Try out the much loved sauce with over 2 million pins. This sweet and smoky honey garlic shrimp skillet is super easy with only FIVE ingredients and cooked in about 15 minutes!
So here we have a super simple recipe for honey garlic shrimp skillet. It’s yummy, it’s healthy and really easy to make. With a flavor combination of savory and sweet and a slightly smoky aftertaste (depending on how much rubbing you did on the caramelized sticky bits in the pan), it pairs well with most veggies as a side or on a bed of pasta, noodles or rice.
When I say super easy, I mean 5 ingredient easy and less than 15 minutes cooking time easy. With how shrimp cooks so quickly, it’s such a great fast fix for any meal of the day. And if you’re not a fan of seafood, you can also do this with chicken. So many ways to enjoy this sauce!
But back to this recipe, let’s begin.
HOW TO MAKE HONEY GARLIC SHRIMP SKILLET (1 MIN):
TIPS AND TRICKS:
I used jumbo, peeled and deveined shrimp with tails on because they just tend to look better in pics. But you can use whatever kind of shrimp you like or can easily get your hands on. Just make sure to use uncooked shrimp.
Put together the sauce and divide it into half. Half is for the marinade and the other half is for the finishing drizzle. While the ingredients are simple, the fun is in the execution. Shrimp tends to cook quickly so you’ll want to get your pan nice and hot before starting so they have a gorgeous sear. The honey will caramelize a little and stuff will get stuck to the bottom of the pan. There will be more fond (the caramelized sticky bits) on a cast iron pan vs a non-stick pan but you should still see some on a non-stick. Use some 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.
One minute per side and your shrimp is cooked! I did this in two batches to not overcrowd the pan. Too much too fast and you end up steaming stuff instead of searing it. Then remove the pan from heat and you’re ready to serve these babies drizzled with the leftover sauce.
And that’s it! Happy cooking!
PS: Love noodles? Try pairing this over a bed of hibachi noodles. I tried this once and it was great!
More Honey Garlic Recipes

Honey Garlic Shrimp Skillet
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Try out the much loved sauce with over 2 million pins. This sweet and smoky honey garlic shrimp skillet is super easy with only FIVE ingredients and cooked in about 15 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined with tail on
Sauce:
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger, minced
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
Instructions
- Combine the sauce ingredients and divide it into half
- Marinate the shrimp with one half of the sauce for 15-30 minutes. Discard marinade
- Over medium high heat in a 10″ skillet, pan sear the shrimp in some oil. Sear them on both sides in two batches until browned, about 1 minute per side
- Using tongs, rub the shrimp into the caramelized bits on the bottom of the pan
- Dish and serve hot, drizzled with the remaining sauce and fresh parsley (optional)
Notes
For even more flavor, try adding in some red pepper flakes for heat or fresh lime juice for zest!
If you like cilantro, lime and red pepper flakes, try out this variation of cilantro lime honey garlic shrimp skillet!
This recipe sears better in a cast iron pan and may not perform as well with caramelized bits in non-stick pans.
192 Comments
Colleen
February 3, 2016 at 5:26 PMCan’t wait to try this! I’ll have to look the coconut lime rice recipe up, that will go great with the shrimp. Ok, mouth watering now!
The Cooking Jar
February 8, 2016 at 6:01 PMI see you already tried it out with the coconut lime rice. Happy it worked out for you! Thanks for coming back and letting me know, Colleen 🙂
Kathy Spurlock
February 7, 2016 at 4:57 PMHad planned to make teriyaki shrimp tonight, but saw this recipe on Yummily, and texted my hubby at the store to pick up some fresh broccoli and mushrooms to go with it. Cannot go wrong with honey, garlic, ginger and fresh shrimp!
★★★★★
The Cooking Jar
February 8, 2016 at 6:03 PMWell I hope you guys enjoyed it, Kathy. Mushrooms and broccoli pair really nicely with it. I loooove mushrooms!
Violet
February 22, 2016 at 6:37 PMCame together fast and was very delicious, this will be a new regular
★★★★★
The Cooking Jar
March 3, 2016 at 2:10 PMThanks for saying so Violet. Glad to have helped out in finding a new staple.
heather
February 23, 2016 at 10:36 AMI made this last night and it was amazing. I doubled the marinade because I wanted to try it on both shrimp and chicken. The little trick of rubbing the individual pieces into the charred bits was great! It added a richness to the flavor which you wouldn’t have gotten with only the sear. Served it with rice and steamed broccoli. A little hot chili oil and a lime wedge on the side to brighten it up… I don’t think I’ve ever seen my boyfriend’s plate cleaner! Thanks for the great recipe.
★★★★★
The Cooking Jar
March 3, 2016 at 2:12 PMThanks, Heather! I discovered that trick about five years ago when I trying out a new ranch chicken recipe. There were bits all over the pan and it was such a waste so I tried rubbing them in to pick up all the flavor. It worked!
