Learn how to make the best tender and juicy shrimp at home! This recipe makes the BEST and most DELICIOUS cajun blackened shrimp in just 10 minutes. Serve this mouth-watering shrimp on tacos, burrito bowls, salads, or rice! 
In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a little obsessed with shrimp. We make shrimp at least once a week because it cooks quickly and is great on pretty much anything. I always have a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer for the times when you just need a quick and healthy meal in minutes.
This cajun blackened shrimp recipe is one of the best and my absolute favorite ways to cook shrimp. The spice mixture sticks to the shrimp and gives it a crusty outside that is loaded with flavor. This shrimp recipe can be grilled, baked or cooked right on your stove-top. My favorite is the stove-top method because it’s no mess or fuss, quick, and just one pan to clean!
The trick to cooking perfect shrimp is to heat the pan until it’s hot and steamy. Another important step is not to over-crowd the pan. You want the shrimp to cook quickly and char on the outside without turning them into rubber. A good minute or two on each side in a hot pan is more than enough time. Also, don’t forget the shrimp will continue to cook after you remove it from the heat.
The Best 10 Minute Cajun Blackened Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 clove garlic, crushed (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil or oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the shrimp, oil, and spices. Use right away or cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
- Heat a large heavy-duty non-stick pan to medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Once the pan is hot, coat the pan with a light drizzle of oil (if using a non-stick pan) and cook the shrimp in batches for 2 minutes per side or until charred and cooked through. Do not over-crowd the pan. Serve on tacos, salads, burritos, or rice. Enjoy!
Found some frozen peeled & deveined shrimp on sale so thought i’d try this recipe. It did not disappoint! If you like it spicier, then add more cayenne, but to us they were perfect!
Super easy recipe. Absolutely Delicious! Thank you!!
Can i grill the shrimp? If so, is there anything I need to change recipe wise?
I have done it with a perforated nonstick plate spray liberally with nonstick oil. Always used jumbo/colossal shrimp to buy time for turning. Medium heat fire on one side of the grill, plate in middle of grill, slightly off the fire. Rotate plate and flip shrimp once. Cooking times for the big guys are about 5-7 minutes. But that is all subjective and based on each fire and layout. You really need to know by sight what a perfectly cooked shrimp looks like.
I am a food blog junkie. I love seeing and trying new recipes but I have never left a comment, until now. My husband is an amazing chef. We live in Louisiana and he is well know for his gumbo, crawfish pie, jambalaya, steaks, shrimp, etc… We were planning to make blackened shrimp wraps using his usual blackened shrimp recipe. I found this and asked him to try it. He did and when he took his first bite, he groaned and then said, “Oh my gosh. This is award winning!” He was still talking about how delicious the shrimp and the wrap was this morning. It was excellent. Perfect taste immediately, then a perfect amount of heat afterwards. Nice!