Air Fryer Garlic Butter Shrimp is so easy to make. It’s a simple and succulent meal, plus using frozen shrimp means you’ll have dinner done in a snap!
Recipe Costs => $4.15 / $1.38 per serving. Suitable for Keto, Low Carb, and Gluten Free diets. Post includes Weight Watchers points.
When I am looking for a simple weeknight recipe, I always go for shrimp. Shrimp is light, low carb, and the garlic butter sauce on this shrimp is super flavorful. Plus, this Air Fryer Shrimp cooks up so quickly, it’s almost like not cooking at all.
Garlic butter shrimp is super versatile. It is delicious enough to serve alone as an easy appetizer, or you can add pasta or grits and roasted veggies to make it a complete meal. And you can easily swap out the additional seasonings to fit your family’s tastes.
Using frozen shrimp makes this recipe affordable too. Since you don’t have to thaw the shrimp in advance, this is the perfect meal for busy nights when you forget to plan in advance.
Table of Contents
Why Make This Recipe
- Succulent – Garlic butter shrimp is incredibly flavorful.
- Simple – This dish has only 5 ingredients and cooks in under 10 minutes.
- Versatile – Serve as an appetizer or as a complete meal.
- Dietary – Suitable for gluten-free, low carb, and keto diets.
Ingredient Notes
- Shrimp – Look for large, frozen, raw shrimp.
- Butter – Melt the butter.
- Garlic – Freshly grated garlic will have more taste than jarred garlic.
- Parsley – Fresh parsley is preferred, but you can substitute 2 teaspoons of dried parsley.
- Cajun seasoning – Optional, but adds loads of flavor. See the variations below for other seasoning suggestions.
How To Make Shrimp in Air Fryer
Get full ingredients list and instructions from the recipe card below.
- Combine melted butter and garlic and set it aside.
- Add the shrimp to the air fryer basket in a single layer.
- Air fry at 325F / 170C for 5 minutes.
- Remove the basket and brush shrimp with a bit of the garlic butter, then cook for 3 more minutes.
- Remove the shrimp, toss with the remaining garlic butter, and garnish with parsley and cajun seasoning before serving.
Tips For Success
- Use frozen, raw shrimp for this recipe. There is no need to defrost the shrimp.
- Peeled and deveined frozen shrimp means you can just pop the finished shrimp in your mouth. Tail on shrimp is fine.
- If using extra-large or jumbo shrimp, you may need to increase the cooking time by a minute or two.
- If desired, you can flip the shrimp halfway through cooking, but it’s not necessary.
- Shrimp will be firm, pink, and no longer translucent when done.
Delicious Variations
- Use ghee instead of butter – If you can’t tolerate dairy, ghee is an excellent alternative to butter that is dairy-free but still has all the flavor of butter.
- Swap the Cajun seasoning – Cajun seasoning adds a nice spicy flavor, but you could also use salt and pepper, garlic powder, Mediterranean seasoning, lemon pepper, or your favorite seasoning blend.
- Add citrus – A squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice will brighten these shrimp.
- Add parmesan – Add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese to cooked shrimp for a little extra saltiness and flavor.
Budget-Friendly Tips
- Buy Local Shrimp – Wild caught, local shrimp will be the most economical. If you don’t live near the ocean, choose shrimp from the closest locale.
- Be Flexible on Size – Shrimp prices can vary based on the size, so be flexible if cost is a concern.
- Serve As An Appetizer – When serving as a meal, you will want more shrimp. Serve as an appetizer, and you can get away with serving fewer per person.
- Make It A Meal – Serve the shrimp over pasta, grits, or rice and add a steamed or roasted vegetable to make it a full meal.
Make Ahead And Storage
- Prep Ahead – If desired, you can thaw the shrimp and marinate them in butter and seasoning for up to an hour before cooking. If you cook thawed shrimp, you will need to adjust your cooking time.
- Store – Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freeze – Freeze any leftovers in an airtight container.
- Reheat – in the air fryer or a pan on the stove. Microwaving will make the shrimp mushy.
FAQs
If you have access to fresh shrimp, it is a wonderful choice. You will want to shorten the cooking time slightly.
Season shrimp with salt and pepper before adding it to the air fryer.
You can easily double or triple this recipe. However, do not crowd the air fryer basket. You may need to cook the shrimp in batches.
Serving Suggestions
Tools Needed
Weight Watchers Points
There are 7 Blue Plan SmartPoints in one serving of this.
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Did you make this recipe? Then I would love to hear how it turned out. Please leave a comment and star rating below. And I really appreciate you sharing this recipe with your family and friends. Enjoy every mouthful 😊🍲 – Bintu
Get The Air Fryer Garlic Butter Shrimp Recipe
Air Fryer Garlic Butter Shrimp
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb (225g) large frozen raw shrimp peeled and deveined ($3.30)
- ¼ cup (57g) butter melted ($0.40)
- 1 teaspoon garlic finely grated ($0.10)
- 2 tablespoons minced parsley ($0.30)
- Cajun seasoning optional and to taste ($0.05)
Instructions
- Preheat Air Fryer to 325F / 170C.
- Mix the melted butter and minced garlic and set it aside.
- Place shrimp in a single layer inside the air fryer basket and cook for 5 minutes.
- Remove the basket from the air fryer and brush little bit of garlic butter onto the shrimp.
- Air fry for 2 more minutes. I used large shrimp, and at this point, my shrimp was pink and done. If you are using jumbo shrimp, you may need to add an additional 1-2 minutes.
- Remove cooked shrimp from the air fryer and place in a bowl. Toss with the additional garlic butter, then place on a plate. Garnish with parsley and cajun seasoning (if desired) before serving.
Notes
- Use frozen, raw shrimp for this recipe. There is no need to defrost the shrimp.
- Look for shrimp that’s already been peeled and deveined, and you can just pop the finished shrimp in your mouth. Tail on shrimp is fine.
- If using extra-large or jumbo shrimp, you may need to increase the cooking time by a minute or two.
- If desired, you can flip the shrimp halfway through cooking, but it’s not necessary.
- Shrimp will be firm, pink, and no longer translucent when done.
- Store – Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- There are 7 WW Blue Plan SmartPoints in one serving.
Tania | Fit Foodie Nutter
I love dinner in a snap ideas and this is just perfect! Great recipe for the summer BBQ table too! xx
Allyssa
this shrimp fryer recipe is very delicious! Thanks a lot for sharing this, it is very easy! will make it again!
Katherine
Got to love a tasty 10-minute dinner! This is a great one to have for busy weeknights.
Amanda Wren-Grimwood
So tasty and quick for weeknights. This is a favourite for me.
Jill
That plate of shrimp with the lemon slices is so inviting! Air fryer for the win!
gregory anderson
I made this tonight in my airfryer oven, so I didn’t have to flip it. Thanks for the recipes you provide although I do have to adapt them. Btw, ghee is lactose free, but is made from butter so it isn’t “dairy-free”. Just saying.
Thanks again! I’ve subscribed already, and trust your recipes even for those that aren’t for airfryers.