Air Fryer Frozen Shrimp are here to save your dinner! From freezer to plate in under 10 minutes.
Getting ready to make dinner and realized the shrimp you wanted are still in the freezer? No worries, you can cook shrimp directly from frozen with the air fryer, no need for thawing. Even better? They are ready in about 10 minutes.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
Why Cook Shrimp From Frozen?
Buying shrimp frozen is great because they freeze the shrimp right on the boat, ensuring they still taste fresh when they make it to your plate. So buying them frozen, and cooking them from frozen, is often the freshest way to do it. Keep a bag of frozen raw shrimp on hand, and you’ve always got the start of a great meal ready to go.
My favorite way to cook shrimp from frozen very gently cooks them in water and only takes about 15 minutes from start to finish (including boiling the water). However, today’s method uses the air fryer instead of water.
When To Use The Air Fryer To Cook Frozen Shrimp
Using the Air Fryer makes things even faster! After a few minutes of preheating, this method only takes 5 minutes to cook delicious shrimp straight from the freezer. I can fit 12-16 large shrimp in my Air Fryer basket so it’s perfect if you just need enough for two people. If you’re cooking for more, you’ll have to do multiple batches or use the water method linked to above.
The Air Fryer allows the shrimp to nicely brown a little on the bottom. You can also add seasoning which you can’t do with the water method. In the last minute of cooking, toss in some chopped garlic or sprinkle Parmesan cheese or breadcrumbs on top. So good!
How To Cook Air Fryer Frozen Shrimp
I like to use medium or large frozen shrimp that have been peeled and deveined. For this method though, it does not matter if the tails are on or off. These were 31-40 count which means there are 31-40 shrimp per pound. That’s a way to know how big of shrimp you should get, use the count information on the bag.
To start, you’ll preheat your air fryer to 400°F. Then you take your shrimp straight from the freezer, put them inside in a single layer, and cook for 5 minutes. It’s just that easy.
Now you have perfectly cooked shrimp for whatever shrimp recipe you’d like to use. Will you use them for pasta, shrimp tacos, maybe a great shrimp cocktail? Maybe toss them with a squeeze of lemon juice or some Old Bay seasoning? So many wonderful and tasty possibilities.
When Can You Not Cook Shrimp From Frozen?
If your shrimp are frozen in a big clump, you shouldn’t try cooking them from frozen. It’s too difficult to figure out the timing if they’re not mostly individual.
If you have a bag of shrimp in your freezer and the shrimp seem to have clumped up together, try giving them bag a gentle tap on the counter a couple of times. If the ice isn’t too dense, the shrimp will come apart.
More Air Fryer Recipes From Frozen
PrintAir Fryer Frozen Shrimp Recipe
- Prep Time: 3 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 8 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
Air Fryer Frozen Shrimp are here to save your dinner! From freezer to plate in under 10 minutes.
Ingredients
- 12–16 large (31–40 count) frozen shrimp, peeled and deveined with or without tail
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 400°F for 3 minutes.
- Arrange frozen shrimp in a single non-overlapping layer in the air fryer.
- Cook until opaque and pink and cooked through, 4-5 minutes.
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This post originally appeared in April 2020 and was revised and republished in May 2023.