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This baked honey cajun shrimp recipe can easily be doubled or tripled to feed a larger crowd. It’s so simple to put together and tastes amazing. Serves 4 for Dinner or 8 as an appetizer, (or 1 pregnant lady and her 6’4″ husband ;).
The shrimp taste wonderful over mashed potatoes, pasta or white rice. It’s not fiery hot by any means but if you want it to be a little more kid-friendly, you might consider cutting the cajun seasoning in half.
Ingredients for Baked Shrimp:
1 lb large raw shrimp (21-26 count), peeled & deveined
2 Tbsp fresh lemon Juice (juice of 1 small or 1/2 large lemon)
1/4 cup extra light olive oil (not extra virgin)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp cajun seasoning
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Garnish:
1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
How to Make Baked Honey Cajun Shrimp:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together: juice of 1 lemon, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp honey, 1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning and 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley. Add 1 lb shrimp and stir well to coat.
(P.S. I left the shrimp tails on only because I love the look of them – it’s more practical to remove them). Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
2. To make the garnish/topping: In a small bowl, stir together 1/2 Tbsp chopped parsley with 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest – cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Preheat Oven to 450˚F. Transfer shrimp to a baking dish large enough to hold shrimp in a single layer. Bake uncovered until firm (8-10 minutes). Don’t over-bake or shrimp can become rubbery. Sprinkle the top with optional garnish and serve. P.S. The sauce left in the pan makes for an excellent bread dip :).
Baked Honey Cajun Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 lb large raw shrimp, 21-26 count, peeled & deveined
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, juice of 1 small or 1/2 large lemon
- 1/4 cup extra light olive oil, not extra virgin
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 Tbsp cajun seasoning
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Optional Garnish:
- 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together: juice of 1 lemon, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp honey, 1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning and 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley. Add 1 lb shrimp and stir well to coat. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- To make the garnish: In a small bowl, stir together 1/2 Tbsp chopped parsley with 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest - cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Preheat Oven to 450˚F. Transfer shrimp to a baking dish large enough to hold shrimp in a single layer. Bake uncovered until firm (8-10 minutes). Don't over-bake or shrimp can become rubbery. Sprinkle the top with optional garnish and serve. P.S. The sauce left in the pan makes for an excellent bread dip :).
♥ FAVORITE THINGS ♥
Shown in this post: (nope, no one paid us to write this; just stuff we love):
* This is my favorite baking casserole dish. I love that it has a lid.
* These glass bowls by pyrex are perfect for prepping & serving.
* McCormick Cajun seasoning is flavorful & not overpowering
* Credits: Recipe modified from one of my favorite cookbooks: Joy Of Cooking‘s Baked Honey Shrimp (p. 154). This was a wedding gift 11 years ago from my Maid of Honor :).
Here is the recipe.
I bought a huge bag of shrimp at Costco and was wondering what to do with them. I came across this recipe and looking forward to trying it. Unfortunately I only have extra virgin olive oil- never used the extra light oil. What is the difference? Is it ok to use the EVOO? I also have coconut oil and avocado oil.
Lilia, extra virgin olive oil has lower smoke point and doesn’t tolerate heat as well. I would recommend using avocado oil. Hope this helps :).
I was so excited to make this tonight and have the shrimp marinating as we speak….. And then I realized I bought cooked shrimp! Oh nooooooo. Is there any way to salvage this? Maybe flash cook in pan or grill????? I am so bummed- clearly I wasn’t paying attention.
That’s a tough one. I don’t think you will get the same results with cooked shrimp. If you continue to cook already cooked shrimp, they will shrink and turn rubbery. I’d definitely do a quick cook method over high heat. You can do the pan or grill.
My boyfriend and I have made this recipe a few times now and we love it! We like things a little on the spicy side so we always add a little extra Cajun seasoning and some minced garlic to the marinade. We use frozen cooked shrimp that has been partially thawed (so it takes in all of the flavors) and then bake the shrimp to completely reheat and caramelize them and we’ve never had issues with over cooking. We love to pair the shrimp with garlic parmesan mashed potatoes or use them to make Cajun Shrimp Alfredo!
