This Southern Fried Shrimp recipe is easy, delicious, super easy to make. Crunchy on the outside and bursting with flavor. In about 15 minutes, from start to finish, you’ll have a tasty meal of crispy seafood ready to go.
I don’t know about you, but I’m obsessed with shrimp and a good majority of people would agree with me. Shrimp is an extremely popular food around the world, and apparently, it has been for thousands of years.
These shrimp are super crispy and I don’t know about you but I prefer shrimp fried with just flour. I’m not a fan of a panko or cornmeal coating for fried shrimp.
I have countless shrimp recipes simply because I can’t get enough of it and neither can my family. Some of our favorites we like to make often are Crunchy Honey Walnut Shrimp, Saucy Shrimp, and Honey Garlic Shrimp.
How to Make Southern Fried Shrimp
- Soak the shrimp – In a large bowl, mix together the milk, ½ teaspoon salt, the black pepper, half the granulated garlic, half the paprika, and half of the oregano. Add in the shrimp and let soak for 10 minutes.
- Coat the shrimp – Once the shrimp is finished soaking, shake free of excess milk. Mix together the remaining spices and flour on a plate and coat the shrimp well. Make sure you coat the shrimp really well with flour. Coat them several times with the seasoned flour. You should not be able to see the shrimp under the flour.
- Fry the shrimp – Heat the oil to 375 degrees and fry each batch of shrimp for about 1-2 minutes or until it’s nice and crispy.
- Serve – Allow the shrimp to cool a bit and serve!
Recipe Tips and Variations
- Serving sauces – If you enjoy dipping your shrimp in a sauce, you can serve these fried shrimp with honey mustard, tartar sauce, sriracha mayo, etc. I served it with honey mustard.
- Use uncooked shrimp – In order for your shrimp to really soak up flavor, they need to be the uncooked kind you get from the store. If they’re already pink in the package, this means they’re cooked and won’t really soak up any flavor through the prepping process. If the shrimp are a grey color, then those are the kind you’re looking for. Be sure they’re deveined and peeled for your convenience.
- Make it spicy – Add some cayenne pepper to the recipe for extra spice.
Can You Fry Already Cooked Shrimp?
Of course, you can! Already cooked shrimp is, well, already cooked, so you don’t have to wonder if it’s already finished. However, for this recipe, it’s much better, flavor-wise, to use uncooked shrimp. It’s definitely up to you on whether or not you want to use cooked shrimp. I just like to use uncooked because it allows the flavors to soak into the shrimp more for a better flavor.
Top Tip:
Serve these with honey mustard! So good.
What Goes Good with Southern Fried Shrimp?
Crispy shrimp go well with so many sides. However, there are certain sides that are more popular than others when it comes to shrimp. Some of these sides include Creamy Coleslaw (if you like spicy, try this Creamy Sriracha Coleslaw), Corn on the Cob, Creamed Corn, or even Cheesy Corn. Of course, you can’t forget the Hush Puppies, and while you’re at it, throw in some Cheese Garlic Biscuits, Deep Fried Mac n Cheese Balls, Honey Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread, or a Tomato Avocado Salad. You can even use the shrimp to make another meal altogether. For example, you can use your shrimp to make a po’boy sandwich, shrimp salad, sliders, etc. So many ideas and ways to use shrimp – it’s crazy!
You can find more delicious recipes and cooking tutorial videos on Youtube and Facebook.
Southern Fried Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 lb raw shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper or to taste
- 2 tsp granulated garlic
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- oil, for frying
Instructions
- Add the milk, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp granulated garlic, and shrimp to a large bowl and let it sit for 10 minutes.
- Season the all purpose flour with the remaining salt, paprika, oregano, granulated garlic, and black pepper.
- Remove the shrimp from the milk mixture and coat well with the seasoned flour. Make sure to coat the shrimp really well with lots of seasoned flour. You should not be able to see the shrimp under the flour.
- Fry the shrimp for 3-4 minutes or until crispy in oil. The oil should be about 375 degrees F.
- Remove the shrimp from the oil and place it on a plate with paper towel.
- Serve immediately and enjoy.
We added Old Bay and a little salt to season but these were amazing!!! We had some picky eaters who aren’t big shrimp fans rave about these!
So glad you and the family enjoyed it 🙂
Perfect gulf shrimp recipe. Just like some of the best Florida seafood joints. Thanks for sharing.
REALLY good. My family went nuts for these. I’ve typically gone the bread crumb route with fried shrimp, but I found these easier to prepare and more shrimp – less breading. Again, REALLY good. Thank you!
So glad you and your family enjoyed it!Thank you for the comment.
Julie, I was just wondering…Do you get tired of everyone telling you how delicious this recipe is?? Well, get used to it, cuz here is another one! LOL Thanks for sharing! Loved it
No! Never! Lol so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
I used your recipe for shrimp last night, I will never use anything else! They were easy, tasty and just perfect. My whole family loved them! Thank you. . .
That makes me so happy Annette! So glad you and the family enjoyed it 🙂
Very good!! I used some crispy fish fry for the coating (was a little too crispy for me), but the flavor was so good! My family, including my picky kids loved it!! Next time I’ll do the exact recipe😊
These are perfect! Burned my mouth cause they were so pretty, I couldnt wait for them to cool off. I used buttermilk cause thats what I had on hand, kosher salt and a pinch of cayenne in the milk and the flour…still your recipe and absolutely 5 stars! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much, Cara! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe and also shared how you altered it a bit. Next time, I’ll add cayenne to give it a kick 🙂
The best recipe and so easy. I was so intimidated by shrimp. Not anymore! I fixed this for my son who loves shrimp!
So glad you enjoyed it, Debra!! Thanks for the comment.
Absolutely DELICIOUS!!! So simple and easy to make. Taste is wonderful!! Will now make my fried shrimp this way always,
So glad you enjoyed them xoxo
I wanted restaurant style shrimp and this was even better. Great recipe. Thanks for sharing .
I used these for a po boy with homemade remoulade … perfect! And so easy. Thank you!
This recipe is perfect! Better than any fried shrimp I’ve ever had at a restaurant and cheaper too. I will never use cornmeal on shrimp again. I highly recommend this dish.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the comment xoxo
This was amazing!! Definitely also recommend the creamy sriracha coleslaw? Has anyone tried using an air fryer? Is that possible?
So glad you enjoyed both recipes, Alicia! I haven’t tried it in the air fryer, but I’m sure it will work. Please let us know if you do try it 🙂
What a delicious coating!!! The whole family loved it, thank you😊
I had left-over shrimp for a recipe I used the other and my husband was wanting fried shrimp. So I searched for a recipe and so glad I came upon this one. They were do easy and EXCELLENT! Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Debra! Thank you for the comment 🙂
These shrimp were perfectly seasoned although I added a little onion powder and Old Bay. I used them in a po” boy with a muffuletta mayonnaise! Awesome!
So glad you enjoyed it, Robin 🙂
These shrimp look fabulous! Did you use a deep fryer please?
Thank you, Lin! I did not, I fried them in a cast-iron skillet on my stovetop. But you may certainly use a deep fryer.
So good
Omg! This fried shrimp recipe was hands down the best and easiest recipe I’ve made. This is a keeper. I’ll be making it more often and sharing with friends and family.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Analia!
Delicious, fast and easy! Thank you! This was exactly the type of recipe I was looking for, I almost ate all of the shrimp myself. I will definitely add to my repertoire.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for commenting xoxo
Best tasting shrimp i have ever hadTastious