Coconut Shrimp is always a restaurant menu favorite, but what if I told you that you could make it at home in under 20 minutes? With a crispy golden-brown coconut outside and juicy shrimp inside, this easy-to-make fried coconut shrimp recipe will be your new appetizer go-to!
Served with a sweet and tangy dipping sauce, this easy homemade fried shrimp recipe is sure to be a crowd-pleaser!
Looking for more shrimp recipes? Try these Crispy Shrimp Po'boys, Salt and Pepper Shrimp Recipe, and these Crab Rangoon Egg Rolls that everyone LOVES!
Coconut Shrimp is one of those perfect appetizers that I always get whenever I see it on a restaurant menu! That deep fried crispy coconut shrimp is one of my favorite appetizers (sometimes I order it as a main dish).
So, I decided to make it at home. Turns out, they're super easy to make.
Who needs the restaurant when you have a home kitchen just ready to fry up these crispy golden treats?
How to Make Coconut Shrimp
Let's start with the basics! You'll need the items below! Starting with jumbo shrimp, let's make sure we have everything we need!
What You'll Need
- Jumbo Shrimp, thawed (make sure you buy raw shrimp)
- Milk
- Eggs
- All-Purpose Flour
- Seasonings: Red Pepper Flakes for a little heat, Onion Powder, and Garlic Powder
- Panko breadcrumbs and Sweetened Coconut Flakes for the crispy golden breading (you can use traditional breadcrumbs if that's what you're able to find at your grocery store)
- Vegetable Oil for frying
- Honey - because I like to drizzle honey on top to bring out the coconut flavor!
For the sweet dipping sauce, you'll need coconut cream, crushed pineapples, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, lemon zest, powdered sugar and more sweetened coconut flakes! If you'd like a savory sauce, eat these fried shrimp with boom boom sauce instead!
Now that we've got everything together, let's make this delicious coconut shrimp!
Let's Cook!
- Rinse shrimp and soak in milk for 10-15 minutes. While shrimp is soaking, begin heating oil over medium heat. Then fill a pot with 3 inches of vegetable oil and heat until about 340-360 degrees.
- Gather three mixing bowls. In one bowl, add flour, red pepper flakes, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. For the second bowl, add eggs and whisk with a fork. In the third bowl, combine panko and sweetened coconut flakes.
- Take shrimp and add it to the flour mixture, ensuring that it is coated on both sides. Then submerge in the egg, then dredge in the panko/coconut flakes mixture. Add to a cooling rack and repeat the process. Freeze for 20 minutes.
- Fry shrimp, 3-4 at a time, until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from oil and place on a cooling rack or paper towel.
- Add to a serving dish and drizzle honey on top.
How to make coconut shrimp sweet dipping sauce
Add crushed pineapples, coconut cream, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, sweetened coconut flakes, powdered sugar, and lemon juice and zest!
Pulse until everything is combined. Hence, so simple and easy but so delicious!
Tips for Making Coconut Shrimp
- Make sure your shrimp is thawed prior to cooking. I recommend using frozen jumbo shrimp for the best results!
- To make this cooking process go smoothly, set up three bowls. One bowl for flour (to dredge the shrimp), another bowl for the eggs, and the third bowl for the panko and coconut flakes dredge.
- Heat your oil to about 340-360 degrees F to prevent shrimp from burning/cooking too quickly!
- Squeeze lime on top of your shrimp for a little lime juice action. It's so good!
FAQs
It is important to use canned coconut cream - not coconut milk - as this is thicker and adds creaminess and texture to the sauce.
I recommend getting either large shrimp or jumbo shrimp that are already peeled and deveined with the tails still on. Getting a larger size gives the coconut a larger surface to stick to. Find out more about shrimp sizing here!
Yes! It is actually preferred! Place frozen shrimp in a colander, run under COLD water, and shake a few times. Let the shrimp thaw in cold water for 10-20 minutes to thaw completely.
I 100% do not recommend reheating shrimp in the microwave! The shrimp will become rubbery, and the coating will not keep its crispiness. To reheat, I would recommend throwing the shrimp in the oven at 350 degrees for a few minutes until they are heated fully through.
