Marinated Grilled Shrimp
Marinated grilled shrimp delivers a simple, fast, and flavorful recipe thanks to an incredible sweet and spicy marinade. Feel-good grilling takes beautiful summer days over the top! Seafood makes an uncomplicated family weeknight meal and is ideal for entertaining.
I could easily transition to vegetarian if it weren’t for steak and shrimp. So I don’t have plans to give up these mighty foods any time soon because they make dinner a breeze while satisfying the soul.
Even when summer is a distant memory, I love firing up the grill. Grilled flank steak, lamb chops, and chicken are superb additions for your own style of surf and turf.
Yes, I’m in love with summer! Trust me, hubby keeps bugging me to share my favorite summer grilling recipe, so here it is, my marinated grilled shrimp!
What Marinade Does for Shrimp
Honestly, shrimp is delicious on its own if properly grilled with just a little salt and pepper. Add a spicy, naturally sweet marinade using a handful of simple pantry staples, and you can make a good thing even better. Sweetness from honey, bright acidity from lemon, and earthiness from paprika and cumin are enhanced by the master flavor delivery of olive oil.
The nice thing about shrimp is that it doesn’t need a lot of time to take on flavor. Just toss them in a ziplock bag or a glass bowl and marinate them in the fridge for around 30 minutes for a flavor party.
Plus, they cook so fast! They grill up in a matter of 4-5 minutes per side while retaining all their flavor. It makes a great busy weeknight dinner or an appetizer for your next BBQ party. Besides, it tastes waaay better than processed foods, and it’s healthier!
How to Grill Marinated Shrimp
- Soak wooden skewers for at least 20 minutes, totally submerged in water, before grilling to prevent burning. If using stainless steel ones, lightly oil them before threading the shrimp.
- Heat the grill on medium-high. If using a grill pan, lightly spray it with oil to prevent sticking.
- Mix the garlic, paprika, cumin, olive oil, lemon juice, honey, cayenne pepper, and salt in a medium bowl. Reserve about a tablespoon for basting. (Photos 1-2)
- Add shrimp to the mixture, and thoroughly coat them in the marinade. (Photos 3-4)
- Marinate them for about 30 minutes. Add parsley to the marinated shrimp. (Photo 5)
- Thread the shrimp onto the skewers (3-4 per skewer). Make sure the skewer is fully covered with shrimp. (Photo 6)
- Grill the shrimp skewers for 4-5 minutes per side or until opaque, basting frequently with the reserved marinade.
- Serve hot with vegetables, rice, or with dipping sauce.
Happy grilling!
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Large and jumbo shrimps are the perfect choice for grilling because they’re easier to handle.
- Shelled and deveined shrimp are preferred when working on this recipe. The shrimp are a lot easier to skewer, and the marinade has more impact on them.
- Precooked shrimp don’t work well for this recipe. But if that’s what you have, baste them with the marinade and grill or heat them until heated through.
- If you want to serve the excess marinade on the side, simmer it lightly to kill the bacteria from raw seafood and serve it on the side in a bowl.
What Goes With Grilled Shrimp
And you can never go wrong when you pair it with coconut rice with diced cucumber and corn kernels. However, these guys are great appetizers along with grilled chicken wings, saltfish fritters, hot dog pretzels, and deviled ham.
More Seafood Appetizer Recipes to Try
This blog post was originally published in August 2018 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos
Marinated Grilled Shrimp
Ingredients
- 2-3 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon (2-3g) paprika
- 1 teaspoon (3g) cumin
- 2 -3 tablespoons (30-45g) olive oil
- 2 teaspoons (10ml) freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons (14g) honey
- ½ teaspoon (1g) cayenne
- ½ teaspoon (3g) salt (adjust to taste)
- 1-1½ pounds (450-680g) large shrimp
- 1-2 tablespoons (4-8g) parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Soak wooden skewers for at least 20 minutes, totally submerged in water, before grilling to prevent burning and sticking. Skip this step if using stainless steel.
