Lightly breaded air fryer fried shrimp with bread crumbs and no egg needed are packed with tons of flavor and crispy in a few minutes. Make with fresh, defrosted raw Jumbo shrimp or thawed air fryer frozen shrimp for dinner tonight.

We are kinda' obsessed with seafood so air fryer fried shrimp was on our list to try this week. It came out more good than we had imagined! If you love air fryer recipes We have a lot on Pynmi site to try beyond this one.

If you have never cooked frozen raw shrimp breaded you will be obsessed. One thing that is most important for the breading to stick is to dry your seafood off so it will stick well. You can make them spicy too if you like with some red pepper flakes or dry sriracha.

We know you are going to love these as much as we have! You can make them as an Ninja Foodi recipe with the lid that is attached or make as a Cosori recipe with a “secret ingredient” that takes this breading over the top from great to good, get ready for YUM.

An air fryer sits on a countertop surrounded by ingredients for good fried shrimp: a bag of raw shrimp, fish fry seasoning, cocktail sauce, lemon, and butter. Text reads Best Air Fryer Fried Shrimp Recipe.

Like our air fryer wings and air fryer zucchini chipsthis air fryer shrimp recipe is quite healthy as it isn't deep fried. BUT it sure does taste like they have been! The outside comes out super crispy, yet the meat inside is still tender.

Of course you can throw these right into your basket tossed with olive oil and seasonings until pink. We do this often, serve it over rice for a healthy and simple meal. Occasionally we want to go all the way though and make them breaded like you see here.

A bowl of raw shrimp awaits its transformation next to a bowl of flour and a small bowl of melted butter on a white countertop, ready for the air fryer to create perfectly fried shrimp.

A bowl of raw shrimp with the text How to Make Perfectly Crispy Air Fryer Fried Shrimp! above it.

Ingredient notes

As for the Shrimp We used Jumbo, raw, so timing is appropriate for that size. Shrimp were defrosted, shells removed, and deveined before being battered. You don't want the frozen – cooked versions to begin with because they will become chewy.

We think that seasoned Italian bread crumbs work the best to coat the outsides so you get a thick coating so they are as crunchy as possible.

The secret is Taco seasoningseriously, you get the most flavor possible with this bottled seasoning. As for other seasonings Garlic salt gives it even more flavor

Butter is better than oil to get breading to stick on the outsides. It gives them a lot more flavor as well if you ask us, we like Kerrygold salted.

Olive oil cooking spray helps to get them extra crispy when sprayed lightly on the tops.

We know, sounds kinda' funny to put taco anything on shrimp but wow did it ever give it a wonderful flavor. We asked our husband (who says he doesn't like taco seasoning period, even for tacos) after he finished an entire plate of these what he thought.

He said “they were so good!”, then we told him what we used to make them. Yep, had to admit he may be wrong about that spice.

A hand holds a piece of crispy shrimp, with more air fryer fried shrimp on a plate in the background. Bold text at the top reads, Killer Air Fryer shrimp recipe!

How to Cook Air Fryer Breaded Shrimp

Step 1 – Defrost shrimp if they're frozen. Lay on paper towels to remove water on the outside. We prefer leaving the tails on.

Step 2 – Melt butter in a bowl and dry ingredients in another. Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees so it is hot the whole time. Dip each piece in the butter, then in bread crumbs.

Step 3 – Add shrimp into air fryer basket and cook in a single layer, do not overlap. Spray with olive oil and cook for 5 minutes or until as crispy as you'd like.

Should you cook fried shrimp with shell on or off?

NO. You can buy them with or without the shell. We prefer off or else when you peel the outside off all of your seasoning are going to go to the way side with it. Everything is on the surface so they will likely be rather bland underneath but your choice.

A plate of crispy, golden-brown air fryer fried shrimp, perfectly breaded and cooked to perfection.

How Long to Cook Breaded Shrimp in Air Fryer

You can't use wet breading in this machine but this is as close as you're going to get, and it's good y'all. Whether they have a crunchy coating or stay naked, 5 minutes is all you need for jumbo size, smaller would take less time. It is best to add sauce like for our air fryer bang bang shrimp when done.

How do you know when fried shrimp is done?

The exterior should be pink with red tails. Flesh will be slightly opaque and white in color. You do not want to overcook these or they will easily dry out. Underdone is better than over if you ask any one of us.

Sauces for Fried Shrimp

Ok the best sauce you can serve with these is a batch of our homemade bang bang shrimp sauce! Kids may insist on ketchup or Ranch but give them a bit of something like fry sauce or a creamier option like empanada dipping sauce.

Serve it with

The best side dish we love is air fryer cauliflower you see here. Now you can enjoy, and try our air fryer scallops with these too for a complete seafood meal if you like. You can certainly make our easy dinner roll recipe is great if you want some bread with this

Air Fryer Fried Shrimp Recipe

By Air fryer fried shrimp in Ninja Foodi or Cosori! Lightly breaded and seasoned, no egg, you can make crispy shrimp under 10 minutes. No frying required. Prep: 15 minutes minsCook: 5 minutes minsServings: 5 Save Recipe Saved! Pin Recipe Comment Print Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients

17-20 large shrimp, defrosted, we used jumbo, shells removed, deveined, tails attached
1 cup bread crumbsItalian
1 tbsp taco seasoning
1 tbsp garlic salt
4 tbsp butter melted
1 spray olive oil

Instructions

Melt butter in a small bowl in microwave for about 30 seconds. Take shells off shrimp, devein them and pat each one down WELL with paper towels to remove water from outside (this will make them crispy).
In a bowl mix bread crumbs and seasonings. Preheat air fryer now for 5 minutes at 400 degrees.
One at a time dip your shelled deveined jumbo shrimp into the butter, then into the bread crumb mixture. Use a spoon to completely cover the shrimp (keep tails out of mix). Carefully shake off excess crumbs and put into preheated air fryer.
Fill basket with as many as possible without overlapping them. Spray all of them with olive oil spray.
Close lid or push in basket and cook at 400 degrees for 5 minutes (for jumbo, smaller would not take as long). We did a round flipping them and one where we didn't. We think not flipping came out better as breading stayed in tact better.
Enjoy immediately for best taste.