25 Fast and Light Shrimp Recipes (2024)

When you're looking for a lighter lunch or dinner, shrimp is a great option to leave you satisfied and with time to spare. Try dishes like chef Hugh Acheson's grilled shrimp with apples and charred scallion or a quick shrimp pad Thai among our favorite fast and light shrimp recipes.

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Grilled Shrimp cocktail with Fresh Tomato cocktail Sauce

Give shrimp co*cktail a seasonal, smoky upgrade with this ideal recipe for summer dinner parties and cookouts. The shrimp are marinated in a bright, lemon-garlic mixture that gets a kick from crushed red pepper. Make sure to pat dry after peeling and deveining them, so they don't water down the marinade; this also helps the shrimp achieve a nice char when grilled.

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Gingered Stir-Fry with Shrimp and Snow Peas

Large nonstick skillets that can create a sear are ideal for stir-fries. For this recipe, we create layers of flavor with Chinese chile-garlic sauce and matchsticks of fresh ginger.

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Summer Squash and Shrimp Fricassee

"Once the summer starts, there are inevitably big baskets of zucchini and yellow squash that we just don't know what to do with," says Oxford, Mississippi-based chef Vishwesh Bhatt. "This fricassee is a terrific place to use them. It's really light, it's really quick, and it's really easy to cook a big batch of it, making it an ideal centerpiece for summer gatherings."

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Mama Chang's Stir-Fried Shrimp and Scallions

Chef Joanne Chang's mother used to make this sweet and spicy shrimp stir-fry all the time. When she was old enough to cook, Chang asked her mom for the recipe. "She hemmed and hawed until she finally gave it to me, revealing her secret ingredient: ketchup."

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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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Shrimp and Pork Dumplings with Bamboo Shoots

Chef Martin Yan makes his delicate dumpling wrappers with cornstarch, wheat starch, water, and shortening. For an easier way, wonton wrappers, usually sold in the freezer section of the supermarket, make quick work of dumplings.

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Grilled Shrimp with Apple and Charred Scallions

"Shrimp come from all over the world, but I think the kind from coastal Georgia and the Gulf is the best — and it's pretty much a sustainable product," says chef Hugh Acheson. Here, he prepares the shrimp as a light appetizer with green apple, charred scallions, smoked paprika, and sesame seeds.

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Sweet-and-Sour Shrimp

For an alternative to Heinz and Hunt's, two Brown University undergrads created Sir Kensington's, a small-batch ketchup that balances sweet and tangy. To show off its aromatic side, former F&W editor Grace Parisi uses it in a sauce for a shrimp stir-fry.

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Marseille-Style Shrimp Stew

Large shrimp make this a knife-and-fork stew. Cookbook author Melissa Clark spreads a garlicky French rouille on toasts for dipping in the stew.

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Quick Shrimp Pad Thai

This is a great, fast version of American-style pad Thai, with an appealing combination of sweet, sour, and spicy flavors.

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Goan Shrimp Curry

Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and his wife, Alyona, love beach vacations in Goa. Kapoor prepares this shrimp curry in typical Goan style, so it's tangy, spicy, and vibrant.

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Grilled Shrimp with Mom's Avocado and Orange Salad

Chef Andrew Carmellini's dish is a mix of two beloved salads: shrimp-avocado and shrimp-citrus. He throws in a few surprises, too, like the hot sauce in the dressing, recommending a fruity one from the Caribbean made with habaneros.

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Zucchini, Corn, and Shrimp Flatbread

Store-bought naan flatbreads get toasty on the grill, layered with mascarpone cheese, sweet shrimp, juicy corn, and tender ribbons of fresh zucchini. Don't skimp on the garnish of smoked paprika — it adds a dash of vibrant color and enhances the smoky flavor.

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Creole Shrimp with Garlic and Lemon

Eco-minded chefs are cooking with wild American shrimp, but not just for ethical reasons. As chef Tory McPhail says, "They taste cleaner and crisper since they swim in the tides."

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Smoky Paella with Shrimp and Squid

Star chef José Andrés prepares this satisfying rice dish with lots of seafood, including hard-to-find cuttlefish and a housemade fish stock. To make it even easier, use squid in place of the cuttlefish and skip the fish stock in favor of bottled clam broth from the supermarket.

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Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp

Coconut shrimp are well suited to all sorts of dipping sauces, but we keep it simple here and use Thai sweet chili sauce spruced up with a little chopped fresh cilantro. Using an air fryer instead of frying in oil on the stovetop means crispy shrimp without any splatters to clean up afterward. Serve the shrimp for dinner along with rice and baby bok choy sautéed in toasted sesame oil and fresh ginger.

