No need to defrost shrimp before cooking. Learn how to cook shrimp from frozen, taking them straight from the freezer to the pot. It makes dinners a breeze and they taste so good!
Remember back when I told you that you don’t have to defrost fish or chicken breasts before you cook them? Well, you don’t have to defrost shrimp before cooking them either!
To be honest, I don’t love cooking chicken from frozen. I do that more in a pinch when I forget to take it out. It doesn’t turn out quite as good as when defrosted first. The fish turns out really good, especially thicker pieces. But, the shrimp!?!? They’re amazing cooked from frozen! They turn out even better when not defrosted first. Seriously.
Video: How To Cook Shrimp From Frozen
What Kind Of Shrimp Should I Use?
So, don’t buy the “previously frozen” thawed shrimp at the grocery store. They often cost more and you need to use them up right away. Instead, get a bag of frozen shrimp. Then put them into your freezer and you’ve got the makings of a quick meal on hand and ready to go.
What kind of shrimp work best? Medium to large shrimp. And make sure they’re already deveined. It will say deveined on the bag. The reason you want them deveined is that you won’t be able to take the veins out yourself while they’re frozen and it will be hard, if not impossible to do after they’re cooked as well. So deveined shrimp are required. Other than that, I prefer them to be peeled but with the tail on, or easy peel. Either way, you can cook them from frozen and then serve. People can easily take the peels off after they’re cooked.
Note that the shrimp also need to be frozen separately, not in a big clump. If you shake the bag, you should hear a bunch of frozen shrimp all moving around separately in there. If 2-3 are frozen together here and there, that’s fine. But no bigger clumps than that. If the shrimp are bought frozen from the store, they are usually frozen separately. If they’ve clumped up in the bag a bit, try banging the bag lightly on the counter. This could dislodge them.
How Do You Cook Shrimp from Frozen?
Today I’ll show you my favorite way to cook shrimp from frozen…poaching. Tomorrow I’ll be roasting them (from frozen) on a pan with some asparagus for a one-pan dinner that’s ready in 10 minutes.
Poaching is truly my favorite way to cook shrimp, especially for shrimp cocktail, but for almost any preparation. It’s such a gentle cooking method and it leaves the shrimp plump, juicy, and tender – never tough.
The crazy thing is that to poach the shrimp from frozen, you do everything EXACTLY the same as for poaching thawed shrimp. You just leave them in the water for an extra minute. One minute. That’s all, no need for thawing.
So here’s what you do.
Step #1
Get a medium or large saucepan. This depends on the number of shrimp you’re cooking. 12-15 large shrimp cook well in a 3 quart pot. You’ll need a bigger pot if you’re doing more than that. Fill the pot about 3/4 full of water.
Step #2
Add salt. I use about 1/2 teaspoon for the 3 quart pot.
Step #3
Then you can add other aromatic ingredients if you’d like. Half of a lemon is a great addition. Squeeze the juice into the pot before adding the halved lemon.
Peppercorns and parsley are two other things you can add. These aren’t as important as the salt but are nice additions.
Step #4
Bring the pot to a rapid boil over high heat. (Cover the pot to make it boil sooner).
Step #5
Remove from the heat and let it stop boiling.
Step #6
Add the frozen shrimp.
Step #7
Stir.
Step #8
Cover the pot. And let sit off of the heat for 5-6 minutes, until shrimp are opaque and pink. Yes, this is correct. The pot is not supposed to be on the heat at all anymore. The shrimp are poaching in the leftover heat of the water. If you keep boiling them, the shrimp will not be good at all!
A couple of times when cooking shrimp this way, they looked done but were a tad mushy. I actually think they were not quite ready yet because I ended up leaving them in a little bit longer and then they were perfect. So, if you’re not sure if it’s been long enough, try leaving them for another minute or two. At that point, the water has cooled enough that it’s not going to overcook them, so leaving them longer is a good idea.
If you have more shrimp than the 12 that the recipe calls for, you’ll need more time. I have done as many as 20 in that same pot. They then take about 10 minutes. If you’re going to do more than that, use a bigger pot and more boiled water.
Step #9
If you’re planning to serve the shrimp cold (like for shrimp cocktail) or use them later, prepare an ice bath: In a large bowl, put two cups of ice cubes and fill halfway with cold water.
Step #10
If you want cold shrimp, once they’re cooked, drain off the hot liquid and transfer shrimp (but not the aromatics) to the ice bath. Let them sit in there for a few minutes to fully cool off before draining.
If you want the shrimp to be served warm instead, drain off the hot liquid and serve immediately.
You can add them to a sauce for a pasta dish or squeeze some lemon over them and serve them as is.
I have so many great shrimp recipes for you to try, from my Easiest Shrimp Tacos to the ever popular Shrimp Cocktail.
Step #11
Note that if they had the peels on, you can serve them with the peel or take the peels off before serving.
Podcast Episode: Cooking Frozen Shrimp
Listen to me explain briefly about How To Cook Shrimp From Frozen, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
How to Poach Frozen Shrimp Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
This is the best way to cook frozen shrimp. They end up so tender and juicy.
Ingredients
- 12 large frozen shrimp (21–25 count per pound, deveined and peeled or deveined and easy peel)*
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 of a lemon (optional)
- 8–10 peppercorns (optional)
- a handful of fresh parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Fill a 3 quart saucepan 3/4 full of water.
- Add salt. If using, squeeze the juice of the lemon into the pot and add the peel and flesh once squeezed. Add the peppercorns and parsley if using.
- Bring the pot to a rapid boil over high heat.
- Remove from the heat and let it stop boiling.
