Crispy, golden popcorn shrimp made right at home with simple ingredients. Perfect as a starter or side dish, this easy deep-fried recipe delivers big crunch and bold flavor every time.
I have to be honest with you that I wouldn’t particularly pick out a seafoodappetizer with the exception of calamari, but after making these exciting little treats, Popcorn Shrimp has become a new favorite crispy snack! The only time I went out of my way to order popcorn shrimp was a couple of years back at Red Lobster. However, I’ve learned that the popcorn shrimp at Popeye’s is a real hit! Well, let me tell you that this easy crunchy popcorn shrimp will definitely be better than Popeye’s! As I mention in my free motivational guide to explore your potential in the kitchen, Make Cooking Fun!!, going out to eat can spark creativity for you to recreate your favorites at home, and this is one of my favorite things to do! If you’ve always wanted to have a blast deep fryingbut you were too nervous on how to do it, then definitely use this crispy popcorn shrimp to check off deep frying as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge! Get started on your cooking journey for free by signing up to my email newsletter, plus you’ll get all of my latest recipes sent straight to your inbox!
For a demonstration of everything discussed in this post, be sure to watch the video! If you’re not already, please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already, and don’t forget to hit the bell button to be notified when all of my video recipes are live! Let’s get frying!
Questions You May Have!
What Exactly Is Popcorn shrimp?▼
The “popcorn” part of the name is definitely interest! However, there is no actual popcorn in shrimp. Similar to popcorn chicken, these are just bite-sized breaded and fried shrimps. I suppose that the “popcorn” part of the name comes from the crunchiness of the battered shrimp, and due to the fact that you can just pop them in your mouth and chow down in front of the TV with ease, comparable to eating a bowl of popcorn!
Of course I really love my poultry, but sometimes some popcorn shrimp is just as satisfying. There are many pros to making shrimp, the main reason is that it just cooks so much faster than chicken!
What Type of SHrimp Should I use for Popcorn Shrimp?▼
For bite-sized pieces of Popcorn Shrimp, you want to look for the smallest shrimp you can find. Believe it or not, where I am it is very hard to find small raw shrimp! I managed to find 61-70 shrimp at Walmart and that saved the day!
The number indicates the range of the number of shrimp used to make a pound. I would not pick shrimp that are larger than this. In Canada, “large” shrimp is 31-40, which is the most common size for shrimp. Even bigger than those would be labelled as “gigantico” (16-20) or “colossal” (8-12). Save the massive shrimp varieties for skewers or pasta!
You can use peeled shrimp or shrimp with the tail and shell on. However, I do recommend getting peeled shrimp if you can because this will save you the work (and mess!) of peeling and deveining the shrimp. There’s not really a difference in flavour in getting peeled vs shell-on shrimp. I could only find shrimp with the shell on here.
In a perfect world, you’d get fresh shrimp from the sea. However, you may be like me and you don’t have that luxury. I always go for frozen shrimp, and there’s nothing wrong with that!
How to Peel & De-Vein Shrimp▼
My preferred method of peeling shrimp is to lightly loosen the outer shell before pinching the tail and pulling the shell clean. It is key to practice caution when you pinch the tail: ensure that you do not press too hard, otherwise you’ll rip apart the tail meat of the shrimp. If you are using frozen shrimp, just place the bag or the shrimps themselves in a bowl of cold, running water. Once they are thawed, then proceed with the peeling. Even though stores may sell de-veined shrimp, it is YOUR duty to check because most likely there are a couple of shrimps in the pack that have the disgusting digestive track! Get rid of it! Rinse the shrimp well and eat tasty shrimp!
Flavor Variations for Popcorn Shrimp
This is a simple recipe for Popcorn Shrimp, but you can follow all of the concepts of breading and frying the shrimp and experiment with the flavors! Try out the followingspice blends and discover your favorite!
Ensure that your oil temperature is not too hot (375F and up). This will result in the crust to get dark too quickly, but the inside will be raw.
Once you have added the shrimp to the oil, adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a temperature of around 300F.
Avoid cooking for too long or else the shrimp will turn to bullets and dry out. Try practicing with a tester piece - it will make for an excellent snack, and it will give you a good idea on how long the popcorn shrimp will take to fry. Cut the inside and examine the color, that it is white, and the texture, ensuring that it is juicy!
Ingredients for This Crispy Popcorn Shrimp Recipe
To see the full list of ingredients with their quantities and to save the recipe for later, be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post or press the “Jump to Recipe” button for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD. You’ll see exactly how much breading mixture you’ll need based on the number of shrimp you’re cooking.
