Honey lime air fryer shrimp are juicy, delicious, and perfectly cooked without even turning on the oven or heating up the stove! Made with a simple honey lime marinade, these are perfect for an easy dinner.
The air fryer is great for cooking seafood - from crispy air fryer fish to air fryer salmon, and these honey lime shrimp!
This air fryer shrimp recipe is a lifesaver for those nights when you forget to thaw something. Not only do the shrimp thaw quickly, but they cook in the air fryer in minutes!
By using a marinade, you can cook a whole pound of shrimp all at once in the air fryer, rather than cooking in batches as you would have to do if breading them. This honey lime shrimp is quick, easy, and gets fresh, bright flavor from the honey lime marinade.
Reasons You'll Love This Recipe
- the honey lime marinade adds bright, fresh flavor
- it's quick to prep and even quicker to cook
- it's versatile -- use the shrimp in tacos, on salads, or straight up!
Recipe Video
Watch the video below to see exactly how I prepped this honey lime air fryer shrimp. It’s so easy! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel.
Ingredient Notes
- Shrimp - you can use any type of shrimp and adjust the cook time as needed. Make sure you start with fully thawed shrimp; we do recommend peeling, deveining, and removing the tails to make them easier to eat. Pictured are large-sized shrimp.
- olive oil - could be swapped for avocado oil
- lime juice - fresh limes add an extra punch of flavor, but bottled can be used; lemon may be swapped in a pinch
- honey - honey may be swapped for maple syrup or your favorite liquid sweetener
- garlic - we used fresh minced garlic for the best flavor
Step by step directions
marinate
In a shallow bowl or freezer bag, stir together marinade ingredients, add shrimp, and let them sit for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Air Fry
Pre-heat air fryer to 390°F/200°C for 5 minutes.
Shake off excess marinade and transfer shrimp to the air fryer basket. Cook for 3-5 minutes, shaking halfway, or until your shrimp are cooked through.
Serve your honey lime shrimp with fresh cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. So fresh and so tasty!
Confused by all the air fryer models out there? Check out Which Air Fryer is Best for you.
FAQ
You may be able to cook frozen shrimp in the air fryer, but we haven't tested it. Keep in mind, you'd be missing out on all the yummy honey lime marinade flavors! We do recommend taking the time to thaw and marinate your shrimp before cooking.
Yes you can, but be warned: it's tedious and you need to fry the shrimp in a single layer (so it takes forever to air fry 1 lb). Here's a yummy shrimp recipe that tastes similar to tempura.
Yes, try one of these chicken marinades, I bet they'd be great on shrimp too! Marinate for 30 minutes and remember to shake off excess marinade before air frying.
For this recipe, we are cooking the shrimp for about 5 minutes total at 390°F/200°C.
Basket Versus Oven Air Fryers
This air fryer shrimp was tested in a basket-style air fryer, but you could also cook it in an oven-style air fryer. Here are the two air fryers we recommend:
- Basket Style- COSORI Air Fryer Max XL
- Oven Style- Instant Vortex Plus Air Fryer Oven
Storage
- Fridge- Air fryer shrimp are best served fresh, however they are safe to store after cooking in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days (personally I try to eat leftover shrimp within 2 days as I find the taste goes downhill)
- Marinade- can be stirred together up to 4 days ahead and stored in the fridge.
WARNING- Do not marinate shrimp for more than 1 hour as it can damage the texture and become mealy.
Food safety & shrimp
Seafood can have a bad rep when it comes to food safety, but with proper handling it's quite safe to store:
- refrigerate cooked shrimp within 2 hours of cooking
- store in the fridge for 3-4 days
- discard any shrimp that smell sour or have a slimy appearance
- do not reheat more than once
- read more here!
Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!
Air Fryer Shrimp (Honey Lime)
Ingredients
- 1 lb large shrimp raw; remove shell and tail if desired; note 1
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons lime juice note 2
- 1 ½ tablespoons honey note 3
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
To garnish
- lime wedges
- cilantro
Instructions
- Marinade - In a large bowl, stir together the olive oil, lime juice, honey, garlic and salt. Add the shrimp and marinate for 20-30 minutes.
- Cook - Heat the air fryer to 390°F/200°C.Shake excess marinade off the shrimp and put the whole batch in the air fryer. Cook for 2 minutes, give the basket a good shake, and return to the air fryer. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until shrimp are pink and cooked through.
- Serve - with lime wedges and cilantro.
Tips:
- you can use any type of shrimp and adjust the cook time as needed. Make sure you start with fully thawed shrimp; we do recommend peeling, deveining, and removing the tails to make them easier to eat.
- fresh limes add an extra punch of flavor, but bottled can be used; lemon may be swapped in a pinch
- honey may be swapped for maple syrup or your favorite liquid sweetener
Video
Nutrition Information
© Sweet Peas & Saffron - Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Elsa says
Denise, another success following your recipe. Thank you so much. This one will definitely be on my master list when I meal plan.
Denise says
Hi Elsa! I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed this one...isn't it so easy? Thanks for taking the time to leave a review.