Coconut Shrimp

Coconut shrimp is great party appetizer. Golden brown light flaky coconut crust on the outer is so crispy and the shrimp inside is so tender; you’ll fall instantly in love with this quick and easy to make finger food.

Cooking shrimps for close friends and family is always exciting. It’s expensive compared to other protein, but when handled well, it can taste like a million bucks like these bacon wrapped shrimp , bonefish grill copycat bang bang shrimp and lemon garlic shrimp.

Coconut shrimp needs a perfect complement, a dipping sauce to enjoy thoroughly. There are many choices for dipping sauce, I personally like with sweet chili sauce. Other great coconut shrimp sauces for dipping are apricot chili sauce or pineapple marmalade. Make sure to dip in the sauce for each bite, it’s heavenly!

Ingredients needed

Here’s what you’ll need- 

• 1 lb large/jumbo shrimp
• ⅓ cup plain flour 
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 ½ cup shredded coconut 
• ½ cup panko bread crumbs
• Vegetable oil for frying   

How to bread shrimps

You want to have light, even breading on the shrimp. The perfect method to achieve that – have 3 separate bowls with different coating mixes.

Bowl 1 – mix flour, garlic powder, salt n pepper to taste and smoked paprika together. 

Bowl 2 – whisk two eggs.

Bowl 3 – mix unsweetened shredded coconut and Panko bread crumbs.

How to make coconut shrimp

It’s crucial to have shrimps cleaned, de veined and pat dried ready before you start. Any moisture content in shrimp will cause oil spluttering all over your kitchen when fried. It’s hazardous! 

Take help: get your family to help bread the shrimp. A couple of extra hands always helps making the recipe fast. This recipe is two step – coating shrimp in three different mixes and fry.

My kids always offer to help when we plan on making it, little one is fond of coconut crusted shrimps. 

First coat shrimp in flour spice mix, next dip the shrimps in beaten eggs and finally finish it off with coconut-Panko coating. And in no time we had couple of trays of shrimps coated and ready to be fried. Team work is great! 

Heat up oil in wide shallow pan. Wait for oil to reach temperature between 350 -375 degrees Fahrenheit. Carefully transfer breaded shrimps into hot oil. Do not over crowd the pan. Fry few shrimps at a time, and you’ll have to fry couple of batches. 

Once shrimps turn golden brown, remove from oil onto a tray lined with kitchen towel. 

Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce. 

How to make air fryer coconut shrimp

• Coat shrimp in flour mix, then dip in egg, finally coat in shredded coconut + Panko bread crumbs.
• Spray oil of pre-heated air fryer basket.
• Arrange shrimp on it, and spray oil on top of shrimps as well.
• Air fry coconut crusted shrimps at 400F for 7 minutes. Flip all shrimp and air fry for another 4 minutes or until golden brown.
• Serve golden browned air fryer coconut shrimp with dipping sauce.

Tips to make best coconut shrimp

1. Fresh shrimp works best rather than frozen shrimps. Leave the tail on while cleaning shrimps. Though this is optional, it makes it easier to bread shrimp. Easy to handle while eating too. 
2. Jumbo shrimp or large prawns are best for the recipe.
3. Pat dry shrimps well before coating it in flour, egg, coconut mix. Any moisture in the shrimp will cause oil to splutter all over. 
4. Unsweetened shredded coconut gives a nice savory touch to these fried shrimps. Sweetened shredded coconut gives a nice tropical touch to it. Pick your favorite.  
5. Wait till oil is heated to 350 to 375 degree Fahrenheit. Fry in small batches. Do not over crowd the pan. Shrimps won’t crisp up evenly. 

FAQS

More party perfect appetizers to try:

Baked Zucchini Chips

Baked Potato Roses

Instant Pot Chicken Wings

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

Deviled Eggs With Bacon

Bang Bang Shrimp

Chicken Enchilada Roll-Ups

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5 from 9 votes

📋 RECIPE: Coconut Shrimp

Jyothi Rajesh

Coconut shrimp is that easy appetizer that is finger licking good. Golden brown light flaky coconut crust on the outer is so crispy and the shrimp inside is so tender; you’ll fall instantly in love with this quick and easy to make finger food.

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

Course Appetizer, Party Food

Cuisine American

Servings 6 servings

Calories 297

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 lb large shrimp peeled de veined with tails on
• ▢ 2 eggs
• ▢ ⅓ cup plain flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ▢ Salt and pepper to taste
• ▢ 1 ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• ▢ ½ cup Panko bread crumbs
• ▢ Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

 

• Bowl 1 – mix flour, garlic powder, salt n pepper to taste and smoked paprika together.
• Bowl 2 – whisk two eggs.
• Bowl 3 – mix together unsweetened shredded coconut and Panko bread crumbs.
• It’s crucial to have shrimps cleaned, de veined and pat dried ready before you start. Any moisture content in shrimp will cause oil spluttering all over your kitchen when fried.
• First coat shrimps in flour-spices mix. Then coat in beaten eggs. Finally coat in coconut-panko bread crumbs mix. Place breaded shrimps on to tray. Repeat breading process for rest of the remaining shrimps.
• Heat up oil in wide shallow pan. Once oil temperature reaches between 350 -375 degrees Fahrenheit. Carefully transfer breaded shrimps into hot oil. Do not over crowd the pan. Fry few shrimps at a time, and you’ll have to fry couple of batches.
• Once shrimps turn golden brown, remove from oil onto a tray lined with kitchen towel.
• Serve immediately hot with your favorite dipping sauce.

Video

Notes

1. 1. Fresh shrimp works best rather than frozen shrimps. Leave the tail on while cleaning shrimps. Though this is optional, it makes it easier to bread shrimp. Easy to handle while eating too. 
   2. Jumbo shrimp or large sized prawns are best for the recipe.
   3. Pat dry shrimps well before coating it in flour, egg, coconut mix. Any moisture in the shrimp will cause oil to splutter all over. 
   4. Unsweetened shredded coconut gives a nice savory touch to these fried shrimps. Sweetened shredded coconut gives a nice tropical touch to it. Pick which you would love.  
   5. Wait till oil is heated to 350 to 375 degree Fahrenheit. Fry in small batches. Do not over crowd the pan. Shrimps won’t crisp up evenly. 

 

Nutritional Info – Please keep in mind that nutritional information provided is only a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.

Nutrition

Calories: 297kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 20gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 245mgSodium: 654mgPotassium: 230mgFiber: 4gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 202IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 133mgIron: 3mg

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