Ninja foodi air fryer shrimp no breading no flour recipe is great for fish tacos, or a low carb meal for dinner. Use defrosted or frozen shrimp in air fryer for this. Tossed with paprika, cajun seasonings for a spicy flare.
You are going to love how easy air fryer shrimp no breading is to make. I whip this up once a week for us because it is such a hit, pretty inexpensive and great served on a bed of rice or inside tortillas. Just one of many healthy air fryer recipes for beginners we have on our site.
Ok so you can start out with frozen if that is all you have. There are some things to remember if you do though. One is that you really would want them to be shelled so the seasonings will stay on the meat. Whether you have tail off or on doesn’t really matter at all but for sure you want them raw to start.
Yes you can air fry cooked shrimp just to heat them up but they won’t be as tender because essentially you’re cooking it twice, no good. They cook so fast that from raw to done is like 5 minutes and tastes SO much better y’all. Then this is how to make shrimp tacos, or enjoy them as is.
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.
Ninja Foodi Shrimp No Breading
When it comes to the machine you use I have a few and they basically all work the same. The biggest difference between them all is the shape and size of the basket. Making Ninja Foodi shrimp can be pressure cooked and/or air fried. As a Cosori air fryer recipe you can only airfry which is what this is.
If they are raw shrimp it takes about 5-6 minutes. Cooked shrimp takes closer to 3-4 minutes to warm to a light pink color.
I suggest that you do so. Precooked will taste rubbery as you are essentially cooking them twice and won’t be as tender. Raw shrimp in air fryer is best, we will show you how to cook them perfectly here.
You literally just need your meat, a few paper towels, olive oil and some of your favorite seasonings to coat.
Best Shrimp to Air Fry
Yes, if you do buy a bag with the shells on you’ll want to remove those and I generally just take the tails off too while I’m at it. Just keep these things in mind for the best outcome, buy;
- Large raw deveined shrimp
- Shells off, or remove them yourself
- Tails on or off won’t matter
The most important part of getting seasonings to stick well, and get a bit of crisp on the outside is to remove the moisture. You can do this by just laying them on a few paper towels.
How to Get Oil to Stick to Shrimp
Then gently roll them up, press down and most of the water will be absorbed. The olive oil will allow the outside to adhere the Old bay or Italian seasoning(s) you want to add and then you’re ready to cook. Since there is no breading it won’t be crispy like our air fryer fried shrimp, but a lot less calories too.
Best Seasonings
To be honest I don’t even really measure what I am sprinkling on these babies. I just grab my favorites like paprika, garlic powder and salt and pepper and just shake and toss. Use your favorites too, but I do have general measurements below in the printable recipe card.
How Long to Cook Shrimp without Breading
You are going to need 5-6 minutes to cook these to pink colored and remain tender. You don’t want to overcook seafood as it will get chewy and the texture is not ideal for sure. Timing will depend on their size of course, this is for large sized without shells.
How Long to Cook Frozen Shrimp in Air Fryer
How to Cook Frozen Shrimp without breading is quite fast actually. NO need to defrost those babies, you can cook right out of the freezer this way with the right temperature and timing. You only need 7 minutes to get them perfectly pink which is only 2 min. or so longer than fresh.
Can you add vegetables?
Our air fryer shrimp boil (seen here) includes corn and potatoes use frozen shrimp right out of the bag. You can read that post for temperature and cook time. You can use it for just the seafood or add the veggies for a complete meal similar to our Air fryer shrimp fajitas that are wonderful.
A lot of choices if you ask me. You figure that you can buy a bag of large shrimp for under 20 bucks and it easily feeds the 4 of us with a side dish. That’s pretty much a win for me, under twenty for dinner is the goal. 😉
Taste them and see if you think you need a sprinkle of salt and pepper before serving over Ninja air fryer vegetables or some Instant Pot white rice. If you want spicy air fryer shrimp no breading I would add some dry sriracha or red pepper flakes.
Realize that the nutritional information below with saturated fat 1g and all will vary depending on the meat you buy. Refer to the back of your package for the most accurate info on that. Jump to recipe below and try this one this week. Swap out the seasonings to see which you like best.
Air Fryer Shrimp No Breading Recipe
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
Ingredients
Instructions
- Rinse shrimp and lay on a few paper towels. Fold over and gently press down to absorb the water on the outside of them. Preheat air fryer to 380 degrees F. for 5 minutes.
- Put them into a bowl and drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle with seasonings above, or of your choice. Toss to coat.
- Pour into basket and spread out so they're overlapping the least amount. Air fry for about 5 -6 minutes tossing halfway thru just until they are lightly pink (you don't want to overcook them). Timing will depend on how large they are.
- Taste, season with salt and pepper if desired and enjoy in tacos or over rice.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Other shrimp recipes you’ll love
You can make grilled shrimp foil packets outside, great if you are camping too. Instant Pot frozen shrimp (or fresh) literally takes one minute to make!
