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Sticky Honey Garlic Butter Shrimp are coated in the most amazing sticky honey garlic butter soy sauce. This is a quick 20 minute meal that you will make again and again!
You can’t go wrong with shrimp recipes that are quick and easy to make! Creamy Garlic Shrimp Alfredo Pasta, Lemon Garlic Shrimp Scampi Recipe or Cajun Garlic Shrimp and Grits are a few of our favorite family meals.
Sticky Honey Garlic Butter Shrimp
Since the New Year has started I made a goal to make dinner at home more. The holidays were crazy and it is so nice to settle down a bit. I love cooking at home and eating together at night is just so much better. We started our week off with this amazing Honey Garlic Butter Shrimp. I am not even the biggest fan of shrimp… the hubby is… and this is one of the best meals that I have ever had!! Add some fried rice or white rice and this is a complete meal your family will love!
Honey, garlic, soy sauce, and butter. Seriously my favorite flavors in one. I use them in so many recipes because it is just so dang good!! It is easy to make and the flavor is incredible. It coats the shrimp perfectly and creates such a flavorful and sticky sauce! But my favorite part is that this meal was ready in under 30 minutes. You can have amazing meals for your family at night that require little effort but are restaurant quality. You are going to love the sticky sauce on this shrimp and this will be a meal that you want to make again and again!
Honey Garlic Butter Shrimp Ingredients:
- Honey: Makes everything sticky but it makes it a little sweeter too!
- Soy Sauce: One of my favorite sauces to add to shrimp. It has a sweet and salty flavor that cooks well in shrimp.
- Garlic: You can never have enough garlic. This hint of garlic will balance out the flavors.
- Lemon: A squeeze of lemon is just what is needed to have a fresh, zest flavor.
- Shrimp: Large is best and ready to cook.
- Butter: Will be melted as you are cooking the shrimp in the skillet.
- Green Onions: Used for color and garnishing the shrimp.
How do you make Honey Garlic Butter Shrimp?
- Marinate the shrimp: In a small bowl whisk honey, soy sauce, garlic and lemon. Add half of the sauce to the shrimp and let marinate for 30 minutes.
- Melt the butter: In a medium sized skillet add the butter. Add the shrimp and discard marinade. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cook shrimp: Turn the heat to medium high. Cook until the shrimp turns pink about 2 minutes each side.
- Add the sauce with the shrimp: Add the reserved marinade and pour over shrimp. Cook until the sauce starts to thicken and coats the shrimp. Garnish with green onions.
What is the best shrimp to use?
There most common types of shrimp found in markets are pink or white shrimp, both are great to use in this recipe. Make sure to select a jumbo-sized shrimp, look for 16 to 20 count (or pieces) per pound. This will ensure that the shrimp does not overcook quickly when sauteed.
Jumbo size also gives a nice two-bite piece for a heartier entree. Feel free to remove the tails to make it easier to eat. Frozen shrimp can also be used, run them under cool water until the ice melts, or defrost them the night before and drain well.
How long do you cook the shrimp?
When the shrimp are no longer pink in color and is taking on more of an opaque white color, is when I would consider them done. You do want to keep an eye on how white they do get and assure they do not overcook.
Keeping an eye on size reduction in the shrimp as well is a great way to watch how “done” your shrimp are getting. I like to leave the tails on the shrimp when cooking them. It does add extra flavor; however, if you prefer to peel the whole shrimp or purchase them that way, that is fine too.
Can you overcook shrimp?
The exterior of the shrimp should be pink with red tails and the flesh is slightly opaque and a little “white” in color. If it is too bright white in color, then the shrimp may be overcooked.
Looking for more Shrimp recipes?! Here are some!
- Shrimp and Asparagus Skillet
- Copycat Bang Bang Shrimp
- Sweet and Sour Shrimp
- Easy Shrimp Tacos
- Fiery Shrimp Diablo
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Sticky Honey Garlic Butter Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Honey
- 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 small Lemon Juice from lemon
- 1 pound Large Shrimp peeled and deveined
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- Green Onions for garnish
Instructions
- In a small bowl whisk honey, soy sauce, garlic and lemon. Add half of the sauce to the shrimp and let marinate for 30 minutes.
- In a medium sized skillet add the butter. Add the shrimp and save marinade. Season with salt and pepper.
- Turn the heat to medium high. Cook until the shrimp turns pink about 2 minutes each side.
- Add the reserved marinade and pour over shrimp. Cook until the sauce starts to thicken and coats the shrimp. Garnish with green onions.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made for dinner tonight and the family ate everything no leftovers even my 9 year ate it all. I served with green beans, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob and salad. ???
This recipe is fabulous! Very easy, but restaurant quality. The flavor is amazing! I can’t say enough great things about it! Thank you for sharing! P.S. I didn’t discard the marinade, I cooked it along with the reserved. Perfectly safe.
