Perfectly juicy and tender air fryer shrimp take just 10 minutes to make with 5 simple ingredients! Serve them in tacos, on top of a salad, or dip them into your favorite sauce for an easy appetizer.
Why We Love This Air Fryer Shrimp Recipe
This might just become your new favorite way to cook shrimp! It’s certainly the easiest. The air fryer always yields the most tender, crispy shrimp that can be served with just about anything. Toss them in tacos, plate them with pasta, you name it. We use this easy method all the time! For an added flair, sometimes we whip up a batch or two of air fryer cajun shrimp. No matter how you serve or season this air fryer shrimp recipe, you’re gonna love it!
- So Juicy: With the short cook time and circulating air in the air fryer, the well-seasoned shrimp always come out tender and juicy!
- Quick & Easy: This air fryer shrimp recipe is done in just 10 minutes! Toss to coat the shrimp, layer them in the air fryer basket and cook. Couldn’t be any easier!
- Simple Ingredients: Besides the shrimp, you likely already have all the ingredients in your kitchen, ready to go.
- So Many Uses: These air fryer shrimp are perfect in sandwiches, salads, tacos or over a plate of pasta for dinner. They are also a crowd favorite when served as an appetizer with a tasty dip!
Low how quick and easy shrimp are for dinner? Try our easy shrimp and grits, our quick sheet pan Cajun garlic butter shrimp, or creamy Cajun shrimp pasta!
Key Ingredients
Below you will find helpful notes for key ingredients used to make this easy air fryer shrimp recipe. Scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredient list and exact amounts!
- Fresh Shrimp: Make sure you peel and devein your shrimp, leaving the tails attached. Then rinse and dry them with paper towels.
- Oil: Because of the high cook temperature, we recommend using avocado oil.
- Seasonings: We like to use our homemade cajun seasoning, onion powder, and freshly cracked black pepper. Feel free to play around here!
How to Cook Shrimp in Air Fryer
Just like the ingredient list, the steps to making this shrimp recipe are nice and short! Below is a quick recipe overview, but please scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions.
- Season: In a large bowl, toss the shrimp to coat with oil, garlic and seasonings. Place the shrimp in the air fryer basket in an even layer.
- Cook: Cook the shrimp at 400°F for 4 minutes. Flip the shrimp and continue to cook for 2 more minutes, until the shrimp are pink and curled.
- Enjoy: Serve shrimp immediately as desired!
Chef’s Tips and Variations
- Preheat the Air Fryer: Putting your shrimp into a cold air fryer is like dropping them into cold frying oil. In other words, they will not come out crisp and juicy if you don’t have everything properly heated up!
- Adjust Cooking Time: Depending on the size of your shrimp, you may need to adjust the cooking time. We used large shrimp and they cooked in 6 minutes. Smaller shrimp should be checked around 5 minutes and jumbo shrimp will likely need 7 to 8 minutes.
- Don’t Crowd: If the basket gets too crowded, the shrimp won’t cook evenly. Layer the shrimp in a single layer, making sure they’re not touching or overlapping.
- Frozen Shrimp: Forgot to thaw your frozen shrimp? Run lukewarm water over the frozen shrimp to help them start to thaw out for at least 5 minutes.
- Spicy: Add more heat with a tablespoon of your favorite hot sauce, like sriracha. Or you can add crushed red pepper flakes or a pinch of cayenne.
- Marinate: If you have the time, marinate the shrimp up to 2 days ahead of time in the oil and seasonings. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to cook.
- Citrus: To add a burst of citrus, squeeze fresh lemon juice or lime juice over the shrimp before or after cooking.
What to Serve With Air Fried Shrimp
- Dips: Serve them with a side of bang bang sauce, tartar sauce or our favorite cilantro lime crema for a tasty appetizer.
- Salad: A Caesar or Italian salad would be great served under these juicy shrimp! For a party, we also love serving them over this Mexican corn salad.
- Pasta: Any type of pasta dish would be delicious, but these shrimp would be amazing over these parmesan butter noodles or pasta tossed in our best Alfredo sauce.
- Rice: Serve them over a bed of fluffy coconut rice, flavorful parmesan garlic rice or this refreshing cilantro lime rice. Add some beans and you have a whole meal!
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Store: Transfer cooled ship to an airtight container and keep in the fridge for about 2-3 days.
- Reheat: Reheat your leftover shrimp in the air fryer for just 2 minutes or so at 400°F. Be careful not to reheat them for too long! You don’t want them to dry out.
- Freeze: You can freeze cooked shrimp in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To reheat, place the frozen shrimp in the air fryer at 400°F for about 3 minutes. It’s so easy!
Yield: 2 servings
Air Fryer Shrimp
Air fryer shrimp are done in 10 minutes! This juicy, tender shrimp recipe is perfect for appetizers, light dinners, and more.
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh shrimp, shells removed and deveined
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Rinse shrimp and dry with paper towels. Preheat air fryer to 400°F if your air fryer requires preheating.
- In a large bowl, toss shrimp with olive oil, garlic, creole seasoning, pepper and onion powder.
- Place shrimp in air fryer basket, in an even layer. Cook shrimp at 400°F for 4 minutes.
- Flip shrimp and continue to cook for 2 minutes more, until shrimp are pink and curled when cooked.
- If shrimp are not cooked just yet, cook additional 1 to 2 minutes, until done. Do not overcook your shrimp or they will become dry and rubbery.
Notes
Store: Transfer cooled ship to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reheat: Reheat your leftover shrimp in the air fryer for about 2 minutes at 400°F! Be careful not to reheat them for too long, or they’ll dry out and become rubbery.
Freeze: You can also freeze leftover shrimp in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To reheat, simply place the frozen shrimp in the air fryer at 400°F for about 3 minutes.
Adjust Cooking Time: Depending on the size of your shrimp, you may need to adjust the cooking time. We used large shrimp and they cooked in 6 minutes. Smaller shrimp should be checked around 5 minutes and jumbo shrimp will likely need 7 to 8 minutes.
Don’t Crowd: If the basket gets too crowded, the shrimp won’t cook evenly. Layer the shrimp in a single layer, making sure they’re not touching or overlapping.
Spicy: Add more heat with a tablespoon of your favorite hot sauce, like sriracha. Or you can add crushed red pepper flakes or a pinch of cayenne.
Marinate: If you have the time, marinate the shrimp up to 2 days ahead of time in the oil and seasonings. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to cook.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving, Calories: 324kcal, Carbohydrates: 2g, Protein: 46g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 365mg, Sodium: 271mg, Potassium: 637mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 0.1g, Vitamin A: 495IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 153mg, Iron: 2mg
Hi! The nutrition facts are for one serving and the recipe makes two correct? (New to tracking my macros so trying to make sure I track right. )
Hi Heather! Yes the nutritional facts are based off 1 serving, half of the prepared recipe. 🙂
What do you recommend for a sauce to dip them in?
We love to dip them in https://easydinnerideas.com/homemade-tartar-sauce/ or if you are wanting something a little spicier try https://easydinnerideas.com/bang-bang-sauce/
Or just squeeze fresh lemons on them and enjoy!
Hey there!
I have frozen uncooked shrimp. After defrosting, should I cook them or is it safe to toss them right in the air fryer?
Thank you! ♥️
Hi Alyssa, They will cook in the air fryer
Thank you for following us 🙂
I have some frozen COOKED shrimp. Can I use this recipe with them?
Hi Mary,
Try this:
Let shrimp defrost. Follow the recipe but only let the shrimp cook in the air fryer for 1-2 minutes. If the shrimp cook too long they will become chewy.
Please let us know how it turns out!
thank you! Ellen