How To Quickly Cook Shrimp on the Stovetop
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Here’s the thing about shrimp: They are so easy to make. The effort-to-reward ratio is high with this particular seafood. Even pulled straight from the freezer, I can have a platter of quick-sautéed shrimp on the table in 15 minutes flat. Add a bowl of garlicky pasta or a leafy green salad, and dinner is a done deal.
How To Cook Shrimp On The Stove
What’s the Best Shrimp to Buy?
I usually buy bags of frozen shrimp and keep them stashed in my freezer for quick meals. Look for shrimp that has already been peeled and deveined, as this makes life much easier. I prefer shrimp with tails left on for appearance’s sake (plus the tails can make a great shellfish stock), but it’s totally fine to buy them with tails already removed if you prefer.
One thing to note: Most shrimp has already been frozen once, and even the “fresh” shrimp sold at most seafood counters has usually been frozen and thawed. There’s nothing wrong with buying thawed shrimp from the counter, but you should cook it within a day or two and it’s best not to re-freeze it.
You can also buy shrimp of any size you find or have a particular hankering for. The technique below calls for medium (17 to 21 count) shrimp, but the method is the same for smaller or larger shrimp. The cooking time will be quicker for smaller shrimp and a bit longer for larger shrimp.
Most shrimp are a good choice from a sustainable seafood perspective — especially U.S. wild-caught or U.S. farmed shrimp. For more information and buying guides for specific shrimp, take a look a the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s factsheet.
Knowing When Shrimp Is Done
Even larger shrimp will cook in just a few minutes on the stovetop. With shrimp, it’s incredibly easy to know exactly when they’re done — yet another thing I like about them. They start off translucent, grey, and a bit flabby, and they’re done when they’ve turned completely opaque with a pearly pink color and bright-red tails. One minute they’re a bit odd-looking and unappealing, and the next minute it’s hard to keep from eating them directly from the pan. There’s absolutely no guesswork involved.
Turning Shrimp into Dinner
While I could probably be perfectly happy with a bowl of shrimp and nothing else, most of the time shrimp needs some accompaniment to make it a meal. Shrimp is used in almost every world cuisine, from Italian scampi to Thai noodle dishes. Take your cue from them — serve shrimp over pasta or rice noodles, with a bowl of sticky rice, over a bed of greens, or with some roasted vegetables on the side.
What’s your favorite way to have shrimp for dinner?
Make Sautéed Shrimp into a Meal
Serve your sautéed shrimp with — or over! — any of these dishes to make a complete meal.
Recipes with Sautéed Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 poundraw medium shrimp (17 to 21 per pound), peeled and deveined, tails removed if desired
- 1 tablespoonolive oil or butter, or a mix
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- If frozen, thaw the shrimp. If your shrimp are frozen, place them in a colander in the sink and run cold water over them for about 5 minutes. Toss the shrimp occasionally to make sure they are all exposed to the cold water.
- The shrimp will bend easily when thawed. The shrimp is thawed and ready when they are no longer frozen solid but soft, easily bendable, and slightly translucent. This will only take a few minutes. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels.
- Heat the oil or butter over medium-high heat. Place the oil or butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Tilt the pan as the oil warms, or butter melts, to coat the bottom of the pan.
- Add the shrimp to the hot pan. When the butter is melted or the oil moves around the pan easily, add the shrimp. They should sizzle on contact (if not, warm your pan a little longer next time).
- Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the shrimp. Be generous! You can also add any other seasonings at this point — chili spice, curry spice, a bit of harissa, or any other seasonings in your cupboard.
- Sauté the shrimp until pink and opaque. The shrimp will start off looking grey and translucent, but will gradually become pink and opaque as they cook through. The tails will also turn bright red. Cook the shrimp, stirring occasionally, until the flesh is totally pink and opaque, and you see no more grey bits. Depending on the size of your shrimp and how many you have in the pan, this will usually take 4 to 5 minutes.
- Transfer to a serving dish. Serve sautéed shrimp immediately with pasta or over grains. Leftover shrimp is also fantastic in salads or cold preparations.
Recipe Notes
Storage: Leftovers shrimp can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.