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This honey garlic shrimp has a sweet and savory glaze that coats juicy shrimp perfectly: made in just 10 minutes! Serve with rice for an easy weeknight dinner the whole family will love.
Every now and then a recipe comes along that surprises me. When I created this honey garlic shrimp, I could not believe the sweet savory glaze and juicy sauteed shrimp actually takes only 10 minutes!
This recipe hits all those satisfying dinner notes with a lightning fast prep speed: making it one of my favorite easy dinner ideas after over a decade of creating recipes! It’s hard to find ideas that are healthy, simple, and delicious: and this one is all of those combined.
How to Make Honey Garlic Shrimp
There’s no marinating time needed with this honey garlic shrimp: it’s my ultimate fast and easy dinner idea that comes together in just 10 minutes! Here are a few of the secrets to this kitchen magic trick (or jump to the recipe below):
- Mix the shrimp with minced garlic, onion powder, and salt. This allows maximum coverage of the seasoning on the shrimp first.
- Mix together a quick sauce. Honey, soy sauce, and rice vinegar is all you need!
- Sauté 1 to 2 minutes per side. It’s perfectly seared, just like our popular sautéed shrimp.
- Turn off the heat and add the sauce. Removing the heat is important so the sauce doesn’t evaporate when it hits the hot pan. Stir until everything is fully coated in glossy sauce.
Tips for Buying Shrimp
When you’re shopping for shrimp, there are so many options at the store. Here’s what I recommend for this recipe:
- Find medium shrimp (or large). Medium is nice because you get more bites! Medium is also labeled as 41 to 50 count, and Large as 31 to 40 count (which indicates how many shrimp there are per pound).
- Use tail on or peeled. Tail on looks nice, but you do have to remove the tails as you eat them! Peeled shrimp is helpful if desired.
- Buy fresh or frozen. Both are essentially the same freshness because most shrimp are immediately flash frozen when caught. Just make sure to thaw the shrimp in advance.
- Look for 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.
Serving Suggestions
One of my favorite ideas for serving honey garlic shrimp is adding rice and pan fried broccoli. Every time I make it, everyone around the table raves. Even my kids inhale it! This is one of those recipes I could literally eat at least 6 out of 7 days of the week and be happy. Here are a few side dish ideas:
- Broccoli: Whip up pan fried broccoli in a separate pan, or use the same pan after you cook the shrimp.
- Rice: Go to white rice or brown rice. (Another idea is lentil rice, rice made from lentils.)
- Veggie sauté: Pair with these sauteed veggies.
- Edamame: Try edamame or shelled edamame.
- Stir fry: Pair with a cauliflower stir fry for a stunning meal.
- Snow peas: Try easy snow peas.
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
This honey garlic shrimp is best eaten fresh because seafood can get rubbery when reheated. However, you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat on the stovetop with a splash of water over low heat to loosen the sauce and gently warm the shrimp.
For meal prep, you can mix the sauce ingredients up to 3 days in advance and keep them in the fridge. The shrimp cooks so fast that there’s not much else that can be done in advance!
Dietary Notes
This honey garlic shrimp recipe is pescatarian, gluten-free (with tamari) and dairy free (with olive oil).
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! The flavor will be slightly different but it works well. Use the same amount.
The cornstarch needs heat to activate. Make sure your pan has residual heat when you add the sauce, or turn the heat back on to low for 30 seconds while stirring. The sauce will thicken as it cools slightly as well.
Absolutely. Just add 30-60 seconds to the cooking time per side. Watch for the shrimp to turn opaque and pink.
Use tamari or gluten-free soy sauce to make it completely gluten-free. Everything else is naturally gluten-free.
Yes, but it’s very important that you cook the shrimp in two batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Overcrowded shrimp steam instead of searing, and you’ll lose the caramelization!
Honey Garlic Shrimp (in 10 Minutes!)
This honey garlic shrimp has a sweet and savory glaze that coats juicy shrimp perfectly: made in just 10 minutes! Serve with rice for an easy weeknight dinner the whole family will love.
- Prep Time: 6 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Seafood
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds medium or large shrimp, deveined (tail on or peeled)
- 3 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- Heaping ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup honey
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos)
- 1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoon cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil
Instructions
- Thaw the shrimp, if using frozen.
- Mince the garlic. Pat the shrimp dry. Stir it together with the minced garlic, onion powder and kosher salt.
- Mix the honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and cornstarch in a small bowl, mixing until mostly smooth (a few small lumps are ok).
- In a large skillet, heat the sesame oil on medium high heat. Cook the shrimp for 1 to 2 minutes per side until opaque and cooked through, turning them with tongs.
- Turn off the heat and remove the shrimp. Add the glaze to the pan and stir until thickened, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Once thickened, stir the shrimp back into the sauce and serve.
Hi, for some reason, my “glaze” didn’t thicken up (I used the cornstarch, I promise!) after stirring and stirring and stirring the (off the heat) pan. Any suggestions for the next time I make it? The flavors are great!
Hi! Our pans usually have some residual heat enough to get the cornstarch to activate. You can apply a little low heat if needed.