How to Cook Frozen Raw Shrimp

How to cook frozen raw shrimp in the oven, an air fryer, on the stove, on the grill or frozen shrimp Instant Pot style. You can go straight out of the freezer, rock hard to perfectly pink and tender in no time with these tips.

Then serve this low carb high protein meal on a bed of rice, inside tacos or as kabobs with vegetables too. From small to large pieces of seafood it doesn’t take long to save dinner when you forgot to defrost it first.

How Long to Bake Frozen Shrimp

Over the years I have been adding to this list. Once we got to the last one, today, I thought I’d make a big roundup of them all to share with y’all. I mean, you might need it right about now right?? Below we will share the last but not least, shrimp frozen in the oven. Literally takes like 5 minutes friends. Seriously.

Before that one was our second to last share which was surprisingly amazing, we used our Traeger for that one. Yep, grilling frozen shrimp in foil packets is not only possible but delicious! If you’re a huge fan for cooking outdoors you will have to try that one too. I mean, try them all and see which is your fave.

Ingredients

• 12-16 oz frozen shrimp raw, peeled, deveined, medium size is ideal
• Some salt and pepper are a given
• Garlic powder is nice
• Butter melted or you could use olive oil instead
• Thyme and oregano

If you needed this to be dairy free there is a vegan plant based product out there that is quite good. I buy it for my husband and use it frequently, even to bake with. You can find it next to the other sticks so give that a whirl, or just use oil instead.

What is the Best Way to Cook Frozen Shrimp?

That depends on your preferences. If you use a pan on the stove or cook in the oven in a casserole dish you can cook with a sauce which will add a lot of flavor. Steamed in a pot on the stove or pressure cooker won’t be as flavorful but I think gives you the best texture so you should try them all and decide for yourself!

Yes thawed shrimp is quick and easy to cook but there isn’t a huge difference when all you have are bags of frozen shrimp on hand. Don’t fret, you can still save dinnertime and not reach the hangry level. That is no fun. You will want a baking sheet if you’re going to bake in the oven, and this stuff;

We are NOT using pre cooked pieces for any of these. Just don’t, you’re just basically cooking them twice if that is what you buy. There is just no way of saving those babies, go for raw every single time for any and all shrimp recipes you may want to make.

When baking frozen fish in the oven you want to make sure your pieces aren’t overlapping.

Shrimp From Frozen in Oven

• Mix together frozen shrimp and spices. Set aside.
• Place a baking sheet into the oven.
• Heat the broiler on high heat, with the baking sheet in the oven.
• Sprinkle shrimp onto the baking sheet into a single layer.
• Return baking sheet to oven under the broiler coils for a few minutes or until opaque and pink.
• Remove from oven and serve with optional add ins on the top
• You can use a pastry brush to spread melted butter onto the top for added flavor

How do you know when shrimp is done? You do NOT want to overcook and dry these babies out. The key is to get them pink and opaque in color. The tails will slightly crinkle up to create a sort of 0 shape too as you can see here.

on the Stove

If you thaw them first it will only take about 4 minutes total. You would just defrost, pat dry with paper towels, toss with olive oil and seasonings and cook over medium heat. Do so until they turn pink on both sides. Frozen shrimp cooked on stovetop will need a bit of water. When pan is warm add 1/4 c liquid with as many as you’d like.

Cover with a lid for about 2 minutes on each side or rotating like this until thawed. Then drain liquid, add 1.5 tbsp olive oil, season, and cook 1-2 min on each side until nice and pink overall. Season with all the things when done and serve. Old Bay recipe is one of our favorites for sure.

in Air Fryer

This is a game changer y’all. You can add a bunch of flavor to the outside and you get a nice crispness on the outside while the centers stay tender. Follow our air fryer frozen shrimp instructions to try that one out.

in Instant Pot

Surprisingly these don’t take any longer whether they were thawed beforehand or rock solid. I know, kinda’ weird but totally true. It literally only takes one minute if they are shelled, medium size pieces to get to perfectly pink. That is when you know they are done. You can add corn and potatoes too with our Instant Pot shrimp boil.

How long should frozen raw shrimp be cooked when boiling?

2-3 minutes for medium sizes is typical. It is best to season your liquid or they will be bland. Don’t start cook time until the water is boiling, then add the frozen raw shrimp directly into the pot. Stir gently to ensure they are all submerged. Boil the shrimp until they are opaque and pink in color.

The best way to thaw frozen shrimp quickly would be to submerge into a bowl of cold water for 15 minutes. Never use hot liquids to do so as it will start the cooking process and the texture will be weird, and increase the likelihood of growing bacteria.

We share how long can you freeze meat here. If you do have the time it is always best if you had the time to defrost meat first.

Now that you have all the choices, click on the blue link above that you want, or jump to recipe below for baking. They are great as is with some veggies on the side, or dunk into shrimp cocktail sauce or our bang bang shrimp sauce! If you do have leftovers let them cool, store in sealed freezer bags in the fridge for up to 3 days. Then reheat in microwave for 45 seconds.