You can replace shredded coconut with unsweetened coconut flakes, coconut extract or coconut water, or coconut milk if you want to bring out the coconut flavor.
Yes, if you would like to make this coconut shrimp gluten free, simply replace the all purpose flour with 1 to 1 baking flour from Bob's Red Mill. You can use the same quantities so no worries about any difficult conversions.
Yes! Simply follow the recipe steps and opposed to heating the oil, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and add shrimp to a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil on top and bake in the oven for about 5-8 minutes, until crispy and golden brown. You can also use an air fryer, just cook for 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees F, until golden and crispy.
more easy shrimp recipes!
- Shrimp Remoulade
- Low Country Boil
- Cajun Shrimp Tacos with Garlic Lime Ranch
- Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas
- Cajun Seafood Boil with Garlic Butter Sauce
- Crispy Shrimp Po'boy with Old Bay Sauce
- Spring Risotto with Garlic Butter Shrimp
- Shrimp Salad Rolls
- Avocado Citrus Shrimp Salad
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Let's stay connected on social media and continue to cook together! Also, if you decide to make this recipe, please leave a star rating on the recipe card and leave a comment below! Tag @BritneyBreaksBread on Instagram and hashtag #britneybreaksbread so I can see your creations! I hope that you love this recipe as much as we do!
Crispy Coconut Shrimp with Sweet Dipping Sauce
Equipment
- Pot
- Mixing Bowls
Ingredients
- 2 lbs jumbo shrimp
- 1 cup milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp 1 tsp garlic powder
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup panko
- 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
- vegetable oil
- 3 tbsps honey
Sweet Dipping Sauce
- ¼ cup coconut cream
- ½ cup crushed pineapples
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 3 tbsps sweetened coconut flakes
- 3 tbsps powdered sugar
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- Pinch of salt
Directions
- Rinse shrimp and soak in milk for 10-15 minutes. While shrimp is soaking, begin heating oil. Fill a pot with 3 inches of vegetable oil and heat until about 340-360 degrees.
- Gather three mixing bowls. In one bowl, add flour, red pepper flakes, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. In the second bowl, add eggs and whisk with a fork. In the third bowl, combine panko and sweetened coconut flakes.
- Take shrimp and add it to the flour mixture, ensuring that it is coated on both sides. Then submerge in the egg, then dredge in the panko/coconut flakes mixture. Add to a cooling rack and repeat the process. Freeze for 20 minutes.
- Fry shrimp, 3-4 at a time, until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from oil and place on a cooling rack or paper towel.
- Add to a serving dish and drizzle honey on top. Gently toss to coat.
- To make the sweet dipping sauce, combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
Notes
- Do not allow oil to become too hot or else the coconut flakes will char.
- If sensitive to spice, reduce the amount of red pepper flakes.
- For the sweet dipping sauce, do not use coconut milk. It is important to use canned coconut cream as this is thicker and adds creaminess and texture to the sauce.
This was better than the restaurant. 10/10, delicious!
Thank you so much!
This recipe is phenomenal! It’s literally the only coconut shrimp recipe that you ever need. It’s perfectly spiced and the dipping sauce is just perfection!
Thank you so much, I really appreciate that!
I can’t fry anything well at all but then I tried this recipe and it came out perfect! It was so good and the shrimp was so crispy and flavorful. Loved the sauce too!
I'm so happy to hear that! Thank you!
The shrimp turned out so crispy and that sauce was really tasty!
Glad to hear!
These flavors were so sunny and so so delicious!!! I love the notes of the sauce especially and I am looking forward to making this again!
The coconut shrimp and the dipping sauce were equally good! I could not have one without the other. Will definitely make this dish again.
I'm a serious shrimp lover so I really enjoyed this recipe. The shrimps were crispy on the outside and still moist on the inside. I'll definitely be adding this to my appetizer menu!
Is it wrong that I made these for a gathering, but didn't end up sharing them with my guests? They were too good! I wanted them all for myself. Maybe next time!
These coconut shrimps tasted amazing! I served them as starters over Easter and got lots of compliments at how good they were!
My family adored this shrimp. I'll be making it again for summer gatherings.