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Browned Butter Honey Garlic Shrimp feels like a gourmet shrimp meal, with half of the effort, maximum taste and all in less than 15 minutes! No marinating required.

This Browned Butter Honey Garlic Shrimp is a reader favourite all over the world AND now on video! A revamped version of this Browned Butter Honey Garlic Salmon — seared shrimp cooked in browned butter infused with honey, garlic and lemon juice. Simple ingredients, maximum flavours and just as good with shrimp! If you loved that recipe, you will absolutely fall in love with this version.

Just read the comments section below!

Browned Butter Honey Garlic Shrimp in a pot

BEST SHRIMP RECIPE

This Browned Butter Honey Garlic Shrimp has been on my mind since I first published that salmon recipe nearly FIVE YEARS AGO! Yet, it feels like yesterday I was browning that butter, mixing it with honey and garlic, and blowing my mind with the mixture of flavours coming out of my skillet.

I revisited that feeling over the last few months, again and again perfecting this recipe and going through pounds of shrimp (or prawns for my Aussie followers); possibly leaving a dent in my bank account to perfect this recipe for you guys!

Honey Garlic  dressing pouring on Browned Butter Shrimp

HOW TO COOK SHRIMP

As much as that salmon recipe was pretty easy to come up with, this one took a bit more experimenting. Mainly because of the browned butter. It’s not just a matter of throwing shrimp into a skillet and cooking it all. (Did that. Didn’t work. They simmer instead of searing and that’s no bueno in the flavour department.) With this recipe, I used the same ingredients I did for the salmon, adding a tablespoon of soy sauce for a bit of extra saltiness and added flavour, and seared them in batches to ensure a nice and even sear.

SKILLET OR NON STICK PANS

I suggest using a WELL SEASONED SKILLET which will add that seared flavour to your shrimp or a good quality non-stick pan. If you have a skillet and don’t trust it, don’t use it. The honey will stick to a non-seasoned skillet and you’ll be peeling shrimp off of the pan.

Oil heating for Browned Butter Honey Garlic Shrimp

BROWNED BUTTER SHRIMP

First, you’ll be browning your butter. Once the foam subsides and the colour begins to turn a beautiful golden brown colour, a nutty aroma will fill your kitchen, and you’ll be pretty proud of yourself if you’ve never done this before. As soon as its browned, throw in the rest of your ingredients and give it 30 seconds to infuse all of those flavours together. Guaranteed you’ll be browning your butter in every other recipe you have.

Once your honey/garlic/butter mixture is ready, add in your shrimp in batches of two, allow them to sear 1-2 minutes each side to get a crisp flavour on them, and that’s IT! The most beautiful flavoured shrimp you’ve ever tried.

Zoom in image of Browned Butter Honey Garlic Shrimp

TIPS:

  • Have all of your ingredients measured and ready before you start. Be careful not to let your butter burn. As soon as the foam subsides and turns a golden colour, start adding your ingredients and stir them through.
  • You can use tail on or off shrimp.
  • Make sure your skillet is well seasoned, or use a good quality non-stick pan.
  • Use fresh garlic. I find minced garlic that comes in a tube or jar spits a lot when adding it to hot butter.
  • Be careful not to over cook your shrimp! Over cooked shrimp is rubbery and hard. Another no bueno in the flavour department.

MORE SHRIMP RECIPES:

WATCH US MAKE SHRIMP HERE!

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Karina in a white and black dress with her hair blowing back, standing in front of her cooktop, cooking salmon in a pan

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5 from 24 votes

Browned Butter Honey Garlic Shrimp

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4 serves
Browned Butter Honey Garlic Shrimp feels like a gourmet shrimp meal, with half of the effort, maximum taste and all in less than 15 minutes! No marinading required. AN ORIGINAL RECIPE BY KARINA, CAFE DELITES
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Ingredients 
 

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 4 tablespoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice fresh squeezed, or juice of half a lemon
  • 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 21 ounces shrimp peeled and deveined, tail on or off
  • 1 pinch salt to season
  • 3 lemon wedges to serve
  • 1 pinch fresh parsley chopped, to serve

Instructions 

  • Heat butter in a non stick pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Melt, swirling pan and stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes, or until the foam settles; the butter begins to change in colour to golden brown and has a nutty fragrance.
  • Add the honey, lemon juice, soy sauce and garlic; stir well to combine all of the flavours together and cook for 30 seconds until the garlic is fragrant. Remove from heat. 
  • Pour out just over half of the browned butter from the pan (liquid only), leaving 2 tablespoons of the honey butter mixture in the pan, and reserve the rest for later.
  • Add half of the shrimp to the honey/butter in the pan; sear for about 2 minutes each side, or until just cooked through and no longer opaque. Transfer to a plate; set aside.
  • Wipe pan over with paper towel and add 2 more tablespoons of the honey/butter mixture to the pan. (You may need to add 1 teaspoon of olive oil or extra butter to the pan if your sauce has thickened too much.) Sear the remaining shrimp for 2 minutes each side, or until just cooked through and no longer opaque.
  • Add the cooked shrimp back into the pan, and pour in the remaining honey/butter sauce; stirring through the shrimp to evenly coat. Season with salt and pepper if desired and garnish with parsley.
  • Serve with steamed vegetables; over rice or with a salad

Notes

Tip: Be careful not to overcook your shrimp or they are at risk of becoming chewy. 

Nutrition

Calories: 301kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 270mg | Sodium: 334mg | Potassium: 454mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 374IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 109mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this? Leave a comment below!
Karina eating butter chicken from a gold fork out of a bowl with a nann bread on the side.

Hey Good Food Lovers! It’s nice to see you! My name is Karina. Welcome to Cafe Delites, my beloved space for the last 10 years where my passion for food has flourished and connected millions!

5 from 24 votes

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38 Comments

  1. Theresa says:

    5 stars
    This was delicious. I did not have red pepper flakes so I had to substitute paprika (1 tsp)…still excellent. The flavors all complemented each other and the brown better lent a depth that was over the top.

  2. Donna Spina Lebeduik says:

    5 stars
    I made this and it was delicious. We shared with a friend and he said it was over the top delicious! So many good flavors in it. I served it over rice and it was perfect. Making it again tonight. I am adding to to my meal rotations