Easy Shrimp and Broccoli

This ultra flavorful shrimp and broccoli recipe comes together in minutes for a fast and easy dinner! Serve with rice or over noodles.

Looking for an easy dinner idea? Try shrimp and broccoli! This recipe is a family favorite that has saved us on many a weeknight meal. Cook up crisp tender broccoli and juicy shrimp with soy sauce and and rice vinegar. Serve it with rice or noodles to make it a complete meal that comes together quickly! Depending on what you serve it with, dinner can be on the table in just 20 minutes. We love this one, especially since our son is a huge shrimp fan!

Ingredients in this shrimp and broccoli recipe

Big flavor comes from just a few ingredients here! This recipe uses Asian-style flavors to make a savory, complex sauce. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Large shrimp: It can be fresh or frozen, peeled or unpeeled. Tail on shrimp is the prettiest, but you’ll have to remove the tails when eating (which can be logistically challenging!).
• Broccoli
• White onion
• Rice vinegar
• Soy sauce
• Chili garlic sauce: Optional, but it brings big flavor and a bit of heat
• Sesame oil: For cooking (not toasted)

This recipe comes together so quickly! Sauté the broccoli and onion for 5 to 6 minutes, then add the shrimp for 3 to 4 minutes. Pour over a sauce of vinegar, soy sauce and chili garlic sauce and cook 1 minute more. Dinner is done!

Option 1: Serve with noodles!

The fastest serving suggestion for shrimp and broccoli is using rice noodles or soba noodles. Many rice noodles don’t even require boiling on the stove: instead, just pour boiling water over the noodles! Most brands are gluten-free (check the package). Soba noodles are also a great choice; they’re buckwheat noodles that are cooked on the stove like traditional pasta. Try our Quick Soba Noodles!

Either way, flavor them a little after cooking! Toss the cooked noodles with sesame oil and some salt so they’re flavored a little before serving. The shrimp does have a bit of sauce left over you can spoon over as well.

Option 2: Serve with rice!

Another great option for this shrimp and broccoli recipe is serving with rice! Make sure to start the rice before you begin to cook the shrimp. Here’s what to know about rice types:

• Brown rice (about 35 minutes). Most recipes take 1 hour, but this Quick Brown Rice method makes it faster. Or try our Instant Pot Brown Rice.
• White rice (about 20 minutes). White rice cooks quicker! Go to How to Cook Rice or Instant Pot White Rice.

How to thaw frozen shrimp

Using frozen shrimp for this shrimp and broccoli recipe? There are a few different options for how to thaw shrimp, depending on when you’re planning to make the recipe:

• 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.

What to look for when buying shrimp

Is there a preference between fresh vs frozen shrimp? What about buying sustainable fish? Here’s what you need to know when you’re at the grocery buying shrimp:

• Fresh vs frozen. A myth about fish is that “fresh is best,” but frozen isn’t necessarily lower quality. In fact, it might be even better! If a fish is frozen when it was caught and stays frozen until it gets to you, it will be higher quality than a raw fish that takes a week to get to your shopping cart.
• Look for wild-caught or US caught. Wild caught is usually a sustainable choice if you can find it. If you live in the US, look for US caught. Imported seafood runs the risk of being overfished, caught under unfair labor practices, or farmed in environmentally harmful ways.
• Look for hook and line as one example of a sustainable type of fishing gear. Bottom trawling is considered the most destructive and least sustainable method.

This shrimp and broccoli recipe is…

Gluten-free, dairy-free and pescatarian.

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Other shrimp recipes

Love shrimp? Us too. Here are some of our other very favorite shrimp recipes:

• Garlic Butter Shrimp This garlic butter shrimp has HUGE flavor in under 10 minutes!
• Creamy Shrimp Pasta Easy to make with the best big flavors: garlic, lemon, and Parmesan. A home run dinner idea!
• Quick Shrimp Tacos A fast dinner recipe for weeknights or entertaining. They taste stunning drizzled in a creamy cilantro sauce!
• Cilantro Lime Shrimp Dinner in 10 minutes! Zesty and fresh, serve with rice, in tacos, or on a salad.
• Shrimp Fried Rice Taste just like your favorite takeout!
• Coconut Shrimp Curry Tastes better than a restaurant in under 30 minutes!
• Easy Baked Shrimp The very best flavor, seasoned with garlic and herbs