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Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry

Juicy shrimp are sautéed with a gorgeous rainbow of vegetables and an Asian garlic sauce in this easy, fast, delicious garlic shrimp stir-fry.

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Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry with snow peas and bell peppers over rice on a plate

Stir-Fries: The OG One-Pan Dinner

Shrimp make the best stir-fries. One of the trickiest things about cooking shrimp is that they can overcook easily, and overcooked shrimp is a real bummer. But! Cooking shrimp in a stir-fry is a natural fit for these juicy little crustaceans. A fast fry is the easiest way to cook them. Sautéed quickly over high heat, with a flavorful sauce and some veggies, this recipe is all but guaranteed to produce perfect shrimp every time. It’s healthy and quick, but it’s also a fun dish to throw together for friends—using shrimp makes it feel a little special, and it’s easy to make it gluten-free so it accommodates a lot of dietary preferences.

Ingredients laid out for garlic shrimp stir fry red bell peppers, asparagus, cilantro
Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry sauce in a bowl
asparagus, red bell pepper and snow peas sautéed in a frying pan
Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry in a pan wth asparagus, snow peas and red bell peppers

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Meet the King of All Stir-Fry Sauces: Garlic Sauce!

This healthy, easy shrimp with garlic sauce stir-fry is brought to life with the super-savory garlic stir-fry sauce that you’ll sauté the shrimp and veggies in.

  • Soy sauce. You can substitute gluten-free tamari if you’d like to make this into a gluten-free shrimp stir-fry.
  • Sesame oil. We prefer the nuttier flavor of toasted sesame oil, but either toasted or untoasted will work just fine.
  • Chili sauce. We usually reach for the straightforward chili-heat of sambal oelek, but you could use sriracha if that’s what you have on-hand. Or, if you’d like to make your garlic shrimp stir-fry more mild in flavor, just leave it out.
  • Brown sugar. A little sweetness is key, and helps to balance all of the big flavors that are at play in this garlic stir-fry sauce.
  • Garlic. And lots of it! We call for six fresh cloves of garlic.
  • Cornstarch. This may seem like a weird ingredient, but cornstarch is the magical stir-fry sauce ingredient—it makes the sauce a little bit thick and helps it to coat the shrimp, asparagus, snow peas and peppers in just the way you want it to.
hands pouring garlic sauce over shrimp stir fry in  pan.
Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry in a pan with asparagus, snow peas, red bell peppers

How to Make Garlic Shrimp

Newsflash! You don’t need a wok to make a great at-home stir fry for dinner. All you really need is a frying pan, but here are a few tips to get any stir fry just right:

  • Choose a large skillet with a rounded or flat bottom—you want to have plenty of room to keep the ingredients moving around in the pan as you cook, which is the key to a good stir-fry. For crisp veggies and perfectly-cooked shrimp, it’s important not to overcrowd the pan. Having a larger pan makes that easier to do.
  • Use medium-high heat for this shrimp stir-fry—it gives the veggies enough time to get nicely tender, without getting burned or becoming soggy. Medium-high is just right for cooking the shrimp quickly, too, which helps them stay juicy and tender.
  • When you’re prepping the shrimp, asparagus, bell peppers and snow peas, think about size as you chop. Making sure your veggies and shrimp are roughly the same size will help ensure even cooking.
  • If you’re wondering how long to fry shrimp, the main thing to do is to WATCH. It’ll happen fast—as in three minutes-ish—and so once you add the shrimp to the pan, stir it constantly and keep watching. Once it turns pink, it’s probably done.
Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry
Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry in a an with a wooden spoon

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More Shrimp Recipes We Love

Healthy, low-carb, fast and easy, shrimp is one of our favorite ingredients to work with. Here are four shrimp recipes that are always a hit in our house:

Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry with snow peas and bell peppers over rice on a plate

Stir It Up!

Did you love this easy, fast garlic shrimp recipe? Snap a photo of your garlic shrimp with veggies and maybe even a video of the beautiful people you feed it to. Tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!

Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry

  • Serves: 6
  • Prep Time:  5 min
  • Cook Time:  15 min
  • Calories: 210

Ingredients

  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon chili sauce, such as sambal oelek
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 1 cup snow peas
  • 2 pounds large raw tail-on shrimp, peeled and deveined

For Serving

  • Cooked rice
  • Chopped fresh cilantro
  • Sesame seeds

Method

  1. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, ¼ cup of water, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, chili sauce, and cornstarch. Whisk to combine.

  2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is glistening, add the bell pepper, asparagus, and snow peas. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until pink and opaque, 3 to 4 minutes more.

  3. Add the soy sauce mixture to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is slightly thickened and the shrimp and veggies are completely coated, about 5 minutes.

  4. Serve over cooked rice, sprinkled with cilantro and sesame seeds, if desired.

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories210
  • Protein23 g
  • Carbohydrates14 g
  • Total Fat6 g
  • Dietary Fiber2 g
  • Cholesterol220 mg
  • sodium1217 mg
  • Total Sugars8 g

Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry

Questions & Reviews

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  • Mike Sutton

    It was excellent but I wouldn’t leave tails on next time. What’s the reason for leaving them on?

    They help enhance the flavor of the dish. Totally ok if you prefer to remove them before cooking though, it will still be delicious!

  • Tim Watters

    Step one says to add 1/4 cup of water however, water isn't mentioned in the ingredients. Is it really water or is it the 1/4 of soy?

    It is water. It isn't industry standard to add water to the ingredient list which is why it's only mentioned in the method. Sorry for the confusion. Hope you enjoy Tim!

  • Deborah Kinzer

    The recipe without any changes was delicious!!! My 10 year old asked for extra sauce on his veggies. I will use as a base for other proteins. Thank you for sharing.

    Thanks Deborah, we are so happy you loved it!

  • Sue Bruenderman

    Do I need to thaw frozen shrimp beforehand? Thanks!

    Yes, hope you enjoy Sue!

  • Teresa Slagle

    can i use sweet chili sauce instead of the chili sauce?

    We wouldn't recommend that swap, it's a much sweeter flavor.

  • Cynthia

    I love this dish and have made it a couple of times using whatever veggies I have. Didn’t have snow peas so used green beans. I was out of red bell pepper but had green. It didn’t look like enough veggies so I threw in sliced scallions! The only thing I added that isn’t in the recipe is minced ginger. I love the garlic ginger combo. Oh, and I couldn’t find my brown sugar so used honey in the sauce.

    This is a great, versatile recipe!

    Thanks Cynthia, we are so glad you love it!

  • Marilyn Arnall

    This was a wonderful meal!!! Easy, fresh and flavorful! My daughter said it was amazing!

    YAY! Thanks Marilyn, we are so happy you both loved it!

  • Kay Jones

    This was delicious! I served this on lo mein noodles. The sauce is so tasty and would also go well with other vegetables like zucchini and broccoli. I will definitely be making this again for my family.

    Thanks Kay, we are so happy you loved it!

  • Rebecca

    Holy yum! This was great! I added ginger because I like ginger. I also added more veggies and different veggies. That’s the beauty of this recipe; you can use whatever protein, veggies and seasonings you like. Thanks for sharing!

    Thanks Rebecca, so happy you loved this!

  • Pamela Martin

    Started to get tired of "summer food" We made this and invited our neighbors. First I have to say I am THE PICKIEST eater and this was amazing!!!! My friend wants the recipe. NO need to change anything but what you want to put in... LOVE LOVE LOVE, Thank you!

    Thanks pamela, we are so glad you loved it!