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These grilled shrimp are marinated in a garlic, cilantro, lime marinade. Then grilled over charcoal to give a wonderful smokey flavor. This recipe comes together in under 30 minutes, making it a perfect weeknight dinner option!
Shrimp are one of my favorite proteins to cook up. They cook up quick and are so easy to add flavor to. These grilled shrimp are also perfect for taking off the skewer and using to make a shrimp taco! Or simply serve up the skewer with a side of coleslaw for an easy low carb meal.
Best Shrimp Marinade:
This marinade comes together quick and easy with mostly pantry ingredients. Lime and cilantro give a wonderful burst of fresh, zesty flavor.
- Oil: can use any oil you have on hand. Avocado or extra virgin olive oil work well for this recipe.
- Lime juice: use fresh squeezed lime juice. Bottled juice typically has additional sweeteners.
- Garlic: fresh minced garlic
- Honey: for a hint of sweetness to balance the flavors
- Soy sauce: adds a bit of saltiness.
- Chili powder: this blend gives a hint of flavor and a nice color to the shrimp.
- Cilantro: chopped cilantro adds a fresh herby flavor and beautiful bits of green coloring.
Important Tip
When marinating shrimp keep in mind we are using lime juice. DO NOT marinade the shrimp for more than 15 minutes. The lime juice will basically “cook” the shrimp (which is how you make a shrimp ceviche) and the shrimp will become tough if left for longer than 15 minutes.
How to grill shrimp:
- Preheat grill to temperature of 350-450℉.
- During this time soak skewers if using wood. This helps prevent the wood from burning.
- Marinade the shrimp for 15 minutes. Then remove and skewer the shrimp.
- Grill over direct heat for 5-7 minutes, flipping the shrimp skewers over at the halfway point.
- Shrimp will be cooked when they have an opaque appearance.
Can I make this in a skillet?
Yes! If you don’t have a grill, or are just wanting to cook inside, you can cook the shrimp on a skillet. There is no need to skewer them at this point if you don’t want to. Just grill them in a skillet after marinating. You will lose the smokey flavor though, which honestly..is SO worth the effort.
Which shrimp should I use?
Medium/Large/Extra Large shrimp will be easier to skewer. I do not recommend using small shrimp for this recipe.
To make this recipe go quicker use shrimp that has already been peeled and deveined.
Tails can be left on or taken off according to your preference. Tails were left on for the images just for presentation purposes. I personally tend to remove the tails prior to cooking so that it’s easier to eat.
Other recipes you may enjoy:
Grilled Shrimp Skewers
Ingredients
- 1 lb medium or large shrimp deveined and peeled
Shrimp Marinade
- ¼ cup avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- ⅛ tsp chili powder
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Preheat grill to 350-450℉.
- Prepare the marinade by combining all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk together. Remove 2 tbsp of the marinade and set aside.
- Add shrimp to a medium size bowl, pour the marinade over the top and gently mix to ensure all the shrimp is coated in the marinade. Let sit for 15 minutes.
- If using wooden skewers, let soak in water during this time.
- Remove the shrimp from the marinade and skewer.
- Place the shrimp skewers on the grill over direct heat. Let cook for 3-4 minutes, then turn and cook an additional 3-4 minutes. Brush the shrimp with the set aside marinade during cooking. Be careful as drips will cause the fire to jump. Shrimp will turn opaque and have a pink appearance when done cooking.
- Remove the shrimp from the grill and serve warm.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is a lovely marinade for shrimp, thanks for sharing it
I made it this morning as part of a Valentines brunch for my husband with a crab cake and a Bloody Mary
It was so good I’m thinking of reserving a lil bit of the marinade to use it to deglaze the pan after I pan fry the shrimp.
To serve, lay shrimp on thin sliced and toasted french bread drizzle with the pan sauce, yum!