This Cajun Chili Garlic Shrimp recipe is a one-pan wonder loaded with the most amazing Cajun butter sauce. It can be done under 30 minutes and served as an appetizer or a main dish.
If you haven't known, I am a big fan of Cajun food and have a huge collection for you to try. Such as this garlic butter Cajun seafood boil (the BEST and all-time favorite recipe on the blog), these Cajun honey butter salmon bites, these Cajun cheesesteak stuffed peppers, and this Cajun chicken penne pasta.
This super tasty Cajun shrimp recipe is one of the most popular in the last restaurant I worked at. People kept ordering off the menu, and some days we were even out of shrimp because of this. It is so easy to make, so delicious, and so not fair if I keep the recipe for myself.
As aforementioned, these shrimps can be served as a starter as a main dish (especially for a light lunch or enjoyable brunch). If you ever decide to make this as a main, serve it with some crunchy and undeniably good slices of bread.
And if you are looking for homemade bread recipes, be sure to try these: homemade artisan cheese bread and light and airy ciabatta bread.
A super tasty and unique recipe
You might think this is the beginning of fall, and why did I decide to go with a Cajun garlic chili shrimp recipe instead of pumpkin or turkey? Well, because it is a unique recipe and will be something you want to make regardless of the season.
It is unique because, besides some traditional and common Cajun ingredients, such as garlic, Cajun spice, and butter, the recipe also uses the one and only XO sauce.
The XO sauce makes this Cajun shrimp recipe so special and helps bring the flavor profile to the next level. Think restaurant-style flavor.
XO sauce is an iconic Hong Kong sauce made of dried seafood, ham, garlic, shallot, chili, and oil. Add a small amount of this sauce to the Cajun shrimp; you'll have such a unique flavor (in a good way).
How to make Cajun chili garlic shrimp?
If you want to make these delicious butter garlic shrimps right tonight or this weekend, you're in luck because it is so easy. Not to mention this recipe comes together in just under 30 minutes.
But if you're in a rush, you can pull it off in 15 minutes (skip the marinating time; it won't hurt much).
As usual, I started with marinade the fresh shrimp with Cajun spice for 10 minutes. You can skip this waiting period if you want to make them right away.
Next, I melted both oil and unsalted butter in a medium size skillet over medium heat. Then I added freshly chopped garlic, followed by the secret ingredient XO sauce, salt & pepper, and a couple of fresh Thai chilies.
Then I gave the mixture a few stirs to combine everything and also to let the garlic release its aroma to the fullest.
After that, the marinated shrimps were added to the garlic butter mixture. Before proceeding to the next step, I ensured the shrimp were coated entirely in the sauce.
Once they were fully cooked, quickly add an extra cube of unsalted butter and a teaspoon of Cajun spice, give it a few stirs to blend everything together. Turn off the heat and remove the skillet from the stove.
Then I carefully spooned everything into a serving bowl and garnished it with freshly chopped green onion. Cajun chili garlic shrimp is best when served hot immediately!
Video
Did you make this recipe? If so please leave a rating and let me know how it went in the comment section. Also, don't forget to tag me #cookmorphosis @cookmorphosis on social media.
Cajun Chili Garlic Shrimp
Ingredients
- ½ lb shrimp peeled, tails on
- 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 1 oz unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp XO sauce
- 2 tbsp garlic roughly minced
- 3 medium Thai chilies chopped
- ¼ tsp Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Extra
- 0.5 oz unsalted butter
- 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
Garnish
- 1 tbsp green onion chopped
Instructions
- Marinate shrimp with Cajun seasoning, salt & pepper in a small mixing bowl for 10 minutes.
- In a skillet, melt unsalted butter and oil over medium heat. After the butter melts completely, add garlic, XO sauce, & Thai chilies.
- Give the mixture a few stirs to combine everything. Then add marinated shrimp to the butter garlic sauce.
- Coat the shrimp completely with the sauce.
- Once the shrimp are fully cooked (about 5 minutes), add an extra cube of unsalted butter and a teaspoon of Cajun seasoning to the skillet. Then give it a few stirs to blend everything. Turn off the heat and remove the skillet from the stove.
- Spoon everything into a serving bowl and garnish with chopped green onion. Serve hot immediately!
Notes
- XO sauce was not used to calculate nutrition facts.
- The recipe can also be used for other small types of seafood such as: clams, mussels, blue crab (halved or quartered), crawfish, and salmon (cubes).
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