This quick and easy recipe will feed your family in 10 minutes!
Nothing makes mealtime easier than dishes you can put on the table in only 10 minutes. That’s only part of the reason why I love to make boiled shrimp. Boiling is an excellent and quick way to prepare these delicate little crustaceans. They require minimal preparation, and since I prefer to leave the shells on during cooking (see the next section for more on that), I only need to remove the veins (intestinal tracts) before plunging them into a pot of heavenly-seasoned boiling water for two to three minutes. I’ll link to a recipe that shows how to devein the shrimp with the shells on in the next section.
While cooking other types of protein can be tricky and require a meat thermometer to tell if your food is ready, shrimp let you know right away. As soon as they turn pink and opaque, they are ready to plunge into icy water to stop the cooking process and enjoy.
In addition to enjoying them with cocktail sauce, you can use boiled shrimp in many different recipes. One of my favorite ways is to chop them into small chunks, mix them with mayonnaise, diced celery, salt, and pepper, and stuff them into a soft hoagie roll (I use gluten-free ones). Boiled shrimp are also ideal for vegetable or pasta salads. The trick to using them in cooked recipes is to add them right at the end, before serving, so they don’t overcook and become tough or rubbery. If I make a large batch of shrimp and have leftovers, I find making a scampi or marinara sauce the next day is an ideal way to use them.
What’s the best way to cook shrimp?
This is an impossible question to answer because it all depends on what you want to do with the shrimp. If you are making a shrimp cocktail or serving shrimp with a salad, I recommend boiling or steaming them. There’s also a difference in cooking method: leaving the shells on or removing them first. With almost any method, the shrimp will retain more flavor and moisture if you cook them with the shell on. Whenever possible, I say leave the shells on but remove the vein first, as I mentioned previously. To learn how to devein shrimp with the shell on, check out our recipe for Steamed Shrimp.
Sautéing shrimp in seasoned butter or olive oil produces excellent texture. Keeping the shells on helps trap the seasonings inside to flavor the meat and keeps the shrimp moister than when the shells are removed before cooking. While most cooking methods have the shrimp ready to eat in under five minutes, roasting or baking takes a bit longer. However, the effort will be worth it as you’ll find unbelievably sweet and tender shrimp in every bite. Use our Baked Shrimp recipe to see just how good they can be. Best of all, you get to remove the shell before cooking and still get amazing results.
How do I store leftovers?
After removing the shrimp from the ice water bath, you can refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Boiled shrimp don’t freeze well, so plan on making only what you expect to enjoy during that time. To reheat boiled shrimp, I recommend placing them in a baking pan with water or fish stock, covering the pan with foil, and baking at 350°F for 10 to 15 minutes or until warm. Be careful not to overcook them.
Serving suggestions
One of the reasons I love making boiled shrimp is that it takes only 10 minutes. Serve it with Wilted Spinach, Instant Pot Mac And Cheese, and Air-Fryer Asparagus, all of which take only 10 minutes each. Elevate this Shrimp Pasta Salad recipe by substituting boiled shrimp for the small salad shrimp, and get ready for some oohs and aahs. You can substitute the shrimp in Shrimp Marinara Pasta by skipping the shrimp cooking step and adding the boiled shrimp as instructed in step five.
Boiled Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 pound raw shrimp peeled and deveined (or leave shells on for extra flavor)
- 8 cups water
- 1 lemon cut into wedges
- 1 tablespoon garlic salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons whole peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- If using shrimp with shells, you can peel and devein them or leave the shells on to boost the flavor.
- Fill a large pot with 8 cups of water. Add the lemon wedges, garlic salt, peppercorns, and bay leaves. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Once the water is boiling, add the shrimp. Let them cook for 2-3 minutes until they turn pink and opaque.
- Drain the shrimp and immediately transfer them to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Serve them warm or chilled with your favorite dipping sauce.
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