Juicy lemon garlic shrimps (prawns) with bell peppers that use just 5 ingredients and take less than 20 minutes to cook. Serve these quick and easy lemon garlic shrimps as an appetizer, bruschetta topping or as a main dish with pasta and transform your dinner into a hearty meal tonight.
Looking for an easy, healthy prawn recipe? These lemon garlic shrimps will be the answer. Garlic, lemon and shrimps simply make a great dish together. This easy shrimp appetizer is made more nutritious and crunchy with bell peppers and onions. It requires very few basic pantry ingredients and with a small trick you can make it a quick and easy prawn recipe for dinner.
Since shrimps are naturally bursting with flavor, you don’t need much seasoning. Less is more when it comes to cooking shrimps. And they cook very fast. Easy to cook and soooo delicious to eat. Have you ever felt that some of the easiest recipes are the best? I get it. Absolutely.
The 5 basic ingredients
Garlic, chili powder, lemon juice, onions, and bell peppers. That’s it, guys. (For those of you peeking at the pictures, oil and salt don’t count!) Judge for yourselves when you read the recipe card below. And let your dream come true when you cook and eat those delicious spicy, zesty, juicy shrimps.
ingredients toss shrimps, peppers, onions, garlic, chili powder, salt add lemon juice saute in hot oil flip and toss garnish with cilantro
How to make lemon garlic shrimps
Toss together the shrimps, diced bell peppers and onions with chopped garlic, chili powder, lemon juice and salt. Saute the seasoned prawns, bell peppers and onions in oil for about 6 minutes, ensuring that you flip the shrimps and cook them on both sides. Garnish with finely chopped cilantro. It can’t get EASIER than this. Can it?
The only catch in cooking prawns here is the peeling part if you buy fresh prawns. (The tails can be removed if you prefer the shrimps that way.) If you can get hold of frozen or fresh peeled shrimps, you are a winner!
What do you eat garlic shrimps with?
- Makes an excellent appetizer on its own. Serve them on toothpicks with onions and peppers for that gourmet feel!
- lemon-flavored brown rice
- lemon garlic quinoa
- coconut flavored cauliflower rice
Serving lemon garlic prawns with pasta or rice
You can make a quick dinner out of these lemon garlic shrimps:
- Cook 1 cup of rice/ pasta (for 3 servings).
- Remove the cooked garlic prawns. In the same pan, boil 2 teaspoons butter or oil with 1/4 cup of vegetable or chicken stock.
- Add cooked rice/ pasta and garlic shrimps. Mix well.
- Add a handful of any herb or a combination of herbs: cilantro, thyme, oregano or parsley.
- Turn off the flame. Enjoy!
Tip to make awesome garlic shrimps
- This recipe takes less than 10 minutes to cook. Easy peasy, but you also have to take care not to overcook the shrimps. Nobody likes overcooked rubbery shrimps. Also, the bell peppers and onions should turn out crunchy.
- The key is to use a wide pan, stir on medium-high heat and cook for no more than 6 to 7 minutes.
FAQ
Are prawns/ shrimps healthy?
Prawns/shrimps are a great source of protein, low in calories and saturated fat, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, selenium, vitamin B12, calcium and vitamin E. Hence, they promote heart health, brain function, growth and development and reduce inflammation, risk of illnesses like cancer, arthritis and dementia.
Though shrimps are high in cholesterol, it doesn’t have a negative impact on heart health since they are rich in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids. (source)
Can I use frozen shrimps for this recipe?
Of course. Thaw frozen shrimps by quickly washing a few times with tap water or soaking in tap water for about 15 to 20 minutes, until they reach room temperature.
Using hot water to thaw will cook the shrimps on the outside, so when you cook them for the recipe, they get overcooked and turn rubbery, while the insides will still be undercooked.
Leaving frozen shrimps to thaw naturally (on the kitchen counter) will make the shrimps go limp and mushy.
What is the healthiest way to eat shrimps?
Using olive oil makes this one of the low calorie shrimp recipes with less than 150 calories per serving. Since shrimps have a high cholesterol content, the nutrition levels can be balanced by avoiding saturated fats like butter.
Want to try yet another easy and delicious shrimp recipe? See easy shrimp pasta with tomato sauce.
Do you want to impress your guests with a restaurant-quality shrimp dish? Try the crispy fried shrimps/prawns.
Some easy seafood recipes you might like
slow-baked fish with lemon mustard glaze
pan-seared salmon with mango avocado salsa
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Thank you and happy cooking!
– Sheeba.
This post was originally published in 2017. It has been updated with new photos and tips to give you a great experience.
Nice recipe. Never tried prawns with garlic as the center piece ingredient. Will give it a bold try soon. Haha. Thank you for bringing interesting variations.
Thank you, Meenal! Let me know how it turned out for you!
These sound amazing, I love big prawns, especially when garlic is involved!
Thanks Chloe, these are one of my family’s favorite prawn recipes too.
Everything looks soooooo
Delicious.
Thank you!