Yum! Really enjoyed it. Made it using coconut aminos, as I am allergic to soy. Found it took a long time to get the sauce to thicken, but my shrimp were a bit wet to start. Served it with cauliflower “rice”. Was a lovely meal.
I will have to try this for I always make lemon garlic butter shrimp, I just need to add the honey and soy sauce! I think I will keep the marinade and pour it over pasta or rice. What did you do to make the sauce so dark and thick…seem some people are having problems with this.
Hi, I don’t think my comment went through. I was wondering why my sauce wasn’t thickening very much and why my shrimp didn’t turn out that dark/reddish color like in your pic. Thanks!
I turned my heat up higher until the sauce browned and thickened. And I didn’t waste any of the sauce, I threw it all in the pan. This dish was so good.
What a wonderful recipe! I too used the marinade instead of discarding, just cooked it well. We had this for Valentine’s Dinner tonight, and we both loved it! Will repeat with chicken or pork another time. I served it over rice, with the broccoli….it was GREAT! Thank you for such a wonderful recipe.
Sounds delicious!
Thank you for sharing!
Our dinner tonight! Great idea for chicken.
Can you substitute brown sugar for honey?
Why aren’t mine so dark looking and my sauce isn’t thickening? Thanks!
I’ll be making this lovely Shrimp Recipe, for Dinner tonight, I don’t even care how very FULL, My Sweetie & myself will be after eating all of The WINGS today!~~
Where we’ll be watching Super Bowl, with Friends, etc., especially, what we’re having today called “The Gang’s, Wing Cook Off”, So, if get hungry in middle of the Night, I’d Eat for Sure, My Sweetie, he loves Shrimp. I love The Recipe’s on Recipe Critic Website. Here in Florida, we have a Florida/Com Website, with many Seafood Recipe’s. Anything! Thanks, Looking forward to making an US eating. Thanks looks Great!~~~~
This recipe was amazing..My husband and I loved it..
So glad to hear!
Thanks for your feedback.
Why discard the marinade? I’m supposed to make 2 marinades?
No, it says to divide the marinade. You’re only discarding the part that the shrimp was in. I’m assuming this is to let the shrimp get a nice browning and then add the remaining half of the marinade that was reserved. Everyone knows you can’t get good browning on food if it’s cooked in liquid.
You could add the remaining marinade after browning the shrimp if you want extra sauce to put over rice, thickening if preferred.
I think she meant set aside remaining marinade because discard means throw out. Why waste all that honey??
I thought the same thing!
Can you use frozen shrimp? If so, do I have to defrost them first? I don’t eat seafood, but I think my family will google this one up.
Yes and they defrost super quick anyway!
Good luck and look forward to hearing your feedback!
Oh my, I can’t wait to try this 🙂
I am currently eating AIP due to an autoimmune disease. I made this recipe, but changed the soy sauce for coconut aminos and cheated a little by using half the butter. My husband and I thought that it was delicious! We both enjoyed this dish very much. I will be making this again!
I think using coconut oil instead of butter, or in combination with, is a fantastic idea and much better for you! It would add a tropical hint of flavor – yum! Also, it seems to me if you cook the shrimp 2 min first, then add the sauce and let it cook down with the shrimp in it, wouldn’t it overcook the shrimp and make it tough? Large shrimp is expensive and would be a shame to over cook it. Anyone have tis problem? I really want to try this recipe so any advice would be welcome!
Just made this this afternoon, and yes, wish I’d checked the comments first, because overcooking didn’t occur to me until my daughter bit into one and said it’s tough. I don’t eat shrimp, but I will make this again… Next time, I’ll thicken the sauce in advance, add the shrimp to coat it, then serve. Any shrimp sauteing in liquid for 20 minutes till the sauce thickens is going to get tough. I’ll use precooked shrimp, and if anyone chooses not to, cook the shrimp, thicken the sauce, and add the shrimp… 🙂
I made this last night and experienced the tough shrimp first hand for exactly the reason you stated. In the future I would definitely save the marinade that the shrimp were in, and combine the remainder of the marinade in a smaller sauce pan and reduce it before adding it to the shrimp for coating. Other then that one small change, I found this recipe to be delicious, quite refreshing and will add it to my must reprise list.
I made this tonight for dinner and my family gobbled it up. It was delicious!!
Sounds amazing, I LOVE shrimp 😉
Looks amazing!! Trying this week!!!
hey girl – I would so love this! Yummy!
Discarding the marniade seems wasteful. I will cook it in the marinade and put shrimp and sauce over rice. Thanks for the idea. Keep warm
I agree 100%. You can always sop it up with bread, yum!
I wish I had read this review before I made the dish…good idea in adding the shrimp marinade to the pan…would have liked the extra liquid. Very delicious though…I added fresh ginger.