Try out the much-loved sauce with over 2 million shares. This sweet and savory honey garlic shrimp skillet is super easy with only FIVE ingredients and cooks in less than 15 minutes!
Today we’re making some honey garlic shrimp skillet which is a reader favorite and one of the more popular recipes on the blog. It’s so easy to make but delivers big on flavor despite its simplicity. All you need are shrimp, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and honey to make this quick and easy recipe. These five ingredients reward you with a sweet and savory flavor combo and delicious caramelized bits of honey and garlic.
It’s a great, fast fix for a quick weeknight meal paired with a side of veggies and some rice, or on a bed of pasta/noodles. And if you’re not a fan of shrimp but just love the honey garlic sauce, try making some honey garlic chicken or the much-improved honey garlic butter chicken instead. Or if you prefer seafood, try this honey garlic salmon or the 7-minute air fryer honey garlic salmon. There are many, many ways to enjoy this sauce! So let’s start cooking.
How To Make Honey Garlic Shrimp Skillet (1 Min Video)
HONEY GARLIC SHRIMP SKILLET RECIPE TIPS
- Shrimp – I used jumbo, peeled and deveined shrimp with tails on because they just tend to look better in pictures. However, you can use whatever kind of uncooked shrimp you like: peeled and deveined with tails off or unpeeled shrimp.
Recipe Notes:
If you use frozen shrimp, make sure to thaw it out beforehand and pat it dry so the sauce isn’t diluted. You could technically use a bag of cooked shrimp with this recipe, just cut the cooking time to where you’re basically just reheating up the cooked shrimp in the pan and tossing it in with the sauce.
- Sauce – Combine the ingredients for the sauce then divide it in half. One part is for the marinade and the other is for the finishing drizzle. This recipe does not yield much sauce so if you want it super saucy, add an extra tablespoon of honey and soy sauce. Or you could double it and thicken it with some cornstarch slurry later.
- Soy sauce – I used reduced-sodium soy sauce for this recipe and my go-to brand is La Choy. If you want to make honey garlic shrimp without soy sauce, you could try using tamari instead.
- Garlic – You can use fresh garlic or garlic powder, whichever you have on hand, and whatever is easier for you. If substituting to garlic powder, try using 1/2 teaspoon to start.
- Ginger – Ginger gives the sauce a warm, peppery taste but if you don’t like ginger, you can leave it out. Most households don’t keep ginger as a pantry staple so an easier way to do this is to buy ginger paste in a tube. It keeps well in the fridge and is easy to use. I used Gourmet Garden’s ginger paste for this recipe.
- Searing – Shrimp tends to cook quickly so you’ll want to get your pan nice and hot before starting so they have a gorgeous sear. One to two minutes per side and your shrimp is cooked! You know the shrimp is cooked when the color changes from translucent to opaque (see-through gray to solid pink). You’ll know the shrimp is overcooked when it starts to shrink in size into a tight C-shape and is rubbery.
Recipe Notes:
If you’re using a 10″ skillet, try searing in batches of two so you don’t overcrowd the pan. If the shrimp are too close together, the heat buildup between them will steam them instead of searing them.
- Sticky bits – The honey will caramelize a little and browned bits will get stuck to the bottom of the pan. There will be more stuck-on bits in a cast iron pan vs a non-stick pan but you should still see some on a non-stick. Use tongs and gently rub the shrimp into the stuck-on bits to get them nice and blackened. Here’s where you get the smoky aftertaste.
- Thickening the sauce – You can thicken the leftover drizzled sauce with a cornstarch slurry or if you prefer even more sauce, double the sauce, then use the cornstarch slurry.
Customize It!
- Add more flavor – Add some heat with a few dashes of red pepper flakes. You can cut the sweetness of the sauce with some apple cider vinegar or a drizzle of lime juice. For a smoky flavor, do a finishing drizzle with sesame oil or sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
- Garnish – Garnish with some freshly chopped parsley or green onions.
What to Serve with Honey Garlic Shrimp
Serve your honey garlic shrimp with some white rice or coconut rice and some greens on the side like broccoli, green beans, or some asparagus. You can also serve it over some mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower. It also goes great with noodles like these buttery Hibachi noodles.
And that’s about it. Let me know how you liked it, what substitutions you made, or what you paired it with in the comments below.
MORE SHRIMP RECIPES TO TRY
- Cilantro Lime Honey Garlic Shrimp
- Lemon Garlic Butter Baked Shrimp
- Easy Shrimp Scampi
- Browned Butter Shrimp
- Creamy Garlic Tuscan Shrimp
Did you make this recipe? Rate it!