- Add the frozen shrimp. Stir. Put the lid on the saucepan. Cover the pot. Let sit off of the heat for 5-6 minutes**, until shrimp are opaque and pink.
- If serving cold, prepare an ice bath: In a large bowl put two cups of ice cubes and fill halfway with cold water.
- When shrimp are cooked, drain off the hot liquid and serve immediately or transfer shrimp (but not the aromatics) to the ice bath. Let them sit in there for a few minutes to fully cool off before draining.
- Serve as is or peel them first.
Love this recipe? I’d appreciate it if you could scroll down and add a *5 star rating* to help others know they’ll love it as well!
Notes
*NOTE: You can do as many as 20 shrimp in that same sized pot with that same amount of water. They’ll just take longer to all cook through, about 8-10 minutes. If you want to do more shrimp than that, use a bigger pot with more boiled water in it and it will work perfectly.
**It is better to err on the side of more time than less time. If the shrimp look done but aren’t quite ready, they will be mushy. So if you’re not sure, leave them a bit longer. And if you try one and it’s a bit mushy, let everything stay in the water a bit longer.
This post originally appeared in January 2018 and was revised and republished in October 2022. This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
I love learning how to cook meats from frozen, I seem to have this happen a lot where I don’t have anything thawed but need to make dinner.
Happens to the best of us, Jennifer! Hopefully our guides help on those nights.
Always wondered how, this method will hopefully make it like it tastes just like fresh shrimp.
Enjoy, Calvin!
Shrimp is one of our favorites,Im going to try it this way!Thanks!
You’re welcome, Debbie!
Living in South Florida I prefer fresh shrimp but in a pinch I have used frozen. This is a interesting recipe.
Thanks, Deborah!
I have used this method in the past and it is very successful. Shrimp are nice and tender.
Thanks, Sandy!
I always have a bag of frozen shrimp in my freezer. So many ways to cook shrimp! Delicious!
You’re ready to go then, Karen! Enjoy!
Thank you! This is really good to know.
You’re welcome, Rebekah!
Again, I can’t figure out how to reply, but @ Jaxon:
No, they were raw and unpeeled. I’m not sure what I did wrong, but that wasn’t it! Thanks though.
Sorry that we haven’t solved your problem, Mel!
Regarding the shrimp that turned to mush: Only way that could happen following this recipe is if the shrimp used were either frozen, deveined and PRECOOKED, meaning they’d now be cooked twice.
I can’t figure out how to reply, but yes, I took the pan off the heat both times and kept it off.
This was a disaster. My shrimp turned to a pile of mush and became completely inedible. I tried reducing the time and encountered the same issue. I’ve ruined about $30 of shrimp, so it’s too expensive to keep trying, but I really don’t know what’s going wrong. I’m glad I seem to be the only one with this issue.
Mel, Did you remove the pan from the heat before adding the shrimp, and then keep it off of the heat after adding the shrimp? The shrimp are supposed to cook very gently in water that is no longer on the heat. That’s the first thing that comes to mind for me. (FYI, I’ve updated the recipe and instructions in the post to make it extra clear that you aren’t supposed to put the pot back onto the heat. It originally said to remove the pot from heat, add the shrimp, cover and let sit 5-6 minutes. Now it says to remove the pot from the heat, add the shrimp, cover and let sit off of the heat for 5-6 minutes. I would hate for anyone else to make this kind of mistake.).
Exactly what I have been doing for years. Accidentally found that boiling frozen was better when I was making a surprise dinner for my wife. Had everything ready then. Realized I had forgotten to thaw the shrimp!!!! Out of desperation I boiled them frozen. Been doing it since and telling everyone about it
Wow, great recipe – and this is coming from someone that spent her childhood eating freshly-steamed shrimp in waterside seafood shacks. Marylander that I am, I added a couple of (heaping) teaspoons of Old Bay to the water, used a whole lemon and threw in 2 or 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. They were honestly the best homemade frozen shrimp I have ever had the pleasure of serving. Kudos!
I always buy the frozen raw shrimp cleaned and deveined but I find on the back side there still are veins I have to clean.
How can I cook frozen?
Please advise.
I end up with the odd vein. You could take them off after cooking. But if you really want to get rid of the bits of vein first, you’ll have to defrost and then cook. The process is nearly the same though. Here are the instructions https://cookthestory.com/how-to-poach-shrimp/
OH MY! These turned out absolutely PERFECT. Will never boil shrimp again! Thank You, THANK YOU!
lol I know! This was revolutionary for me too. So happy you liked them!
I’m wondering the same thing as Toria- did you roast the shrimp from frozen? Or use the poached ones? Thanks!
I put the shrimp raw on the pan with the asparagus and then cooked them in the oven. Here is the link to the recipe https://cookthestory.com/one-pan-shrimp-and-asparagus/
When you said that tomorrow youll be roasting them with asparagus, do you mean after you’ve done this method and the ice bath? So they are already cooked, but then you roast them too?
Toria, THey’re roasted from raw. Here’s the link to the recipe https://cookthestory.com/one-pan-shrimp-and-asparagus/ And thanks for asking. I’ve edited the post to be more clear. Your feedback was helpful!
Thank you for this! I used small shrimp and it was still perfect! I will always use this method from now on!
Bridget, You’re welcome! I’m honestly always amazed at how well this works but it is now my go-to way of cooking shrimp for sure.
Now THAT”S what I’m talking about!!
Foolproof and perfect every time!
Don’t ruin your frozen shrimp by thawing and removing them from their
shells. This is the only way to go!
Thanks so much!
Thanks Peg! Isn’t it a great technique?
Great idea….. I love skipping the step of thawing. Will be testing this out tonight. Thanks !
You’re welcome, Crystal. I hope you like the results!