Ingredients Seafood Shrimp 25 Fast and Light Shrimp Recipes By Food & Wine Editors Updated on February 18, 2023 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Cedric Angeles When you're looking for a lighter lunch or dinner, shrimp is a great option to leave you satisfied and with time to spare. Try dishes like chef Hugh Acheson's grilled shrimp with apples and charred scallion or a quick shrimp pad Thai among our favorite fast and light shrimp recipes. 01 of 25 Grilled Shrimp Cocktail with Fresh Tomato Cocktail Sauce Photo by Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Christina Brockman Give shrimp cocktail a seasonal, smoky upgrade with this ideal recipe for summer dinner parties and cookouts. The shrimp are marinated in a bright, lemon-garlic mixture that gets a kick from crushed red pepper. Make sure to pat dry after peeling and deveining them, so they don't water down the marinade; this also helps the shrimp achieve a nice char when grilled. Get the Recipe 02 of 25 Gingered Stir-Fry with Shrimp and Snow Peas © Antonis Achilleos Large nonstick skillets that can create a sear are ideal for stir-fries. For this recipe, we create layers of flavor with Chinese chile-garlic sauce and matchsticks of fresh ginger. Get the Recipe 03 of 25 Summer Squash and Shrimp Fricassee Cedric Angeles "Once the summer starts, there are inevitably big baskets of zucchini and yellow squash that we just don't know what to do with," says Oxford, Mississippi-based chef Vishwesh Bhatt. "This fricassee is a terrific place to use them. It's really light, it's really quick, and it's really easy to cook a big batch of it, making it an ideal centerpiece for summer gatherings." Get the Recipe 04 of 25 Mama Chang's Stir-Fried Shrimp and Scallions © Fredrika Stjärne Chef Joanne Chang's mother used to make this sweet and spicy shrimp stir-fry all the time. When she was old enough to cook, Chang asked her mom for the recipe. "She hemmed and hawed until she finally gave it to me, revealing her secret ingredient: ketchup." Get the Recipe 05 of 25 Shrimp Wedge Salad with Old Bay Breadcrumbs and Hot Sauce Dressing Greg DuPree Taking a cue from chef Nina Compton at Bywater American Bistro, we’re adding a Crystal hot sauce–spiked dressing to this mash-up of a wedge salad and a po’boy sandwich. Toasting the breadcrumbs in Old Bay–infused oil doubles down on the rich shrimp-boil flavor. Get the Recipe 06 of 25 Shrimp and Pork Dumplings with Bamboo Shoots © Tina Rupp Chef Martin Yan makes his delicate dumpling wrappers with cornstarch, wheat starch, water, and shortening. For an easier way, wonton wrappers, usually sold in the freezer section of the supermarket, make quick work of dumplings. Get the Recipe 07 of 25 Grilled Shrimp with Apple and Charred Scallions © Fredrika Stjärne "Shrimp come from all over the world, but I think the kind from coastal Georgia and the Gulf is the best — and it's pretty much a sustainable product," says chef Hugh Acheson. Here, he prepares the shrimp as a light appetizer with green apple, charred scallions, smoked paprika, and sesame seeds. Get the Recipe 08 of 25 Sweet-and-Sour Shrimp © Seth Smoot For an alternative to Heinz and Hunt's, two Brown University undergrads created Sir Kensington's, a small-batch ketchup that balances sweet and tangy. To show off its aromatic side, former F&W editor Grace Parisi uses it in a sauce for a shrimp stir-fry. Get the Recipe 09 of 25 Marseille-Style Shrimp Stew © Johnny Valiant Large shrimp make this a knife-and-fork stew. Cookbook author Melissa Clark spreads a garlicky French rouille on toasts for dipping in the stew. Get the Recipe 10 of 25 Quick Shrimp Pad Thai © Kate Mathis This is a great, fast version of American-style pad Thai, with an appealing combination of sweet, sour, and spicy flavors. Get the Recipe 11 of 25 Goan Shrimp Curry © David Malosh Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and his wife, Alyona, love beach vacations in Goa. Kapoor prepares this shrimp curry in typical Goan style, so it's tangy, spicy, and vibrant. Get the Recipe 12 of 25 Grilled Shrimp with Mom's Avocado and Orange Salad © Tina Rupp Chef Andrew Carmellini's dish is a mix of two beloved salads: shrimp-avocado and shrimp-citrus. He throws in a few surprises, too, like the hot sauce in the dressing, recommending a fruity one from the Caribbean made with habaneros. Get the Recipe 13 of 25 Zucchini, Corn, and Shrimp Flatbread Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Thom Driver Store-bought naan flatbreads get toasty on the grill, layered with mascarpone cheese, sweet shrimp, juicy corn, and