34 Shrimp Recipes to Bookmark
From roasted garlic butter to pineapple-habanero relish, you can pair all kinds of flavors with shrimp—and since they’re quick-cooking and they freeze well, shrimp are easy to work into dishes year-round. Some of our favorite shrimp recipes include grilled shrimp and lettuces with charred green goddess dressing (ideal for peak grilling season), nori-and-shrimp fried rice, and shrimp and grits, of course. Read on for even more ways to cook shrimp.
Spaghettini with Shrimp, Tomatoes and Chile Crumbs
Dan Kluger adds crunch to this delicious shrimp and summer tomato pasta with crisp lemon-chile crumbs.
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Shrimp Po'Boys
Crispy fried shrimp are stuffed into a hollowed-out baguette that's been buttered, toasted, and spread with a zesty sauce.
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Shrimp Cocktail with Singapore Hot Sauce
Susan Feniger likes to quickly simmer raw shrimp in broth or sauté them with garlic and ginger, but you can certainly use pre-cooked shrimp to save time. This sweet-and-spicy sauce was inspired by the ones Feniger sampled at street stalls throughout Singapore.
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Barbecued Shrimp with Cheese Grits
By happy accident, Amber Huffman combined leftovers of two low-country staples—barbecue and cheddar cheese grits—for a quick Southern fusion meal. Huffman tops her grits with grilled shrimp slicked with a tangy, bourbon-based barbecue sauce.
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Pasta Shells with Shrimp and Garlicky Bread Crumbs
Parmesan and a lemon anchovy dressing coat shells, shrimp, and curly endive for a pasta salad that's second cousin to a shrimp Caesar. Instead of big croutons, sautéed bread crumbs make a crisp topping.
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Chile Shrimp with Butter Beans and Lemony Couscous
A tangy, caper-studded couscous with butter beans and lemon juice makes a delicious base for quickly sautéed spicy shrimp.
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Penne with Shrimp and Spicy Tomato Sauce
Paprika, cumin, and ginger lend their aromatic alchemy to a simple, no-cook tomato sauce. You can use the sauce with a wide range of ingredients.
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Gambas al Ajillo
This classic shrimp recipe is a total keeper. The shrimp is tender and flavorful, and mopping up the garlicky, herby oil with bread is a must.
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Buttery Cast-Iron Shrimp with Winter Salad
Shrimp are seared and glazed in chipotle-honey butter in this warm seasonal salad from chef JJ Johnson. He serves the shrimp over gently sautéed radicchio and endive, which mellows their bitter edge without losing their color or delicate crunch.
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Grilled Gulf Shrimp with Comeback Sauce
Comeback sauce, a Southern condiment traditionally served with fried seafood, makes its way west in this dish from Voyager in Ferndale, Michigan. They pair the sauce with smoky peel-and-eat shrimp that are marinated overnight with garlic and Old Bay seasoning before hitting the grill.
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Grilled Shrimp and Lettuces with Charred Green Goddess Dressing
Green goddess dressing—a retro favorite—gets a smoky upgrade from charred parsley and scallions. Barely grilled baby lettuces double down on the flavor while retaining their sweet crunch.
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Kwame’s Pepper Shrimp
Infused with layers of heat from Scotch bonnet chiles and fresh ginger, Kwame Onwuachi’s pepper shrimp are inspired by a beloved Jamaican street food. Deveining the shrimp but leaving the shell on helps protect against overcooking. Onwuachi fell in love with this recipe when traveling in Jamaica.
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Carolina Fish, Shrimp, and Okra Stew with Black Rice
Chef and cookbook author Alexander Smalls builds rich flavor into this Lowcountry stew with a quick homemade stock using shrimp shells. Worcestershire adds an additional hit of umami, while fresh okra helps thicken the broth. Read more about Alexander Smalls and his epic Harlem dinner parties in “To Dine, with Love.”
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Shrimp and Grits with Mustard Seed Chowchow
The chowchow for this recipe can be made up to a week in advance and is delicious with grilled meats or other rich dishes.
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Shrimp Stew with Scallops and Masa Dumplings (Chilpachole de Camarón con Callo de Hacha y Chochoyotes)
This seafood stew from the Gulf state of Veracruz in Mexico is rich with shrimp, charred tomatoes, and smoky chipotle chiles. The addition of chochoyotes, or chewy masa dumplings, rounds out this version by Javier Cabral and Paola Briseño González.
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Pork Belly, Shrimp, and Pickled Tomato Pintxos
This recipe provides directions for three different one-bite snacks—the shrimp version includes speck (or prosciutto) and scallions.