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Shrimp with Fresh Citrus Sauce

Chef Andrew Carmellini's sauce uses blood oranges, tangelos, clementines, and tangerines. He sautés the shrimp separately. To make it even easier, prepare a fast citrus sauce by adding grapefruit juice to the skillet as you cook the shrimp.

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Shrimp with Roasted Corn, Leeks, Tomatoes, and Basil

Showcasing late-summer produce, this simple sauté is a perfect shoulder-season weeknight dinner. Marinating sweet cherry tomatoes in vinegar and salt tenderizes them and draws out their juices, creating a light sauce. "If you have the leeks and corn prepped ahead of time, you can have this dish finished and on the table in about 15 minutes. It's convenient and delicious and just begging to be enjoyed al fresco with a glass of white wine," says chef Cassidee Dabney.

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Chipotle Shrimp Tostadas

For this Southwestern-inspired dish, shrimp are tossed with chipotle chile powder, grilled, then layered on top of crunchy fried corn tortillas and crisp, citrusy slaw.

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Soba Noodles with Grilled Shrimp and Cilantro

Garlicky, spicy, and bright with lime, this noodle dish is both warming and energizing, according to Thai tradition. Just don't skimp on the lime wedges or cilantro: "The sour juice protects the respiratory system in the early spring," restaurateur and cookbook author Su-Mei Yu says, "and cilantro helps when you're congested."

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Grilled Gulf Shrimp with Sweet Corn Coulis

Tender, juicy sweet peas and yellow corn kernels make for a light and refreshing salad atop a silky, creamy corn coulis in this easy-to-double recipe. Tangy sour cream and buttermilk balance the natural sweetness of the vegetables and Gulf shrimp. Corn may be sweeter or starchier depending on the season — adjust to taste with up to a teaspoon of sugar, if desired.

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Miso Soup with Shrimp and Tofu

No soup is quicker to prepare than miso; just whisk miso paste into water. By adding shrimp, tofu, and greens, it can double as a complete and light meal. Feel free to use leftover chicken or roast pork (or whatever else is on hand) in place of the shrimp.

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Shrimp Saganaki

For shrimp saganaki, Greeks sauté shrimp in a pan with tomatoes, olives, and feta cheese, then serve it right out of the skillet with bread to soak up all the delicious juices. The fresh dill in this quick version brightens the flavor.

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Smoky Citrus Shrimp with Parsley

Grub co-author Bryant Terry eats these tangy, garlicky shrimp piled high on crispy toasts, but sometimes he sandwiches them inside a quesadilla oozing with shredded Jack cheese. He recommends buying wild-caught or sustainably raised shrimp from the United States or Canada, where environmental standards are stricter than in places like Latin America and Southeast Asia.

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Grilled Miso Shrimp

When grilling shrimp or scallops, use sticks of lemongrass or sprigs of rosemary as edible alternatives to metal or bamboo skewers.

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25 Fast and Light Shrimp Recipes (2024)

Grilled Shrimp co*cktail with Fresh Tomato co*cktail Sauce

Gingered Stir-Fry with Shrimp and Snow Peas

Summer Squash and Shrimp Fricassee

Mama Chang's Stir-Fried Shrimp and Scallions

Shrimp Wedge Salad with Old Bay Breadcrumbs and Hot Sauce Dressing

Shrimp and Pork Dumplings with Bamboo Shoots

Grilled Shrimp with Apple and Charred Scallions

Sweet-and-Sour Shrimp

Marseille-Style Shrimp Stew

Quick Shrimp Pad Thai

Goan Shrimp Curry

Grilled Shrimp with Mom's Avocado and Orange Salad

Zucchini, Corn, and Shrimp Flatbread

Creole Shrimp with Garlic and Lemon

Smoky Paella with Shrimp and Squid

Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp

Shrimp with Fresh Citrus Sauce

Shrimp with Roasted Corn, Leeks, Tomatoes, and Basil

Chipotle Shrimp Tostadas

Soba Noodles with Grilled Shrimp and Cilantro

Grilled Gulf Shrimp with Sweet Corn Coulis

Miso Soup with Shrimp and Tofu

Shrimp Saganaki

Smoky Citrus Shrimp with Parsley

Grilled Miso Shrimp

Grilled Shrimp cocktail with Fresh Tomato cocktail Sauce