Fried Shrimp is so much easier to make at home than you think. Just a few, simple pantry ingredients to create this fried shrimp batter using flour and cornmeal to make it crispy, and now you’ll know how to make pan-fried shrimp for easy dinners and it will become a true favorite!
Roll up your sleeves, break out your pans and get to dredging. You’re less than 30 minutes away from crispy shrimp and old bay cocktail sauce or the dipping sauce recipe I share below, at home tonight or on “Fried Friday” in your Dinner Theme System.
Serving tip: Serve this with steak! Not sure how to make steak? Here’s my favorite restaurant-quality steak recipe to use: How to Cook Steak!
Hey there! Meg here and I’m so excited to share another recipe with you all! I know how much you loved this grilled shrimp so this will be another seafood recipe to add to your cookbook!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
I don’t know about you but sometimes I find making fried foods at home kind of intimidating unless it’s air fryer shrimp.
- Easy Breading: When frying, there’s the whole dredging process and the sometimes messy, (tip below on how to make very little mess) frying of the food in hot oil. But I’m here to tell you, you will LOVE how easy this recipe is and it’s way better than the store-bought, frozen breaded shrimp, that’s for sure!
- Restaurant quality fried shrimp at home in less than 20 minutes.
- Batter Secret: Plus, using cornmeal and flour together in the batter, creates a crispy shrimp that’s hard not to love!
Fried Shrimp Cornmeal and Flour Batter
The mixture of flour and cornmeal adds such a delicious crust to the shrimp. The cornmeal adds a crazy crunch and the flour adds its own wonderful touch for the crispiest fried shrimp!
A good amount of onion powder, garlic powder, kosher salt, and a nice sprinkle of cayenne pepper in the batter also bring lots of flavor and interest.
Fried Shrimp Recipe Ingredients
The ingredient list for this fried shrimp recipe is small and basic but it packs a punch! You’ll find that ingredients are similar to other fried recipes on the blog, so if you have pork chops handy, you’ll also love this fried pork chops recipe!
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
Shrimp + Oil
- Canola oil for frying (or vegetable oil)
- 24 ounces large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
Egg Wash
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk (or milk)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Batter and Shrimp Seasoning Ingredients
Keeping the seasoning simple is key for a crispy coating! Just a few favorite spices really give this shrimp, tons of flavor! You’ll be using these spices to mix with the flour and cornmeal!
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Optional Dipping Sauce:
This sauce recipe is optional but highly recommended.
- ¾ cup mayo
- ½ cup sweet chili sauce
Similar to this sauce, this boom boom shrimp is coated in a delicious tangy sauce!
Step by Step Directions:
Before beginning: Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Line a large plate with a paper towel, set aside.
- In a cake pan, pie plate, shallow dish or shallow bowl, whisk together eggs and buttermilk. Add ½ teaspoon of salt and pepper. (Image below.)
- In another cake pan, mix together the flour, cornmeal, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper.
- Add shrimp to the egg mixture and coat shrimp well.
- A few at a time, add the shrimp to the flour/cornmeal mixture and coat completely. (Place on a clean plate while you bread the remaining shrimp.)
TIP: Allowing the shrimp to rest while breading the other shrimp, will help prevent the breading from falling off during frying.
- Add shrimp to skillet in a single layer, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Let shrimp cook and fry for 3 minutes, until crispy and to a golden brown perfection.
- Remove shrimp from oil with a slotted spoon and drain on a prepared plate that has layers of paper towels to soak up any excess oil. Continue until all shrimp is fried.
Dipping Sauce Recipe for Shrimp
Mayo and sweet chili sauce mix up to a creamy, spicy, slightly sweet sauce that really compliments the crispy, tender fried shrimp.
- Place the mayo and sweet chili sauce in a separate small bowl.
- Mix together the ingredients until evenly combined and serve with the cooked fried shrimp.
Recipe Pro Tips
The Key to Less Mess: Ideally, set up two pie plates to create a breading station. You can use bowls if necessary but the wide, shallow shape of pie or cake pans makes the process much easier. One cake pan will have the liquid ingredients, in this case, an egg and buttermilk. The second pan will hold the dry ingredients, flour, cornmeal, and spices for a major flavor punch.
Tips for How to Batter Shrimp
This is by far the best shrimp batter, and after so many others have made this too and left reviews saying they think it’s delicious too… it’s safe to say it’s an easy recipe that you’ll want to cook shrimp in from here on out!
