Air Fryer Shrimp (from Frozen or Fresh)

Air Fryer Shrimp made from frozen or fresh in up to 10 minutes. It is plump, tender, keto, and super delish. You can eat it as an appetizer or as a main for a quick dinner with these yuca fries. 

Air Fryer Frozen Shrimp

Although we make this air fryer shrimp recipe with frozen shrimp, you can use fresh shrimp instead and have it ready faster. The only difference is the cooking time!

In a 400 degrees F preheated air fryer, it takes about 5 minutes to cook our recipe if the shrimp is frozen and pre-cooked (you are actually thawing and reheating only) and 10 minutes if frozen and raw.

If you are using fresh and raw shrimp, it will take 5 minutes to cook. But if your shrimp is already pre-cooked, the air fryer will reheat it for you in 3-5 minutes.

You can use either pre-cooked or raw jumbo shrimp in this recipe although I prefer raw because the risk of overcooking is much less and I don’t want my shrimp to be all curled and chewy.

Our air fryer fried shrimp is not one of those shrimp recipes that you simply toss into the air fryer either to reheat or to cook and is tasteless. Ours comes well seasoned with a mixture of olive oil and spices used in Italian cuisine.

If you don’t own an air fryer, you can use the oven to make this recipe using the same temperature, time, and general guidelines which are similar to our baked shrimp and asparagus. 

It is such a versatile recipe that you can serve either as an appetizer with your favorite sauce such as cocktail sauce to dip in or as a main dish over rice, pasta, noodles, or with a  side of vegetables for busy weeknights. 

Ingredients for Shrimp in Air Fryer

• Shrimp – use either jumbo or large shrimp -- the larger the better. You can cook the shrimp from frozen or fresh, and preferably if it is raw.
• Olive oil – you can replace it with any high smoking point oil.
• Spices – I used a mix of garlic powder, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, paprika, and Dijon But you can customize your own such as replacing the Italian seasoning for lemon pepper or Old Bay Cajun seasoning.

How to Cook Air Fryer Shrimp

1. Preheat the air fryer at 400° F ( 205° C) for at least 5 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together olive oil, garlic powder, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, paprika, and Dijon mustard just until homogeneous in a large bowl. Reserve!
2. If using frozen raw shrimp, place them all into the air fryer basket and cook for 5 minutes. They will be thawed at the end. SEE PICS 1 & 2
3. Remove shrimp using a slotted spoon and then pat it dry using a paper towel. Toss them into the oil/spice mixture until fully covered with the mixture.
4. Discard the water and pat dry the basket carefully (use gloves to not get burned). Place shrimp in one layer using tongs, leaving space between them to cook. Cook for additional 5 minutes, flipping halfway through. SEE PICS 3 & 4 You don’t need to spray the basket with cooking spray because the shrimp are tossed in oil.
5. Serve with your favorite sauce as an appetizer or as a main dish over (cauliflower) rice noodles, with asparagus, or another side of choice.
6. If using frozen cooked shrimp, colossal (larger than jumbo) is the perfect shrimp for this recipe because it won’t be overcooked and chewy. Thaw them in the air fryer for 5 minutes and follow the recipe above, except that you will cook the shrimp for 3 minutes instead of 5 minutes after tossing in the oil/spice mixture.
7. If shrimp is fresh and either raw or pre-cooked, skip the first 5 minutes of this recipe and cook it already tossed in the oil/spice mixture.

Cooking Tips

• For this air fryer recipe, there is no need to thaw the shrimp. In fact, you can just pull them straight from the freezer and pour them out of the bag into the air fryer basket! It is a great recipe for busy weekdays!
• You can make this recipe with fresh or frozen shrimp and just adjust the cooking time accordingly. Youc na also adapt the recipe to make  this air fryer salmon.
• Cook the shrimp at 400 ° F ( 205° C) for 5 minutes if the shrimp is labeled as frozen cooked shrimp in the package or for 10 minutes if it’s frozen raw shrimp – with or without a tail. As you can see, the cooking time varies and according to what kind of shrimp you use.
• Shrimp with tail works best for appetizers because you can hold them by the tail to serve yourself. On the other hand, shrimp without tail make the perfect main dish because they are ready to eat – no need to peel or remove the tail.
• To cook frozen bread shrimp in the air fryer, follow the directions in the package. If making simple air fryer breaded shrimp, use all-purpose flour, beaten eggs, and bread crumbs or panko to bread the shrimp and adjust the cooking time.
• Don’t overcrowd the basket: You can throw all the shrimp at once into the basket if frozen because you’ll be thawing them only. But in order to fry them after tossing with the spice mixture, you must place them in one single layer and leave space between them to cook evenly. This is when overcrowding the basket is a no-no. The air fryer works by circulating hot air around your food, so exposed surface area is key to achieve crispiness!
• Use your favorite seasoning. This means you can easily make variations of this recipe such as air fryer garlic shrimp, shrimp scampi, or coconut shrimp.
• Flip shrimp: Halfway through the cooking process, flip shrimp because you want the hot air to hit both sides equally! 
• Reheat in the air fryer: If you have leftover air fryer shrimp you need to reheat, do it in the air fryer in just 2 minutes. Microwaving them instead will just make them chewy instead of crispy. 
• Marinate: If you have the time, marinate shrimp in the oil/spice mixture for 20 minutes at least. They will be extra flavorful! Of course, you would have to thaw them first.

 

What to Serve With Air Fryer Shrimp

I paired this air fryer frozen shrimp recipe with remoulade sauce for a quick appetizer. But you can serve over jasmine rice, basmati rice, pasta, air fryer asparagus, and noodles or with a side of  Brussels sprouts, roasted carrots and parsnips, and more.

You can even use them to make popcorn shrimp, crispy shrimp tacos or shrimp fajitas and pair with red onion pickles. Moreover, you can chop them to make this shrimp cheese ball or our garlic shrimp spaghetti or Texas caviar.

There are endless possibilities to use them in different dishes!

Remoulade sauce

This is a mayonnaise-based sauce popular in French and Cajun cuisines that pairs well with our air fryer shrimp. To make this sauce, mix together mayonnaise, ketchup, hot sauce, whole grain mustard, chopped parsley, capers, and lemon juice.

It is creamy, mildly spicy, sweet and tangy, and quite delish.

How do you Know if Shrimp is Undercooked?

When properly cooked, the exterior of your cooked shrimp is pink and the flesh will also appear slightly opaque and white. The internal temperature must be 120° F (49° C).

Is air fried shrimp healthy?

Yes! Because it contains much less fat than deep-fried shrimp and also it is keto or low carb and gluten-free (is not breaded).

Can you cook frozen shrimp in an air fryer?

Yes! In fact, we made this recipe with frozen shrimp. There is no need to thaw! You just need to cook it for 5 minutes more. Then, squeeze lemon juice on top!

Can you air fry shrimp with the shell on?

Yes! You follow the same temperature, cooking time, and directions in our fried shrimp recipe. The only difference is you will have to remove the shrimp shell right before eating or dipping in the sauce. Some prefer to keep the shells on it locks the shrimp juices inside and make it more flavorful.

If you are not marinating the shrimp before cooking or if you are not tossing the shrimp in our oil/spice mixture, cook it with the shell on. Either way, it will be super yummy!

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can reheat the shrimp in the air fryer for 2 minutes.

Do not freeze!

More Air Fryer Recipes

• Air Fryer Chicken Wings
• Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
• Churros with Chocolate Sauce
• Air Fryer Veggie Chips
• Air Fryer Tilapia

PIN & ENJOY!

 

FOLLOW US on  INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, and FACEBOOK for more easy and delish recipes and updates.