Coconut Shrimp

Coconut Shrimp is sweet and savory, made with battered shrimp that’s rolled in tender coconut flakes, then deep fried to perfection and dipped in sweet and sour sauce, ready in under 45 minutes!

Fried Seafood is basically my love language including Classic Fried Shrimp, Shrimp Tempura, Crab Rangoon and my favorite appetizer ever, Crispy Fried Calamari.

COCONUT SHRIMP

Coconut Shrimp is a popular restaurant dish that’s incredibly easy to make in the comfort of your own home. Shrimp is dipped in batter, then rolled in shredded coconut and deep fried. You can put these out as an appetizer, or make them the main course over rice. I like to serve this coconut shrimp with my sweet and sour sauce for extra flavor.

I always freeze the breaded shrimp for a total time of 20 minutes before frying, to prevent the it from overcooking before the batter is golden brown and crispy. Once they’re done, place them on a baking rack over paper towels, to let any excess oil drip off. This helps make these coconut shrimp incredibly light and crispy!

HOW TO MAKE BAKED COCONUT SHRIMP

Follow the directions to dredge and roll the shrimp in coconut as usual, then place the shrimp on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spray with cooking spray (or coconut oil), then bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees F. Flip over, and bake an additional 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. For extra crispy, crunchy coconut shrimp, turn on the broiler for a minute.

If you want to skip the skewer and just fry up your shrimp without them you can do that easily:

HOW TO MAKE COCONUT SHRIMP AHEAD OF TIME

If you want to make these coconut shrimp ahead of time, go ahead and follow the recipe through step 3, then freeze them on a baking sheet. Once frozen you can keep the coconut shrimp in a freezer safe bag or container so you can enjoy them any time a craving hits.

Sometimes, when breading items I will make a double or triple batch since I’m already going to end up with eggy/breadcrumb fingers and then I freeze the rest so I cut down on prep time the next time we want to enjoy them. Plus, for this recipe I was working with a two-pound bag of 18-21 shrimp, so I froze the second half since there were only a couple of us eating.

HOW LONG DOES COCONUT SHRIMP LAST?

This recipe will last in the refrigerator for 1-2 days, but it will lose a lot of the crispy texture and the coconut will get soggy. I recommend either freezing them or eating them the same day.

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MORE SHRIMP RECIPES

• Easy Shrimp Stir-Fry
• Baked Shrimp Scampi
• Bacon Brown Sugar Garlic Shrimp
• Pesto Shrimp
• Creamy Shrimp Salad
• Shrimp and Grits

TIPS FOR MAKING this COCONUT SHRIMP recipe

• I always make sure to buy deveined shrimp, so you don’t have to do it at home.
• I like to use sweetened shredded coconut for this recipe, because the coconut adds a really nice sweet and savory flavor to the dish.
• I’m using a batter for the coconut shrimp but you can also dredge them in all purpose flour, then egg whites, then panko mixed with sweetened coconut. Panko will help keep the shrimp crispy, and the panko texture matches the chewiness of the coconut perfectly.
• In a small bowl add some seasoning to the batter like cayenne pepper, sriracha, or paprika for more flavor.
• Make it easier to coat the shrimp by placing them in a zip-lock bag with the shredded coconut (and panko breadcrumbs if you’re adding them) and shaking until completely covered.
• Replace the club soda with canned coconut milk for more coconut flavor and a slightly thicker texture.
• Replace the club soda with beer for a beer battered coconut shrimp similar to the recipe for Beer Battered Fish.
• You can also dip this crispy coconut shrimp in hot sauce or top with mango salsa.

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Coconut Shrimp

Coconut Shrimp is sweet and savory, made with battered shrimp that's rolled in tender coconut flakes, then deep fried to perfection and dipped in sweet and sour sauce, ready in under 30 minutes!

Yield 6 servings

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Author Sabrina Snyder

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Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

• ▢ 2 cups flaked coconut
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 3/4 cup flour , divided
• ▢ 2/3 cup club soda
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ 24 shrimp
• ▢ 24 wooden skewers
• ▢ 3 cups vegetable oil , for frying
• ▢ Sweet and Sour Sauce , for dipping

Instructions

• Add the coconut to a food processor and pulse ten times then place it in a shallow bowl.
• In tall cup, whisk together the egg, ½ cup flour, club soda and baking powder and put the remaining flour in a second shallow bowl.
• Skewer the shrimp onto the skewers leaving the top 1" of shrimp unskewered then roll in the flour, dip in the batter (let excess drip off) and roll in the coconut before placing on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Place the shrimp in the freezer for 20 minutes then heat up a dutch oven with 3" of oil to 350 degrees and fry the shrimp for 2-3 minutes until golden brown.

Nutrition

Calories: 373kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Cholesterol: 87mg | Sodium: 219mg | Potassium: 334mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 40IU | Vitamin C: 1.4mg | Calcium: 109mg | Iron: 2.4mg

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