- Heat the grill to medium-high. If using a grill pan, lightly spray it with oil to prevent the shrimp from sticking.
- In a medium bowl, mix garlic, paprika, cumin, olive oil, lemon juice, honey, cayenne pepper, and salt. Reserve about a tablespoon of the marinade for basting.
- Add the shrimp to the marinade and mix thoroughly. Let it marinate for about 30 minutes. Then toss in the optional parsley.
- Thread the shrimps onto the skewers (3-4 shrimp per skewer). Make sure to cover the skewer with shrimp.
- Grill the skewered shrimp for 4-5 minutes per side, or until opaque, basting frequently with the reserved marinade. (A grill pan also works.)
- Serve hot with vegetables, rice, or dipping sauce.
Tips & Notes:
- Large and jumbo shrimp are best for grilling.
- Peeling and deveining the shrimp works better for this recipe. That helps the marinade deliver more flavor and makes the shrimp easier to skewer.
- Soaking wooden skewers prevents the wood from catching on fire. If using metal skewers, spray them with a little oil to keep the shrimp from sticking.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
AWESOME RECIPE!!! So simple and beyond delicious! I doubled the marinade for two pounds of shrimp, and used smoked hot paprika. Since I am watching my carbs, I substituted sugar free maple syrup for the honey, but the result was still very rich in flavor. Thank you so much!!!
Thanks for the feedback. Glad you liked it.
dipping sauce??
You can check out my cocktail sauce. Let me know what you think.
Hi Imma
Would it turn out the same if I used the oven instead of a grill?
Hi Josephine,
It will still taste great! But it will be missing the smoky flavor.
I loved this recipe! It was so easy to prepare – I already had all of the ingredients! Also, it was the perfect blend of flavors. Thank you! We’ll definitely use it again!
Thank you for the glowing words, Antonia. Glad you like it.
I loveddd this recipe
This recipe is outstanding! The marinade is the perfect blend of sweet and spicy. (I doubled the recipe for 2 pounds of shrimp and marinated it for an hour.) The flavors are wonderful, and the shrimp tasted like an entre’e found on the menu of a high-end restaurant.
Aww, thank you so much Linda!!! So happy to hear it was a hit .
Can cooked shrimp be used, if so what would the procedure be Imma,appreciate your site and graciousness.
I would marinate shrimp and saute for a for a few minutes, until they are warmed. Do not over cook . Happy Cooking!!!
This was absolutely wonderful! Rather than skewer and grill them, I sauteed them in a bit of olive oil. They developed beautiful color and cooked really quickly!! I will definitely be making this again soon!!!
Yay! So happy to hear this Lisa. Thank you so much!!!
Hi Imma,
This looks so good, thanks for sharing. I’m a little confused on this recipe for Marinated Grill Shrimp and I am hoping you’ll help me out. Just above the last ingredient it says 1 – 1 1/2 Large Pound. Was this supposed to say something like 1 – 1 1/2 Pound Large Shrimp, or something like that?
Thank you in advance for your help and great job.
Hi Craig, Yes it’s between 1-1½ pounds shrimp. Do let me know how it works out for you. Thanks for giving it a try.
Hi Imma! Thanks for the recipe – I’m excited to try it! How much shrimp do you normally use for the marinade? About a pound? Thanks!
Hi Abby! So excited you want to give it a try. About a pound would work.
What if you don’t like to spicy?
Omit cayenne pepper.
Hello Imma,
I was just looking at a recipe.Iit was fried plantains, smashed , yhen refied. The shrimp, were pan-fried .They were paired w/ this wonderful looking, maybe African type guacamole. You put everything atop the fried plantain. I cannot find the recipe ahain, to save my life! Could you please send it to me.
Thank you very much!
Email: bryant.aleta01@gmail.com
Hi, Aleta. Perhaps you were looking for this Tostones >> https://www.africanbites.com/how-to-make-tostones/. Can’t seem to successfully send the recipe though. Hope you were able to check this out. Happy weekend!