Ready for a healthier twist on a Chinese favourite? These paleo-friendly, gluten-free coconut shrimp with honey lemon glaze are crispy, delicious, and perfect for a guilt-free meal. Serve as an appetizer or as part of a main meal.
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This crispy, golden shrimp with a crunchy coconut coating and lemony honey glaze is an old favourite with my readers. I made it back in my Paleo days, so it’s grain-free, gluten-free and dairy-free. It’s a healthier, pan-fried version of the classic deep-fried Chinese takeout favourite. This dish is high in protein and very tasty, making it a great recipe for kids and grown-ups.
You can serve coconut shrimp as part of a main meal or as finger food/appetizer.
What You’ll Need
Here is what you need for this healthy coconut shrimp. Find full measurements in the recipe card below.
- Shrimp: Large prawns, peeled, tails optional. Frozen shelled prawns are perfect for this recipe, and much cheaper than buying fresh prawns in their shells. Defrost in warm water for 15-20 minutes, pat dry with a paper towel and you’re ready to go.
- Coating: Egg, coconut milk or almond milk (use all coconut milk for an egg-free version), desiccated coconut, tapioca or cassava flour, onion powder, garlic powder, turmeric, white or black pepper, and chili flakes.
- Honey Glaze: Honey, lemon juice, arrowroot starch or tapioca flour (cornflour works too).
- Cooking: Coconut oil or olive oil
How To Make Gluten-Free Coconut Shrimp
Find the full recipe card below.
- Wash and pat dry shrimp.
- Whisk egg and milk in a small bowl; mix coating ingredients in another bowl.
- Dip each shrimp in the mixture (or just coconut milk), then coat in the coconut crumb mixture. Set aside.
- Heat coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook shrimp in batches, 2 minutes on one side, 1-1.5 minutes on the other, or until golden and crispy.
- For the glaze, heat honey and lemon juice until boiling. Remove from heat, whisk in arrowroot starch, return to heat until thickened, about 30 seconds.
- Drizzle glaze over cooked shrimp. Serve with your favourite sides.
Recipe Tips
- Use one hand for dipping in the egg and the other for coating to keep things tidy.
- Cook shrimp in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
- Make sure oil is hot before adding shrimp for the perfect crispy texture.
Serving Suggestions
These golden coconut shrimp pair wonderfully with Asian greens, cauliflower rice, Chinese slaw salad, or simple fresh salad. Perfect for a family dinner or a special occasion!
For an alternative to honey lemon glaze, try this shrimp with my bang bang sauce or rosemary chili aioli.
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Ingredients
- 1 lb shrimp large (prawns), peeled, tails on or off, you need about 25-30 shrimp
For the coating
- 1 egg whisked
- 1/4 cup coconut milk or almond milk, if avoiding egg, make it 1/2 cup
- ½ cup desiccated coconut unsweetened
- ¼ cup tapioca flour or cassava flour
- 1 teaspoon onion powder or onion salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon white pepper black is also fine but white has a slightly more Chinese flavour for this recipe
- 1/4 tsp chilli flakes or powder
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil for cooking
For the honey glaze
- 2 tablespoons honey
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 1 teaspoon arrowroot starch or tapioca flour (cornflour could also be used)
Instructions
- Wash and pat dry the shrimp (prawns). In a small bowl, whisk the egg. Combine the coating crumbs in a large bowl.
- Dip each shrimp in the egg mixture (or coconut milk), then coat in the coconut crumb mixture. Shake off the excess crumbs and set aside on a plate. My tip is to use one hand for egg dipping and one hand for crumb coating.
- In a large skillet or a deep frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of coconut oil over medium-high heat.
- Add coatd shrimp to hot oil in one layer, without overallping. Do it in batches, if needed.
- Cook for 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crispy. Oftentimes, you will only need 1-1.5 minutes on the second side.
- Make the glaze. Combine honey and lemon juice in a small pot. Heat over medium heat until it comes to a boil. As soon as it does, take off the heat and whisk in a small teaspoon of arrowroot flour or tapioca starch. Place back on the heat for about 15-30 seconds until everything starts bubbling and thickening. Remove from heat, it should look like thin toffee sauce.
- Finally, drizzle the glaze all over the crispy cooked shrimp. Serve with a side of Asian greens, cauliflower rice or regular rice.
Super easy to make and very tasty. I paired these with a mixed green salad with Asian dressing and it was excellent.
I made this tonight and it was delicious! Thank you x Amber ( from London UK)
Thanks Amber!!! I am in London too.
Have one child that is not a prawn fan so will try the crumb mix with squid rings (not the glaze)
Would also work some chicken strips 🙂