Instant Pot shrimp are quick to make and really delicious. You can use the cooked shrimp in so many tasty ways!
It’s no secret around here that I love shrimp! I’ve worked out many different methods to easily cook them and have so many great recipes that use shrimp. Using the Instant Pot to make shrimp is a great option because it’s so easy to do.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
Why Cook Shrimp In The Instant Pot?
There are a lot of ways to cook shrimp. I like them sautéed with garlic, poached, and even cooked directly from frozen. However, these days I’m obsessed with my Instant Pot so of course I had to try cooking shrimp in there.
It turns out it’s super quick and the shrimp turn out really good. Actually, they’re great, mostly because you end up with a bonus sauce with barely any effort.
How To Make Instant Pot Shrimp
First, make sure you’re using defrosted, not frozen shrimp. See my post on how to thaw shrimp quickly, if needed.
In the Instant Pot, mix together the shrimp (I used 24 medium shrimp, deveined and peeled with no tail), one tablespoon of butter broken into pieces and half a cup of water or chicken broth, 1 clove of minced garlic, plus a bit of salt and red pepper flakes.
Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook on high for one minute. Yes, only one minute. That’s all it takes. Let it come up to pressure and then cook for a minute. Then do a quick release by turning the knob to Venting. Wait for all the steam to escape and the little button to drop down, then remove the lid.
At this point, the shrimp are sitting in the liquid at the bottom of the pot. Remove the shrimp using a slotted spoon. Discard the liquid and serve or add them to your recipe. Or… use the liquid to make an easy sauce. It only takes an extra couple of minutes and it’s sooooo good!
Easy Instant Pot Shrimp Sauce
Once the shrimp is cooked, use a slotted spoon to remove the shrimp from the Instant Pot. In a small bowl mix together 1 teaspoon of cornstarch with 3 teaspoons of water until smooth. Pour it into the cooking liquid in the Instant Pot and stir it well.
Set the Instant Pot to Sauté and cook, stirring continuously, until it reaches a boil. Simmer until it thickens. Add salt to taste.
Return shrimp to the Instant Pot. Stir. Serve over pasta. Easy, right? Add a squeeze of lemon juice and you’ve almost got a shortcut instant pot shrimp scampi dish.
More Great Shrimp Recipes
I hope you enjoy all these shrimp recipes as much as I do. Enjoy! – Christine xo
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Instant Pot Shrimp Recipe
- Prep Time: 1 minute
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 6 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
Instant Pot shrimp are quick to make and really delicious. You can discard the liquid they cook in, or use it to make a quick sauce right in your Instant Pot.
Ingredients
- 24 medium shrimp (51-60 count per pound, peeled and deveined, with or without the tail)
- 1 Tbsp. butter, cut into pieces
- 1/2 cup water or chicken broth
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
- In the Instant Pot, stir together the shrimp, butter, water/broth, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes.
- With the steam release knob set to Sealing, set the Instant Pot to pressure cook on high for 1 minute.
- Once the heat builds up, the Instant Pot will pressure cook for 1 minute. When it is finished, turn the pressure release knob to Venting.
- Once the steam has all released and the steam button has dropped down, remove lid.
- Use slotted spoon to transfer shrimp to a plate. Discard liquid in pot or use it to make a quick sauce.
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!
This post originally appeared in January 2019 and was revised and republished in July 2023.
Erika says
I used 16-25/# shrimp and left them frozen. Cooked for 1 minute on high and they were perfection! The larger size and being frozen assured that they wouldn’t get overcooked. Added extra butter, some fresh lemon juice and a cornstarch slurry to the juice to make an awesome, light sauce. Served them over leftover pasta. 🤤
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
That sounds amazing, Erika! Love that you made the easy pasta sauce too.
James T Kelly Jr says
This recipe is AWESOME Just cooked a lb of fresh shrimp which we get from, Seven Seas Seafood in Murrells Inlet, SC . This is THE Seafood Capitol of SC
Cooked a pouch of cilantro Jasmati rice in the microwave , put it in bowls topped with the shrimp. Picked up each shrimp and dipped them in a Cocktail Sauce, Every shrimp was perfect. We buy the shrimp peeled and deveined. I plan to do the shrimp the same way and then mix them in the grits I make. I am a professional Certified Piano Technician check my website
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the shrimp, James! That sounds wonderful.
Cheryl H. says
This recipe was delicious. Shrimp is one of my favorite foods. I doubled the recipe because I was using more shrimp. Kept the time to 1 minute and it was perfect! Flavor was amazing. I used the shrimp for our alfredo and it was a hit!
Christine Pittman says
Sounds amazing, Cheryl! Thank you for letting us know!
Pam says
When cooking thawed shrimp in the instant pot you should cook it ZERO MINUTES. They come out perfect.
CJP says
Although the sauce was tasty, I used White Wine and 2 TBS butter, the shrimp were overcooked. I thawed the shrimp, rinsed them, put all ingredients in the pot, except the “cornstarch” ( I used Arrowroot). Set it to high pressure for 1 minute and stood by until it came to pressure and beeped at one minute. Immediately released the pressure and removed the shrimp. The shrimp were overcooked and shriveled up. I make a similar Shrimp Scampi on the stove top and take care to not overcook the shrimp and it comes out great every time. I think I will not use instant pot for this application when stove top is so much better.
Christine Pittman says
I’m sorry to hear that, CJP. Pam commented that setting it at zero minutes worked best on their instant pot so maybe that would be better for you as well. Thank you for the feedback!