Crispy-Crunchy Air Fryer Shrimp

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Shrimp in the air fryer?? Heck yes and talk about easy! Crispy-Crunchy Air Fryer Shrimp are ready in just minutes and served with a cool and creamy dipping sauce.

Use fresh or frozen shrimp and “fry” away. These air fryer shrimp cook in minutes and make a fast weeknight meal.

Crispy-Crunchy Air Fryer Shrimp Recipe

Howdy! Chef Alli Here. Let’s Get You Cookin’…. Shall We?? 🙂

What to love about this easy air fryer recipe

1. Super fast
2. Cool and creamy dipping sauce
3. So easy even your kiddos can make it

Ingredients you need to make air fryer shrimp

Shrimp

• Large, raw deveined shrimp, tails on
• Tony Chachere’s seasoning
• Eggs
• Milk
• Flour
• Panko bread crumbs

Dipping Sauce

• Mayonnaise
• Sour cream
• Dry ranch dressing mix
• Minced chipotle peppers or chipotle sauce

What you’ll learn from this recipe

• Why a rack-style air fryer beats a basket-style air fryer
• Other food suggestions that are wonderful in the air fryer
• How to set up your breading station
• Why you can’t cram all the shrimp onto the air fryer rack to cook at one time
• How to know when raw shrimp is fully cooked

How to make air fryer shrimp

**Print the full recipe from the RECIPE CARD at the bottom of this post

Make the dipping sauce by combining all the ingredients until smooth; refrigerate until ready to use.

Spray the air fryer tray with a bit of cooking spray. Pat the shrimp dry between a couple of paper towels, then season with the seasoning blend.

In a shallow bowl, combine the flour and paprika. In a separate shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs and cream. To a third shallow bowl, add the panko bread crumbs.

To set up the breading station, place the bowls of ingredients in a row so you can work in this order from left to right: flour mixture, egg/milk mixture, panko bread crumbs, and then the prepared air fryer rack.

First, dip each shrimp into the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess. Next, dip the shrimp into the egg mixture, then dredge it in the panko bread crumbs until evenly coated on all sides; repeat with the remaining shrimp.

As you work, place the breaded shrimp onto the prepared air fryer rack in a single layer, leaving about 1/8-inch space around each shrimp so they can brown evenly. **Air fry the shrimp in two batches to keep from overcrowding them on the rack. If the shrimp are too close together, the air fryer heat cannot circulate properly and the shrimp will steam and get soggy instead of browning so the shrimp become crispy-crunchy.

Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray the breaded shrimp on the air fryer rack with non-stick cooking/baking spray. Air fry the shrimp for 3 minutes, then turn; cook the shrimp another 2-3 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

Serve at once with the dipping sauce!

Common Questions Asked About This Recipe 

Which tools are helpful when making air fryer shrimp?

Yep! You’re gonna need an air fryer, and not just any air fryer. Get yo-self a rack-style air fryer! My favorite is the Cuisinart TOA 60 and its the one I use every day.

To set up your breading station, it helps to have some wide, flat bowls. The wide circumference and shallow depth allows you to be able to work with the shrimp more easily as you bread them since you have easy access. **This type of bowls are also wonderful for eating salad or pasta.

Why is a rack-style air fryer a better option than a basket-style air fryer?

In my opinion, there’s really no comparison! You can cook more food in a rack-style air fryer and it also cooks much more quickly since it’s laid out in a single layer over the cooking rack. We love how it “fries” everything up so golden brown and crunchy.

Why does the recipe say to leave space around each shrimp when placing them onto the air fryer rack?

This is so the air fryer heat can circulate evenly around each shrimp, making each one become golden brown and crispy. If the shrimp are crowded together, the hot air cannot circulate and the shrimp steam as they cook, making the breading soggy.

How long does it take to cook shrimp in an air fryer?

Depending on your air fryer and how hot it cooks, most shrimp will cook in 6-8 minutes. If the shrimp are jumbo, it may take up to 10 minutes (5 minutes per side) but definitely not any longer than that.

How do you know when shrimp is fully cooked?

Shrimp that’s cooked in the air fryer is done and fully cooked in 6-8 minutes. If there was no breading on the shrimp, you would be able to see that as it cooks, it turns from gray in color to an opaque pink.

What’s the best way to set up the breading station for this recipe?

I like to set up the bowls in the order of how I’m going to use them, working left to right. On the far left, place your bowl of seasoned flour, next the egg/milk mixture bowl (in the center), and finally on the right, the bowl of panko crumbs.

I also keep my air fryer rack right beside the bowl of panko crumbs so I can place the breaded shrimp directly onto the rack as they are breaded. Once the air fryer rack is full, I place the breaded shrimp onto a platter to wait until the first batch has air fried.

What kinds of dipping sauce is good with air fryer shrimp?

We really enjoy the creamy chipotle dipping sauce provided in the recipe card below, but Ranch dip is also delicious as well as shrimp sauce. Sometimes we even take some apricot jam and stir in a bit of country-style mustard and a tiny bit of horseradish to use as a dipping sauce – delicious!

What other foods are yummy cooked in an air fryer?

We like to “fry” bacon in our air fryer – it only takes 8 minutes from start to finish. Leftover take-out pizza is like brand-new when reheated in the air fryer – it comes out crispy and perfect, much unlike reheating pizza in the microwave….ewwww.

French fries and potatoes wedges are fast and easy in the air fryer and so are fish sticks and fish fillets for making fish tacos. Roasted veggies (especially brussel spreouts!) are yummy when air fried and don’t forget to air fry some chicken wings and grilled cheese sandwiches.

More favorite air fryer recipes to enjoy

• Marinated Air Fryer Steak Bites
• Air Fryer Breakfast Potatoes with Bacon
• Air Fryer French Bread Pizzas
• Crispy Fish with Dill Tartar Sauce in the Air Fryer
• Air Fryer Loaded Chicken Sausage Melt

Printable Crispy-Crunchy Air Fryer Shrimp Recipe

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Let’s Get You Cookin’,
Chef Alli

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