops know beer adds rich, earthy flavor to all kinds of food. Our Beer-Braised BBQ Shrimp calls for lager, which is the most widely consumed beer. Lager has a slightly tangy flavor that works well with fish or spicy curry dishes.

• Recipe: Beer-Braised BBQ Shrimp

The mouth-watering combination of chips and cheese is made even better with some flavorful shellfish mixed in. Shrimp and crab are an unexpectedly delicious choice, and plenty of pickled jalapeños and pepper Jack cheese turn up the heat.

Recipe: Shrimp-and-Crab Nachos

A dash of red pepper adds a bit of heat for an exciting version of this classic recipe.

• Recipe: Shrimp Scampi Linguine

The rémoulade, a quick dipping sauce, can be served with chips, crackers, or slices of bread, but we prefer it with juicy grilled shrimp. The sauce is only nine ingredients and can be mixed together in seconds; after that, it’s a mere matter of marinating and grilling the shrimp.

Pro tip: To make sure the rémoulade has the best possible flavor blend, let it chill for about an hour before serving.

• Recipe: Grilled Shrimp with Rémoulade

Po'boys and fresh seafood salad sandwiches are great on hoagie buns and hot-dog style rolls.

• Recipe: Shrimp Rolls

When the day calls for a dish that’s light and simple, try this make-ahead meal that combines fresh foods from land and sea. A jalapeno pepper adds just the right amount of kick and pairs well with onions, shrimp, and of course, tomatoes.

• Recipe: Tomato-and-Shrimp Salad

There’s not a time of the day where shrimp and grits isn’t on our menu. This low country variation comes from Hot and Hot Fish Club chef Christ Hastings. It’s a perfect one-dish menu impressive enough for friends.

• Get the recipe: Creamy Shrimp and Grits

Be sure the liquid in the pan covers the minced garlic. If the pan is too dry, the garlic could scorch under the intense broiling heat.

Tip: Wine, butter, and garlic always taste delicious with seafood. The touch of Worcestershire and red pepper add a subtle bite to the tomatoes and spinach.

• Recipe: Broiled Shrimp and Scallops

Curb the heat in this shrimp recipe by dipping in a colorful and creamy cilantro-yogurt chutney.

• Recipe: Curry-Spiced Shrimp

Revel in the fresh flavors of this delicious Mexican-inspired summer salad! Blackened shrimp is delicious enough to make this dish taste great, but when you add jicama—a sweet root vegetable—and grilled corn salsa and homemade cilantro-lime dressing, it becomes nearly sublime. And don’t worry about it being soggy—the blackened shrimp and crispy tortilla strips add plenty of crunch.

Pro tip: If you can't find jicama, use a crisp, white turnip instead.

• Recipe: Blackened Shrimp Salad with Jicama and Grilled Corn

Japanese breadcrumbs, celery, and onions pack tons of crunch into these crispy, golden sliders. We recommend slathering on some of our Louis Dressing and serving on Chive Biscuits for the ultimate slider experience.

• Recipe: Shrimp Louis Sliders

Bruschetta may be a traditional Italian antipasto, but our take on this easy summer appetizer has a Greek twist. Small shrimp are tossed with chopped plum tomatoes, garlic, feta cheese, lemon juice, and a dash of Greek seasoning. While the toasted baguette slices on the bottom help soak up all the juices.

Pro tip: Be sure to pick out shrimp that are on the smaller size. Anything too large becomes unwieldy and has a tendency to overpower the rest of the ingredients.

• Recipe: Greek Shrimp Bruschetta

Nothing ushers in the summer months better than colorful shrimp skewers on a grill. This five-star recipe echoes the flavors of a margarita, making it the perfect festive dish for your celebration. These will be gone before you know it, thanks to the beautiful presentation and zesty flavor combinations, so make extra!

Recipe: Tequila Shrimp and Citrus

Time-saving Tip: Make your cornmeal mixture and the tarter sauce in advance for an even faster version of this New Orleans classic.

• Recipe: Oyster-and-Shrimp Po’ Boys

Sweet, fresh cranberry salsa takes the place of traditional cocktail sauce in this tasty appetizer, sure to impress guests.

