Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp – The Almond Eater

May 18, 2024

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Crispy Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp is incredibly easy to make! It’s made with shredded coconut and breadcrumbs, cooks in just 10 minutes and tastes like your favorite restaurant appetizer!

Air fryer recipes are the best, and I’m adding this air fryer coconut shrimp to my list of favorite things to cook in the air fryer.

….and also to my list of favorite shrimp recipes!

My go-to’s tend to be my honey garlic shrimp stir fry and my shrimp and sausage gumbo, but this air fryer coconut shrimp is an easy appetizer or snack.

Recipe features

Taste just like fried shrimp minus the deep frying, making them significantly healthier.
Gets nice and crispy in the air fryer, with a tasty coconut flavor.
Can be served on it’s on with sauce, or alongside roasted veggies for a full meal.

Ingredients

Shrimp – Use peeled and deveined large raw shrimp. If you use pre-cooked then frozen shrimp, the shrimp will be over-cooked and have a chewy texture, which we don’t want.

Flour – I used all purpose flour, but other good options are whole wheat flour, white whole wheat flour, gluten free all purpose flour, or even coconut flour should work.

Seasonings – We’re keeping it simple and only using garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Egg – Required in order to get the seasonings and coconut to stick. I haven’t tested this using a flax egg so I’m not sure if it’ll work or not.

Coconut – Highly recommend sticking with unsweetened shredded coconut. I really wanted this to work with sweetened coconut, but it doesn’t. Unsweetened coconut flakes are the way to go!

Breadcrumbs – Opt for panko breadcrumbs because they have a neutral flavor but add a ton of texture to the coating.

Instructions

Step 1: Create an assembly line. Combine the flour, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in one shallow bowl, whisk the eggs in a second small bowl and stir the coconut and panko together in a third shallow bowl.

assembly line of bowls with flour, eggs, and coconut flakes in them

Step 2: Coat the shrimp. Dredge the shrimp a few at a time into the flour mixture, then into the eggs shaking off any excess, and finally into the coconut mixture.

shrimp covered in egg yolks placed in a bowl of coconut flakes

Step 3: Air fry. Place half the shrimp into your air fryer basket, spray with cooking spray and air fry at 370° F for 10 minutes, flipping half way through, until golden brown. Then, repeat with the remaining shrimp. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro before serving (optional) and enjoy!

2 images: the left image shows coconut shrimp placed in an air fryer and the right image shows the shrimp cooked

Tips and tricks

Make sure to pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel after it’s been peeled and deveined. This will allow it to become crispy once you cook it.

This recipe is for large shrimp, or jumbo shrimp. If you’re using smaller shrimp, make sure to reduce the overall cook time.

Cooking in batches: You don’t want the shrimp to overlap in your air fryer or else it won’t get crispy, so make sure to place it in a single layer. But, because of this, you may need to cook the shrimp in batches depending on the size of your air fryer.

Dipping sauce options: I used Thai sweet chili sauce and thought it paired perfectly with the coconut-y flavor. Plus, it’s a store-bought sauce which makes this recipe super quick and easy. If you’re looking for a different sauce option, the sauce from my bang bang shrimp would be delicious, as would apricot preserves.

Tip

Unsweetened vs. sweetened shredded coconut: I tested it both ways, and unsweetened shredded coconut was the winner! Simply put, the shrimp got golden brown and crispy, just the way you want air fryer shrimp to be. The sweetened coconut flakes kept burning instead of browning, so I wouldn’t recommend using that.

Serve this shrimp alongside: Garlic Broccoli Steak, Air Fryer Green Beans, Cold Crab Dip, Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip, or my Asian Chopped Salad

Storage

Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, place the shrimp back into your air fryer and air fry for 2-3 minutes until warm.

More air fryer recipes

If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!