Baked Breaded Shrimp

Baked breaded shrimp recipe – super easy to make, juicy and crunchy jumbo shrimp, that could be served as an appetizer with your favorite dipping sauce or as a main dish with a nice salad or just french fries. Clean and effortless way to make crispy shrimp, that does not involve deep frying.

This Baked Breaded Shrimp recipe is perfect for a year round appetizer. Make it in the summer with your favorite drink, or serve as a holiday appetizer with some sparkling wine. Serve with fries, chips, salads and vegetables. Very easy to make, foolproof and mess free.

I’m a little intimidated by (deep) frying foods. I know it is not so difficult to fry chicken or potatoes, but in order to make them taste good, you need to do the frying right. One more cons of deep frying at home – the smell and cleanup are not fun. I’d rather eat outside and order a bunch of deep fried foods like fish, shrimp, calamari and chips. 

But sometimes I do make fried dishes at home. And I rarely fry in oil on the stove top. I prefer using my convection oven or my favorite Philips Air Fryer.

This “fried” breaded shrimp is easy to make and perfect for “oven frying”.

How to make breaded shrimp, that is crispy on the outside and juicy in the inside in the oven?

Ingredients:

•  jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
• cornstarch
• eggs, beaten with 1 tbsp cold water
• breadcrumbs (could be Panko)
• salt
• black pepper
• seafood seasoning like Old Bay, Zatarain’s (optional)
• garlic powder (optional)
• paprika (optional)

Type of shrimp

For this type of recipe I recommend using Jumbo shrimp ( 21/25 Shrimp Count per Pound), 5-6 shrimp per 3-oz serving. It is easy to work with, can not be overcooked easily, because of its size, but is it somehow still “bite sized” food.

Smaller shrimp like “extra large” could be also used, but make sure you reduce the cooking time with at least 3-4 minutes.

Directions:

Place the cornstarch in a shallow bowl.

Beat eggs with water and place in another shallow bowl.

Combine breadcrumbs and seasoning and add to a third shallow bowl.

Using kitchen tongs, dip shrimp to coat in the cornstarch.

Next dip in the eggs and last toss into the breadcrumbs.

Arrange on a baking sheet, covered with parchment paper. Spray shrimp on top with cooking spray. Flip and spray the other side. 

Bake at 400 F for 8-12 minutes, turning once, until the shrimp is golden brown on the inside and fully cooked.

How long to bake breaded jumbo shrimp in the oven for at 400 F?

Bake for 8-12 minutes, turning once, until the shrimp is cooked through and golden on the outside. Cooking time may vary, depending on the types of ingredients used, size of shrimp, oven and baking trays.

Tips

• Panko breadcrumbs, homemade breadcrumbs, seasoning? You can either use Panko (a Japanese style flaky breadcrumb) or regular or seasoned. Pretty much any breadcrumb will work. How about even add your favorite mix of spices to unseasoned breadcrumbs. No breadcrumbs and inability to go to the store? Put a few pieces of old bread into the food processor and process until you get fine crumbs. Use these in the recipe. I personally combine the seasoning, salt and pepper with the breadcrumbs, when breading shrimp. Leave the eggs and cornstarch unseasoned. This way the moisture of the shrimp and its authentic flavor are sealed and you have a nice, crunchy, crispy and seasoned breading on the outside.
• How do you keep the breading from falling off the shrimp? This is easy to achieve, but please take your time and treat each shrimp with care, so all of them are perfectly breaded. This is not a recipe where you toss all the shrimp at the same time in a batter and then throw it in the fryer/oven. Make sure you pat dry each shrimp, then cover it in cornstarch (flour), next dip to cover thoroughly in beaten egg and toss in breadcrumbs. The breading will not fall off, I promise!
• Flour instead of cornstarch for breading – yes, if you don’t have cornstarch, you can definitely use plain white flour. But there is a slight difference and this is the reason, why I use cornstarch most of the time for “fried foods”. Cornstarch does a little better in “locking in the moisture” of the foods and also helps achieve a better crispiness and nice “golden” color.
• Cooking with minimal amount of oil – this baked breaded shrimp is cooked in the oven with just a little bit of oil, co make sure the breadcrumbs stay on top of the shrimp and they also get perfectly crispy and golden. I recommend using a cooking spray (olive oil spray can be used) and spray shrimp on top before you bake. Once you flip the shrimp to cook on the other side, repeat and spray lightly on top to cook on the other side.

Air fryer option

Since Air Fryers have been very popular for a while, because of the ease of use and the wonderful, tasty results they produce, I’ve included an Air Fryer option for this Baked breaded Shrimp Recipe.

Prepare the shrimp as you are going to oven bake it.

Preheat your air fryer for 3 minutes at 375 F.

Arrange the breaded shrimp in a single layer inside the basket.

Spray with cooking spray on top. Cook for 4 minutes. Carefully turn all the shrimp, spray with cooking spray again. Cook for another 4-5 minutes, until crispy.

How many jumbo shrimp to serve per person?

When buying shrimp, you should get 1 pound of raw and unpeeled shrimp per person or, if you are buying it cooked and peeled, 1/2 -1/3 pound per person.

What to serve with?

While this breaded shrimp tastes great on its own, here are some options on what to serve it with:

• Chipotle mayo
• Honey Mustard sauce
• Garlic Aioli
• Cocktail sauce
• Tartar Sauce
• Chimichurri

More Shrimp recipes:

• Easy Broiled Shrimp – baked in the oven, ready in just 5 minutes. Quick to make, with a few simple ingredients, flavorful and delicious.
• Tequila Lime Shrimp Salad – made from scratch, fresh Mexican flavors come together into a nutritious and delicious, colorful salad.
• The Best Shrimp Taco Recipes – made with seasoned shrimp, cabbage slaw, chipotle mayonnaise, fresh avocado, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, onions and sour cream.