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Brussels Sprouts with Shrimp Sauce
Here, in this family recipe for Brussels sprouts with shrimp sauce from Jason Wang of Xi’an Famous Foods, salty, briny, umami-rich dried shrimp rehydrate in hot chicken broth before cooking down into a savory glaze, yielding a quick, deeply savory side dish.
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Hawaiian-Style Garlic Butter Shrimp
In this recipe from Hawaiian chef Sheldon Simeon inspired by the food trucks that serve garlic butter shrimp on Oahu’s North Shore, shrimp are marinated in a mixture of Italian dressing, mayonnaise, calamansi (or Key lime) juice, and salt, then grilled and tossed in roasted garlic butter. The result: unbelievably sweet, juicy grilled shrimp. You can make the garlic butter in advance, and use any leftover garlic butter on pasta, fish, or toast.
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Chile-Glazed Shrimp with Herbs and Rice Noodles
Slowly grilling head-on shrimp while basting with a garlic- and chile-infused nuoc cham yields tender, juicy shrimp in this recipe from Hong Tran.
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Shrimp Bisque with Muscadet and Tarragon
This simple, super-light bisque from the heart of France’s Muscadet country has a surprisingly clear and deep shrimp flavor.
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Shrimp-and-Okra Kebabs with Grilled Peaches and Jalapeño-Bourbon Vinaigrette
A splash of bourbon in the vinaigrette adds a sweet, boozy kick of flavor and helps tenderize the shrimp in 2008 Best New Chef chef Sue Zemanick’s shrimp and okra kebabs.
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Chilled Shrimp and Scallops in Spicy Tomatillo Sauce
At TrasLomita in Valle De Guadalupe in Baja California, Mexico, chef Sheyla Alvarado tosses chilled cooked shrimp and raw bay scallops in Key lime juice and serves them in a pool of cold habanero-tomatillo sauce for a riff on traditional aguachile from Sinaloa. A raw vegetable garnish completes this summery appetizer.
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Shrimp Burgers
This hearty shrimp burger is a nod to the classic New Orleans po’boy, but without the hassle of pulling out the deep fryer. The trick here is putting half the shrimp into a food processor to use as a binder for the burger, meaning that the patty has more shrimp flavor.
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Spicy Peel-and-Eat Skillet Shrimp with Garlic
Shell-on shrimp are essential for this recipe; the shells help insulate the delicate shrimp from the heat of the grill so they cook evenly without becoming tough. Give each raw shrimp a quick snip with a pair of scissors along the back for vein removal and easy shelling at the table; you can also look for wild American shrimp marked “EZ Peel,” or ask your fishmonger to tackle the task. In lieu of grilling, the shrimp may be cooked in a skillet over high heat in a well-ventilated kitchen.
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Honey-Pepper Coconut Shrimp
Although his breading technique at Rocky’s Hot Chicken Shack in Asheville, North Carolina is top secret, chef Rich Cundiff was kind enough to create this special riff on his coconut shrimp exclusively for us. A drizzle of syrupy honey glaze, infused with black pepper and lemon, adds a tart-sweet bite.
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Mexican Shrimp Cocktail with Saffron
The cocktail sauce for this recipe packs in adobo sauce, a Mexican-style hot sauce (such as Valentina or Salsa Huichol), fresh lime juice, ketchup, and more.
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Shrimp Wedge Salad with Old Bay Breadcrumbs and Hot Sauce Dressing
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.
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Nori-and-Shrimp Fried Rice
“One of the best things I ate recently was Rachel Yang’s nori fried rice at her restaurant, Joule, in Seattle,” Andrea Nguyen writes. “I was so bowled over by its richness and piscine umami-ness, I went home to Santa Cruz, California, and worked up a version of my own.”
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Shrimp Parmigiana
Crispy, bubbly, cheesy, hearty—this classic shrimp parm checks all the Italian-American comfort-food boxes.
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Steak-and-Shrimp Hot Pot
Cooking tender rib eye, fresh mushrooms, and sweet shrimp tableside makes for an interactive holiday meal. The broth, already seasoned and spiced with fresh aromatics, oils, and sauces, deepens in flavor as you cook vegetables; meats; and, eventually, noodles throughout the night. Keep the broth at a simmer to safely cook each ingredient.
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Spaghetti with Shrimp, Lemon, Mint and Pecorino
Roman chef Angelo Troiani riffs on the classic spaghetti ajo, ojo, e peperoncino (garlic, oil, and chile), embellishing it with shrimp, lemon, pecorino, almond and mint.
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Venetian Shrimp with Polenta
This hearty meal requires only three steps. First, you make the polenta; then, you cook the shrimp. All that’s left is spooning the polenta into bowls and topping it with the shrimp and sauce. (And don’t forget some parsley, for garnish.)