Use one hand (I usually use my left since I move through the process left to right) to coat the shrimp in the egg mixture. Pick up the shrimp with the wet hand and place it in the dry mixture. Now use your other hand to gently coat the shrimp.
Because you aren’t going back and forth with both hands they aren’t getting goopy and gross. One hand will have egg and one hand flour but not a big lumpy mess.
It’s not anything revolutionary but it makes a big difference in the mess level of battering and frying.
Recipe FAQs
Once battered, it only takes 3 minutes to fry the shrimp in oil.
You can soak it but it’s not required. However, dipping shrimp in to milk (or buttermilk) instead of soaking, before frying is recommended. The buttermilk helps the batter stick to the shrimp and provides a thicker coating.
A buttermilk and egg will help the flour and cornmeal batter stick to the fried shrimp.
Fried Shrimp Sauces
If you don’t want to make the sauce recipe above, here are some other dipping options for your shrimp that you will love:
- honey mustard
- cocktail sauce
- spicy ketchup
- country white gravy
- tartar sauce
- hot sauce
- remoulade sauce
- ranch or even this jalapeno ranch
Side Dishes to Serve with Southern Fried Shrimp
Serve this southern shrimp recipe (or so we think it’s “southern”) with Amish potato salad or a side salad to round out your meal and enjoy. P.S. That side salad will give you LIFE.
Or, serve popular side dishes such as:
- fried mushrooms
- hush puppies
- since you’re frying shrimp, might as well make these fried pickles too!
- seasoned potato wedges
- french fries (or polenta fries or eggplant fries for healthier options)
- roasted brussels sprouts
- Instant Pot corn on the cob
Or, if you want to serve it alone, you can easily add lemon wedges to the side and even a little chopped fresh parsley if you like!
How to Store Leftover Shrimp
To store any leftover shrimp, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
How to Reheat Fried Shrimp
When ready to reheat the fried shrimp, using the air fryer works amazingly well! Or, you can bake it in the oven or a toaster oven (around 400 degrees for a few minutes until heated through) to crisp it up a little.
Using a microwave can leave the fried shrimp soggy but it’s definitely a way you can reheat if preferred.
More Recipes You’ll Love
Want more yummy recipes? You’ll also love this shrimp baked potato, grilled shrimp marinade recipe. Or, if you love fried recipes, this southern country fried steak is a great southern staple.
This fried rice recipe is perfect to create a fried shrimp rice recipe.
Or serve up this fried shrimp recipe as an appetizer with some of our other favorite easy appetizer recipes that we have here on the blog.
Originally published in 2019, then updated in November 2024 and in March 2025.
Recipe
Fried Shrimp
Ingredients
- Canola oil for frying
- 24 ounces large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
Egg Wash
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk (or milk)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Batter
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Dipping Sauce:
- ¾ cup mayo
- ½ cup sweet chili sauce
Instructions
- Heat ½-inch of oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Line a large plate with a paper towel, set aside.
- In a cake pan or pie plate whisk together eggs and buttermilk. Add ½ teaspoon of salt and pepper.
- In another cake pan, mix together the flour, cornmeal, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper.
- Add shrimp to the egg mixture and coat well. A few at a time, add the shrimp to the flour and coat completely. Place on a clean plate while you bread the remaining shrimp.
- Add shrimp to skillet making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Fry for 3 minutes, until crispy and golden brown. Drain on prepared plate. Continue until all shrimp is fried.
Dipping Sauce
- Mix mayo and sweet chili sauce in a bowl for dipping.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
cathy says
Your fried shrimp recipe was a game-changer for me! I never realized how simple it could be to make such crispy and flavorful shrimp at home. The combination of flour and cornmeal in the batter was genius—it gave the shrimp the perfect crunch. Now that I know how easy it is, I’ll definitely be making pan-fried shrimp for quick and delicious dinners more often. Thanks for sharing this fantastic recipe!
Jessica says
Awww! This makes me so happy to hear and I love that you love this shrimp recipe! Thank you so much for taking the time to do so!
Jaz says
These were incredible! The crispy batter with a hint of cayenne pepper was perfect. My family loved dipping them in the sweet chili sauce – reminded me of a summer cookout!
Amy Hinton says
Could you use breadcrumbs instead of cornmeal?
