Honey Garlic Shrimp
on Dec 25, 2019, Updated May 02, 2022
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A handful of ingredients turns a pound of shrimp into a terrific quick and easy weeknight dinner in under 30 minutes.
Easy Fast Shrimp Recipe
A handful of ingredients turns a pound of shrimp into a terrific quick and easy weeknight dinner in under 30 minutes.
The words “honey garlic” are just plain enticing. Mouth-watering. Appetizing. When you connect those words to “shrimp” well, that a dish many of us would want to see on the table, and frequently.
And when you have a dish that you can make in under half an hour, including the rice, that’s just another reason to love this recipe. I suggest jumbo (or even extra jumbo) shrimp, because I think they are worth the splurge for how fabulous big fat shrimp are to eat, not to mention how gorgeous they are piled up on a plate.
But if you want to save money, or have a smaller size shrimp on hand, then use those. Just reduce the cooking time as needed so that you don’t overcook your shrimp; you want them just opaque all the way through.
A handful of ingredients turns a pound of shrimp into a terrific quick and easy weeknight dinner in under 30 minutes.
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Frozen Shrimp for Honey Garlic Shrimp
There are all kind of sizes and versions of shrimp available in the freezer aisle. And shrimp is one of the foods I have in the freezer at all times: they defrost quickly, they are of excellent quality, and with a couple of pounds of frozen shrimp at your disposal, you can entertain in style at a moment’s notice.
Make sure to buy raw shrimp for this recipe, not cooked. And you can either buy peeled shrimp, or peel them yourself when they’ve defrosted.
Don’t for a moment think that frozen shrimp are of inferior quality. If you can get fresh shrimp, good for you, and use them fast, but do know that most shrimp we all buy at the fish counter was actually frozen and defrosted, so it’s exactly the same as the shrimp you can buy in bags in the freezer section of the market.
Shrimp Tails On or Off?
This is completely up to you. I go back and forth like leaving the tails on because it makes for a nice presentation, and you can pick up the shrimp by the tail, which functions as a little handle. If you do this make sure you have a little bowl on the table for people to toss their tails into. That sounded weirder than I meant it to. Removing the tails means that the dish is easier to just eat with a fork, but either option is just right.
Marinating Honey Garlic Shrimp
If you are marinating the shrimp for longer than 15 minutes, put them in the fridge. They can marinate for up to 4 hours, if you want to get that part done ahead of time.
In this recipe you will divide the marinade in two parts. Half are used for the quick marinating of the shrimp, then the shrimp are drained. After the shrimp are seared in the pan, the unused half of the marinade is added, and it becomes the sauce for the dish.
If you prefer to use olive oil instead of butter, that’s fine. Or use a tablespoon of each. Draining the shrimp allows them to sear up a bit, vs. just poaching in the cooking liquid.
Honey Garlic Shrimp and Rice
Serve this quick and easy shrimp recipe with rice, brown or white, your choice. If you are making brown, and time is of the essence, start the rice before getting the shrimp into the marinade since the rice will take about 40 minutes. If you have a few extra minutes, you can marinate the shrimp before getting the brown rice going, as the shrimp can hang out in the marinade for longer than 15 minutes, which will make it even more flavorful.
White rice only takes 20 minutes to make, so you can start that before or after you get the shrimp in the marinade, and it won’t affect your timing too much. Just make sure not to start cooking the shrimp until the rice is 5 minutes away from being done.
Ok, just because I couldn’t stop trying to remember the whole Bubba Gump shrimp quote, here it is:
“Anyway, like I was sayin’, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey’s uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that’s about it.”
Oh, Bubba, don’t forget about Honey Garlic Shrimp.
What to Serve with Honey Garlic Shrimp:
- Light Green Crunchy Salad
- Millet and Greens Salad
- Simple Vegetarian Spring Pasta Salad
- Summer Whole Grain and Vegetable Salad
- Chimichurri Garlic Bread
- Sugar Snap Pea Salad
Other Shrimp Recipes:
- Spicy Lemon Shrimp Over Rice
- Prosciutto Wrapped Shrimp with Smoked Paprika
- Creole Shrimp
- 15-Minute Hoisin Shrimp
- Garlicky Shrimp and Broccoli with Meyer Lemon
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Honey Garlic Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 pound jumbo shrimp peeled and deveined – leave tails on or off, your choice
- ⅓ cup honey
- ¼ cup lower-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
- Generous pinch red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Hot cooked white or brown rice to serve
- Thinly sliced scallions to serve
Instructions
- In a medium bowl combine the honey, soy sauce, lemon juice, garlic and red pepper flakes. Pour half the marinade into a measuring cup. Add the shrimp to the remaining marinade and let sit for 15 minutes.
- Spray a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray, or grab a large nonstick skillet. Melt the butter over medium high heat, and while the butter is melting strain off the marinade from the shrimp. Add the shrimp to the pan once the butter is hot and melted and saute for 2 minutes until the shrimp start to turn pink. Pour the reserved half of the marinade into the pan and continue cooking until the shrimp are cooked through and the marinade has reduced slightly.
- Serve the shrimp and sauce over the hot rice, with the scallions sprinkled on top.
Excellent !
Great Flavor…The sauce was so tasty..Easy too. Would not change a thing
This is a fast and flavorful recipe. Served over rice with a salad makes a complete dinner.