How to Grill Shrimp Perfectly Every Time—Plus 7 Shrimp Recipes to Try (2024)

One of the most delightful foods you can cook over a fire, grilled shrimp are quick to make, easy to eat, and so versatile. No matter which cuisine you prefer, this luscious protein absolutely fits in.

For details about grilling shrimp to perfection, we consulted New York City restaurateur, chef, and seafood expert Mike Price. Read on to learn how to cook shrimp on the grill, and then try one of our favorite shrimp recipes.

What You Need:

• Propane or charcoal grill
• Shrimp
• Oil and seasoning, or marinade
• Skewers or grill basket (optional)
  
• Serving platter

How to Grill Shrimp

Make sure you have all your meal components ready before your start grilling shrimp, because it goes fast!

Step 1: Preheat the Grill

Preheat your grill to medium and, once it’s hot, clean the grill grate with a wire brush. Just before grilling, oil the grill grate to keep the shrimp and other grilled food from sticking.

Step 2: Pat Dry and Season

While the grill is heating, pat your shrimp dry and season them with a drizzle of oil and seasonings. Alternatively, if you've marinated your shrimp, remove them from the marinade and let them rest so that excess sauce doesn't drip and burn in the flames.

Step 3: Skewer

Larger shrimp often result in a more succulent, delectable meal, but if your shrimp are on the small side, cook them on skewers—or use a grill basket or cast-iron pan—to ensure they don't fall through the grill. The use of skewers also makes flipping grilled shrimp faster and easier.

If using wooden skewers, presoak them in water to prevent them from cooking along with the shrimp.

Step 3: Cook

Depending on the size of your shrimp, place them over the heat for 1 to 2 minutes per side. "While shrimp cook, it's crucial to monitor them and flip them, to prevent the shrimp from overcooking," Price advises.

Step 4: Rest

"Once cooked to your liking, make sure to space the shrimp out, not piling them on top of each other," says Price, "which would allow the cooking process to continue and may lead to overcooking the shrimp."

Grilled Shrimp Recipes to Try

Grilled shrimp are excellent right off the grill, rested at room temperature, or even chilled for a unique take on a shrimp co*cktail or a New England-style shrimp roll. Price recommends adding grilled shrimp to Caesar salad or atop a risotto. If you're fresh out of ideas, choose one of our recipes and get grilling!

Grilled Shrimp Tacos

For this recipe, shrimp isn't alone on the grill. It's joined by tortillas and lime halves, giving them a subtle, smoky grill flavor, too. Top these shrimp tacos with shredded cabbage, a creamy cumin-spiked sauce, and tomatillo salsa, and then drizzle with a squeeze of those grilled limes.

Shrimp and Pineapple Tacos With Black Bean Salad

This recipe calls for broiling skewers threaded with shrimp and pineapple, but you can just as easily grill them. While you're at it, put a few extra skewers of pineapple on the grill, because grilled pineapple is great in lemonades, co*cktails, and pineapple granitas.

Japanese-Style Shrimp Salad

The cooked shrimp called for in this salad could be bought that way, but using grilled shrimp gives this dish a deeper, smokier flavor that puts it over the top. Its Japanese-style dressing also tastes great on grilled salmon.

Shrimp and Avocado Salad With Crispy Tortillas

You can sauté shrimp on the stove for this refreshing salad as the recipe instructs, but if you skewer, lightly oil, and then set them on a grill, they take on a delicate char flavor that makes this salad even better. While you're at it, toss romaine halves, cabbage wedges, and avocado halves on the grill, too.

Farfalle With Lemon, Shrimp, and Kale

This dish cooks all in one pot, which is a godsend on a busy weeknight. But grilling the shrimp amps up the flavor of this dish, and grilling the lemon does, too. Just cut a lemon in half (for this recipe, zest it first) and lay it directly on the grates, flesh-side down, for about 5 minutes. Then squeeze grilled lemon juice into the dressing instead of fresh for extra zing.

Indian-Spiced Shrimp With Cucumber Salad

In this recipe, shrimp is coated in a cumin-coriander-turmeric-cayenne-ginger mixture before heading to the broiler. You could set them onto skewers atop the grill just as easily, and let the grill infuse a smokiness that accentuates those exotic Indian flavors. If you're thinking about grilling the cucumber too, think again. Cukes are one of a very few vegetables that loses nutrients when cooked, so keep them raw.

Shrimp and Chorizo Stew

Give your stove and broiler a break by grilling most of this stew's components. Skewer chunks of chorizo with shrimp and cherry tomatoes, arrange chickpeas in a grill basket, and set baguette halves directly on the grates. After just a few minutes, add everything (but the bread) to a white wine broth on the stove for a flavorful, hearty, smoky-tasting stew.