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Why You’ll Love My Recipe

Make delicious and crispy popcorn shrimp without all the bother of hot oil! This air fryer recipe will give you all the taste and crunch of classic deep fried popcorn shrimp without the grease.

Don’t want to waste the shrimp shells, try making your own Shrimp Stock! Also, don’t forget to make Homemade Bread Crumbs to use in this recipe! Why not make some of The BEST Homemade Cocktail Sauce Recipe to dip your popcorn shrimp in?

A plate of breaded, baked shrimp is surrounded by small bowls of various seasonings and herbs on a marble countertop, with a striped towel, parsley, and chopsticks nearby.

Karlynn’s Recipe Notes

Skill Level: This recipe is very easy, especially if you purchase shrimp that’s already been de-veined. It’s a great one to get your kids involved with.
Total Time: You can have these popcorn shrimp made in under 25 minutes.
Variations: Why not try a Cajun Seasoning in your breading? Maybe sprinkle some grated parmesan on your shrimp while it’s still hot from the air fryer. Use a gluten-free or high-protein flour option for dusting your shrimp if you’d like.
Tools Needed: For this recipe, you’ll need an air fryer, some tongs, a large bowl, two medium bowls, a whisk, a mixing spoon, and possibly a paring knife. Air fryer basket liners would be useful as well.

A breaded shrimp is being dipped into a cup of red sauce, with a plate of more breaded shrimp and a jar in the background. Fresh parsley sits in the foreground on a marble surface.

What You’ll Need For Ingredients

Shrimp: You’ll need about 24 medium shrimp, uncooked but peeled and de-veined. If you’re using frozen and defrosted shrimp, be sure to pat them dry with a towel before tossing them in the flour.

Breading: This mixture of flour, breadcrumbs, and seasonings is what will give your popcorn shrimp their crispy coating. Any flour will do, so go ahead and use something gluten free if you need to. You can make your own bread crumbs, or buy some from the store. Bigger crumbs, like Panko style, will give you more crunch.

Various ingredients are arranged on a white countertop, including raw shrimp on a plate, an egg, and small bowls filled with flour, bread crumbs, paprika, garlic powder, parsley, sugar, and a glass container of milk.

How To Make Air Fryer Popcorn Shrimp

This is a brief overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.

A glass bowl of raw shrimp surrounded by bowls of breadcrumbs, seasonings, an egg, and a wooden spoon on a white marble surface with a striped towel.

A glass bowl with shrimp coated in flour sits on a marble countertop, surrounded by milk, paprika, panko breadcrumbs, an egg, sugar, spices, and a striped towel with a wooden spoon.

Pat shrimp dry and then toss in a big bowl with the flour.
In a medium bowl, whisk milk and eggs.
In another medium bowl, mix the bread crumbs and seasonings.
One at a time, dip each individual shrimp into the egg mixture and then into the dry mixture. Spread breaded shrimp out on a plate, not stacked or touching.
Spray air fryer basket with cooking spray. Set heat to 400°F and cook shrimp for 4 minutes per side. Cook in batches so that shrimp don’t overlap in the basket.

A plate piled with golden, crispy breaded shrimp, with a bowl of dipping sauce and blurred kitchen items in the background.

Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for Making Air Fryer Popcorn Shrimp

Shrimp Prep: It’s fairly easy to find de-veined shrimp these days, but if you buy fresh shrimp that hasn’t been processed yet, you’ll need to make sure to do this yourself. Remove the shell and tail by pinching the tail and gently twisting and wiggling it off the shrimp. For the vein (intestinal tract), use the tip of a sharp knife, start at one end of the shrimp and scrape the vein right out. It’s not glamorous work but it’s not difficult.

Breadcrumbs: For this recipe, the crispier the better! Panko crumbs are the way to go, if you can find them because they come in bigger pieces than other types and give plenty of extra crunch. You can also make some of your own breadcrumbs for use with this and other recipes.

Dipping: There are plenty of easy options for dipping sauces that will complement the flavours of the shrimp. Try a Shrimp Dip, a Marinara Sauce, or something with heat like a Sweet Chili Sauce.

A white plate of breaded, baked shrimp with chopsticks on a striped cloth, next to a bowl of red dipping sauce, lemon wedge, and parsley on a marble surface.

Storage Instructions

These popcorn shrimp will be best eaten as soon as they’re made, but if you have leftovers you can store them in a sealed container in the fridge for a day or two. Reheat in the air fryer for a minute to get them crispy again.

If you’d like to freeze these, put them in a freezer safe bag or container. They’ll keep for a few months. Reheat in the air fryer or the oven to get them hot and crispy later on. No need to defrost. You can treat them like frozen popcorn shrimp from the store.

More Delicious Air Fryer Recipes

Looking for more tasty Air Fryer recipes?

Learn How to Make Bacon in Your Air Fryer.

Try these Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries or some Air Fryer Baked Potatoes.

There’s really no end to the fun things you can make in an air fryer.

You can even make sweet treats like these Air Fryer Oreos.

There you go, friends. Another great recipe to make use of your air fryer. Try these crispy popcorn shrimp and let me know how they turn out for you.

Happy Cooking!

Karlynn