7 Lightning-Fast Shrimp Dinners Full of Flavor—Ready in 20 Minutes or Less

Shrimp Stir-Fry put on a yellow plate — Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

When you’re short on time, it pays to have shrimp in the freezer—it cooks incredibly fast. With the right ingredients in your pantry and fridge, you can pull together a flavorful shrimp dinner that cooks in about 20 minutes. These seven recipes come together faster than takeout is delivered, and they’ll always be fresh, hot, and full of flavor.

Love these recipes? With MyRecipes, your personal home for recipes, easily save and organize your favorites, plus thousands more, in one convenient place.

Stir-Fried Garlic and Sriracha Shrimp Recipe

Sweet, spicy, and packed with flavor, this quick bar-inspired snack is ready in 15 minutes. Stir-fry shrimp in oil, garlic, and shallots, then swirl in a lime, sriracha, and brown sugar mixture about three minutes before the shrimp is cooked through. Serve and eat immediately.

Stir-Fried Garlic and Sriracha Shrimp Recipe
Quick Broiled Shrimp With Harissa and Beer Recipe

Vicky Wasik

The hoppy flavors of beer, rich butter, and the natural sweetness of shrimp complement each other beautifully in this recipe. Cook the shrimp shell-on under the broiler in the beer-butter-harissa mixture for about 4 minutes. Keep some crusty bread on hand to mop up the extra sauce from this simple but delicious dish.

Quick Broiled Shrimp With Harissa and Beer Recipe
Skillet Shrimp with Orzo, Feta and Asparagus Recipe

Yasmin Fahr

First, cook the orzo in a skillet and set it aside. Then cook the asparagus in oil, garlic, and chili flakes, adding the shrimp during the final four minutes. Add the orzo back in, then toss in the feta, lemon juice, olive oil, and basil. Serve once the orzo is heated through—right at the 20-minute mark.

Skillet Shrimp with Orzo, Feta and Asparagus Recipe
Goong Pad Nam Prik Pao (Thai Stir-Fried Shrimp With Chile Jam)

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

This savory-sweet Thai stir-fry brings together shrimp, oyster mushrooms, long beans, and nam prik pao (Thai roasted chili paste) in just 20 minutes. Add each ingredient to the wok separately, following the order in the recipe for the best results. Finish with scallions and Thai basil, and serve with white rice.

Goong Pad Nam Prik Pao (Thai Stir-Fried Shrimp With Chile Jam)

Continue to 5 of 7 below
Tacos de Camarones al Mojo de Ajo (Sautéed Shrimp Tacos) Recipe

Nick Kindelsperger

The process of making these tacos goes quickly, so have all the ingredients prepped before you start. Begin over high heat and cook the onions and shrimp before adding the butter, jalapeño, and garlic. Warm the tortillas in a second skillet, then build your tacos.

Tacos de Camarones al Mojo de Ajo (Sautéed Shrimp Tacos) Recipe
Italian Seafood-Salad Pasta Salad With Vietnamese Noodles

Daniel Gritzer

A mashup of Italian-style seafood salad and refreshing pasta salad, this noodle dish is full of shrimp, squid, and lump crab meat. The seafood is poached in fresh lemon juice and zest, olive oil, minced garlic, and finely diced red chile pepper, then combined with cooked Vietnamese noodles and herbs for a quick, tasty dish.

Italian Seafood-Salad Pasta Salad With Vietnamese Noodles
Ebi no Chiri-Sōsu (Japanese Shrimp in Chile Sauce) Recipe

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

Also known as ebichiri, this shrimp dish is popular in Chinese-Japanese cuisine and starts with extra-large shrimp tossed in baking soda, egg white, salt, and potato starch before being stir-fried in oil in a hot wok or skillet and set aside. Next, make a chili sauce with ginger, garlic, chile-bean paste, chicken stock, ketchup, sugar, vinegar, sake, and negi (or leek). Toss the cooked shrimp with the sauce, thicken with a slurry, and serve immediately.

Ebi no Chiri-Sōsu (Japanese Shrimp in Chile Sauce) Recipe

Explore more:

7 Lightning-Fast Shrimp Dinners Full of Flavor—Ready in 20 Minutes or Less

Stir-Fried Garlic and Sriracha Shrimp Recipe

Quick Broiled Shrimp With Harissa and Beer Recipe

Skillet Shrimp with Orzo, Feta and Asparagus Recipe

Goong Pad Nam Prik Pao (Thai Stir-Fried Shrimp With Chile Jam)

Tacos de Camarones al Mojo de Ajo (Sautéed Shrimp Tacos) Recipe

Italian Seafood-Salad Pasta Salad With Vietnamese Noodles

Ebi no Chiri-Sōsu (Japanese Shrimp in Chile Sauce) Recipe

More Serious Eats Recipes