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Baked Coconut Shrimp

Crispy, crunchy, sweet-and-savory, absolutely addictive—this easy baked coconut shrimp recipe is a keeper for sure. And a chili-honey dipping sauce pushes the whole thing into genius territory.

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sweet coconut shrimp on a platter dipping into sweet and spicy sauce

The Coconut Shrimp Theory of Home Cooking.

We cook at home for many reasons—to save money, because we’re too tired to go out, to connect with our families—but this baked coconut shrimp recipe is a perfect example of one of the best and least-talked about reasons to cook at home: because you can make healthy versions of “junky” foods and therefore indulge in them without guilt of any kind. Is this our primary driving force for cooking for our families? No. Is this a very very excellent reason to become a seasoned home cook? YES!

hand dipping raw jumbo shrimp in a bowl of beaten eggs
baking sheet of raw shrimp coated in beaten egg, coconut flakes and almond flour
baking sheet of baked coconut shrimp

How To Make Coconut Shrimp

Our coconut shrimp recipe is baked rather than fried both because baking is easier and baked coconut shrimp are substantially healthier than fried. Plus, there’s no drawback—coated with a crisp, savory-sweet coconut batter, this recipe yields the best coconut shrimp ever. They’re gluten free, low-carb and truly just as good (we might even say better) than their greasy fried restaurant-made counterparts. Here’s how to make healthy coconut shrimp:

  1. Prep your shrimp! Actually, ask your fishmonger to do this for you. Because it’s free and saves you a ton of time! Ask them to remove the skins and devein the shrimp, leaving the tails on.
  2. Batter up! Swapping almond flour for regular makes these sweet-and-savory baked coconut shrimp gluten-free and nearly carb-free but still totally flavor-full!
  3. Coconut coating. Use your hands to pat the shredded coconut onto the shrimp to make sure it’s nicely stuck.
  4. Bake! 12 minutes in the oven, or until the coconut shrimp are lovely and crisp and cooked through.
  5. Dip! Our baked coconut shrimp dipping sauce is super easy—read on for a little how-to.
two small bowls filled with honey and chili paste

2-Ingredient Dipping Sauce

Chili paste (sambal oelek), plus honey. Stir them together until you’ve got a lovely, dippable vicious red sauce. Voila! The best, simplest, sweet-spicy coconut shrimp dipping sauce you could ever hope for. And if you want to try it on your next sandwich, that probably wouldn’t be a bad idea, either.

toasted coconut shrimp on parchment paper

What Goes with Coconut Shrimp?

This easy baked coconut shrimp recipe needs no accompaniment, but it’s also not *quite* a meal in and of itself. We love to serve coconut shrimp as a simple cocktail party snack—pair with an icy beer, or (if you’re feeling ambitious) a tropical cocktail like a Mai Tai. If you want to round these healthy coconut shrimp out into a meal, serve them with this killer sriracha-dressed Asian slaw and some simple steamed white rice. There’s no wrong way to serve something as delicious as these crispy, easy gluten free coconut shrimp.

Tools You’ll Need:

plate of baked coconut shrimp with sweet chili dipping sauce

Other Shrimp Recipes To Love:

Because we’re all obsessed, right?

We’re Coconutty for Coconut Shrimp!

And we hope you are, too. Snap a photo of your baked coconut shrimp, and maybe even a video of the beautiful people you feed it to. Tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!

Baked Coconut Shrimp

  • Serves: 6
  • Prep Time:  15 min
  • Cook Time:  12 min
  • Calories: 281

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs raw shrimp, skins removed, tails left on
  • 3 large eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
  • 2 cups shredded sweetened coconut (or unsweetened if doing Whole30)

Sweet and Spicy Dipping Sauce

  • 3 tbsp honey
  • 2 tsp chilli paste

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
  2. Combine almond flour with salt, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and pepper. Use a fork to break up any large clumps.
  3. Working with one shrimp at a time dip shrimp into the flour mixture until coated followed by the beaten eggs and then back into the flour mixture. Lastly dip the shrimp into the sweetened coconut, using your hands to make sure it sticks.
  4. On a parchment lined baking sheet, arrange prepared shrimp and bake on a center rack for 12 minutes.
  5. Serve immediately along with honey chili sauce. Enjoy!

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories281
  • Protein21 g
  • Carbohydrates15 g
  • Total Fat14 g
  • Dietary Fiber3 g
  • Cholesterol258 mg
  • sodium1110 mg
  • Total Sugars11 g

Baked Coconut Shrimp

Questions & Reviews

Join the discussion below.

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  • Tiago mATEUS

    1 1/2 lbs is with skins and frozen right? tks

    You can use frozen or raw if using frozen be sure to thaw and remove skins before cooking. Hope you enjoy!

  • Andrea

    Can you use frozen shrimp for this recipe?

    Yes, but you will want to let it completely thaw first.

  • Allen Toedter

    Where do you find a fishmonger in Vancouver Washington? I live in Camas and I have never encountered such a creature.

    Just talk to the person behind the fish counter!

  • JC Peterson

    I want to bring these to a party - can they travel for a bit and still be good?? They look SOOO good!! Thank you!

    They are best to be eaten right away as they will get cold and lose their crispness.

  • Kay Horntvedt

    Can you use already cooked shrimp in the baked coconut shrimp recipe?

    We really wrote this recipe for raw shrimp—already-cooked shrimp will be super tough if you bake them in the oven again (which you'd have to do to get the coconut coating to stick and be crispy and golden). Sorry about that!

  • Megan Henson

    These are soooo good! I went ahead and butterflied the shrimp and I think it really made this recipe next level since it gave it more surface area for the coconut. I also used half regular and half almond flour. I will definitely be making these again soon!

    So glad you enjoyed them Megan!