This Shrimp Fritters recipe was inspired by a trip to the Bahamas to celebrate my sister’s bachelorette weekend. There were about 9 of us ladies and we had a really great time. One of my favorite things about the about the trip was the fact that everywhere I turned there were Conch Fritters (one of my best memories on the trip involved food, go figure). When I first saw them I was skeptical, thinking that I would be biting into a mouthful of greasy, bread-y batter. Nope, not at all! They were light, crisp and filled with chopped conch (think humungous clam of sorts, in more of a “snaily” type shell). I think I had a fritter with every meal while I was there, super good!
I made my own little version of these conch fritters, using shrimp because it’s a lot more common and well, I love shrimp :) These fritters really are light and crisp on the outside and rich and savory on the inside. We’ve paired them with our spicy honey drizzle, which we’ve used before for our hush puppies…the super simple, sweet and spicy sauce goes really well with these bites. You should make them for your next cocktail party, game night or even just as a nice little snack anytime. Enjoy! xx, Jenny
Pan Frying Alternative
Instead of deep frying these, you can pan fry them with less oil. Pan fry them in about 2 inches of oil and just flip them after about 3-4 minutes!
How to make our Shrimp Fritters without a stand mixer
This dough is a very thick, pasty dough and can get a little difficult to stir by hand, but you totally can. Keep the mixture in the saucepan and stir vigorously as you add the eggs using a wooden spoon until fully incorporated. Alternatively you can also use a hand mixer.
Make Ahead
The Shrimp Fritters are best served fresh and hot. The best method to make ahead is to make the batter ahead of time and cover the surface of the dough directly with plastic wrap and chill until you’re ready to use.
We don’t recommend re-heating the shrimp fritters because they will loose their crispy outer texture.
Tips and Tricks for making Shrimp Fritters
- The mixture turns dough like when the flour is added, then it breaks apart when the eggs are added and it may seem to you like you’re making a mistake but you’re not! Once you keep beating, the mixture will become very thick and sticky.
- When you drop the fritters into the oil, be sure to not overcrowd the pan. You want to make sure to leave space around the fritters so you can easily flip them, and so they won’t stick together.
- We love this Tablespoon scoop. It makes dropping dough into the oil super easy, and it also makes all the shrimp fritters the exact same size!
- We also love our Elote Fritters!
You might also love our:
Shrimp Fritters
INGREDIENTS
- ¾ pound raw tiger shrimp, peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 eggs
- spicy honey drizzle recipe
- vegetable oil for frying
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oil to 350°F.
- Place shrimp, green onions and garlic into a large mixing bowl and toss together. Set Aside.
- Pour water into medium pot and add butter and salt and bring to a boil.
- Once mixture has come to a boil, add flour and quickly stir with a wooden spoon, until dough forms. Continue to stir over medium heat, for about 3 minutes.
- Place dough into a stand mixer fixed with a paddle attachment and run on medium speed, allowing steam to escape.
- Once most of the steam has disappeared add the egg, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
- Fold pepper into the pate a choux (the doughy/battery mixture).
- Fold the shrimp mixture into the pate a choux until fully incorporated.
- Once oil is hot, add tablespoon sized balls of the shrimp mixture into the oil (you’ll have to do this in batches); make sure not to crowd the pan/fryer.
- Fry each fritter for 4 to 6 minutes, flipping halfway if necessary. Drain on a paper towel and season lightly with salt. Serve immediately with spicy honey drizzle.
Did you make this recipe? We want to see!
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These are awesome- ingredients are basically staples one would find in my kitchen. I had made them once from your recipe and so tonight when I make them your recipe will be printed and will be the first to be in my soon to be the book of the best! There’s jus some recipes that you can’t let yourself forget! I find a recipe that we will be like YES MAKE THIS EVERY WEEK & time goes by we forget…. Simply made if you’re in fact familiar with cooking. May not be the best for beginners as we’ve seen in other comments.
I really like this recipe can’t wait to try it out since I like fritters and shrimp thank you keep up the good work
These were the absolute best. It’s one of those recipes where you have to really trust the process. The batter is SUPER thick as she indicates. So, believe that and keep going!! My hubbs loved them!!!! Crisp on the outside, soft on the inside. I added sugar to mine. Sooooo good. Thank you!
Hey there, wondering if I could make the batter a few hours in advance. Thanks!
Yes! you can actually make the batter up to 2 days ahead of time and keep it covered in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it!
Absolutely awful. The so called dough was a clump I’d paste. Cooked for 6 minutes and was gum. Went another 5 minutes still gum. Under up cooking about 15 minutes still pasty. Never again. Waste of time and effort.
Hi Dino. The dough is actually supposed to be a very thick and sticky batter. After these are fried, the outside should be crispy while the center does in fact stay soft. It won’t turn “bready” if that’s what you were expecting
I would love to see a video for this because I ended up with a dough that didn’t really want to accept the shrimp. There was nothing batter like about it. I was also so freaked out that I was doing it 100% wrong once I added the flour, then again when I added the eggs. I think it could be great with a little more help to your devoted fans!!
Sorry this didn’t work out well for you! Yes, the batter is really thick and in the end should be sticky. The mixture should read like a dough when the flour is added, then it sort of breaks apart when the eggs are added (looking like a bit of a hot mess). As you keep beating the mixture the batter should become very thick and sticky! If you’ve ever made eclairs or cream puffs in the past, the mixture is very similar. I hope that helps for now. We will definitely add this to the list of recipes to add a video for! Thanks for your feedback!
I only have a whisk attachment Can I use that. I would love to make this
You could use a whisk attachment, but it will take longer to whip up and you’ll also have to push the collected batter (which will look very clumpy and wet in the beginning) out from the center of the attachment a few times, while whipping, to make sure everything gets completely combined. So yes, but it will be more labor intensive!
I know it says to eat right away, but can you freeze and rewarm these for parties? I would like to make these, but don’t have the time right before my party.
I don’t think these would reheat very well. When they’re freshly fried, the have a thin, crisp outer shell, with a soft center, I’m not entirely sure they would crisp back up very well!
I definitely need to try this. I’m from Belize, and xonch and shrimp fritters are very common here. I usually buy them but I’ve decided that this time around I’ll make my own. Thanks so much for the recipe!
*conch, that is
Can these be made and frozen, and then reheated before serving? I am looking for something that can be take on a sailing trip and reheated.
Hi Jill! I wouldn’t recommend reheating these as they don’t crisp us as well the second time around. I do recommend making our apple + Cheddar scones though…they’re savory with a hint of sweetness and reheat quite well! Enjoy your sailing trip!
Do I deep fry the balls or am I just pan frying?
This recipe is intended to be deep fried…but you could definitely pan fry them in about 2 inches of oil and just flip them after about 3-4 minutes!
hi. Don’t know if anyone else asked this question but can you still make the dough without a mixer ?
If you are willing to work up your arm muscles, then yes!! It’s just a very thick, pasty dough and can get a little difficult to stir by hand…totally doable though!
I have been looking for this recipe when I was in Naples Italy I had little bits of seaweed fried in the dough amazing my kids loved them to
just made these! so delicious. cut the recipe in half though cause i made them only for myself. YUM!
Ignore my last comment…I must have totally missed the eggs!! Sorry!!