Shrimp cook in three minutes. That single fact is why shrimp dinners are so often the fastest thing in the house, and also why they go wrong: almost every shrimp failure is overcooking. The recipes below are built around that, with the shrimp added last and pulled the moment they curl.
Twenty-five of them, grouped by method: skillet first, then pasta, then shrimp with vegetables, grilled and fried, boils and sheet pans, rice and casseroles, cold dishes, and two that are worth the extra effort. Fifteen of the twenty-five finish in thirty minutes or less. Every entry lists the real total time, servings and ingredient count.
Skillet Shrimp in Under 25 Minutes
The four fastest dinners here. Each is one pan and nothing else to wash.
Parmesan Cream Garlic Shrimp
A pound of large shrimp in a sauce of three tablespoons of butter, four cloves of garlic, a cup of heavy cream and half a cup of parmesan, with lemon juice and red pepper flakes. Fifteen minutes, which is the fastest recipe on this page. View the full recipe — 15 minutes · 4 servings · 10 ingredients
Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Shrimp
Sixteen ounces of shrimp tossed with olive oil, garlic powder and smoked paprika, then coated in a third of a cup of parmesan and half a cup of seasoned panko and air fried. Crisp coating, no frying oil. View the full recipe — 18 minutes · 4 servings · 10 ingredients
Coconut Shrimp Cakes
Twelve ounces of shrimp pulsed with panko, unsweetened dried coconut, fish sauce, chile sauce, lime and cilantro, then pan fried in a quarter cup of oil. Twenty-three minutes and they hold together properly. View the full recipe — 23 minutes · 4 servings · 14 ingredients
Honey Garlic Marinated Shrimp
Five ingredients: a quarter cup of honey, two tablespoons of soy sauce, three cloves of garlic, a pound of shrimp and a tablespoon of oil. The shortest ingredient list here by a wide margin. View the full recipe — 25 minutes · 4 servings · 5 ingredients
Shrimp and Pasta
Four pasta dinners. Three are stovetop, one goes in the oven, and the baked one has only seven ingredients.
Lemon Parmesan Shrimp Pasta
Eight ounces of spaghetti with a pound of shrimp, four tablespoons of butter, four cloves of garlic, lemon juice and half a cup of freshly grated parmesan. Nine ingredients, twenty-five minutes. View the full recipe — 25 minutes · 4 servings · 9 ingredients
Creamy Garlic Shrimp Scampi Pasta
Twelve ounces of linguine with five cloves of garlic, chicken broth, three quarters of a cup of heavy cream, a whole lemon and parmesan. Scampi with a cream sauce rather than a wine sauce. View the full recipe — 30 minutes · 4 servings · 12 ingredients
Garlic Shrimp Broccoli Pasta
Nine ingredients and no cream: paprika-seasoned shrimp with two cups of broccoli florets, garlic, linguine and a quarter cup of parmesan. The lightest pasta in this group. View the full recipe — 30 minutes · 4 servings · 9 ingredients
Shrimp Scampi Pasta Bake
Seven ingredients, serves six: a pound of shrimp and eight ounces of linguine with half a cup of butter, chicken broth, lemon juice, garlic and parsley, baked together. The one to assemble and walk away from. View the full recipe — 40 minutes · 6 servings · 7 ingredients
Shrimp With Vegetables
Three one-pan dinners where the vegetables carry as much weight as the shrimp.
Lemon Garlic Shrimp and Asparagus Skillet
A pound of shrimp and a full pound of asparagus with four cloves of garlic, a whole lemon and red pepper flakes. Nine ingredients, twenty-two minutes, and it is a complete plate. View the full recipe — 22 minutes · 4 servings · 9 ingredients
Garlic Butter Shrimp with Zucchini and Bell Peppers
A pound of shrimp with zucchini and a cup and a half of bell peppers in garlic butter seasoned with cumin, smoked paprika and red pepper flakes, finished with lemon zest and juice. View the full recipe — 22 minutes · 4 servings · 14 ingredients
Fried Cabbage with Shrimp Sausage and Bacon
Five slices of bacon rendered first, then three cups of cabbage, eight ounces of shrimp and six ounces of kielbasa with seafood seasoning. Eight ingredients and it eats like a low-carb jambalaya. View the full recipe — 30 minutes · 4 servings · 8 ingredients
Grilled, Fried and Crispy
Four for when you want texture. Two are deep fried, one is grilled, and one is a burger.
Cajun Popcorn Shrimp
A pound of small shrimp in a flour and Cajun seasoning dredge with an egg and milk wash, fried in four cups of oil. Nine ingredients and twenty-five minutes. View the full recipe — 25 minutes · 4 servings · 9 ingredients
Grilled Shrimp with Lemon Butter Sauce
A pound of large shrimp seasoned with garlic powder, smoked paprika and cayenne, grilled and finished with a lemon butter made from six tablespoons of butter, garlic and lemon juice. View the full recipe — 25 minutes · 4 servings · 13 ingredients
Panko Shrimp Burgers with Garlic Dressing
Two pounds of shrimp bound with a butter and flour paste, scallions and parsley, breaded in panko and fried, then served on brioche with cheese, tomato and cabbage. Twenty-five ingredients because the sauce and the patty are both from scratch. View the full recipe — 45 minutes · 6 servings · 25 ingredients
Crispy Bang Bang Shrimp
A pound of shrimp soaked in buttermilk, coated in three quarters of a cup of cornstarch and fried, then tossed in a sauce of mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce and two and a half tablespoons of sriracha. Cornstarch rather than flour is what makes the coating shatter. View the full recipe — 1 hour · 4 servings · 8 ingredients
Shrimp Boils and Sausage Pans
Three one-vessel dinners with sausage in them. Two are proper boils and one is a stir fry.
