Shrimp Marinade

The absolute best shrimp marinade made with garlic, herbs, spices and lemon. You can cook your marinated shrimp on the grill, stove top or in the oven for perfect results every time. 

I love a good shrimp dish, I often whip up some shrimp salad or garlic butter shrimp for a quick and easy meal. This marinated shrimp is so full of flavor; my family requests it every week, it’s just that delicious!

There’s nothing like a bold and zesty marinade to infuse your food with plenty of flavor. This shrimp marinade contains a variety of savory ingredients that blend together to make the perfect seasoning for fresh shrimp.

How do you make shrimp marinade?

This recipe is a blend of olive oil, soy sauce, lemon zest, honey, herbs, garlic and seasonings. Everything gets whisked together in either a large bowl or a resealable plastic bag. Add your shrimp, then refrigerate them until it’s time to make dinner.

How long do you marinate shrimp?

I recommend marinating your shrimp for at least one hour, or up to 8 hours. This particular marinade does not contain any citrus juice, only lemon zest. If you’re working with a different marinade that does contain citrus juice, you’ll want to marinate your shrimp for no more than 2 hours, as the acid in the juice can actually cook the shrimp.

Tips for shrimp marinade

• This marinade can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days before you plan to use it.
• You can leave the tails on your shrimp, or remove them, it’s totally up to you. The tails make for a nicer presentation but it’s a little more work to remove the tails right before eating.
• You can make this marinade gluten free by substituting tamari sauce for the soy sauce.
• I recommend using the largest shrimp you can afford for the best flavor and presentation.

How do you cook marinated shrimp?

These shrimp can be baked, broiled, grilled or sauteed. Regardless of the cooking method, you’ll want to cook your shrimp for about 2-3 minutes per side, or until they’re pink and opaque. Larger shrimp will take a little longer to cook.

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 shell. If your shrimp have shells on them, you can easily remove them by pulling the main part of the shell off with your fingers, then removing the tail end of the shell. 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 the vein.

This shrimp marinade can be used on other types of seafood such as scallops, salmon, swordfish or halibut. It’s one of the very best ways to enhance the flavor of fresh seafood.

More great shrimp recipes

• Shrimp Ceviche
• Mexican Shrimp Cocktail
• Shrimp Alfredo
• Shrimp Fajitas
• Jerk Shrimp Kabobs

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5 from 6 votes

Shrimp Marinade

The absolute best shrimp marinade made with garlic, herbs, spices and lemon. You can cook your marinated shrimp on the grill, stove top or in the oven for perfect results every time. 

Course Main

Cuisine American

Keyword marinated shrimp, shrimp marinade

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 minute

Total Time 11 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 267kcal

Author Sara Welch

Ingredients

• 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined, leave tails on for a nicer presentation
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons fresh parsley leaves chopped
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes optional

Instructions

• Place the olive oil, honey, soy sauce, lemon zest, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk to combine.
• Reserve 1 tablespoon of the marinade for later use. Add the garlic and chili flakes to the bowl.
• Add the shrimp and marinade to a resealable freezer bag and seal. Shake to coat the shrimp with the marinade.
• Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or up to 8 hours.
• At this point you can broil, grill or saute the shrimp for 2-3 minutes per side or until pink and opaque.
• Drizzle the reserved marinade over the cooked shrimp, then serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 267kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 285mg | Sodium: 551mg | Potassium: 105mg | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1.7% | Vitamin C: 8.4% | Calcium: 16.8% | Iron: 15.7%