Easy Blackened Shrimp:
Blackened Shrimp Recipe. New Orleans seasoned blackened shrimp with a mixture of bold and flavorful spices. The perfect appetizer, these shrimp have a little spice, and a lot of flavor, but come together quickly.
Serve with rice pilaf and roasted asparagus for a complete meal, or use as an appetizer alongside chicken wings.
This Easy Blackened Seasoned Shrimp recipe was shared as a guest post from Matthew Ivan of Plating Pixels.
Within this recipe post you’ll learn how to make bold, seasoned shrimp. You’ll also learn cooking tips to bring out more flavor in spices.
Blackening seasoning is a simple mixture of spices that creates bold flavor. The seasoning is traditionally made up of key spices and herbs.
Among them, cayenne, paprika, cumin, thyme and oregano are critical to the flavor.
I’ve found the mixture in this recipe is the ideal ratio of spices and herbs that work best for blackened seasoned shrimp. The seasoning adds an aromatic smoky taste to buttery, tender shrimp. It’s a delightful paring.
What is the difference between cajun and blackened?
Such a good question! They are fairly similar however, Cajun Seasoning tends to be spicier, and a good blackening seasoning has some heat, but also offers herbaceous notes from the thyme and oregano. And then you get some depth of flavor with the paprika, garlic, onion, and salt.
Now that you know the basics behind the seasoning; you can use it with shrimp, fish or chicken to create a simple and flavorful meal.
This Easy Blackened Seasoned Shrimp perfectly pairs with a dipping sauce. You can find the accompanying Mango Lime Dipping Sauce recipe on Plating Pixels.
Cooking tips: Heating spices brings out flavor
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- Dried herbs and spices are fat-soluble and release their flavor when heated in oil. Coating the shrimp in even just a small amount of dried seasonings, then cooking in oil, creates big flavor. I also added a bit of flour to the seasoning to give extra crispiness when cooking in oil.
- Another way you could use this technique is for chili, soups or stews. If you’re cooking onions, add the dry spices to the pan at the end and cook for a few minutes; then add to the liquid base. This will add much more flavor then simply adding spices to the liquid.
Serving Suggestions:
- Appetizer: Serve this blackened shrimp along side egg rolls, chicken wings, and crudite for the ultimate small bites party food.
- Serve on a hoagie with sautéed peppers and onions for an awesome sandwich!
- Serve with pasta and a little butter sauce mixed with the seasonings for a complete meal.
- Mushroom Rice Pilaf and Roasted Broccoli or Cauliflower go well with this shrimp for a complete meal as well.
Easy Blackened Seasoned Shrimp
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons ground smoked paprika can also substitute regular
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper more or less depending on desired spiciness
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon flour all-purpose or gluten-free
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds shrimp; deveined and peeled tails on
Instructions
- If shrimp is frozen, defrost in the refrigerator the night before.
- Combine all seasoning ingredients from paprika to salt in a medium bowl. Place shrimp and seasoning mix in a large ziplock and seal. Shake to evenly coat. Let sit for at least 5–10 minutes for spices to soak in.
- Heat oil in large non-stick pan or skillet on medium-high heat. Add seasoned shrimp and cook 5–6 minutes, stirring or rotating halfway between; until opaque white and cooked through. Remove from heat and serve immediately with Mango Lime Dipping Sauce.
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
Want to use this recipe in a meal plan?Try PrePear, my FREE Meal Planning App that allows you to save your recipes, plan meals, shop for groceries, and cook simply in one place. Join Here!This guest post is by Matthew Ivan of Plating Pixels. Recipe and photography by Matthew Ivan video by Rachael at Eazy Peazy Mealz.
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