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
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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
Made exactly as printed. After a 30 minute marinade, the shrimp had no taste.
I’m sorry to hear the shrimp was not to your taste but thank you for trying it out, Jack.
This review is for the honey garlic shrimp:
I found the sauce too honey sweet. I would recommend either adding more soy or use less honey.
Thanks for weighing in, Tracey. You can also add some apple cider vinegar to cut down on the sweetness.
This was amazing! thought I’d try it with salmon portions was so good!
It’s a great sauce that goes well with chicken, shrimp, or salmon! I actually have a honey garlic salmon recipe.
Can it marinade over night??
I personally would not. I was taught that it’s okay to marinate chicken or beef overnight but for seafood, the longer it marinates the mushier it gets. I would do maybe one hour max for shrimp. If it’s prep you’re worried about, you can make the sauce beforehand and keep that in the fridge then marinate in the morning.
Delicious!! I’ve been craving spicy cashew shrimp from Big Bowl and this was a perfect start! I added cashews when I cooked the shrimp. Also added green onions as garnish along w/the sesame seeds and served it with coconut rice. Perfect! Red pepper flakes are a great idea for the next time I make it. Added siracha this time.
Thanks Marisela! I actually have a REALLY old spicy cashew chicken recipe that is very authentic so you could try that next time for deeper flavors. If you can’t find dried chilis, sub with sriracha sauce. And thick soy sauce is soy sauce infused with molasses so if you can’t find that, add some brown sugar to your regular soy sauce instead. There’s a whole level of flavor from all the sauces combined.
Thanks so much for this shrimp recipe. My husband loves it and asks for it regularly! Very much appreciated from this great grandmother!
You’re very welcome, Betty! I’m happy it’s a favorite of your husband 🙂
I made this for dinner tonight with a side of white rice. It was delicious. The recipe was easy and it came out looking like the pic, even tho I don’t own a cast iron pan. Just make sure you get your pan very hot, before ,so it gets that great crusty, honey flavor! Yum, this is a keeper!
White rice and a side of veggies is great with this. A perfectly balanced meal. It’s good to know you managed to get it seared nicely even without a cast iron pan.
I am making this recipe tonight (my mouth is watering ?). How is the dish as a leftover? Husband works nights and eats what I cook the next day. Thanks!
I’ve had the slight variation of this the next day. Even had it cold and it was still good. A tip I would suggest is if you were to heat it up in the microwave, try not to do it too long so the shrimp isn’t overcooked.
Thank you so much for responding so quickly! I was a little hesitant when smelling the marinade (I used low sodium soy sauce and a little lime juice as well as red pepper) about this recipe. Much to my delight the aroma was awesome when it hit the heat! Loved it! Thank you! P.S. I did add a spash of amino acid to make up for the low sodium soy sauce….
Look awesome. Anyone grill it yet?
I personally haven’t, but if you were to try I would recommend making a double batch of the sauce and save some of it to baste while grilling.
Hi Farah!
I saw the succulent photo of your honeyed shrimp recipe on Pinterest and i did it with your Hibachi noodles to surprise my boyfriend:) He loved it! And so do i:) It was very impressive…Thank you for the joy of cooking that you have, and for sharing it with us:) I cook lots of Middle Eastern foods, since I’m from there, and have been 8 years in the US, and honestly i have been intimidated from the countless ingredients and names that i cant pronounce:) Thank you for making it so simple and approachable 🙂
Great combo! You’re so very welcome, Lina. I am self taught with lots of cuisines so I can understand how intimidating it can be. I was so intimidated with Indian cuisine! So I try my best to think like someone new to things and go along that path while delivering the recipe. I’m glad it helped!
Wow, this was excellent! I took a couple of borrows from your other linked recipe – Added chili flakes and fresh, minced parsley because we didn’t have cilantro. I used coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. I used coconut oil for the saute. Finger licking good!
I would also double the sauce next time, or at least 1 1/2 times….
Thanks for this, it was a hit.
Anya
You’re welcome, Anya. I use coconut oil too for Asian-inspired dishes and switch to olive oil for others. Vegetable oil for deep frying, which I don’t do much of. Tell you what, if enough people comment on doubling the sauce I’ll add it to the notes!
About the Honey Garlic Shrimp ; Some say to add to a bed of rice others say a bed of noodles would be better? what is your professional idea on what would be best to lay these honeys on ? Thank you Looking forward to your answer
Hahaha, professional. I like that! 🙂 Honestly I’m more of a fan of having it with rice on the side and another side of greens. Asparagus/green beans/zucchini. A nice balance of protein, carbs and greens for a meal. But that’s just because of the way I was brought up 😉
I made this with royal red shrimp and it was yummy! After reading reviews, I started with one tablespoon of honey. Once I tasted it, I remembered that I’m not overly fond of too much honey flavor, so I added a tablespoon of white sugar and the juice from half of a lime The combination was the perfect level of sweetness, without overpowering the flavor of the shrimp. I served it over jasmine rice that was cooked with some turmeric, a couple of garlic cloves, a whole tomato, and a diced carrot.
I took a plate to my neighbor to sample before I tried it. She inhaled it. When I returned home, so did I. Thanks for the recipe.
Sounds like you know your way around the kitchen! I love turmeric and sometimes make it with chicken and some salt. So yummy! You’re very welcome and thanks for trying it out, Ami.
Hi I don’t have fresh ginger but I do have ground Ginger. Can I use this and if so how many tsp. for ground?
It’ll work, just use very little. Ground would be extremely concentrated so I would suggest started at 1/8 teaspoon of it first. Taste it and see if you need more then build up.
Easy and Excellent! Added steamed broccoli and rice!
Happy you liked it, Leslie! And that you balanced it out with some rice and greens 🙂