Buttery shellfish, bright citrus, and bold seasonings combine together making Chili Lime Shrimp deliciously quick and easy. Whether you're a fan of Tex Mex or Baja California cuisine, this is going to be your new favorite shrimp recipe.
If you love that taste of savory tang, add Cilantro Lime Chicken and Tequila Lime Chicken to your upcoming menu.
What is chili lime shrimp
We all want more quick and easy recipes that are both nutritious and delicious. That's exactly what this chili lime shrimp recipe provides.
A marinade made of olive oil, freshly squeezed lime juice, and a handful of spices bring out the naturally buttery sweet flavor of the shrimp.
It takes just a few minutes to whip the spicy and tangy marinade and anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes to cook the shrimp. The longest part of making this recipe is the marinating time.
Simple and flavorful, chili lime shrimp is a meal you'll have on repeat.
Ingredients for this recipe
- Shrimp — we used large, deveined, peeled, tails-on raw shrimp.
- Seasonings — you'll need the basics like salt and pepper, but also cumin, granulated garlic (or garlic powder), chili powder, and chipotle powder.
- Produce — fresh cilantro and limes are all you need for the basic recipe.
- Oil — we recommend using a lightly flavored oil like avocado oil or olive oil, but not extra virgin.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variation
- Seasoning — adjust the spice/heat level by adding more or less chipotle powder. Use cayenne powder. If you don't want spicy, swap the chipotle powder for smoked paprika. Onion powder is also a delicious addition.
- Shrimp — There are so many options. Shrimp comes in all sorts of sizes from baby to jumbo. You can get it raw frozen, raw never frozen, cooked frozen, cooked never frozen. Tails on or off, shells on or off, and deveined or intact are also options along with the size and cooked status.
How to make this recipe
Step 1 - Mix together all the marinade ingredients in a small bowl.
Step 2- Add the shrimp to a large bowl or zip-seal bag and pour in the marinade and thoroughly coat the shrimp. Allow to marinate for 15 to 60 minutes.
Step 3 - Warm the skillet on medium high heat. Place the shrimp in a single layer. Cook until done. Serve with lime wedges and freshly topped cilantro.
Recipe Tips
- Marinating time — You'll want to let the shrimp marinate for a minimum of 15 but not longer than an hour.
- Cooking with or without marinade — If you want a seared shrimp, remove the shrimp from the marinade, discard it, and pat the shrimp dry before adding to the skillet. If you want to have a sauce to drizzle over the dish, add it all to the hot skillet and cook.
- Cooking time — Shrimp cooks incredibly quickly. If you're using pre-cooked shrimp, they'll need about 30 seconds in the hot skillet. If using raw shrimp, they'll cook in about 2 minutes. The size of the shrimp used will also factor into their cooking time.
How to serve
As tempting as it is to just toss them one by one into your mouth, turning chili lime shrimp into a meal is probably your goal.
- Serve over cilantro lime rice with a side of black beans.
- Use them as part of a hearty salad or burrito bowl.
- Serve over cornbread.
- Turn them into tacos as we've picture below. You'll need:
- Corn tortillas
- Cabbage; green, purple, or both
- Avocado
- Jalapeños
- Radishes
- Lime wedges
- Cilantro
- Queso fresco
- Creama
More delicious quick and easy recipes
If you tried Chili Lime Shrimp or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Get the Recipe
Chili Lime Shrimp
Equipment
- 12-inch cast iron skillet
Ingredients
Marinade
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup lime juice about 2 limes
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ tablespoon granulated garlic
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon chipotle powder
Shrimp
- 1 lb jumbo shrimp raw
- 1 lime sliced into wedges
- 3 tablespoon cilantro chopped
Instructions
Marinade
- In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients together.
- Add the shrimp to a large bowl or zip-seal bag and pour in the marinade and thoroughly coat the shrimp.
- Allow to marinate for 15 to 60 minutes.
Shrimp
- Warm the skillet over medium high heat.
- Place the shrimp in a single layer. Cook until done, about 2 minutes.
- Serve with lime wedges and freshly topped cilantro.
Notes
Recipe Tips
- Marinating time — You'll want to let the shrimp marinate for a minimum of 15 but not longer than an hour.
- Cooking with or without marinade — If you want a seared shrimp, remove the shrimp from the marinade, discard it, and pat the shrimp dry before adding to the skillet. If you want to have a sauce to drizzle over the dish, add it all to the hot skillet and cook.
- Cooking time — Shrimp cooks incredibly quickly. If you're using pre-cooked shrimp, they'll need about 30 seconds in the hot skillet. If using raw shrimp, they'll cook in about 2 minutes. The size of the shrimp used will also factor into their cooking time.
Variation
- Seasoning — adjust the spice/heat level by adding more or less chipotle powder. Use cayenne powder. If you don't want spicy, swap the chipotle powder for smoked paprika. Onion powder is also a delicious addition.
- Shrimp — There are so many options. Shrimp comes in all sorts of sizes from baby to jumbo. You can get it raw frozen, raw never frozen, cooked frozen, cooked never frozen. Tails on or off, shells on or off, and deveined or intact are also options along with the size and cooked status.
Nutrition
Dutch Oven Daddy is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
Dina
Thank you for sharing this recipe. Adding it to our weekend menu!
Ned Adams
Thank you! Excited to hear how it turns out! Happy cooking!
Cami
We love doing shrimp in the summer and this is so fast to make on a busy night!
Ned Adams
Glad you enjoyed and it made for a fast and easy weeknight meal!
Spencer Adams
This delightful recipe combines zesty lime and spicy chili for a tantalizing burst of flavors. Juicy, perfectly cooked shrimp make this a must-try for seafood lovers. I love it!
Ned Adams
So glad you loved it as much as I do!
Edward
Oh my goodness that marinade was so good with these shrimp! Thank you for this great recipe!