Baked Coconut Shrimp
Skip the big greasy mess and loads of frying oil, and make this coconut shrimp recipe that’s baked instead of fried! The crisp coconut coating and juicy shrimp inside make the perfect crowd-pleasing appetizer (served with sweet chili dipping sauce, of course!).
Servings: 18 shrimp
Ingredients
- 18 large raw, peeled and deveined, frozen shrimp about 1 pound
- ¾ cup sweetened shredded coconut
- ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs beaten
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Dipping sauce to serve like sweet chili
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉. On a baking sheet, mix together coconut and panko. Spread out in a single layer.
- Toast for 4-6 minutes, tossing halfway through, until golden. Watch carefully! The outer coconut and panko will toast faster than the middle. Once out of the oven, season with salt and pepper, and toss again to distribute the toastier pieces. Set aside.
- Thaw shrimp by placing them in a colander under cold running water for about 10 minutes, or until thawed. Alternatively, you can soak them in a big bowl of cold water for 20 minutes, dumping out the water and refilling halfway through.
- Once thawed, pat the shrimp dry as best as possible.
- Create an assembly line: the shrimp, then a bowl of flour, then a bowl of beaten eggs, then the coconut mixture, and then another baking sheet that’s lightly greased or lined with parchment paper.
- Take 1 shrimp at a time: dip whole shrimp (but no tail if there is one) in flour and shake off the excess, dip whole shrimp (no tail) in egg and tap off the excess, and then dunk the shrimp in the coconut mixture pressing as much as possible on there. Place coated shrimp on the baking sheet.
- Continue this process for all of the shrimp, placing them in a single layer (not touching each other) on the baking sheet. Tip: if you’re worried about knowing when the shrimp is cooked through, place 1 shrimp without breading on the baking sheet so you’ll know when it’s pink!
- Bake at 400℉ for 10 minutes (no need to flip), or until the shrimp itself is pink and the tails curl in a bit. Enjoy with your favorite dipping sauce!
Video
Notes
- Look for large frozen shrimp that are raw, and already “peeled and deveined”. You can peel and devein shrimp yourself but it’s a pain!
- Large shrimp typically says “16-20” somewhere on the bag which means there are 16-20 large shrimp per pound. Smaller shrimp will bake faster, leaving the breading less crisp.
- You can use tail-on or tail-off shrimp. If you use tail-on, don’t coat the tail with the dredging or coconut mixture.
- Baked coconut shrimp is crisp, not crunchy like fried versions!
Nutrition
Serving: 1shrimp | Calories: 61kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Trans Fat: 0.004g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 181mg | Potassium: 56mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 75IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 0.4mg