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    Home » Recipes » Seafood

    Air Fryer Frozen Shrimp (No Thawing!)

    Published: Jun 19, 2023 by Mollie · 1 Comment

    Jump to Recipe

    These air fryer frozen shrimp are made straight out of the freezer in about ten minutes with only three ingredients—no defrosting necessary! They're so fast and easy and perfect for pairing with rice or vegetables.

    Cooked frozen shrimp in a serving bowl with rice, cilantro, avocado, and lime.
    Jump to:
    • 💗 Why We Love These Shrimp
    • 🍤 Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
    • 📋 Step-by-Step Instructions
    • Seasoning Variations
    • 💭 Top Tips
    • Serving Ideas
    • Frequently asked questions
    • More Air Fryer Recipes
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    💗 Why We Love These Shrimp

    • They're super fast: This recipe only takes about ten minutes.
    • You only need three ingredients: We make these shrimp with frozen shrimp, taco seasoning, and cooking oil. That's it!
    • They're versatile: You can change up the seasoning for a different flavor, and you can serve them however you want.
    • No defrosting is necessary: We pop these shrimp in the air fryer without any defrosting, so dinner is on the table in no time with no effort.

    🍤 Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

    Ingredients for air fryer frozen shrimp on a countertop.
    • Frozen Shrimp: We use jumbo peeled and de-veined raw frozen shrimp. You can go for tail-on or tail-off—either works. If your shrimp is cooked, then you can cut the cook time in half (see recipe notes). Most major grocery stores sell bags of frozen shrimp in the frozen food or seafood aisles.
    • Taco Seasoning: We use taco seasoning on our shrimp because it's full of flavor, super easy, and a pantry staple. We love Siete Taco Seasoning or Mateo's Southwest Ranch Taco Seasoning (sold at Walmart), but any taco seasoning works well. You can use other seasoning blends in place of taco seasoning if you prefer.
    • Cooking oil: We use avocado oil, but you can use whatever you usually prefer.

    📋 Step-by-Step Instructions

    Step 1: Add frozen shrimp to a large mixing bowl. Then add oil and taco seasoning and mix until the shrimp is evenly coated.

    Frozen shrimp coated in taco seasoning in a mixing bowl.

    Step 2: Air fry at 400°F for 5 minutes, then shake the basket and cook for another 3-5 minutes, until shrimp is no longer translucent and slightly seared on the outside.

    Cooked shrimp in an air fryer basket.

    Step 3: Serve! Check out some of our serving ideas below.

    Cooked frozen shrimp in a serving bowl with rice, cilantro, avocado, and lime.

    Seasoning Variations

    We use taco seasoning because it's a pantry staple in our house and tastes great on shrimp, but you can use any seasoning mix. Here are some of our favorites:

    • Old Bay
    • Blackening Seasoning
    • BBQ rub
    • All-purpose seasoning
    • A custom combo of your favorite spices—we love paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, ground cayenne, salt, and black pepper

    💭 Top Tips

    • Our taco seasoning contains salt already, so we don't add any. If your seasoning mixture doesn't include salt, then add ½ teaspoon to your shrimp.
    • Don't overcook the shrimp. Because every air fryer cooks a little differently, start checking your shrimp periodically after the 5 or 6 minute mark.
    • We don't preheat our air fryer prior to putting the shrimp in (quite honestly, I just don't have the time of patience for that, and I don't notice a huge difference).

    Serving Ideas

    Here are our favorite ways to serve this shrimp:

    • On a rice bowl: We love ours with avocado, lime, cilantro, black beans, and pico de gallo. Sometimes we just buy bags of microwavable frozen rice from Trader Joe's to make it easy.
    • With veggies: We love carrots, brussels sprouts, and broccoli
    • In a taco
    • With sautéed fajita veggies
    • Over a salad: We love buying pre-packaged bags of salad and throwing this shrimp over the top for a quick lunch or dinner.
    A hand holding a cheesy shrimp taco topped with jalapeños, radishes, queso fresco, and cilantro.

    Frequently asked questions

    What kind of air fryer should I use to cook frozen shrimp?

    We have the four quart Ninja air fryer and love it.

    Do I have to thaw the shrimp before air frying it?

    No! We air fry ours straight from the freezer. It's so fast and convenient.

    How do I store leftover shrimp?

    Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. To reheat, air fry at 400°F for a couple of minutes or until warm.

    More Air Fryer Recipes

    Looking for more easy air fryer recipes? Try these:

    • Three air fryer shrimp tacos on a serving plate topped with cheese, radishes, jalapeños, and cilantro.
      Easy Air Fryer Shrimp Tacos with Cheese
    • Three blackened chicken breasts on a plate garnished with limes and chopped cilantro. The middle chicken breast is sliced.
      Air Fryer Blackened Chicken
    • Air fryer blackened salmon on top of a bowl of rice. It is topped with a corn and mango salsa.
      Air Fryer Blackened Salmon
    • A close up of crispy air fryer BBQ brussels sprouts in a bowl.
      Air Fryer BBQ Brussels Sprouts
    Print

    📖 Recipe

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    Cooked frozen shrimp in a serving bowl topped with cilantro.

    Air Fryer Frozen Shrimp (No Thawing!)


    ★★★★★

    5 from 1 review

    • Author: Mollie
    • Total Time: 15 minutes
    • Yield: 4 servings 1x
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    These air fryer frozen shrimp are made straight out of the freezer in about ten minutes with only three ingredients—no defrosting necessary! 


    Ingredients

    Scale

    1 pound frozen raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined

    2 tablespoons cooking oil (we use avocado oil)

    2 tablespoons taco seasoning


    Instructions

    1. Add frozen shrimp to a large mixing bowl. Then add oil and taco seasoning and mix until the shrimp is evenly coated.
    2. Air fry at 400°F for 5 minutes, then shake the basket and cook for another 4-6 minutes, until shrimp is no longer translucent and slightly seared on the outside.  
    3. Serve! We love these shrimp over rice bowls, in tacos, with veggies, or over a salad. 

    Notes

    We use jumbo-sized shrimp or the largest frozen shrimp we can find. If you use smaller shrimp, just keep in mind that they may take less time to cook. Check them periodically after the 5 or 6 minute mark to make sure they're not overcooking. 

    If you use cooked frozen shrimp, cut the cooking time to around 5 minutes. 

    You can use other seasoning blends in place of taco seasoning if you prefer. Old Bay and blackening seasoning also work well. 

    If you use a seasoning mixture without salt, add ½ teaspoon of salt to the shrimp prior to cooking. 

    Nutritional information is only an estimate. 

    • Prep Time: 5 minutes
    • Cook Time: 10 minutes
    • Category: Dinner
    • Method: Air Fryer
    • Cuisine: American

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: ¼ pound
    • Calories: 161
    • Sugar: 0.2 g
    • Sodium: 241.8 mg
    • Fat: 7.6 g
    • Carbohydrates: 0.7 g
    • Protein: 22.8 g
    • Cholesterol: 182.5 mg

    Did you make this recipe?

    Share a photo and tag us @hangryeconomist — we can't wait to see what you've made!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Mollie says

      June 19, 2023 at 10:01 pm

      Love this shrimp for a quick lunch.

      ★★★★★

      Reply

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    hi, we're Michael and Mollie

    Welcome! We are Michael & Mollie, a hangry economics enthusiast and her husband. Our goal is to provide you with delicious, accessible, and healthy-ish recipes that are both time- and money-efficient.

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