• Recipe: Grilled Shrimp with Fresh Cranberry Salsa

Want to make this seafood lover's dream-come-true dish even more spectacular? Substitute chopped fresh lobster for half the shrimp.

• Recipe: Shrimp Lasagna with Creamy Tomato Sauce

Try this very simple preparation of traditional shrimp scampi that's enhanced with crab. Don't feel limited to adding crab specifically; bay scallops and lobster also work well.

• Recipe: Shrimp-and-Crab Finger Scampi

Hank's twist on the spicy, cold soup creates a much more colorful meal than your typical recipe. Feel free to omit the okra if you wish.

• Recipe: Lowcountry Gazpacho
• Recipe: Seasoned Shrimp
• Recipe: Quick Pickled Okra

Sausage, shrimp, okra, and creole seasoning mingle for an appetizer that will keep guests coming back for more.

• Recipe: Shrimp-and-Andouille Gumbo Dip

This Italian-American seafood stew originated in San Francisco in the 1800s and is still a comforting and delicious favorite.

• Recipe: Cioppino

This delicious shrimp is almost upstaged by the stellar Pineapple Salsa. Try serving it with blue corn chips, grilled fish, or chicken.

• Recipe: Coconut Shrimp with Pineapple Salsa

Soak wooden skewers in water at least 30 minutes before grilling to prevent charring.

• Recipe: Peppered Pancetta-Wrapped Shrimp 

Fresh shrimp mingle with Lime-Cumin Vinaigrette in this delicious seafood dish.

• Recipe: Cumin-Spiced Shrimp with Mango and Cilantro

Use disposable bamboo spoons and make cleanup a snap; pack of 25 for $9.49, webstaurantstore.com.

• Recipe: Curried Coconut Shrimp Balls 

We like using Greek-style yogurt, because it’s thick and evenly coats the shrimp. Stir periodically if the shrimp don’t remain covered in the marinade.

• Recipe: Tandoori Shrimp with Coconut-Cilantro Chutney

Jimmy Buffett's sister Lucy knows how to cook shrimp, and has been serving them at her restaurant, LuLu's in Gulf Shores, Alabama, for years.

• Recipe: LuLu's Perfect Peel-and-Eat Shrimp

Spicy Jamaican jerk seasoning gives this grilled shrimp recipe a hot kick. Pair with our Caribbean-inspired mango salsa to help cool your taste buds.

• Recipe: Jerk Shrimp with Grilled Onion, Avocado, and Mango Salsa

This vodka-infused spin on classic shrimp cocktail is just the thing to give your guests the chills.

• Recipe: Vodka-Poached Shrimp with Bloody Mary Cocktail Sauce

This dish gets its unique flavor from pineapple seared quickly in the wok prior to combining with the cooked shrimp. Make sure you preheat your wok before stir-friyng. You'll know the wok is ready when a drop of water evaporates in 1 or 2 seconds after hitting the metal.

• Recipe: Shrimp-Pineapple Fried Rice

Pad Thai has never been easier to prepare at home. And our recipe for Pad Thai leaves you craving for more.

• Recipe: Pad Thai

Smoked cheese adds depth to the shellfish flavor and turns any chilly night into a cozy occasion. Entertaining tip: This dip feeds a lot, so it’s easy on your wallet.

Recipe: Hot Crab and Shrimp Dip

Asian noodles come from various sources—from mung bean to yams. The noodles in this recipe are made from buckwheat, which must be boiled longer than other Asian noodles. Once the noodles are done cooking, serve this dish immediately for a zesty entreé, or chill for a refreshing salad.

• Recipe: Orange-Sesame Noodles with Grilled Shrimp

• Recipe: Black Bean Soup with Tequila Shrimp

Dinner's a breeze when BBQ Shrimp, Corn, and Zucchini Salad can be table-ready in 20 minutes. This grilled salad of fresh, seasonal veggies with juicy shrimp provides a meal that more than satisfies.

• Recipe: BBQ Shrimp, Corn, and Zucchini Salad