Air Fryer Shrimp Boil
Jumbo shrimp with two ears of corn, eight ounces of new potatoes and six ounces of andouille, seasoned with seafood blend and cayenne and cooked in the air fryer in stages. Twenty-six minutes and no stockpot. View the full recipe — 26 minutes · 4 servings · 9 ingredients
Honey Garlic Shrimp and Sausage
Ten ounces of shrimp and five ounces of smoked sausage with two cups of broccoli in a honey, soy and garlic sauce thickened with a teaspoon of cornstarch. Thirty minutes. View the full recipe — 30 minutes · 4 servings · 12 ingredients
Shrimp Boil with Smoked Sausage
Seven ingredients: a pound of shrimp, a pound of small potatoes, two ears of corn, a pound of smoked sausage, seafood seasoning, two lemons and half a cup of butter. The classic one-pot version. View the full recipe — 40 minutes · 4 servings · 7 ingredients
Rice and Casseroles
Three dishes where the starch cooks with the shrimp or under it.
Shrimp Fried Rice with Vegetables
A pound of shrimp with two cups of cooked rice, two eggs scrambled in, mixed vegetables, soy sauce and sesame oil. Twenty-five minutes, and day-old rice works best. View the full recipe — 25 minutes · 4 servings · 10 ingredients
One Pan Garlic Shrimp and Rice
A cup of long grain rice cooked in two cups of chicken broth with garlic butter, then twelve ounces of shrimp added at the end. Nine ingredients, one pan. View the full recipe — 35 minutes · 4 servings · 9 ingredients
Baked Shrimp Casserole
A pound of shrimp with half a cup of mayonnaise, a cup each of mozzarella and cheddar, celery and green onions under a buttered panko top. Nine ingredients, serves six. View the full recipe — 55 minutes · 6 servings · 9 ingredients
Cold Shrimp Dishes
Two to make when it is hot, both built on already-cooked or quickly cooked shrimp.
Shrimp Salad with Avocado and Grapefruit
A pound of shrimp over eight cups of spring mix with avocado and fresh grapefruit, in a lemon and Dijon vinaigrette. The grapefruit is the part people do not expect and it works. View the full recipe — 25 minutes · 4 servings · 14 ingredients
Mexican Shrimp Cocktail
A pound of cooked shrimp in a cup of tomato juice with half a cup of lime juice and half a cup of ketchup, plus white onion, cilantro, cucumber, tomato and avocado. Served in a glass with a spoon, not hung on a rim. View the full recipe — 45 minutes · 4 servings · 9 ingredients
Two Worth the Extra Time
One Chicago classic and one that takes seventy-five minutes because the sauce is built properly.
Shrimp De Jonghe with Garlic Butter and Sherry
Two pounds of jumbo shrimp under a topping of panko, eight tablespoons of butter, half a cup of dry sherry, garlic and shallot, baked. A Chicago dish from the 1890s and almost nobody makes it anymore. View the full recipe — 35 minutes · 4 servings · 11 ingredients
Shrimp Pad Thai with Tofu and Peanuts
Rice noodles with shrimp, firm tofu, dried shrimp, eggs and bean sprouts in a sauce of fish sauce, palm sugar and two tablespoons of tamarind puree. Seventeen ingredients, sized for two, and the tamarind is not optional if you want it to taste right. View the full recipe — 1 hour 15 minutes · 2 servings · 17 ingredients
Shrimp Questions, Answered
How do I know when shrimp are done?
They turn opaque and curl into a loose C. A tight O means they are overcooked. At the heat these recipes use, that is two to three minutes a side for large shrimp, which is why almost every recipe here adds them last.
Fresh or frozen shrimp?
Frozen, almost always. Unless you live on the coast, the shrimp at the fish counter was frozen and thawed for display, so buying it frozen means you control when it thaws. Thaw in the fridge overnight or in a bowl of cold water for fifteen minutes, never in warm water.
What is the fastest shrimp dinner here?
Parmesan Cream Garlic Shrimp at fifteen minutes, then the air fryer garlic parmesan shrimp at eighteen. Both of the asparagus and zucchini skillets are twenty-two minutes and include the vegetable.
Do I need to devein shrimp myself?
Buy them peeled and deveined and skip it. If you are peeling them yourself, the dark line along the back is the digestive tract, and on large shrimp it is worth removing with the tip of a knife. On small shrimp like the popcorn shrimp, nobody will notice.
Which recipes use raw versus cooked shrimp?
Only the Mexican shrimp cocktail calls for already-cooked shrimp. Everything else starts raw, because shrimp that have been cooked once go rubbery the second time.
What makes fried shrimp stay crisp?
Cornstarch. Bang bang shrimp uses three quarters of a cup of it rather than flour, which fries into a thinner, harder shell that holds up once sauced. The popcorn shrimp uses flour with an egg wash, which gives a softer, more Southern-style crust.
Which of these feed more than four?
Shrimp Scampi Pasta Bake, Panko Shrimp Burgers and Baked Shrimp Casserole all serve six. Everything else is sized for four, except the pad thai, which is for two.
More Shrimp to Try
A few more, including the ones that pair shrimp with other proteins:
- Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas — twenty-one ingredients, serves eight
- Marry Me Shrimp Pasta — ten ingredients, serves six
- Creamy Salmon and Shrimp Pasta — 30 minutes
- Cajun Shrimp Boil Foil Packs — serves six, 37 minutes
- Creamy Shrimp Crab Lasagna — serves eight
- Pasta Recipes — twenty-five pasta dinners, several with shrimp
Browse all of our recipe collections.
