We love Coconut Shrimp…like REALLY love it. It’s one of the first recipes we put up on the site 10 years ago, and we’ve finally given it a fresh update! Not only is this recipe so simple and delicious, but we’ve made sure to include air fryer and baking instructions so there’s no excuse not to make this ridiculously good coconut shrimp recipe!
How to Make Our Coconut Shrimp Recipe
Process
- Season the shrimp with salt and pepper.
- In a shallow dish combine flour and garlic powder.
- In another shallow dish combine coconut and breadcrumbs.
- Dredge shrimp in the flour mixture and shake off any excess flour. Then dip each shrimp into the beaten eggs, followed by the coconut mixture, shaking off any excess. Season with salt and pepper.
- Place shrimp onto a parchment covered baking sheet and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat oil. Carefully add shrimp to the hot oil and fry. Gently flip and continue to fry until golden brown and shrimp has just cooked through (do this in batches to avoid crowding the pan). Transfer cooked shrimp to a baking sheet lined with a cooling rack. Season with salt and pepper.
- Transfer shrimp to a platter and serve with our Mango Salsa.
Important Tools You Will Need
- long tongs – this makes it very easy to flip and remove the shrimp from the oil
- wide pan with tall sides – when shallow frying I always recommend a pan like this. You get a larger surface area for frying and the tall sides help to prevent any oil to spill out of the pan, creating a potentially dangerous situation and big mess!
- baking sheets lined with a cooling rack – rather than draining the shrimp onto paper towels, I really prefer to use a baking sheet lined with a cooling rack. Excess oil will still drip off the shrimp, but unlike paper towels, the cooling rack and baking sheet combination will help to maintain crisp shrimp that wont get soggy.
Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp Instructions
Making coconut shrimp in an air fryer is so easy, the results are just as delicious and it makes this dish healthier too.
After coating and refrigerating shrimp set air fryer to 400˚F. Lightly spray shrimp on each side with cooking spray and transfer to fry basket. Air fry shrimp for about 10 minutes or until golden brown and just cooked through. Remove from air fryer and season with salt and pepper.
Baked Coconut Shrimp Instructions
We totally get that not everyone likes frying and that not everyone has an air fryer, so we’ve included baking instructions below, so everyone can make this addicting recipe!
After coating and refrigerating shrimp set oven to 400˚F. Lightly spray shrimp on each side with cooking spray and transfer to a baking sheet. Bake shrimp for about 8 minutes, then flip each shrimp and continue to bake for an additional 6 to 8 minutes or until both sides are golden brown and shrimp has just cooked through. Remove from oven and season with salt and pepper.
Freezing Instructions for Our Coconut Shrimp Recipe
Freezing
Our coconut shrimp can be made and frozen (uncooked) up to 2 months ahead of time. To freeze, coat shrimp as written in the recipe below and place shrimp onto a parchment lined baking sheet about 1/2 inch apart. Place baking sheet in the freezer until shrimp are frozen, then transfer shrimp to a freezer proof resealable plastic bag. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Cooking Coconut Shrimp from Frozen
- Frying: Fry shrimp from frozen, but add an additional 1 to 2 minutes frying time to each side.
- Air Fryer: Fry shrimp from frozen, but do not spray with cooking oil and add an additional 3 to 4 minutes to the air frying time.
- Baking: Place frozen shrimp onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Do not spray shrimp with cooking spray and add an additional 4 to 5 minutes of baking to each side.
What to Serve with Our Coconut Shrimp
We love that this dish can be enjoyed as an appetizer on its own, but we also love that it can be added to so many other dishes to make it a complete meal. So of our favorites are:
- simply with some steamed rice and roasted vegetables
- on a variety of different salads, like our Coconut Shrimp Summer Salad
- over creamy, buttery grits
- along with our mango salsa, our coconut shrimp can also be served with out spicy honey drizzle, from our hush puppies.
More Delicious Shrimp Recipes You Will Love
Check out our giant roundup of all our Best Shrimp Recipes!
Coconut Shrimp
INGREDIENTS
- 16 extra jumbo raw shrimp (16-20 count) cleaned and peeled with tails intact
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 cups vegetable oil for frying
- 1/2 recipe for mango salsa for serving
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a small bowl, season the shrimp with salt and pepper.
- In a shallow dish combine flour and garlic powder. In another shallow dish, gently toss together the coconut and breadcrumbs.
- Dredge shrimp in the flour mixture and shake off any excess flour. Then dip each shrimp into the beaten eggs, followed by the coconut mixture, shaking off any excess coconut and panko. Season with salt and pepper.
- Place shrimp onto a parchment covered baking sheet and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat oil to 350˚F. Once oil is hot, carefully add shrimp and fry for 3 minutes. Gently flip and continue to fry for an additional 3 minutes or until golden brown and shrimp has just cooked through. Transfer cooked shrimp to a baking sheet lined with a cooling rack or paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.
- Transfer shrimp to a platter and serve with mango salsa.
NOTES
- Frying: Fry shrimp from frozen, but add an additional 1 to 2 minutes frying time to each side.
- Air Fryer: Fry shrimp from frozen, but do not spray with cooking oil and add an additional 3 to 4 minutes to the air frying time.
- Baking: Place frozen shrimp onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Do not spray shrimp with cooking spray and add an additional 4 to 5 minutes of baking to each side.