Jessica says
Hi Amy! I haven’t tried breadcrumbs but I know a lot of shrimp recipes that use breadcrumbs! If you try it, I’d love to hear how it goes.
Lillian says
This recipe is sooooo good!
Harley Head says
Thank you! Im 57 never really cooked other than burning something on outside grill. Cooking three times a day now. My wife has progressive dementia no longer capable of cooking. Shrimp fry was successful she was surprised! Thank you for keeping it simple!!
Jessica says
Awww, I’m so glad that you liked this fried shrimp recipe! So sweet of you to try making new recipes for you both. Thank you for taking the time to share with me. There are a LOT of easy recipes here, so I hope you find more that you’ll enjoy. I’d suggest trying these oven baked burgers next time. Super easy, and they’re so popular!
Barb says
Yay! Finally a breading that stays on the shrimp when frying it!
Great taste!
Also fried some cut up cauliflower, yellow squash strips, and green pepper strips. Delicious too!
Jessica says
That’s so great to hear! YAY! Having fried shrimp with those garden goodies sound great too. 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
STUKIN says
The recipe does not specify the cornmeal grind. Fine, medium, coarse, yellow, white, or what? They’re all available, and there’s a difference between them. BTW, cornmeal should always be stored in the freezer as they’ll quickly go rancid or wormy in the cabinet.
deuxprecious says
I’m a Foodi and I’m really, really picky! This is soooo good! Just the right crunch and flavor and you can easily punch the heat up or down
Jessica says
I love that you love this fried shrimp! Thank you so much for taking the time to share a comment and a review!
Kristen says
Best fried shrimp ever! And so easy! We don’t use any other recipe.
Jessica says
That’s so awesome to hear Kristen! Thank you so much for leaving a review for this shrimp recipe!
Julie Evans says
This was a huge hit. Eliminated the red pepper (not much of a spice fan). The dipping sauce was the star!
Jessica says
Yay!! I’m so glad you liked this fried shrimp, Julie! Thank you so much for sharing!
L Comerford says
We loved the shrimp. Recipe was easy to follow. This is a keeper!
Jessica says
So happy to hear that you loved this fried shrimp too! Thank you so much for sharing and for leaving a star review!
Rebecca Wiedman says
I’ve tried a couple different fried shrimp recipes and this is my new favorite. I love the added cornmeal! It was really good 😋 thanks!
Jessica says
I’m so glad that you like this fried shrimp recipe and thank you for taking the time to leave a review and a star rating!
Kimberly says
Very good. Thank you for sharing.
Sandra says
Here’s another hint to avoid the flour mixture getting goopy; prepare the flour mixture in a bowl, and pour about 1/4 of it at a time onto your pie plate. That way the flour stays dry. Before I started using this method, I always ended up with a pile of flour goop that didn’t stick well.
Jessica says
Hi Sandra! Thank you so much for sharing your tip!
Calvin l Carver says
I have always loved fried shrimp, but when I made this, I enjoyed the best i have ever eaten!
Jessica says
Woo hoo!! So glad you liked this fried shrimp too! It can be so much better at home sometimes. 🙂 Thank you for sharing and for leaving a 5-star review!
Larry Head says
I’m guessing the oil needs to be 350 degrees. You don’t really say.
You do say 400 for baking leftovers. It’s a good recipe.
Kay says
Can you substitute jiffy cornbread mix for the cornmeal?
Jessica says
Hi Kay! I haven’t tried this so I’m not sure if it would. I believe the Jiffy cornbread mix is made to “rise” so it has different ingredients in it than plain cornmeal, so it may turn out different but I’d love to hear if you try it!
Mom of 4 says
Loved this recipe so simple and the sauce was delicious! My picky teenager even loved the shrimp!
Jessica says
Excellent!! I love hearing that you all loved this fried shrimp and sauce, too! Thank you for sharing and for leaving a review!
Kelly Kren says
I was so excited to try this but so sadly it was awful. The cornmeal was tasteless and hard. Any ideas?
Jessica says
Hi Kelly. Oh no! I’m not sure what could have gone wrong here. Was your cornmeal fresh? I’m not sure if that would make a difference or not. I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you!
Ruby says
Fabulous…. The only change I made was old bay for the cayenne pepper. Everyone lived it.
Jessica says
Oh that’s wonderful Ruby! Thank you so much for sharing what you did for this fried shrimp recipe! That sounds delicious too!