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This BBQ shrimp recipe is quick and easy, with big, bold flavors. It’s the perfect fast dinner served with a side of rice, bread or a salad.

BBQ Shrimp
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Looking for a fun, flavorful way to eat shrimp for dinner? Try this BBQ Shrimp recipe! This quick and easy method makes a bold, tangy sauce for the shrimp to swim in, flavored with barbecue sauce and a few extras. It’s the perfect fast dinner for nights where you don’t want to think too hard, and you might already have many of the ingredients on hand. Serve with rice, garlic bread or a crisp salad and you’ve got a meal!

Ingredients in this BBQ shrimp recipe

There are several different ways to make BBQ shrimp. This recipe combines barbecue sauce with a few extra seasonings to make a quick and simple pan sauce for shrimp. A classic New Orleans-style BBQ shrimp recipe doesn’t use barbecue sauce at all: check out this recipe from Immaculate Bites. Here’s what you’ll need for this easy BBQ shrimp recipe:

  • Barbecue sauce: Use the best quality you can find and afford: it really makes a difference flavor-wise in this recipe.
  • Soy sauce
  • Dijon mustard
  • Cornstarch
  • Medium shrimp, thawed and deveined (tail on or peeled)
  • Garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, black pepper, and kosher salt
  • Butter
  • Lemon juice
BBQ shrimp recipe

The type of shrimp to look for

Most grocery stores have lots of options when it comes to shrimp. Here are a few things to look for specifically when you’re making this BBQ shrimp recipe, and some notes on sustainability:

  • Medium shrimp: Medium is labeled as 41 to 50 count (the number of shrimp per pound). You can use any size here, but we like medium best for this particular recipe.
  • Wild caught: Fish that is wild caught in your country is usually a sustainable choice. There are also quality options in well-regulated farms; see Seafood Watch Consumer Guide.
  • Tail on or peeled: Tail on looks the best, but it can be messy when you’re eating it. Make sure to have a bowl for the tails! Peeled shrimp are easier for eating.
  • Fresh or frozen: Both are similar in quality! Frozen shrimp can be as high quality as fresh if it’s frozen as soon as it’s caught. Here’s How to Thaw Shrimp.

Tips for making BBQ shrimp

This BBQ shrimp recipe is fast and easy: stir together the sauce ingredients, sauté the shrimp to mostly cooked, then add the sauce and finish the cooking. Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you go:

  • Use your largest skillet. You don’t want to overcrowd the pan or the shrimp will steam instead of sauté. Use a very large skillet for 1 ½ pounds shrimp. If you don’t have a large enough pan, you can sauté in batches.
  • Cook until the shrimp are cooked halfway, then flip and add sauce. You’ll cook the shrimp the rest of the way with the sauce in the pan.
BBQ shrimp

How to serve it

Make a quick dinner out of this BBQ shrimp by adding a simple side dish! Here are a few ideas that are also quick:

More shrimp recipes

Shrimp is ideal for quick and easy dinners: it often saves us on a weeknight! Here are a few more shrimp recipes we love:

This BBQ shrimp recipe is…

Gluten-free and pescatarian. For dairy-free, use olive oil instead of butter.

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Easy BBQ Shrimp

BBQ Shrimp
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5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

This BBQ shrimp recipe is quick and easy, with big, bold flavors. It’s the perfect fast dinner served with a side of rice, bread or a salad.

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Main dish
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • ¾ cup barbecue sauce*
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, thawed and deveined (tail on or peeled)
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • Fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. If frozen, thaw the shrimp.
  2. In a medium bowl, stir together the cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water. Then stir in the BBQ sauce, soy sauce, and Dijon mustard.
  3. Pat the shrimp dry. In a medium bowl, mix the shrimp with the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin.
  4. In a very large skillet, heat the butter on medium high heat. Add the shrimp in single layer and cook until the shrimp are about ½ cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the shrimp, then pour in the sauce. Cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes until the sauce is thickened and glossy. Remove from the heat and add lemon juice and fresh ground black pepper.

Notes

*Grab the best quality bottle of BBQ sauce you can find or afford: it makes a difference in the flavor.

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About the authors

Alex & Sonja

Hi! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

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2 Comments

  1. Aubrey says:

    Trying to spruce up my family dinners in 2023 and this was a winner! Even my kiddo loved it. Any dinner I can make without complaints is a bonus.






  2. Sonja Overhiser says:

    Let us know if you have any questions!