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Tender and totally crispy fried shrimp has never been easier or lighter, and it’s all thanks to the magic of the air fryer. With an Old Bay seasoned breading, crunchy panko breadcrumbs, and a cool, creamy sriracha mayo, these homemade popcorn shrimp are a deliciously light, airy alternative to traditional fried shrimp.

Overhead view of a platter of air fryer fried shrimp with sriracha mayo and lemon coins.

What Makes This Recipe So Good

  • Air fryer fried shrimp is a ridiculously easy way to enjoy crispy, tender shrimp right from your own kitchen. This recipe’s full of flavor, too. The breading is lightly seasoned with Old Bay seasoning, and we pair the shrimp with a simple sriracha mayo for a creamy little kick that compliments the crunch.
  • This is a lighter option for fried shrimp, both from a breading standpoint and a cooking standpoint. The breading consists of light layers of seasoned flour, egg, and breadcrumbs. Then, rather than deep-frying the shrimp in heavy oil, the air fryer works its magic, giving you perfectly crispy shrimp with nothing more than hot air and a little spray oil.

Chef’s Tips

  • Breading anything, not just shrimp, can be kind of a pain. The flour, egg, and breadcrumbs build up on your fingers and probably on your counter, too. To save yourself some frustration, make one hand your “dry hand”, and use it only for coating the shrimp in the flour mixture and the breadcrumbs. Use your other hand only for coating the shrimp in the beaten eggs. Keeping things separate will make the process a little neater.
  • To make sure the breading layers stick to the shrimp, you want to dry the shrimp really well with paper towels before coating them in flour. Don’t worry, they’ll still be perfectly tender and juicy inside when you cook them!
  • For the crispiest air fryer fried shrimp, the air has to be able to circulate around the shrimp. If you overcrowd the basket or overlap the shrimp, the air won’t circulate. Instead of frying, you’ll just end up with steamed shrimp. Delicious, yes, but not crispy or fried. Work in batches as needed!
Air fryer fried shrimp being dipped into a small ramekin of sriracha mayo on a platter.

Even More Ways to Use Your Air Fryer

Air fryer shrimp on a neutral plate with a ramekin of sriracha mayo. One shrimp rests in the mayo.
Recipe By: Sam Guarnieri
5 from 5 votes

Air Fryer Fried Shrimp with Sriracha Mayo

Prep 30 minutes
Cook 15 minutes
Total 45 minutes
Tender, juicy shrimp in a crispy, airy, seasoned breading paired with a simple sriracha mayo for layers of flavor and delicious textures.
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4 servings

Equipment

  • Small bowl with lid, or plastic wrap to cover
  • 2 whisks
  • 3 shallow bowls
  • air fryer
  • Paper towels
  • Plate
  • Cooking spray safe for air fryers

Ingredients

For the Sriracha Mayo

  • ¼ cup mayonnaise
  • ½ tablespoon sriracha plus more to taste, up to 1 tablespoon
  • ½ teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • salt to taste

For the Fried Shrimp

  • ½ cup all-purpose flour see Notes
  • 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
  • 2 large eggs whisked
  • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs see Notes
  • 1 pound large, uncooked shrimp peeled, deveined

Instructions

  • Add all ingredients for sriracha mayo to small bowl. Whisk well until thoroughly combined, then cover bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
    Overhead view of sriracha mayo in a bowl with a spoon.
  • In shallow bowl, mix together all-purpose flour and Old Bay seasoning until ingredients are well-distributed. Set aside.
    Overhead view of all-purpose flour and Old Bay seasoning mixed together in a white mixing bowl.
  • Crack both eggs into second shallow bowl. Whisk vigorously until eggs are fully combined, not streaky. Set aside.
  • Add panko breadcrumbs to third shallow bowl. Set aside.
  • Preheat air fryer to 400° Fahrenheit. Pat shrimp completely dry with paper towels.
    Overhead view of peeled and deveined raw shrimp on a paper towel on a plate.
  • One by one, lightly coat shrimp in seasoned flour mixture. Shake any excess flour mixture back into bowl, then dip floured shrimp into beaten eggs. Coat both sides of shrimp and allow any excess egg to drip back into bowl, then transfer shrimp to breadcrumbs. Coat both sides of shrimp well, gently pressing breadcrumbs into shrimp to be sure breadcrumbs stick. Transfer shrimp to plate and set aside. Repeat until all shrimp have been breaded.
    Overhead view of bread, uncooked shrimp in a circle on a plate.
  • Spray air fryer basket with cooking spray. Place breaded shrimp in basket, being careful not to overlap shrimp or overcrowd basket. Lightly spray tops of shrimp with cooking spray.
  • Place basket in air fryer and cook 6 minutes. Check shrimp after 6 minutes. Cook another 1 to 2 minutes if needed until shrimp are golden and cooked through.
    Overhead view of air fried shrimp in an air fryer basket.
  • Remove shrimp from air fryer. Repeat process with any remaining shrimp until all shrimp have been fried, then serve immediately with sriracha mayo.
  • Make it Gluten Free: Use gluten-free all-purpose flour and gluten-free breadcrumbs.
  • Make it Keto: Use almond flour instead of all-purpose flour and crushed pork rinds instead of breadcrumbs.

Approximate Information for One Serving

Serving Size: 1servingCalories: 332calProtein: 22gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.05gCholesterol: 242mgSodium: 920mgPotassium: 225mgTotal Carbs: 25gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gNet Carbs: 24gVitamin A: 377IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 118mgIron: 3mg
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

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Sam Guarnieri

Sam is a travel, food, and fitness enthusiast from the New York metro area who loves creating new and inventive recipes. Her love of food goes all the way back to her early childhood, cooking alongside her mom and Nonna – the two best cooks she knows! She's a big believer that good-for-you food can still explode with flavor and (most importantly) be easy to make. When she's not in the kitchen, Sam can usually be found planning her next vacation, spending time outdoors, or bingeing the latest Netflix docu-series.

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14 Comments

  3. My husband loved this shrimp recipe and the Mayo. I’m making it for the second time tonight. One thing I wanted to bring up. Our large shrimp are 10-12 count. Last time I threw out most of the flour, egg and panko. This time I used 1/2 as much and it was enough5 stars

    Reply

    1. Hi, Victoria! So glad you enjoyed this recipe. Shrimp tends to vary so much with size and numbers in different packages, so we’d rather there be a little bit extra breading mix than not enough! That is great info to keep in mind. Thank you for sharing! 🙂

      Reply

  4. Will this work with cooked shrimp? We have a bag of frozen cooked shrimp that I was hoping to use. If it would work, how would cooking times be adjusted? Thank you

    Reply

    1. Hi, Elizabeth! We have not tried this recipe with frozen cooked shrimp. If you allowed them to thaw, cook time would probably be a little bit less since they are already cooked. I would suggest just keeping an eye on them as they are cooking in the air fryer, checking after 3 minutes and adjust the cook time based on that. Let us know if you try it! 😊

      Reply

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