Irresistible seared shrimp glazed in a mouthwatering garlicky, sweet and spicy sauce. The perfect 15 minute, one pan meal for a hassle-free weeknight dinner! Serve this shrimp recipe with pasta, rice, or veggies to round out the meal. And seriously, this sauce is finger lickin’ good, and great on chicken or pork too!
This is one of my Seafood recipes I know you’ll want to keep on hand!
Ah, weeknight dinners… the bane of every busy person’s existence.
You need to eat, and want to eat something delicious and wholesome, but don’t want to spend an hour (or more!) in the kitchen. Sound familiar?
I hear you and I’m definitely there with you. Solidarity sisters and brothers!
Shrimp are naturally quick-cooking, which makes them an easy choice for a weeknight recipe.
Just 15 to maybe 20 minutes in the kitchen, and dinner is ready!
Why you’ll love this recipe!
- Easy – this shrimp recipe is made with a simple spice rub, and an easy sauce made with just 5 ingredients.
- Customize-able – if spicy isn’t your thing, I’ve shared how you can alter this recipe to your tastes.
- Fast – not only does this recipe come together in less than 30 minutes, it’s made in just one skillet!
How to make spicy honey lime shrimp:
This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.
- Season shrimp. If the shrimp is patted dry, the seasonings will really adhere to the shrimp.
- Sear shrimp in skillet. Raw shrimp doesn’t take very long to cook, so don’t walk away or get distracted.
- Remove shrimp to plate. You can tent it with aluminum foil if you’d like.
- Add sauce ingredients and cook a minute or so. This allows it to thicken up a bit.
- Add shrimp back to the skillet and stir to coat.
Helpful Tip!
Patting the shrimp dry is key to this recipe. Drying the shrimp on both sides ensures not only that the seasoning will stick to the shrimp, but that you’ll get a great, golden brown sear when cooking.
Variations of this recipe
- Shrimp – this recipe was developed with 16/20 jumbo sized shrimp. If you have a different size shrimp, it will work with this recipe, but the cooking time will change a bit.
- Tails – you can leave the tails on or off for this recipe. I like the look of tail-on, but this is your meal, not mine.
- Citrus – try swapping out the limes for lemons for a slightly different, but still delicious, flavor.
- Grilled – if you’d prefer, skewer the seasoned shrimp and grill, basting with the sauce.
- Marinated – combine all ingredients (except butter) and marinate shrimp for 30 minutes, up to 24 hours. Heat butter in skillet and cook shrimp.
- Milder – I think of this recipe as being about a medium heat level. To make it milder, reduce or omit the cayenne and/or sriracha sauce.
- Sauce – additionally, this sauce is amazing on chicken and pork as well!
FAQ’s
This recipe can be made with any size shrimp. But as written, it uses jumbo shrimp (around a 16-20/lb size). If you use a different size, you’ll have to adjust the baking time accordingly… larger shrimp will require more time, and smaller shrimp with require less.
Making shrimp ahead of time
I don’t recommend making this entire dish ahead of time, as I feel it tastes best when made fresh.
However, you can combine all ingredients, except butter, and marinate the shrimp overnight.
When ready to cook, heat 1 Tbsp butter in a pan over MED HIGH heat and cook marinated shrimp.
Storage
Leftovers should be refrigerated in an airtight container and should be consumed within 3-4 days.
More Shrimp Recipes:
Here are some of our favorite side dishes to have alongside this recipe:
My Favorite Skillet!
you want a skillet than gives a great sear, and cast iron is king in that department! Not the one pictured in the photos, but a good solid piece that will last you for years!
Recipe originally posted in October of 2019, but has been updated in 2025 with additional information.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
Shrimp
- 1 – 1 1/2 lbs peeled and deveined shrimp (16 or 20 count per pound is optimal)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
Honey lime sauce
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 1/2 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
- 3 – 5 cloves garlic minced or grated
- 1 tsp sriracha sauce
- 1 – 2 limes juiced
Instructions
Prepare and season shrimp
- Heat skillet over MED HIGH heat.
- Season 1 – 1 1/2 lbs peeled and deveined shrimp with 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp chili powder, and 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper.
Cook shrimp
- Add 2 Tbsp vegetable oil and 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, then add shrimp to the skillet in a single layer (you may need to cook the shrimp in batches, depending on the size of your skillet – if you have to do that, you'll want to divide the oil and butter among the two batches).
- Cook, 2 minutes per side, until pink and golden brown, and the shrimp have curled into a "C" shape. Transfer cooked shrimp to a plate.
Make sauce
- Reduce heat to MED. To a small mixing bowl add 1/3 cup honey, 1 1/2 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce, 3 – 5 cloves garlic, 1 tsp sriracha sauce, and the juice of 1 – 2 limes
- Add sauce to the hot skillet.
- Stir and let cook a minute or so, until bubbling.
Return shrimp
- Add shrimp back to pan and stir to coat.
Serve
- Serve with lime wedges and minced cilantro if desired.
Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!
Chef Tips
- I’ve estimated this recipe serves 4, but feel free to divide it into as many servings as you’d like.
- If sauce isn’t thickening to your liking, mix together 1 Tbsp of water and 2 tsp of cornstarch in a small bowl. Stir into sauce and whisk as it cooks. This will gently thicken the sauce.
Video
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Lois says
I came across this at random. It is now a total FAVORITE! We will definitely make this again with shrimp and also try it with chicken!
Eric says
Vraiment un délice et très facile
Susan says
This is a terrific recipe. Easy to put together and so much flavor. My husband and I were fighting for seconds! Yum!
BoJe says
This was super easy and fast. I would have liked a stronger lime taste. Maybe next time I will try marinating the shrimp. We didn’t have the Sriracha sauce so we added some 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes. We did top with cilantro. Over all we enjoyed this dish and would make again. I like that you can make it spicier if you like more heat.
Linda says
I hate cooking seafood but this recipe is so amazing that I will gladly make it as often as possible.
Beverly says
Deliciously easy and tasty! Best combination of spicy and sweet.
Pam says
Another winner. This was so easy to make and delicious .
Mike H says
One of my absolute favs!!
Amari May says
I made it for myself and it turned out really good I added this recipe to my favorites!
Kris says
I made them into shrimp tacos with Mexican style coleslaw
They were awesome
BoJe says
I love shrimp tacos. I will do this next time. Great idea.
Blossom says
The shrimp came out really great!! I took your advice and added some corn starch to thicken the sauce.
Thank you!
Dominick says
I made this shrimp on the BBQ with some chicken and pretty much the same marinade on the chicken…It’s a keeper! Thanks for sharing:))
Chelsey says
Delicious over a bed of spinach!
Cathy says
This sounds so good! Have you tried it without the spices? Just wondering if it might be too spicy for my kids…..
Haritha Yalamanchili says
I made this recipe. Shrimp came out very flavorful. It was delicious. i used the remaining sauce to make fried rice with it. Added some egg and scallions along with the spicy honey shrimp. It came out AMAZING!! Thanks for the recipe
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says
This shrimp recipe is such an amazing flavor combo!! Would love to try it!
Tisha says
This Shrimp sounds so good! I love the sweet and spicy combination!
Catalina says
I am drooling over these shrimp. They would be perfect for our Sunday dinner!
Dorothy Reinhold says
I love a good combo of sweetness and that spciy heat! This sounds like a winner.
Demeter says
This sounds so flavorful! Love how quick and easy this is to make.