Hold onto your hats—here’s quite possibly one of the fastest easy shrimp recipes around! This Old Bay shrimp takes less than 10 minutes and results in juicy, perfectly seasoned shrimp. Add rice or pasta for a quick meal!
What we love about this recipe
When it comes to easy dinner ideas, there’s not much quicker and easier than shrimp. So might we present our new favorite fast shrimp recipe: Old Bay shrimp! Old Bay seasoning and shrimp are meant for each other, and this recipe takes 10 minutes to whip up juicy, restaurant-style sauteed shrimp.
As two cookbook authors and parents, Alex and I are constantly looking for fun dinner ideas. This one fits the bill exactly—it’s our perfect meld of fast, filling, and super flavorful! Add rice, orzo, a green salad, or a quick vegetable like broccoli, green beans or asparagus to make it a meal.
Ingredient notes for Old Bay shrimp
As with any simple recipe, the quality comes down to the quality of ingredients. Luckily for you, this recipe requires only a handful of them! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Medium shrimp: Deveined shrimp are best, either shelled or tail on. We prefer tail on for the look (just serve with a bowl for discarded tails). You can use any size, but we like medium, which are usually labeled 41 to 50 count. Use either fresh or frozen; we find fresh shrimp is slightly better—and if you can, buy wild caught.
- Old Bay seasoning: This seasoning blend is easy to find in most American grocery stores. There’s nothing like the real thing! If you can’t find it, you can make homemade Old Bay seasoning, but it’s not quite the same.
- Olive oil: Olive oil is a healthy cooking oil that infuses flavor into the shrimp.
- Salt and lemon wedges: Lemon juice lifts the flavors and adds a citrus zing. It’s not required, but it tastes best with lemon!
What’s Old Bay and what’s in it?
Old Bay is an American seasoning blend that’s often used to season seafood, often in shrimp boils and chowders. It was invented in Maryland and is sold by the brand McCormick. It’s gotten pretty popular and you’ll see it in anything from fries to corn on the cob. The main ingredients in Old Bay are paprika, celery salt, and black pepper, but it’s a secret recipe so no one knows exactly what’s in it!
Making it a meal
This Old Bay shrimp is so simple, you can whip it up in just 10 minutes! With a dinner this quick and easy, it’s nice to have fast and easy sides to pair. Here’s what we’d recommend:
- Rice like white rice or lemon rice takes about 20 minutes
- Orzo like lemon orzo takes 10 minutes
- Couscous like easy couscous takes 10 minutes
- Green beans like sauteed green beans take 15 minutes
- Broccoli like sauteed broccoli, pan fried broccoli, or steamed broccoli take about 10 minutes
- Peas like peas with lemon take 5 minutes
- Salad like this easy arugula salad takes about 10 minutes
- Crusty bread is quick and simple.
Storing leftovers
Old Bay shrimp is best served the day it is made. You can store leftovers up to 3 days refrigerated. However, Alex and I are not huge fans of next day shrimp (just our personal preference), so we find it’s best within a day or so. You can also turn leftovers into something new, like Shrimp Salad.
More shrimp recipes
Looking for more favorite shrimp recipes? Try our Tuscan Shrimp in a creamy sauce with sun-dried tomatoes, or our fan-favorite Sauteed Shrimp. Or mix up Shrimp Fajitas, Shrimp Linguine, Honey Garlic Shrimp or Cajun Shrimp.
Dietary notes
This Old Bay shrimp recipe is gluten-free and pescatarian.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can add other seasonings to complement the Old Bay flavor. Some popular additions include garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, or lemon zest.
Old Bay seasoning has a mild to medium level of spice. If you’re sensitive to spice, you can start with a smaller amount of seasoning and adjust it to your taste.
You can bake or grill Old Bay Shrimp for a slightly different flavor profile. Baked shrimp is an easy hands-off option, while grilled shrimp has a smoky char.
Old Bay Shrimp
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Prep Time: 5 minutes -
Cook Time: 5 minutes
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Total Time: 10 minutes
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Yield: 4
Print RecipeDescription
Hold onto your hats—here’s quite possibly the fastest easy shrimp recipes around! This Old Bay shrimp takes less than 10 minutes and results in juicy, perfectly seasoned shrimp. Add rice or pasta for a quick meal!
Ingredients
- 1 pound medium shrimp, deveined (tail on or peeled)
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Lemon wedges, for garnish
- 1 tablespoon finely minced parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix the shrimp with the salt and Old Bay.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Add the shrimp and cook for 1 to 2 minutes per side until just opaque and cooked through, turning them with tongs.
- Spritz with juice of the lemon wedges and serve immediately. Sprinkle more at the end, to taste.
Category: Dinner
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: American
Diet: Gluten Free
Total Time:
Yield:
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