Air Fryer Shrimp
Air fryer shrimp is a quick and easy way to enjoy delicious, low carb, fresh or frozen air-fried shrimp any night of the week.
This air fryer shrimp is a simple summer recipe that features a generous sprinkling of Old Bay and lemon. As Marylanders nothing says summer eatin’ to us quite as much as seafood tossed in Old Bay seasoning, which is practically the official spice blend of Maryland.
This super easy air-fried shrimp is my new favorite way to enjoy beach eats at home anytime.
If you love shrimp as much as we do you’ll want to try our cheesy shrimp casserole, citrus marinated grilled shrimp, and this creamy shrimp alfredo pasta (we even have a low carb shrimp alfredo for those of you watching your carbs!).
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What You’ll Need
- Shrimp tail-on – Go for large shrimp that are peeled and deveined but have the tail still attached. If you can’t find tail-on shrimp, you can use fully peeled shrimp, just make sure they are the large variety.
- Vegetable oil – Vegetable oil has a high heat tolerance and is great for adding a bit of crispiness to the outside of the shrimp. You could use canola oil or another oil that tolerates heat well.
- Old Bay Seasoning – In Maryland this is a must for any seafood …and pretty much anything else you can put it on. It’s a blend of celery salt, paprika, red pepper flakes and black pepper is a classic compliment to any seafood.
- Lemon – A squeeze of fresh lemon right before serving really brightens up the shrimp.
How to Make It
Prep the shrimp. If the shrimp were not already peeled and deveined, you need to peel and devein them. We almost always get peeled and deveined varieties so we can skip this step. Once they are peeled, place the shrimp in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle the oil over top of them and toss them so that the shrimp are coated in the oil. Spread the Old Bay seasoning over the shrimp and give them another toss to fully coat the shrimp in the seasoning.
Fry the shrimp. Using tongs or other utensil, add the shrimp to the basket of your air fryer. When you add the shrimp, make sure they are in a single layer. You can have a small amount of overlap but avoid making a pile of shrimp in the basket. Set the air fryer to 400 degrees F for 10 minutes. Halfway through (at 5 minutes), carefully flip the shrimp.
Serve and enjoy. Carefully remove the shrimp from the air fryer basket. Place them on a serving plate (or your own plate if you don’t plan to share them) and squeeze lemon over top. Serve hot and enjoy!
You can cook frozen shrimp in the air fryer without having to defrost them first. To do this, remove any excess ice build up on the shrimp and separate any that have frozen together into individual pieces.
When cooking frozen, raw shrimp set the air fryer to 12 minutes at 400 degrees F. You will need to flip them halfway through at 6 minutes. If the shrimp is precooked, reduce cook time to 8 minutes and flip them halfway through.
I prefer to thaw the shrimp first because the seasoning doesn’t stay on very well if you are cooking the shrimp from frozen. To quickly thaw the shrimp, place the frozen shrimp in a colander and run it under cool water for about 10 minutes.
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Air Fryer Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 pound Large shrimp, peeled and deveined leaving tails on
- 1 tablespoon Vegetable oil
- 1-2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
- 1-2 slices Lemon
Instructions
- Place shrimp in a large bowl and drizzle the oil over them, tossing them to coat.
- Sprinkle Old Bay seasoning over the shrimp and toss to coat.
- Add shrimp to the air fryer basket in a single layer. A little overlap is ok but don’t pile them on top of each other.
- Cook at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes, stopping the air fryer and flipping the shrimp halfway through.
- Squeeze a slice of lemon over them before serving.
Nutrition