I love the idea of adding more cajun seasoning. Yum! We love spicy foods also. I wasn’t sure if this would work well with frozen cooked shrimp. Thank you so much for sharing that wiht me!
With the frozen cooked shrimp after you put on the marinade at what temp and how long did you guys bake them for? Thank you !
Love, love this recipe!!! I used cilantro instead of parsley.. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for the great review Lilly and you are welcome :).
Great
Hi Natasha!
This combination sounds absolutely delicious…
Do you think the honey marinade would be okay to use if I’m planning to grill the shrimp instead of bake them? I’ve never used anything containing honey at a barbecue.
Yes honey will work fine on the grill. Let me know how you like it! How fun – I’m also testing a new recipe for grilled shrimp today :).
They worked perfectly on the grill! I made my own makeshift cajun seasoning, and with the soy sauce/honey pairing it was a hit.
These would be really good on the grill. Thank you for sharing that with me!
what would you suggest to serve this with??
My favorite is mashed potatoes or over spaghetti 🙂
It looks very yummy! Honey and shrimps look good together. They are perfect combination. And the dish seems perfectly cooked!
Thank you Maureen :). The flavors melded together perfectly and it was so quick and easy to just bake the shrimp without any stirring, or turning. 🙂
Would the shrimp still be okay if i marinated it for…. say 3-4 hours without any stirring? I want to make it for easter sunday, and want to leave it to marinade during church.
Yes, it will be fine 🙂
Planning to make this for dinner tonight. Is marinating the shrimp for 1 hour really necessary. If I’m short on time will 20 min be ok?
It will still be tasty after 20 minutes since the sauce is so flavorful. 🙂
Made it for dinner and it turned out fabulously!! Served it over grits. So easy and very delish.
Mmm this would be lovely over grits! Thanks for sharing that with me 🙂
I made this dish last night. It was good, but not my favorite. Yet, I also made that chicken casserole the other night and loved it!! So did the kids! I’m not a big shrimp eater, but I wanted to try it. I bet those of you who adore eating shrimp will adore this dish as well!
That chicken casserole is definitely a family and reader favorite! The shrimp dish is more of an adult dish; my son wasn’t too keen on the spice but my hubby and I loved it :). Thanks so much for writing in 🙂
Looks Yummy!! I have all ingredients on hand! One question…do you drain the marinade from the shrimp or just dump it all in the dish??
Erika, you want the shrimp to bake in the juices so add the marinade in the dish. Hope this helps :).
Perfect for lent!!!!
What a gorgeous & simple recipe.
My li’l one loves shrimp. I think I’ll make this tonight.
Thanks, Natasha!
Thank you so much! I hope your family enjoys this recipe is much as we did. If your little ones aren’t too keen on spicy foods, you might consider cutting the Cajun and half. Enjoy!
Natasha you have surpassed yourself once again. Made this recipe today, oooh so good.!!!!! Thank you)))
Thank you for the great review Lily, and you are welcome :D.
I love cajun and spicy food, and this baked honey shrimp looks fantastic! The sauce looks so delicious. Pinned!
Hi Neli thank you so much for pinning! The sauce is so good with some fresh crunchy bread or over pasta. Mmmm. I want it all over again! 🙂
These shrimp look amazing! The honey is the perfect compliment to that spice. so tasty!
Thanks Shelby 🙂 The combination really is quite a treat!
These look delicious! I love baking my proteins in the oven, too. So much easier and healthier 🙂
I completely agree! And there’s no splatter on the stove 😉
Yum!!! Looks divine!
Thank you Lina, they taste awesome as well. I could eat the whole recipe by myself :).
I love Love Love! shrimp. I have never dared to try and make them myself however. Maybe it’s because my wife doesn’t particularly care for them. But I have just run out of excuses. I also love a little spice so the cajun is really calling my name. I live in Buffalo, NY where we’ve had a freezing, snowy winter and need something to unthaw my bones. Here it is. Glad I stumbled upon your site.
I could eat shrimp for breakfast, lunch and dinner :). I hope that you’ll love the recipe.