Today's air fryer coconut shrimp recipe is a 25-minute homemade guide to a golden crispy and outstandingly tasty delicacy that can rival the restaurant's version.
This dish can make a great choice either as an appetizer, midday snack, or a light side dish to accompany big meals. You'll get to enjoy the conflicting textures between the crispy coconut-panko outer crumbs and the succulent, plump shrimp on the inside. They're also perfect for outdoor picnics and summer feasts!
What Is Coconut Shrimp?
Coconut shrimp is a restaurant appetizer that’s made by coating shrimp in coconut-panko breading and frying them until golden brown and crispy. This dish is usually served with a creamy or sweet-sour sauce of choice.
With today's air fryer coconut shrimp recipe, we're going to recreate the regular deep-fried coconut shrimp in the air fryer, but without an abundant amount of oil. The air fryer is also a fantastic companion for another shrimp recipe that we have made and loved—Air Fryer Shrimp with Mayo Sauce.
Is This Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp Healthy?
Made in the comfort of your kitchen, these creamy and fragrant coconut shrimp come out perfectly crispy and tasty without the need for heavy oil and the deep- frying method. The popular restaurant deep-fried item is now recreated in a healthier way with the help of the air fryer, resulting in a light side dish with significantly fewer calories and fat.
As a result, one serving of this air fryer coconut shrimp contains 221 calories, 2.4 grams of saturated fat, and 295 milligrams of sodium — all kept within healthy limits according to our healthy eating guidelines.
Main Ingredients
- Shrimp
Either fresh or frozen shrimp can work for this air fryer coconut shrimp recipe. Consider your choice based on the accessibility of fresh seafood.
No matter what the choice is, remember to always drain excess water and pat the shrimp dry before anything else. By doing so, the spice rub and the crumbs will stick better to the shrimp when breading.
Excess moisture, if any, will impact the final texture of this dish. It will steam the shrimp instead of frying them, and as a result, the shrimp won’t crisp up well and will eventually become soggy.
If you're using frozen shrimp and can plan your meals, let the shrimp thaw in the fridge overnight before the day of cooking. Otherwise, you can defrost them quickly by placing the Ziploc bags of frozen shrimp in a colander in the sink and running cool water over them for 10 minutes until there are no icy bits left on the bags.
We prefer keeping the tails on for today’s dish for easier dipping. You can remove the tails when eating.
We spent 12 minutes air frying the breaded shrimp at 370℉. There’s no need to flip the shrimp halfway through cooking, as the air fryer will be in charge of even cooking and crispy, golden- brown edges.
Shrimp cook fast, normally taking about 10-15 minutes to air fry, depending on the size of the shrimp. If you use smaller shrimp than ours, you might need to reduce the cooking time by a minute or two to prevent overcooking.
Make sure you don’t overload the frying basket and arrange the breaded shrimp in a single layer so they can crisp up evenly on all sides.
- Coconut-panko breading
We use desiccated coconut, also known as finely shredded coconut, to lend a delicate creaminess to the shrimp. Desiccated coconut is about the same size as the grains of panko breadcrumbs. When combined, they make a wonderful breading mixture that guarantees crust adhesion and tempting crispiness after frying.
If you can't find desiccated coconut nearby, you can still shred the coconut meat at home by putting it in a food processor and giving it a few pulses until finely ground.
- Seasonings
The spice rub used for the shrimp requires just three simple pantry ingredients: paprika, ground black pepper, and garlic powder. It is meant to lightly spice up the shrimp and give them a kick of mild heat before being breaded.
How to Store and Reheat
- To store
Similar to the regular air fryer shrimp without the breading, leftover air-fried coconut shrimp can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. They can stay well for up to 3 months in the freezer.
Raw and breaded shrimp can also last for the equivalent period in the freezer.
- To reheat
You can reheat the leftover coconut shrimp in the air fryer, in the microwave, or on the stovetop over medium heat. You can also add a splash of cooking oil to crisp them up again if desired.
When thawing frozen portions, make sure you keep the shrimp in Ziploc bags when you run water over them, so they won't turn soggy after being reheated. If you can plan your meals, the best way to thaw shrimp is to transfer them to the fridge to thaw overnight before the day of serving.
If you can plan your meals, transfer the frozen portions of fried coconut shrimp to the refrigerator to thaw overnight before serving. Otherwise, keep the frozen coconut shrimps in sealed bags, then run cool water over them for 10 minutes until properly thawed.
You Will Probably Like These Too!
- Marinated Grilled Shrimp Recipe
- Pan Seared Shrimp Recipe
- Salt and Pepper Shrimp Recipe
- Roasted Shrimp Recipe
For a full collection of shrimp dishes that you can make without a fuss, check out this list of Simple Shrimp Recipes.
Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp Recipe
Today's air fryer coconut shrimp recipe is a 25-minute homemade guide to a golden crispy and outstandingly tasty delicacy that can rival the restaurant's version.
- cook TIME 15 mins
- prep TIME 10 mins
- total TIME 25 mins
- COURSE Side Dish
- CUISINE American
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 221 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 9 oz raw shrimp (peeled and deveined, tails on, equals 18 oz whole)
- 1/4 cup desiccated coconut
- 1 medium egg (beaten)
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup plain panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp canola oil
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp Heinz ketchup
- 2 tbsp parsley (chopped)
INSTRUCTIONS
In a mixing bowl, combine 9 oz peeled and deveined shrimp with 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, and 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Marinate well.
On a large plate, mix 1/4 cup plain panko breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup desiccated coconut, and 1 tsp canola oil. Prepare two other plates of 1 tbsp flour and 1 beaten egg.
Dredge the shrimp in flour and shake off excess.
Dip the floured shrimp in the beaten egg.
Bread the shrimp in the panko-coconut coating. Repeat the coating steps with the remaining shrimp.
Transfer the breaded shrimp to the frying basket in the air fryer. Arrange them in a single layer and fry at 375℉ for 12 minutes. No need to flip halfway.
In the meantime, make the dipping sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tbsp mayonnaise and 2 tbsp ketchup.
Garnish the coconut shrimp with 2 tbsp chopped parsley.
Portion out the coconut shrimp and serve hot with the mayo-ketchup sauce on the side.
NUTRITION
Tuyet Pham
Head Chef, Culinary Consultant
Luna Regina
Writer, Author
Natalie Butler, RD, LD
Nutrition Reviewer
- MolasarA healthier take on a classic dish.