♡ If you liked this recipe, giving it a star rating ★★★★★ in the comments below really helps! For more recipes, subscribe to my newsletter or follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
Honey Garlic Shrimp Skillet
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Try out the much-loved sauce with over 2 million shares. This sweet and savory honey garlic shrimp skillet is super easy with only FIVE ingredients and cooks in less than 15 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 lb. jumbo or large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
SAUCE
- 2 medium garlic cloves, minced / 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced (optional)
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
Instructions
- Combine the sauce ingredients and divide the sauce in half.
- Marinate the shrimp with one-half of the sauce for 15-30 minutes. Discard marinade.
- Over medium-high heat in a skillet, pan-sear the shrimp in some oil. Sear them on both sides until cooked, about 1-2 minutes per side.
- Dish and serve hot, drizzled with the remaining sauce and fresh parsley or green onions as an optional garnish.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Rubbing the shrimp onto the stuck on bits (fond) blackens the shrimp and gives it a charred look and smoky taste.
- This recipe sears better in a cast iron pan and may not perform as well with caramelized bits in non-stick pans.
- Add more flavor – Add some heat with a few dashes of red pepper flakes. You can cut the sweetness of the sauce with some apple cider vinegar or a drizzle of lime juice. For a smoky flavor, do a finishing drizzle with sesame oil or sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
- Garnish – Garnish with some freshly chopped parsley or green onions.
- Scroll up to RECIPE TIPS for more useful tips, suggestions and ingredient substitutions.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
Comments & Reviews
Easy to make and I have FINALLY figured out how to make tasty shrimp on the stove with my cast iron!! Mixed it with some momofuku noodles off Amazon – added carrots, green onion, and threw in some cabbage. WOW – thanks, easy to make and very tasty.
The cast iron sears so well! Did you rub some of the shrimp into the blackened bits stuck to the pan (fond) for a more charred flavor too? Great additions to the noodles, love the green onions. I’ve had my eye on Momofuku noodles for some time – this may just be a sign to take the plunge and try it!
We thoroughly enjoyed this recipe. I did make a few minor changes. I added one extra tablespoon of honey and one extra tablespoon of soy sauce. I added some red pepper flakes to the sauce. I then sautéed some carrot sticks and green onions in a little olive oil, then removed it from the pan and set it aside. Then, while I pan-seared the shrimp, I also cooked one package of Ben’s Original Ready Rice-Whole Grain Brown. I placed the cooked rice in a serving dish, topped it with the sautéed carrot sticks and green onions, then the shrimp, and I sprinkled a little sesame oil on top. So delicious.
You’re making me hungry! What a delicious way to dress things up. I love that you knew the technique to stir-fry the carrots and green onions on their own since they take a little longer to cook down compared to the shrimp. Also, love the finishing touch with sesame oil. I drizzle it a lot over my noodles or as a finisher in my hibachi recipes.
Easy and delicious. I served over jasmine coconut rice and sesame broccoli on the side. Perfect meal. The shrimp was super flavorful.
Yummy! Coconut rice is so good. Those are good sides – I always balance my proteins with carbs like rice or mashed potatoes and a side of veggies.
Very good. Lots of flavor! I doubled the sauce and it came out perfect. Will use larger shrimp next time.
I like using jumbo shrimp so you could try that next time. I think that’s the biggest size there is. Doubling the sauce is a great idea – I love saucy mains, sides, almost anything!
Such an easy & good recipe! I use Mike’s hot honey & it’s delicious!
I’ve seen that honey floating around the internet a few times! One of these days, I will get around to trying it 😀
My new go to!
Super easy and the flavor is incredible!
I made this for my 90 year old parents and they loved it!
Tonight I’m trying the sauce with chicken .
I love being able to (indirectly) cook for your 90-year-old parents! Thank you for trying it out and sharing it with them. I have a honey garlic chicken recipe with this basic sauce and a slightly upgraded chicken version with butter so you could try those 🙂
Can’t wait to make the honey garlic sauce
It’s a good reliable sauce and pairs so well with lots of proteins. I use it on salmon a lot. Enjoy this shrimp!
I doubled the sauce. Turned out great. The tip about making it in several batches so as not to crowd the shrimp and avoid steaming them was excellent.
I’m happy to hear the tip helped! It’s a pain having to sear in batches and it’s so tempting to overcrowd the pan and get it over with, but it’s worth it in the long run.