Shrimp Stir Fry
This Shrimp Stir Fry has succulent shrimp and crisp vegetables in a homemade stir fry sauce. It’s a fresh and healthy meal that’s quick to make for lunch or dinner.
If you love healthy stir fries, try my Chicken Stir Fry, Beef Stir Fry, Broccoli Stir Fry or Vegetable Stir Fry next.
When you’re looking for a fast, healthy and tasty dinner idea, look no further than this shrimp stir fry recipe!
Why You’ll Love this Shrimp Stir Fry
- Clean out the fridge recipe. Stir fries are a great way to use up whatever veggies you love or have on hand in your fridge. You can make this shrimp stir fry with carrots, red bell pepper and sugar snap peas like I did, or use other vegetables. Broccoli, mushrooms, asparagus, snow peas, bok choy, zucchini and yellow onion would also be delicious in this recipe.
- 30 minute meal. Shrimp cooks quickly, helping you to get dinner on the table fast.
- Delicious way to eat your veggies. This colorful stir fry will make your tastebuds happy!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Stir Fry Sauce: The sauce for this shrimp stir fry is a slight variation on my best Stir Fry Sauce recipe. It’s tangy and garlicky – the perfect complement to the juicy shrimp!
- Olive Oil or Avocado Oil: For cooking the shrimp and vegetables.
- Large Shrimp: I like to buy peeled and deveined shrimp to keep the prep extra easy. Both tail on and tail off shrimp work well in this recipe.
- Vegetables: I used a combination of carrots, bell pepper and sugar snap peas. You can substitute other vegetables, just aim to use about 3 cups of veggies total.
- Green Onions: Their mild onion flavor enhances the stir fry.
Ingredient Note
Crushed red pepper flakes are an optional addition to the stir fry sauce. Unless you’re really sensitive to spice, I highly recommend adding them. The pop of heat takes this stir fry to the next level.
How to Make Shrimp Stir Fry
My best tip for making a stir fry is to prep all of the ingredients before you start cooking. Once you start stir frying the recipe moves very quickly.
Make the stir fry sauce. Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients: water or chicken broth, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, fresh ginger, minced garlic, cornstarch and red pepper flakes.
Chop the vegetables.
Cook the shrimp. Pat the shrimp dry and heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Cook the shrimp about 2 minutes per side, until pink. Transfer the shrimp to a clean plate.
Stir fry the veggies. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil to the pan. Add the veggies and cook, stirring often, for 2-3 minutes until just crisp-tender.
Add the stir fry sauce. Return the shrimp to the skillet. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute until the sauce thickens. Then stir in the chopped green onions.
Serve the stir fry over cooked Instant Pot brown rice or white rice with a sprinkle of sesame seeds, if desired.
Tips for Making Stir Fry
- If the shrimp won’t fit in a single layer in the skillet, cook them in batches.
- Don’t overcook the veggies. They can go from crisp-tender to mushy very quickly.
- If you’re using vegetables that cook quickly, such as zucchini, add them to the pan later than firmer vegetables like carrots.
- Whisk the stir fry sauce again right before adding it to the pan. The cornstarch tends to settle at the bottom of the bowl.
How to Store and Reheat
Leftover shrimp stir fry can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat it gently so as not to make the shrimp tough, either in a skillet on the stove or in the microwave.
More Shrimp Recipes
Shrimp is a favorite protein for making tasty, fresh and flavorful meals. Try one of these easy shrimp recipes next!
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Shrimp Stir Fry
Ingredients
Stir Fry Sauce
- ⅓ cup water, or chicken broth*
- ⅓ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste*
Stir Fry
- 2 ½ tablespoons olive oil, or avocado oil, divided
- 1 ½ pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tail on or off
- 2 carrots, julienne cut
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 8 ounces sugar snap peas
- 4 green onions, white and light green parts only, chopped
For Serving
- 4 cups cooked rice
- sesame seeds, optional
Instructions
- Combine all of the stir fry sauce ingredients in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the shrimp to the pan in a single layer (cook in batches if needed). Cook about 2 minutes per side, until pink. Transfer the cooked shrimp to a clean plate.
- Add the remaining 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet. Add the carrots, bell peppers and sugar snap peas and cook, stirring often, for 2-3 minutes or until the vegetables are just crisp-tender.
- Whisk the stir fry sauce once more to make sure everything is well combined and then pour it into the skillet. Return the shrimp to the pan. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute, until the sauce has thickened.
- Stir in the chopped green onions. Serve stir fry over cooked rice, garnished with a sprinkle of sesame seeds if desired.
Notes
- Using chicken (or vegetable) broth in the sauce makes for a slightly more flavorful sauce. Water works fine, though, especially if you’d have to open a can of broth just to use 1/3 cup in this recipe.
- Unless you’re really sensitive to spice, I highly recommend adding the red pepper flakes to the stir fry sauce. The pop of heat takes this shrimp stir fry to the next level.
- You can substitute other vegetables for the ones used in this recipe. Try broccoli, mushrooms, asparagus, snow peas, bok choy, zucchini or yellow onion. Add quick-cooking veggies, such as zucchini, to the pan later than firmer vegetables like carrots and broccoli.
- For a gluten-free shrimp stir fry, substitute the soy sauce with gluten-free coconut aminos, gluten-free tamari or gluten-free soy sauce.
- Leftover shrimp stir fry can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat it gently so as not to make the shrimp tough, either in a skillet on the stove or in the microwave.
This was delicious. Just what I was looking for.
Simple & tasty. Followed the recipe exactly except for used ginger paste since didn’t have fresh ginger. Will definitely make this again and with fresh ginger.
Great, easy, delicious recipe. I cut down on the ginger a little bit but besides that awesomeness
Very simple and delicious recipe to make in less than 30 minutes!
Quick & easy! Great for new moms
We love the shrimp stir fry! Vegetables are fresh and crispy and the sauce has a great flavor. I added some mushrooms and water chestnuts to the recipe. Next time that I make it, I will use chicken or steak. It was delicious!
Made this tonight for dinner with white rice. It came out very tasty I added bokchoy. It was delicious I will make it again.