Sweet Chili Garlic Shrimp is packed with aromatic flavors, spicy and garlicky. This great seafood appetizer or dinner is easy to make just in 20 minutes.
The juicy shrimp have an irresistible butter-garlic flavor with a kick of chili peppers. I love to use plenty of fresh red chili, but for mild sweet chili garlic shrimp use less or leave the peppers out completely.
The best part of this easy recipe is that you can serve it with steamed or stir-fried veggies, as is with crusty bread, over rice or noodles, or even mashed potatoes. A quick dinner for busy weeknights!
We love all sorts of great recipes, especially shrimp recipes, be sure to try these favorites next time: Easy Shrimp Tacos, Shrimp Scampi and our latest Cajun Shrimp Pasta.
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Ingredients
My few comments on the ingredients + don't forget to read the Tips section!
The full recipe and ingredients can be found in the recipe card below this post.
- Shrimp - You’ll need 1 pound of large or extra large shrimp (deveined) for this recipe, frozen and thawed. I’ve kept the tails on while cooking the shrimp and only remove them just before assembling the fish tacos.
- Also, shrimp in shells will have more flavor (but requires more work) and are in fact cheaper.
- Shrimp cooks very fast so be careful not to overcook them. When they turn pink then they are ready to be taken off the heat.
- Broth - vegetable, seafood, or chicken broth. And as a note, shrimp shells make an excellent seafood broth.
- Fresh Garlic - not a fan of garlic? I am sorry but this is the essential ingredient that gives the shrimp best taste. Seriously, this dish is not the same if you substitute the garlic or add less than the recipe requires 🙂 Use freshly minced garlic and not the jarred option. Garlic powder could also work but again, not the same as fresh!
- Sweet chili sauce - use your favorite brand. Different brands vary, some are less spicy which is actually perfect because we are going to mix in some fresh hot peppers that add a proper spicy kick to the shrimp. If you don't have any of those available, a spicy sauce such as sriracha sauce will do as well. Make sure to stir in some honey to maple syrup to balance the heat levels.
- Fresh herbs - chopped cilantro works great as a substitute for parsley.
Instructions
In a large non-stick pan heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 1 minute per side. Until the shrimp is just turning pink. For smaller shrimp cooking time should be reduced in half. Set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium-low. Deglaze the skillet with broth, and add garlic and chilis. Cook for 30 seconds until the garlic is fragrant. Add the garlic chili sauce after that.
Return the shrimp and coat it in the sauce. About 1-2 minutes.
Remove just the shrimp on a serving plate.
Continue with the sauce. Add butter, and parsley to the sauce. Adjust seasoning if needed and simmer for a couple of minutes.
Pour the sauce over the shrimp and serve immediately with rice, cauliflower rice, noodles or as a part of shared appetizers.
Tips
- The sauce will thicken even more once cooled. If needed, you can thin it with more broth, water, or olive oil.
- Drizzle the shrimp with lemon or lime juice to taste (optional).
- Serve it as an appetizer with crusty bread, in salads, or as a main course over rice or noodles with steamed green veggies.
- Fresh or frozen raw shrimp can be used in this recipe. If you use frozen, make sure to first thaw the shrimp for about 20 minutes in cold water before cooking. This will help prevent any undercooked shrimp.
- And keep an eye on the water! It should be cold and you may need to, change it up if the shrimp is not thawed yet. This will protect the food from bacteria occurring.
- Tender shrimp - shrimp should be cooked for 1-2 minutes only. You only need to sear it until it turns pink. If it's overcooked it will taste rubbery or too soft and the whole dish will be ruined.
- Sweet chili shrimp stir fry - just like my tofu veggie stir fry, for a quick dinner, we like to mix in some stir-fried veggies for a wholesome meal, literally in seconds. These can be cooked separately on medium-high heat and added to the shrimp skillet in the end. Serve as is or with a bowl of rice or rice noodles.
Shimp shells -if you got the shrimps with shells on that's even better. Thaw frozen shrimp in cold water until you can peel of the shells (this will be quick). Reserve the shells (in a sealed bag refrigerated or frozen) and cook a seafood broth to use in other recipes.
Freezing And Storing Instructions
Once shrimp is cooked, for the best texture and FLAVOR consume it within 24 hours (keeping it in the fridge right after cooking). Although USDA informs us that cooked seafood can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Seafood should never be left out over two hours.
FAQ
If you have overcooked your shrimp it will be rubbery and chewy. It cooks very quickly and it only takes about a minute or less for each side to sear the shrimp on high heat. Once the shrimp are turning pink it is ready.
You can also buy shrimp with shells on and cook it this way and peel it later. Shells give a great taste to the shrimp but it will take some time to peel them later.
Easy Seafood Recipes
Find all my recipes in the Recipe Index section.
Easy Appetizer Recipes
ALL APPETIZER recipes.
I hope you'll enjoy this sweet chili shrimp recipe, please leave a rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo of your food and tag me on Instagram @theyummy_bowl. I love seeing your creations!
Thank you for reading,
Love,
Julia
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Recipe
Easy Sweet Chili Garlic Shrimp
INGREDIENTS
- 1 ½ pound jumbo shrimp with tails on (I used 20 (fresh or frozen thawed prior))
- Salt and coarse black pepper to taste
- 3-4 tablespoon of Olive oil
- 3 tablespoon butter (unsalted or salted)
- 2 healing teaspoons of fresh garlic (minced)
- 2 tablespoon seafood broth or meat/veg broth or just warm boiled water
- 2 medium red chilis (I used 4 birdseye chilis, it was spicy thinly sliced with seeds)
- 2 teaspoons parsley (finely chopped)
- 4 tablespoons sweet garlic chili sauce or spicy sauce
- red pepper flakes for garnish
- lime wedges or lemon for serving
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large non-stick pan heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 1 minute per side. Until the shrimp is just turning pink. For smaller shrimp cooking time should be reduced in half. Set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low. Deglaze the skillet with broth, and add garlic and chilis. Cook for 30 seconds until the garlic is fragrant. Add the garlic chili sauce after that.
- Return the shrimp and coat it in the sauce. About 1-2 minutes.
- Remove just the shrimp on a serving plate.
- Continue with the sauce. Add butter, and parsley to the sauce. Adjust seasoning if needed and simmer for a couple of minutes. Pour the sauce over the shrimp and serve immediately with rice, cauliflower rice, noodles or as a part of shared appetizers.
PRIVATE NOTES
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)
Julia
Perfect chili garlic shrimp for tapas plate.