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These grilled shrimp skewers cook in under 5 minutes and skip the marinade! A spice rub does all the work, making the perfect smoky flavor for this easy summer dinner.
When it comes to grilled dinner ideas, there’s not much better than seafood. So let us introduce you to our new favorite: these grilled shrimp skewers! Adding shrimp to skewers for grilling makes them easy to turn, and the presentation is simply stunning.
Here I took my perfect grilled shrimp and gave it a skewer make-over, with even better shrimp seasoning and a few tips on skewering technique. These will impress everyone around the table!
Ingredients For Grilled Shrimp Skewers
These grilled shrimp skewers have a short ingredient list: most of what you’ll need are spices! Here’s what you’ll need to make this crowd-pleasing summer dinner:
- Large shrimp, tail on! Find large shrimp that’s peeled with the tail on: these look the most stunning. You can use fresh or frozen (see below).
- Extra-virgin olive oil: My go-to oil for grilling.
- Smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and celery seed: This seasoning blend is based on my Magic Seafood Seasoning, and it brings the very best flavor to grilled salmon and shrimp. Here I simplified it so it’s a smaller batch that works for 1 pound of shrimp. You can use it for cooking shrimp on the stove, too. Make sure to find smoked paprika (pimentón) for the best flavor.
- Kosher salt, wooden skewers, and lemon wedges and fresh parsley for finishing
Tips For Threading Shrimp Skewers
Using skewers for shrimp does present some challenges! Alex and I have worked out the process so you don’t have to. Here are our best tips for grilled shrimp skewers:
- Use wooden skewers. On metal skewers, the shrimp can tend to spin on them which makes them hard to flip. With wooden skewers, the shrimp stays solidly in place. You’ll need to soak the skewers about 20 minutes so they don’t burn on the grill.
- Thread the shrimp on and make them just touch. This also helps to minimize spinning and keep the shrimp in place.
- Alternate directions of the tails. This makes for a stunning visual!
How To Grill Shrimp Skewers
Once you know the basics of working with skewers, there’s not much to this recipe! Here are the basic steps (or jump to the recipe below for the quantities):
- Preheat a grill to medium high heat: that’s 375 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Soak the skewers. Make sure to soak once you start preheating: this should make for just enough soak time (15 to 20 minutes).
- Season the shrimp. Pat the shrimp dry, add olive oil and the shrimp seasoning.
- Thread on skewers. Use my notes above for best practices on skewering technique.
- Grill 1 to 2 minutes per side. That’s it!
Sauces And Sides To Serve
These grilled shrimp skewers are amazing on their own. But you can step them up with a tasty dipping sauce! Here are a few sauces I love:
- Dill Sauce or Lemon Dill Sauce: Full of fresh herby flavor!
- Cilantro Lime Crema or Cilantro Lime Ranch Green & zesty.
- Basil Pesto: Made the classic Italian way.
- Homemade BBQ Sauce Tangy and infinitely better than storebought.
- White BBQ Sauce: Uniquely creamy with a spicy finish: think black pepper and horseradish.
- Horseradish Sauce: Creamy with a spicy bite!
- Honey Mustard Sauce 3 ingredients to big, tangy flavor.
- Creamy Cilantro Sauce or Cilantro Dressing Bright green and zingy.
How To Thaw Frozen Shrimp
Frozen shrimp is just as good with shrimp skewers! Load up your freezer for healthy dinners for months! Here are two methods for thawing shrimp, depending on when you start:
- Day before: If you think ahead, simply place the frozen shrimp in the refrigerator overnight.
- Day of: Place the frozen shrimp into a large bowl with very cold water. Stir the bowl every 5 minutes to break up clumps of shrimp that freeze together. The shrimp should be defrosted in about 15 minutes.
Make Ahead And Storage
Make ahead: You can thread and season the skewers up to 24 hours ahead and keep them covered in the refrigerator. This works great for parties.
Leftovers: Store cooked shrimp in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 2 days. You can gently reheat them on the stovetop, or eat them cold or room temp in bowl meals.
More Grilled Shrimp Recipes
Here are a few more grilled shrimp recipes to try; they also work on skewers:
- Cajun Grilled Shrimp Use our homemade Cajun seasoning to add a spicy kick!
- Honey Garlic Shrimp Amazing flavor and made in 10 minutes.
- Blackened Shrimp Cajun flavor without the heat, this uses our blackened seasoning.
- Perfect Grilled Shrimp Simple Mediterranean flavors, spritzed with lemon. Try it with homemade cocktail sauce as an easy shrimp appetizer!
Or, try my Grilled Scallops, Grilled Cod, or Grilled Ahi Tuna.
Dietary Notes
This grilled shrimp skewers recipe is pescatarian, dairy-free and gluten-free.
Grilled Shrimp Skewers (Fast & Easy!)
These grilled shrimp skewers cook in under 5 minutes and skip the marinade! A spice rub does all the work, making the perfect smoky flavor for this easy summer dinner.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Seafood
- Method: Grilled
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Low Calorie
Ingredients
- 1 pound large shrimp, tail on and deveined (we used 26–30 per pound size)
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon celery seed
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 lemon wedges
- Fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Thaw the shrimp, if frozen.
- Preheat a grill to medium-high heat (375 to 450 degrees). Soak the wooden skewers (at least 20 minutes).
- Pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel or clean towel. Place it in a bowl and add the olive oil, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, celery salt and kosher salt. Mix with your hands to combine.
- Thread the shrimp onto the skewers, alternating direction of the tails and making the shrimp just touch each other (so they don’t spin when flipping the skewers).
- Place skewers directly on the grill and grill 1 to 2 minutes per side, until bright pink and cooked through.
- Remove from the grill and squeeze on fresh lemon juice from the lemon wedges. Top with finely chopped parsley if desired.
Can these be cooked in the oven or on the stovetop? I do not have a grilling option where I live.
I would do in the broiler until just cooked through, 3 to 6 minutes total.
Let us know if you have any questions!
Do I leave the shells on? Thanks
We usually leave tails on but remove the rest.
if you want to prepare the skewers ahead of a party, what would you do?
You could have them prepped in the fridge for up to 24 hours!