Ejan
March 1, 2016 at 7:50 AMI assume that you cook the shrimp in two batches and not “batches of two.” I can’t wait to try the recipe.
The Cooking Jar
March 3, 2016 at 2:16 PMYes! I’m gonna change the wording to avoid confusion. Usually when I hear two or more people talk about the same thing being slightly off, I know it needs a change! But yes, I mean cook them in two batches, not to use an entire pan for two measly pieces of shrimp. Shrimp’s great and all but not that special! 😉 What a waste of time!
Charles
March 11, 2016 at 6:06 PMI made this once, but I don’t know how good it was because I didn’t get any thanks to my wife and kids. I’m gonna try it again once I’m home alone 😉
★★★★★
The Cooking Jar
March 20, 2016 at 5:03 PMHow sweet that you sacrificed your shrimp! Sometime’s it does pay off to learn the art of sneaky eating. Can’t count the times I’ve done it with the last bowl of slow cooked pasta meat sauce. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the recipe when you get a chance to taste it, Charles.
Emily
March 14, 2016 at 7:48 AMI made this to go into shrimp tacos and it was SO GOOD! Thanks for the simple and super yummy recipe.
★★★★★
The Cooking Jar
March 20, 2016 at 5:05 PMHey Emily! It’s good to know they go well with shrimp tacos. Maybe some other folks can try that out. Speaking of, can you believe I’ve never tried a shrimp taco in my life? Something to put on the to do list.
LaRhonda
March 19, 2016 at 9:09 PMOMG Thank you so much for sharing it was was absolutely delicious!
★★★★★
The Cooking Jar
March 20, 2016 at 5:06 PMYaaay! So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for letting me know!
Lynn allen
March 24, 2016 at 7:28 PMOne more layer of flavor is using the shells. They add seasoning to the dish , then remove them before serving. Btw peeled deveined shrimp is usually farmed raised. Not my idea of good food. De veining is a quick simple step in prep work peel the shell I sharp blade and rinse. Easy peasy
The Cooking Jar
March 29, 2016 at 5:02 PMIt’s always an option for folks that don’t mind the hassle of prepping the shrimp. Although the people I know vastly prefer not handling the shells and deveining process!
sarinna
April 7, 2016 at 11:31 AMThis was a great recipe. Quick and simple and it came out perfect! thank you
★★★★★
The Cooking Jar
April 13, 2016 at 4:28 PMThanks so much for coming back to let me know, Sarinna! You are very welcome 🙂
Heather
April 7, 2016 at 4:59 PMCrazy question! Could I sub the shrimp for some already cooked cubed chicken breast?
It would probably cook about the same amount of time as the shrimp, since the chicken
is already fully cooked? I have two large breasts to cube up…do you think the
instructions would be the same? Thanks in advance!!!!!!!
The Cooking Jar
April 7, 2016 at 5:16 PMI think it’ll work fine with cooked chicken. Good luck, Heather!
Bill Gromer
April 10, 2016 at 9:00 PMLoved this. After reading review I added some red pepper flakes and the juice of 1/2 lime. My wife complained about the mess I created in the skillet
But she loved the shrimp. Thanks for the recipie, it was easy to make and tasted great.
The Cooking Jar
April 13, 2016 at 4:30 PMIt is quite a cleanup! All those tasty stuck on bits that you rub into the shrimp doesn’t show as much love in the sink 😉 I’m glad you guys liked it!
Caren
April 12, 2016 at 8:49 PMJust learned about you from the B Loved Boston blog and I am so happy to have found you!!!!
★★★★★
The Cooking Jar
April 13, 2016 at 4:33 PMI went to go check it out! It’s always fun finding out how people stumbled across my blog. And to hear from a fellow kitty lover! Hope you have fun trying out the recipes and let me know if you need any help with them.
Jodi
April 14, 2016 at 12:41 PMI made this last night for my sister that had never tried shrimp. We both LOVED it!
However, the shrimp I had was not very big and I did not make enough. Do you think this would be good over noodles??
The Cooking Jar
April 16, 2016 at 6:33 PMTry for some jumbo shrimp next time? I have personally tried this shrimp to go with hibachi noodles, so you could try that if it sounds good to you.
Danielle
April 14, 2016 at 7:23 PMAm I using raw shrimp to place in the skillet for two minutes or should I have my shrimp cooked prior to putting them in the skillet?
The Cooking Jar
April 16, 2016 at 6:32 PMUse raw shrimp for the recipe. Shrimp doesn’t take that long at all to cook and with 4 minutes total (counting both sides) per shrimp and the time spent rubbing it into the fond (stuck on bits) is plenty! A handy tip is once it starts shrinking in size, you know you’ve overcooked it.