Air Fried Breaded Shrimp

These air-fried breaded shrimp are plump, crispy, and perfect for dipping. They are quick and easy to prepare with simple ingredients. Great as an appetizer or as a meal with a simple salad or side of fries.

Plump shrimp in a crispy breading are the perfect addition to any appetizer platter. Crunchy finger food, perfect for dipping, they are also great as a meal with a salad or a simple side.

Try serving them with Tangy Dill Mayo or, if you like a kick of heat, Spicy Sriracha Mayo.

Shrimp is always popular, no matter how it’s cooked, but this crispy breaded shrimp recipe is one that we always come back to.

These shrimp are ready in minutes and they are perfectly crispy and golden brown.

They work well as an appetizer served with a dish of tzatziki or cocktail sauce, but we also love them with less traditional dips such as Creamy Cilantro Mayo, or Spicy Chipotle Mayo.

Tartar sauce and sweet chilli sauce are also great dipping options. But if you prefer to eat these shrimp just as they are, they are great that way too.

If you are serving these as a meal, then you can’t go wrong with a simple side of Air Fryer French Fries, or even a pasta salad such as the flavorful Street Corn Pasta Salad.

You can use any size shrimp you like, from small to large, and it’s easy to change the seasonings depending on your preference and what you are serving them with.

They can also be made fully gluten-free.

Ingredients & Substitutions

For a full list of ingredients and measurements, please see the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Shrimp – I like using medium-sized shrimp with the tail off, but you can use small or large shrimp if you like.

Flour – All-purpose flour is used to coat the shrimp before dipping it in the egg. This helps ensure everything sticks.

Corn Starch – The corn starch helps the flour in the base layer, ensuring the egg sticks. If you don’t have cornstarch, you can replace it with equal parts flour.

Seasonings – This recipe uses a mix of garlic powder, onion powder, and salt for a simple seasoning that gives the shrimp great flavor and goes with almost anything. But you can easily change this depending on how you are serving the shrimp and what flavors you prefer. You can add chilli powder or cayenne pepper for an extra kick of heat, or use seasoning blends such as Cajun or BBQ, even simple seasoning salt works well with this recipe.

Eggs – The eggs are the binder that makes the breading stick to the shrimp. If you are allergic to eggs, you can replace them with melted butter

Breadcrumbs – This recipe uses a mix of panko and fine breadcrumbs. The panko adds great crunch, while the fine breadcrumbs fill in the gaps and help ensure the shrimp are fully coated. We like to use unseasoned breadcrumbs, but you can use seasoned if you prefer. You can also replace all or part of the breadcrumbs with cornflake crumbs for a slightly different flavor and extra crunch.

Preparing Breaded Shrimp

This recipe is easy to prepare with just a few simple steps.

Begin by peeling the shrimp if you did not purchase pre-peeled.

Rinse and dry the shrimp, then toss them in the flour and seasoning.

Dip the shrimp in the egg, followed by the breadcrumb mixture, turning to coat all sides. Then add the breaded shrimp to the air fryer basket in a single layer. Cook as directed on the recipe card, adjusting the cooking time to the size of the shrimp.

Gluten-Free Breaded Shrimp

This recipe can be made gluten-free easily with just a few simple ingredient swaps, and you won’t even notice a difference in flavor or texture.

Flour – Use a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend. I have used Anita’s all-purpose flour blend (Canadian), Robin Hood, and Cloud 9, and all have produced excellent results. 

Breadcrumbs – Substitute regular breadcrumbs with gluten-free breadcrumbs. 4C Seasoned Breadcrumbs are my favorite; the rice flour breadcrumbs add a nice crunch. When making these gluten-free, I like to swap the panko for crushed gluten-free cornflakes. I have found gluten-free panko to be extremely chunky; it doesn’t stick well to the shrimp and tends to get a bit soggy. But the cornflakes add a great crunch, more similar to the gluten version of this recipe.

Preparation and cooking are the same as when using gluten-containing ingredients.

FAQS

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This recipe was originally published in 2019 and has been updated with new content.

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