Easy Shrimp Recipe: 7 Shrimp Meals to Try at Home

Shrimp are best suited to basic techniques and presentations because they cook so quickly. Here are a few common way to prepare and cook shrimp:

1. 1. Marinate: On the fastest end of the spectrum, shrimp are “cooked” in a citrus-based marinade, as seen in dishes like ceviche and aguachile. The acids in the citrus denature the very short protein bonds in shrimp just as heat does, resulting in an opaque look and springy texture. It’s a step up from raw and completely safe to consume.
2. 2. Poach: Immersing shrimp in a hot sauce or liquid, as seen in stews and curries like Southern-style étoufée or lighter fare like shrimp scampi, cooks them quickly and evenly, with little flipping required. As they cook, the shrimp absorb the flavor and nuance of the sauce.
3. 3. Grill: Grilling shrimp involves cooking them one side at a time on a hot surface like a cast-iron skillet or grill. Cooks can marinate them beforehand to enhance flavor or sauté them with minced aromatics for extra garlicky flavor.
4. 4. Sauté: Sautéed shrimp, like garlic butter shrimp or spiced Cajun shrimp, are cooked quickly in a small amount of fat, like butter or vegetable oil. Sauté the shrimp for a few minutes on each side, taking care to flip them quickly to avoid overcooking. For a low-carb meal, sauté the shrimp in coconut oil and serve with veggies.
5. 5. Bake: Place seasoned shrimp in a single layer on a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil to bake shrimp in the oven. Drizzle the shrimp with melted garlic butter (or butter seasoned with the spices of your choosing) and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes. Bake the shrimp alongside veggies of your choice for a quick sheet-pan meal.
6. 6. Fry: Batter, then deep-fry peeled shrimp until they are golden brown with a crispy exterior. Try light, airy tempura batter, which adheres closely to the shrimp and provides a crunchy consistency with no air pockets, or make pan-fried coconut shrimp with an outer coating of shredded coconut.

These simple tips can go a long way when making shrimp:

1. 1. Buy frozen shrimp. The best way to guarantee freshness when purchasing shrimp is (perhaps contrary to popular belief) to buy them frozen. In most cases, grocery stores receive a delivery of frozen shrimp that they thaw and sell at the seafood counters.
2. 2. Thaw frozen shrimp in the fridge overnight. Properly defrosting frozen shrimp takes a little extra preparation, but it allows you to avoid waterlogged texture and diluted flavor. Place the shrimp in a strainer set over a bowl and thaw them in the refrigerator overnight. Alternatively, completely seal the shrimp in a plastic bag, and run it under cold water to thaw.
   
3. 3. Clean the shrimp. Shrimp have a dark blue or black digestive tract that runs like a vein along their back ridges. “Deveining” is the process of removing this tract, and it can be time-consuming. Depending on the size of your shrimp and how you decide to cook them, deveining can eliminate any leftover grit in the final dish. Many grocery stores sell deveined shrimp, but you can perform the task yourself by using a paring knife or pair of kitchen shears to cut away the shell and open up the ridge to remove any waste.

If you’re looking for new ways to incorporate shrimp into your cooking repertoire, give these recipes a try:

1. 1. Camarones a la diabla, or “deviled shrimp": This beloved Mexican recipe features jumbo shrimp cooked in a fiery red tomato and chile sauce. Camarones a la diabla is easy to bring together, relentlessly flavorful, and simple to incorporate into any number of other recipes, like pasta or cheesy grits.
2. 2. Grilled shrimp: Grilling shrimp (or searing them on a cast-iron skillet) takes about two minutes per side, which makes them an easy addition to Mediterranean salads, pasta, grains, or barbecue fare like zucchini kebabs. Thread the raw shrimp on skewers for easy flipping, then marinate them in a blend of garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and spices for no more than 15 minutes; otherwise, the citric juice in the marinade will make their delicate flesh too rubbery. Alternatively, you can skip the marinade, shower the shrimp skewers with salt and pepper, then place them on a hot, well-oiled grill grate. Learn how to make grilled shrimp.
3. 3. Shrimp ceviche and aguachile: Ceviche is fresh raw fish “cooked” in an acidic marinade—typically citrus juice—spiced with chiles, red onions, and other seasonings. Aguachile is a Mexican variation of ceviche that originated in Sinaloa—cooks often make the dish with shrimp, lime juice, and chiles blended with water (hence its name), and serve it with thinly sliced cucumber and red onion.
   
4. 4. Shrimp étouffée: This easy one-pot meal is flavorful and packed with veggies. Étouffée (from the French word for “smothered”) is a Cajun and Creole dish consisting of seafood—traditionally shrimp or crawfish—poached in a light gravy made from seafood stock, garlic, celery, onions, and bell peppers, served with rice.
5. 5. Shrimp scampi: Classic Italian-American style shrimp scampi is an easy weeknight meal that traditionally features fresh shrimp cooked in a butter sauce made with butter, garlic, olive oil, dry white wine, crushed red pepper flakes, and lemon juice. Serve it on a bed of linguine or angel hair pasta alongside some crusty bread. Top with chopped parsley for a pop of color.
6. 6. Shrimp tacos: Shrimp tacos are a version of the Mexican street snack that heavily features shrimp and several toppings inside a corn tortilla. Much like other versions of tacos, a shrimp taco lends itself to a variety of flavor combinations. Garnish the appetizer with fresh cilantro, a hot chipotle crema, pickled red onions, and radishes.
7. 7. Shrimp tempura: Tempura is a Japanese dish consisting of vegetables or seafood lightly battered and deep-fried until crispy. Shrimp tempura is one of the most popular versions of this dish. Cooks typically serve tempura with tentsuyu, a dipping sauce made from soy sauce, mirin (cooking wine), and dashi (fish broth), plus shredded daikon radish and ginger for stirring into the sauce.

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