Our crispy copycat Bonefish air fryer bang bang shrimp recipe with bang bang shrimp sauce takes these seafood pieces to the next level. Lightly breaded with breadcrumbs, you can serve for dinner or a fun appetizer.
Have you tried this sauce yet? It’s great on everything but on our air fryer bang bang shrimp it was out of this world! Give it a whirl and let us know which of our easy air fryer recipes are your favorites!
Are you wondering how to make boom boom shrimp or looking for its recipe? So we started by making Instant Pot bang bang shrimp recipe with pasta last week. Since we got the bang bang sauce down pat it was time to use it on something else. I kid you not, I couldn’t make enough of these. After each basket was done it was eaten immediately.
That one had no breading to them. Still delicious but it was missing something. We love ordering this at Panda Express which you can make with air fryer frozen popcorn shrimp but from scratch is way better. That was our goal to make a great copycat version of that favorite meal.
Ninja Air Fryer Bang Bang Shrimp
Tips: My Favorite models are the Cosori or making Ninja Foodi recipes with the lid that is attached.
It is best practice to put food into a hot basket. This is how to preheat air fryer first before adding your food so it becomes as crispy as possible. For best results, here’s a printable free air fryer cooking time chart here for your fridge.
Ingredient Notes
Ideally you want to use defrosted shrimp with tails off, shelled, deveined. Or use frozen popcorn shrimp cooked, then toss with the sauce recipe below
All purpose flour is used for the coating which will get crispy crunchy. Egg whisked is used to stick the coating, alternatively you could brush with mayonnaise
You’re going to coat with breadcrumbs as you would as if they were going to be eaten “plain”. As you know, only dry coatings work with this hot air machine. Things like tempura batter just make a huge mess and don’t come out well at all. Take our word for it since we’ve been experimenting for years. This works the best!
Can you use Panko breadcrumbs?
Let’s talk about breadcrumbs for a minute now. There are many different styles out there. From Italian seasoned, to plain, seasoned, Panko the possibilities are endless. I mean Italian doesn’t really make sense for this now does it? Can’t do without that type then by all means do it! Typically I always have plain on hand, Panko will be lighter and crispier but browns quicker. Take your pick!
Can you make bang bang shrimp with frozen shrimp?
If all you have is frozen meat you can still kinda’ make the same dish except without the breading. Just follow our air fryer frozen shrimp recipe to get crunchy. Then mix up the homemade sauce we have directed below and toss or brush on top when done.
As for the seasonings you add into the mix, that is up to you. I mean Old Bay is one of my favorites but keeping it simple just add salt and pepper. Make a sort of assembly line so you can dip, coat, and fill your air fryer basket.
Sauce for Bang Bang Shrimp
The base of this is some mayonnaise or could use greek yogurt if you must but it won’t have the same rich tangy flavor to it. You will need some red sweet chili sauce and Sriracha if you want it to be sweet and spicy too. Some like a squeeze of fresh lime in it too
How do you make bang bang shrimp sauce?
In a bowl mix together mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce and Sriracha if you want some spicy heat. Some like a little squeeze of lime juice in this mix too. Serve crispy shrimp with sauce brushed on top. OH MY look at these!!
Bang Bang Shrimp no Breading (option)
If you didn’t want to use the bread crumbs at all you could skip that step. Left entirely naked without anything won’t give you any crisp at all. You could land somewhere in the middle with just the egg and seasoned flour mixture which is quite nice too.
How Long to Cook Bang Bang Shrimp in Air Fryer
Cooking time is generally perfect after 6 minutes at 400 degrees. Of course this may vary slightly depending on how large your shrimp is AND how crispy you want them to be. I prefer jumbo size as they shrink when cooked.
Tips
Another big tip: Never overlap your food when crisping in your Ninja Foodi or Cosori machine. It really doesn’t matter what brand you have, this is fact. If you want to make air fryer fish tacos out of these you will want it to be the perfect texture.
Once you’ve preheated your machine, and your breading is on you’ll lay them in a single layer. Overlapping will cause them to stick together, but worse off they won’t get crispy all the way around.
You could cook our air fryer shrimp boil and use the sauce all over all 3 of those ingredients too.
FAQ
1. You could mash and add some avocado to the sauce for a creamier texture
2. Make spicy bang bang shrimp with a splash of hot sauce for a bit of heat
3. Add a squeeze of orange juice or lemon juice to the sauce for a citrusy flavor
The flavor is quite addicting because of it’s creamy element with a bit of a kick of heat (but not too much). The duo of sweet and savory together pairs well with fried shrimp to make the most popular dish at Bonefish Grill, bang bang shrimp!
1. You can reheat bang bang shrimp is in the oven. Preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the shrimp are heated through.
2. Reheating in the microwave is done when you place pieces in a microwave-safe dish and heat on high for 1-2 minutes, or until heated through.
3. This is how to reheat leftovers in air fryer – Preheat to 400 F for 5 minutes, spray basket and lay pieces inside in a single layer. Heat for 1-2 minutes, flip over for 1 more minute.
Air Fryer Bang Bang Shrimp Recipe
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
- 2 shallow bowls
Ingredients
- 16 oz shrimp, large, thawed, peeled and deveined
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
Bang Bang Sauce
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
- 1 tsp Sriracha, optional for heat
- 1 lime lime, cut in half, lightly squeezed, optional
- 1 spray olive oil
Instructions
- Thaw shrimp, rinse, lay on paper towels to remove water from outsides.
- Put flour and salt and pepper into a large baggie. Add shrimp and toss together until outsides are coated. Lay on a plate.
- Whisk egg in a shallow bowl and put breadcrumbs in another. Preheat air fryer to 400 F for 5 minutes.
- One at a time dip floured shrimp into the egg, allow excess to drip off, then dip into breadcrumbs to coat.
- Lay coated shrimp into air fryer basket that has been sprayed with non stick spray, do not overlap them. Very lightly spray top with olive oil spray
- Close drawer and set to 6 minutes cook time. Check, if you want them browner spray with olive oil spray again. You don't want to overcook these though.
- In a bowl mix together mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce and Sriracha if you want heat. Some like a little squeeze of lime juice in this mix too.
- Serve crispy shrimp with sauce brushed on top.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What to do with leftovers
It is best if you chop them up and add into one of our precooked leftover shrimp recipes here. If left whole you should throw into a preheated air fryer at 400 for 1 minute, toss and add another min.
Air fryer frozen chicken nuggets or popcorn chicken as a snack. Drizzle a little on top of air fryer tilapia for dinnertime. If you want to try this without the sauce but with a whopper of flavor in the breading itself, try our air fryer fried shrimp another night!
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