Quick & Easy Blackened Shrimp

These blackened shrimp are perfectly spiced and packed with flavor, plus they come together in about 5 minutes. With an optional remoulade sauce for delicious dipping, these blackened shrimp are also perfect on salads, in tacos, or any other time you need flavorful shrimp and fast!

What Makes This Recipe So Good

• Blackened shrimp is SO quick and easy! Mix up a little sauce, stir up a few spices, and toss the shrimp in the skillet for 3 minutes max. You’ll have dinner on the table in no time at all!
• The seasoning forms a slight crust on the cooked shrimp, which gives them a beautiful crispiness without having to deep fry anything!
• Both the blackened shrimp and the remoulade are low calorie, low carb, and keto-friendly! Perfect if you want to keep things light without sacrificing flavor.
• The remoulade sauce is out-of-this-world INCREDIBLE! It’s totally optional so you can skip it if you want, but you’ll be missing out. Trust me. It’s creamy and a little spicy, and it goes so, so, so well with seafood and, really, fried foods in general. Even if you skip it with your blackened shrimp, be sure to bookmark this page for the next time you have crab cakes or fish sticks or even fried pickles.

Chef’s Tips

• You can serve the remoulade sauce as soon as you make it, but it’s really best if you let it chill (covered) in the fridge for at least an hour. The flavors meld and amplify as it rests which makes it even more delicious.
• The type of hot sauce you use will slightly change the flavor of your remoulade. Crystal Hot Sauce, a Louisiana staple, has a deep, smoky flavor thanks to its primary ingredient – cayenne peppers. Tabasco, on the other hand, uses tabasco peppers and has a more prominent vinegar flavor. The debate around which is “better” gets pretty heated (no pun intended) but whichever one you like best will work in this sauce!
• It’s not super necessary, but if you’d like even more amazing flavor, let the shrimp sit in the bowl for 20 to 30 minutes before cooking. This gives it a little time to marinate and really soak up all those seasonings!
• Don’t overcook your shrimp! Perfectly cooked shrimp curls lightly, like the letter “J”. Very curled shrimp, in the shape of a “C”, are overcooked!

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• Homemade Shrimp Stock
• Instant Pot Clam Chowder
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• Creamy Hot Crab Dip (Low Carb, Keto, Gluten Free)
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Recipe By: Cheryl Malik

5 from 17 votes

Quick & Easy Blackened Shrimp

Prep 10 minutes minutes

Cook 5 minutes minutes

Total 15 minutes minutes

This 15-minute blackened shrimp recipe is fast, easy, and full of incredible flavors. The remoulade is optional but HIGHLY recommended!

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4 servings

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Equipment

• medium mixing bowl with lid, optional
• whisk optional
• Small bowl
• Spoon
• Medium bowl
• Large skillet
• Tongs or spatula

Ingredients

For the Remoulade Sauce (Optional)

• ▢ ½ cup mayonnaise
• ▢ 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard Creole mustard preferred
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Cajun or Creole seasoning Louisiana, Tony Chachere's, etc.
• ▢ 2 teaspoons capers roughly chopped
• ▢ 1 teaspoon horseradish
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pickle juice dill or sweet
• ▢ ½ teaspoon hot sauce Tabasco, Crystal, Louisiana, etc.
• ▢ 1 clove garlic minced, smashed

For the Shrimp

• ▢ 2 teaspoons paprika
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ⅛-¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper see Notes
• ▢ ½ teaspoon cumin
• ▢ ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ▢ ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ▢ 1 pound raw shrimp 26 to 30 count, peeled, deveined
• ▢ 1-2 tablespoons olive oil

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Instructions

 

For the Remoulade Sauce (Optional)

• Add ½ cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard, 1 teaspoon sweet paprika, 1 teaspoon Cajun or Creole seasoning, 2 teaspoons capers, 1 teaspoon horseradish, ½ teaspoon pickle juice, ½ teaspoon hot sauce, and 1 clove garlic to medium bowl. Whisk until ingredients are fully combined.
  
• Serve immediately with prepared shrimp, or cover and chill at least one hour (preferred).

For the Shrimp

• Add 2 teaspoons paprika, ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅛-¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, ½ teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, ½ teaspoon black pepper, and ¼ teaspoon onion powder to small bowl. Stir until spices are well-blended.
  
• Place 1 pound raw shrimp in medium bowl and add spice blend. Gently stir or toss shrimp until fully coated in spice blend. Set aside.
• Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. When pan is warm, add 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and swirl or tilt pan to distribute oil across entire surface. Continue heating pan over medium-high heat until oil is hot and shimmery.
• When oil is ready, add seasoned shrimp to skillet. Cook shrimp, undisturbed, 1 minute. After 1 minute, flip shrimp over and cook 1 minute more, until shrimp are opaque and curled into "J" shape. Be careful not to overcook.
  
• Transfer cooked shrimp to serving bowl or plate. Serve warm with remoulade sauce (optional) and preferred sides.

• Mild Heat: Use ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper.
• Medium Heat: Use ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper.
• Make it Dairy Free: Most mayo is dairy free, but if you want to err on the side of caution, double-check the ingredients label or use a vegan mayo for your remoulade.
• Make it Gluten Free: This recipe is naturally gluten-free, but be sure to check the label on each ingredient you use to make sure that specific version doesn’t contain gluten.

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Approximate Information for One Serving

Serving Size: 1servingCalories: 350calProtein: 24gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 298mgSodium: 1347mgPotassium: 170mgTotal Carbs: 3gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gNet Carbs: 2gVitamin A: 1008IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 184mgIron: 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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