Shrimp: I used 61/70 shrimp. The smallest shrimp you can find is recommended. Make sure you peel and devein your shrimp if you’re using shrimp that has the shell and tail on.
In a large bowl or container add flour, paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix well.
Add eggs to another container/bowl and lightly whisk the eggs. Measure out the panko breadcrumbs to a separate container/bowl and season with a generous pinch of salt.
Add the shrimp, 3-4 at a time and toss well with the flour. Then, dip the shrimp in the egg and coat well, let any excess drip and then add to the breadcrumbs. Press lightly and coat well.
Alternatively, you can add up to half a dozen shrimps at a time to the bowl/container of flour, cover with a lid and then shake well to bread the shrimps much faster. You can do the same for each stage of the breading process, for the egg and the breadcrumbs.
Transfer the breaded shrimps to a clean plate or baking sheet.
Frying the Shrimp
Pour oil to a wok until it fills around 2 inches of the height of the wok.
Preheat the oil to around 350F.
Carefully, transfer each breaded shrimp to the oil and fry until crispy golden brown outside, make sure to turn the shrimp every 30 seconds ensure even colour on each side.
After 2-3 minutes, or when you are happy with the colour of the shrimp, transfer each popcorn shrimp to a baking sheet/plate lined with a paper towels.
Serve right away and enjoy the crunch with sweet rich marinara sauce.
What to Serve with Popcorn Shrimp
Dipping Sauces
I dipped my Popcorn Shrimp in my homemade Marinara Saucerecipe. However, there are lots of different dips you can enjoy the crunchy popcorn shrimp with! Here are a couple of ideas:
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cooking.with.anadi. Thank you!
Recipe by Anadi Misra
Deliciously Crunchy Popcorn Shrimp Recipe
Crispy, golden popcorn shrimp made right at home with simple ingredients. Perfect as a starter or side dish, this easy deep-fried recipe delivers big crunch and bold flavor every time.
In a large bowl or container add flour, paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix well.
In a large bowl or container add flour, paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix well.
2
Add eggs to another container/bowl and lightly whisk the eggs. Measure out the panko breadcrumbs to a separate container/bowl and season with a generous pinch of salt.
Add eggs to another container/bowl and lightly whisk the eggs. Measure out the panko breadcrumbs to a separate container/bowl and season with a generous pinch of salt.
3
Add the shrimp, 3-4 at a time and toss well with the flour. Then, dip the shrimp in the egg and coat well, let any excess drip and then add to the breadcrumbs. Press lightly and coat well.
Add the shrimp, 3-4 at a time and toss well with the flour. Then, dip the shrimp in the egg and coat well, let any excess drip and then add to the breadcrumbs. Press lightly and coat well.
4
Alternatively, you can add up to half a dozen shrimps at a time to the bowl/container of flour, cover with a lid and then shake well to bread the shrimps much faster. You can do the same for each stage of the breading process, for the egg and the breadcrumbs.
Alternatively, you can add up to half a dozen shrimps at a time to the bowl/container of flour, cover with a lid and then shake well to bread the shrimps much faster. You can do the same for each stage of the breading process, for the egg and the breadcrumbs.
5
Transfer the breaded shrimps to a clean plate or baking sheet.
Transfer the breaded shrimps to a clean plate or baking sheet.
6
Pour oil to a wok until it fills around 2 inches of the height of the wok.
Pour oil to a wok until it fills around 2 inches of the height of the wok.
7
Preheat the oil to around 350F.
Preheat the oil to around 350°F (177°C).
8
Carefully, transfer each breaded shrimp to the oil and fry until crispy golden brown outside, make sure to turn the shrimp every 30 seconds ensure even colour on each side.
Carefully, transfer each breaded shrimp to the oil and fry until crispy golden brown outside, make sure to turn the shrimp every 30 seconds ensure even colour on each side.
9
After 2-3 minutes, or when you are happy with the colour of the shrimp, transfer each popcorn shrimp to a baking sheet/plate lined with a paper towels.
After 2-3 minutes, or when you are happy with the colour of the shrimp, transfer each popcorn shrimp to a baking sheet/plate lined with a paper towels.
10
Serve immediately and enjoy!
Serve immediately and enjoy!
Nutrition per serving
746
Calories
49g
Protein
98g
Carbs
17g
Fat
6g
Fiber
8g
Sugar
2072mg
Sodium
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Tested & written in Anadi’s kitchen
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