tender ribbons of fresh zucchini. Don't skimp on the garnish of smoked paprika — it adds a dash of vibrant color and enhances the smoky flavor. Get the Recipe 14 of 25 Creole Shrimp with Garlic and Lemon © Quentin Bacon Eco-minded chefs are cooking with wild American shrimp, but not just for ethical reasons. As chef Tory McPhail says, "They taste cleaner and crisper since they swim in the tides." Get the Recipe 15 of 25 Smoky Paella with Shrimp and Squid © Quentin Bacon Star chef José Andrés prepares this satisfying rice dish with lots of seafood, including hard-to-find cuttlefish and a housemade fish stock. To make it even easier, use squid in place of the cuttlefish and skip the fish stock in favor of bottled clam broth from the supermarket. Get the Recipe 16 of 25 Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling by Ali Ramee Coconut shrimp are well suited to all sorts of dipping sauces, but we keep it simple here and use Thai sweet chili sauce spruced up with a little chopped fresh cilantro. Using an air fryer instead of frying in oil on the stovetop means crispy shrimp without any splatters to clean up afterward. Serve the shrimp for dinner along with rice and baby bok choy sautéed in toasted sesame oil and fresh ginger. Get the Recipe 17 of 25 Shrimp with Fresh Citrus Sauce © Tina Rupp Chef Andrew Carmellini's sauce uses blood oranges, tangelos, clementines, and tangerines. He sautés the shrimp separately. To make it even easier, prepare a fast citrus sauce by adding grapefruit juice to the skillet as you cook the shrimp. Get the Recipe 18 of 25 Shrimp with Roasted Corn, Leeks, Tomatoes, and Basil Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell Showcasing late-summer produce, this simple sauté is a perfect shoulder-season weeknight dinner. Marinating sweet cherry tomatoes in vinegar and salt tenderizes them and draws out their juices, creating a light sauce. "If you have the leeks and corn prepped ahead of time, you can have this dish finished and on the table in about 15 minutes. It's convenient and delicious and just begging to be enjoyed al fresco with a glass of white wine," says chef Cassidee Dabney. Get the Recipe 19 of 25 Chipotle Shrimp Tostadas © James Baigrie For this Southwestern-inspired dish, shrimp are tossed with chipotle chile powder, grilled, then layered on top of crunchy fried corn tortillas and crisp, citrusy slaw. Get the Recipe 20 of 25 Soba Noodles with Grilled Shrimp and Cilantro © Stephanie Foley Garlicky, spicy, and bright with lime, this noodle dish is both warming and energizing, according to Thai tradition. Just don't skimp on the lime wedges or cilantro: "The sour juice protects the respiratory system in the early spring," restaurateur and cookbook author Su-Mei Yu says, "and cilantro helps when you're congested." Get the Recipe 21 of 25 Grilled Gulf Shrimp with Sweet Corn Coulis Photog by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Tender, juicy sweet peas and yellow corn kernels make for a light and refreshing salad atop a silky, creamy corn coulis in this easy-to-double recipe. Tangy sour cream and buttermilk balance the natural sweetness of the vegetables and Gulf shrimp. Corn may be sweeter or starchier depending on the season — adjust to taste with up to a teaspoon of sugar, if desired. Get the Recipe 22 of 25 Miso Soup with Shrimp and Tofu © James Baigrie No soup is quicker to prepare than miso; just whisk miso paste into water. By adding shrimp, tofu, and greens, it can double as a complete and light meal. Feel free to use leftover chicken or roast pork (or whatever else is on hand) in place of the shrimp. Get the Recipe 23 of 25 Shrimp Saganaki © Yunhee Kim For shrimp saganaki, Greeks sauté shrimp in a pan with tomatoes, olives, and feta cheese, then serve it right out of the skillet with bread to soak up all the delicious juices. The fresh dill in this quick version brightens the flavor. Get the Recipe 24 of 25 Smoky Citrus Shrimp with Parsley © Quentin Bacon Grub co-author Bryant Terry eats these tangy, garlicky shrimp piled high on crispy toasts, but sometimes he sandwiches them inside a quesadilla oozing with shredded Jack cheese. He recommends buying wild-caught or sustainably raised shrimp from the United States or Canada, where environmental standards are stricter than in places like Latin America and Southeast Asia. Get the Recipe 25 of 25 Grilled Miso Shrimp © Con Poulos When grilling shrimp or scallops, use sticks of lemongrass or sprigs of rosemary as edible alternatives to metal or bamboo skewers. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit