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Sharing an easy weeknight dinner that feels extra special, 20 Minute Honey Garlic Butter Shrimp. Spicy, garlicky, gingery shrimp, pan-seared and tossed with butter, coconut milk, and sweet honey. It’s Thai inspired with a hint of Italian. Not traditional, but so DELICIOUS. Serve this simple one skillet dinner with a side rice and mango salsa. Added bonus? You only need one skillet and about 20 minutes’ time. Perfect for busy weeknights when you’re looking for something different, but still quick, healthy-ish, and of course…delicious!
I wanted to start the week off with something fun and a dish that felt a little different too. Life in quarantine has meant a lot of pantry style recipes. Which are amazing and, of course, what we all need most right now. But today, however, I just needed some fresh color.
Enter this shrimp. Yes, this is still what I consider to be a pantry style recipe. Frozen shrimp plus shelf-stable ingredients, but yet it’s light, colorful, fresh, and most importantly, so very good.
And you guys? That’s kind of all I got for my “intro” today. Honestly, there isn’t too much to report on these days, as I haven’t left home for over three weeks now. In fact, no one in our four-person family quarantine here in Colorado has gone anywhere other than the grocery store (and only twice) in over three weeks. And it’s actually been almost two weeks since our last trip. If you knew how much we normally grocery shop…once or even twice a day. You’d know that this is a long time to go without hitting up the store.
We’ll be doing a grocery restock here soon, but that’s pretty much all I have to report! My human interaction consists of zoom meetings and Instagram. It’s bare, but hey, we’re hanging in there. I feel so very thankful for you guys and this HBH community. It makes Isolation, not feel all that isolated.
Anyway, that’s it. Let’s talk shrimp.
The background.
This recipe was inspired more by my dad than anyone else. With just four of us here at home, I’ve been making more recipes based on their preferences and what they love most. He’s a huge fan of anything spicy and anything saucy. He says you can never have too much spice or too much sauce, which is probably why most of my recipes include a little bit of both.
I’ve made a few garlic butter shrimp recipes in the past, but this one is a new favorite. It’s heavily influenced by Thai flavors, but there’s also a touch of Italian with that garlic butter. It’s not traditional, but then most of my recipes aren’t traditional…so you know, what’s new? I love switching things up!
And yes, there is also a spicy, sweet mango salsa. You all know me. When I have the option to add a fruit salsa, I am adding it.
Here are the details.
As you might guess, this recipe is fast. It takes just about 20 minutes from start to finish. And it’s all made in one skillet using ingredients you hopefully have on hand right now.
It starts with pan-searing your peeled and deveined shrimp in a little olive oil…then comes the flavor. Toss in plenty of garlic, a little ginger, and a couple of jalapeños. Then swirl in the (salted) butter. As the butter melts, the garlic caramelizes around the shrimp creating truly the most mouth-watering smell (and delicious sauce).
This is that moment you know the recipe is going to be good. Very. Good.
Once the butter has browned, stir in the coconut milk, a touch of sauce, and a bit of honey. The coconut creates a cream sauce, the soy adds a little salty flavor, and the honey balances out the spice.
Remove from the heat and finish with lime and cilantro or fresh herbs.
Simple. Simple. But so delicious.
How do you serve this garlicky buttery shrimp?
Well, I love serving the shrimp over rice with a heavy side of that mango salsa, and some avocado too. Yes, these are fresh ingredients, so if you don’t have them on hand right now, don’t feel like you need them for this recipe. You can simply swap in the fresh ingredients you do have…any fruit would be delicious. My top picks would be mango or pineapple, but you can even just go with an avocado-based salsa.
Use what you have and make it work!
If you’re out of rice, rice noodles would be equally great. Or simply serve with crusty bread for scooping up all that buttery sauce. Delish.
Any way you serve this up it’s going to be beyond good. It’s all about that sauce. The sauce is everything.
Again, this shrimp is kind of like Italian meets Thai. A weird, but delicious mash-up that just works. It’s all things good and a nice change of pace if you’ve been eating nothing but pasta, chickpeas, and bread for the last month.
And the added bonus? This is so quick and easy to make! Yes, please! Great for a Monday, but also great for just about any other night of the week too. Hoping you all enjoy!
Looking for other quick-cooking shrimp recipes? Some of my current favorites…
Cajun Pepper Shrimp with Creamed Corn Orzo
Sheet Pan Hawaiian Pineapple Shrimp Tacos
Better Than Takeout Garlic Butter Shrimp Pad Thai
Lastly, if you make this 20 minute honey garlic butter shrimp, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch the How To Video:
20 Minute Honey Garlic Butter Shrimp in Coconut Milk.
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 713 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds raw jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
- 1 inch fresh grated ginger, grated (or 1 teaspoon dried ginger)
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
- 2 jalapeños, seeded, if desired, and chopped
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 3/4 cup canned coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey
- zest and juice from 1 lime
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro or basil, chopped
Mango Salsa
- 1 mango or 2 cups pineapple chunks
- 1 jalapeño, seeded (if desired), and chopped
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
Instructions
- 1. Pat the shrimp dry and season with salt and pepper. 2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the shrimp and cook until pink, about 2 minutes per side. Add the garlic, ginger, cayenne, if using, jalapeños, and butter. Continue to cook the shrimp in the butter until the garlic begins to caramelize and turn light golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. 3. Add the coconut milk, soy sauce, and the honey, stir to combine, bring the mixture to a simmer, cook 2-3 minutes, until warmed throughout. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice and zest, add the cilantro, or basil.4. To make the salsa. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt. 5. Serve the shrimp and sauce over rice. Top with salsa. Enjoy!
This post was originally published on April 6, 2020
I did this today!!! they are delicious!! on top a fetuccini were prefect. 1 jalapeño is more than enough! (and I’m Mexican).. loved it, will do it again. the leftovers will be used as shrimp tacos!
That is so amazing to hear! Thank you for trying this one! xTieghan
I have made this twice. Once for my bf and I and then again when we had friends over for dinner. The second time I added steamed broccoli, cauliflower and snow peas to make it a whole meal with rice. Definitely will get a permanent spot in the menu rotation!
That is so great! Thank you Dani! xTieghan
I loved this dish so much, and the sauce is so incredible. It goes so, so well with the shrimp and my family and I loved it. Thank you so much Tieghan for creating such wonderful dishes such as this one! How exactly do you serve this dish, Tieghan?
Hi Susan! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe so much! I put some of the rice on each of the plates and then spoon the sauce and shrimp over it and lastly, salsa! Please let me know if there is anything else I can help you with! xTieghan
This was absolutely delicious. The quarantine is getting to us all and I happened to have some yummy frozen shrimp, we made this and it was a big hit with the family. Thank you!
Thank you Katya! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I loved this recipe! I raved about it and two of my friends loved it as well. I found it really easy to make, and it almost reminded me of creole comfort food. Jalapenos definitely make it spicy so I would skip those if you can’t handle the extra kick.
Thank you so much Shea! I am really glad you enjoyed this recipe! xTieghan
I made this tonight and it was amazing! The flavors were bright and fresh and it was a breeze to cook! Thanks for the great recipe!
Thank you for trying this Renee! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Really enjoyed this! Shrimp has been on sale the last few weeks and I was getting tired of shrimp linguini! This recipe was simple and super yummy
Thank you so much Cass! I am glad you tried this! xTieghan
Absolutely loved it! Made exactly as listed, but used only 1 jalapeño. Served over rice. Easy and so delicious.
Amazing! Thank you so much Kristina! xTieghan
Superb flavors – really knocked it out of the park for us! This is the first recipe I’ve tried from your site. Will be trying another later this week and this one for sure again soon. Husband asked me to add it to our usual list of recipes/rotation. Thanks!
Thank you!! That is so great to hear Cherie! xTieghan
I just made this and it is delicious!!! My husband and I loved it and will definitely make it again!
Thank you Lauren!! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
My friend told me about this recipe and said the best shrimp dish she has ever made! I want to make it but I am the only one in our family of 4 who likes shrimp. I assume chicken would also work?
Hi Stephanie! Yes, that should be fine! I hope you love this recipe! xTieghan
The 20 minute Honey garlic Butter Shrimp was delicious!
Fed my family of 7 and the mango salsa was the perfect addition to this meal! Thank you!
Thank you so much Kimberly! xTieghan
I made this recipe last night and the whole family loved it! The combination of flavors and fresh herbs is wonderful. No leftovers here and my two teenagers have asked to prepare this dish again soon. I doubled the mango salsa recipe but kept everything else the same. I served it with rice. I want to mention that I love the portion size – it was just right for a family of four.
Aw that is so great! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
The perfect prawn recipe! All my favourite flavours in there and everyone wanted to know where I’d got the recipe from when I posted it on Instagram 🙂
That is so amazing!! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
10/10 will totally make this again. We loved it. The sauce was just insane!
Thank you so much Allie! xTieghan