These shrimp kabobs are tender marinated shrimp skewered with vegetables then grilled to perfection. A healthy and colorful dinner that’s quick to make and full of flavor!
You can never go wrong with kabobs on the grill, I constantly make grilled chicken kabobs, steak and mushroom kabobs, and these fresh and delicious shrimp skewers.
Warmer weather is finally here, and I’ve got my grill going non stop, especially on the weekends. These festive shrimp kabobs are pretty much the perfect meal – easy enough for a busy night, yet unique and elegant enough for company.
How do you make shrimp kabobs?
The first step in this recipe is to marinate your shrimp and vegetables. The marinade is a flavorful blend of olive oil, garlic, honey, soy sauce and herbs. The shrimp and vegetables go onto skewers, then get grilled until the shrimp is golden brown and veggies are tender.
Tips for shrimp skewers
- Use the biggest shrimp you can afford for this dish. I recommend using jumbo shrimp (21-25 shrimp per pound)
- The shrimp and vegetables should marinate for at least one hour for best results. You can leave the shrimp and veggies in the marinade for up to 8 hours.
- I typically use metal skewers because they don’t burn on the grill. If you use bamboo skewers, you can soak them in ice water for 30 minutes before cooking to prevent them from burning.
- This recipe also works great with scallops or chunks of salmon for a different flavor.
What do you put on shrimp kabobs?
Shrimp kabobs typically contain shrimp along with some type of vegetable. In this case, I’ve gone with a colorful assortment of peppers and onions, but other great options include mushrooms, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, yellow squash or even boiled potatoes.
How do you cook skewered shrimp?
My favorite way to cook skewered shrimp is to grill them for 2-3 minutes per side until they’re pink and opaque. If you’re using larger shrimp, you might need to cook them for an extra minute or two per side. You can also broil these skewers in the oven for 4 minutes per side.
HOW TO PEEL AND DEVEIN SHRIMP
I typically buy my raw shrimp with just the tail attached, but many shrimp also come still in the full shell. If your shrimp have shells on them, you can easily remove the shells by pulling the main part of the shell off with your fingers, then removing the tail end of the shell (optional). You may also need to devein your shrimp. If you see a dark line running across the top of the the shrimp, you can remove it by using a paring knife to cut a slit along the top of the shrimp, then use a knife or wooden skewer to remove and discard the vein.
You can’t go wrong with grilled shrimp – these skewers are a fabulous lighter dinner, or make a smaller version to serve as a party appetizer. No matter how you serve them up, these kabobs are sure to get rave reviews.
MORE GREAT SHRIMP RECIPES
Shrimp Kabobs
Ingredients
For the marinade
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons parsley leaves chopped
- 2 teaspoons thyme leaves chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
For the kabobs
- 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined, tails can be left on or off depending on your preference
- 1 red bell pepper cut into 3/4 inch pieces
- 1 yellow bell pepper cut into 3/4 inch pieces
- 1 red onion cut into 3/4 inch pieces
Instructions
- Combine all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk until thoroughly mixed.
- Place the shrimp and vegetables in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 8 hours.
- Thread the shrimp, bell peppers and onions onto skewers.
- Preheat the grill or a grill pan to medium high heat.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes per side, or until shrimp are pink and opaque and vegetables are tender. Serve immediately.
We had this for dinner last night and it was delicious. I had some asparagus in the refrigerator, so I cut it up and added it to the shrimp and vegetables. I marinated ours for about 6 hours and when we were ready to grill, we added cut up pineapple. I didn’t add it to the marinade because I wasn’t sure if it should marinate that long.
Hi, can I use precooked frozen shrimp on this recipe?
I wouldn’t recommend it as pre cooked shrimp will get tough on the grill!
Love this simple recipe! A lot of flavor in simple ingredients. I cooked mine in the oven, 450 for about 6 minutes. Turns out great! I’ve marinated them for just an hour before and the flavor was still great.
I love this it’s so easy and good, I would be making this again thank’s a lot the ladies that I work with loved it so much they want me to cook it again.
The seasoning and marinade was just amazing!
So easy. I have never made shrimp kabobs before. I can’t stand on my feet for long due to my disabilities, so gathered what I needed of veggies & sat down to cut to size. I made the mixture, then let it all sit in fridge. Closer to an hour or so before I made up skewers & put back in fridge. Husband cooked on BBQ for me & they turned out great, he loved them. It’s hard for me to find things I can eat cause I can’t eat any meats only little seafoods. Thanks for such an easy to follow recipe.
This marinade was amazing. I only had to use it for a couple of hours and the shrimp was wonderful. I actually grilled them in my copper grill pan and they turned out great.
I love your seasonings for these! My mouth is just watering. YUMMMMMMY!
I loved the idea of using metal skewers saved me a step of soaking the wooden skewers! These turned out great!
I love how fast this dinner came together and the marinade was so delicious. We’ll definitely be making this again!
I’m so glad grilling season is coming and your marinade sounds perfect!
OMG these shrimp kabobs look sooo good! It’s really difficult to find shrimps that are as big where we live, but maybe I should look online and make these next time we have a BBQ. Great recipe!
These are so good and I love how quickly they came together. Will make again.
These look so easy and so good!
This looks absolutely Delicious, wow! Five star rating!
These were so good! I loved the marinade, thank you!
This look amazing! Perfect for summer grilling!
I’m saving this awesome shrimp kabobs recipe for the upcoming summer parties, woo hoo! Thanks a lot for having the peeling and deveining tips in the article, Sara. It’s gonna help me a lot.