This simple and easy one skillet spicy cajun shrimp is the perfect way to enjoy your favorite seafood! It's spicy and delicious and works great over pasta or rice.
I love spicy foods. I don't like quite as much heat as I did in my younger days, but I still enjoy foods with big, bold flavors and a mild heat. This is one such recipe.
The sauce of this recipe is what makes it fabulous. It takes the plain old shrimp to a whole new level, like what I imagine you'd get in New Orleans. I've never been there, but that's what I think of when I eat this spicy cajun shrimp.
When you make this, you will want to marinate the shrimp for several hours, so plan ahead for that. Joe usually makes this the night before and then cooks it after work. It really doesn't need to marinate that long (an hour is probably enough, and we've even cooked it without marinating at all, and it still comes out really good).
The recipe below requires a few specialized ingredients: sweet chili sauce, liquid smoke, smoked paprika, and sriracha, all of which we typically purchase from Amazon because it's easier than hunting at many different grocery stores. I imagine that they would be cheaper from local stores, but who has time to hunt around at several different groceries for all the ingredients? Not me, and probably not you either. Just saying.
How to make spicy cajun shrimp
- Add butter, olive oil, sweet chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, liquid smoke, smoked paprika, dried oregano, sriracha (we've also used sambal oelek when we were out of sriracha), garlic, and salt and pepper to a large skillet. Heat until the butter is melted then stir to combine and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and let it cool for 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and stir so that they are well coated.
- Cover the skillet with foil and refrigerate for an hour to overnight. As I said above, we have occasionally skipped this step, and it turns out fine, but if you have time to marinate, it will make the flavor richer and deeper.
- To cook the shrimp, preheat the oven to 400º.
- Bake the shrimp and sauce for 10 minutes, until the shrimp is opaque.
- Serve with a spoonful of sauce over pasta or rice. Squeeze some fresh lemon juice over it just before serving.
If you like this spicy cajun shrimp, you'll want to check out a few other shrimp recipes that I've shared:
- Garlicky Butter Shrimp
- Traditional Old Bay Steamed Shrimp
- Garlic Buffalo Shrimp
- Cheesy Shrimp Pasta
- Cold Shrimp Avocado Cucumber Appetizer
- Cilantro Lime Shrimp Burrito Bowls
- 15 Minute Cajun Shrimp Scampi With Cauliflower Rice
If you like spicy foods, I hope that you'll give this spicy cajun shrimp recipe a try. It packs a lot of flavor into these little seafood creatures, and I think you're going to love them.
Recipe
Spicy Cajun Shrimp - Great Over Pasta or Rice - One Skillet Meal
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce see link above
- 1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke see link above
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika see link above
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon sriracha see link above
- 4 cloves garlic minced in a garlic press
- 1 medium lemon juice only, you will use ½ then the other ½ later
- Salt & pepper
- 1 pound shrimp jumbo, raw
Instructions
The Day Before
- Add all the ingredients except the juice of ½ of the lemon and the shrimp to an oven safe skillet. Stir to combine and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from heat and let it cool for 5 minutes.
- Add the shrimp and stir it so that the shrimp are all well coated in the sauce.
- Cover with foil and refrigerate for an hour to over night.
To Serve
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Bake shrimp and sauce for 10 to 15 minutes, until shrimp is opaque.
- Serve with a spoon of sauce over pasta or rice. Top with a sprinkle of lemon juice.
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