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.
Karen says
This recipe is a delightful. Both hubby and I enjoyed it very much. I didn’t have sriracha sauce on hand so I substituted some chili pepper flakes. I did use half water/soy sauce with corn starch to create a thicker/clingy sauce. We will be using this for all forms of protein.
Thank You
Carolyn says
This is outstanding! I used another reader’s idea of making this into shrimp tacos with a quick Mexican slaw. The only change I made to the shrimp was to add 1/2 tsp of garlic chili sauce as we love heat, and I did include the corn starch slurry. Will definitely make this again!
Alara Kase says
Very tasty dish. I used hot honey for extra spice and served with cilantro lime rice.
K. Morris says
I kept messing this up until I found your step by step instructions. If you want a nice glazed shrimp follow this recipe because others will land you with a soupy mess. Thank you!
Marcia says
Fabulous. Added more siracha and garlic. Do not keep any sugar in my house so I used about 1/4 cup of honey. Very nice. Will have with green salad.
Becky says
This recipe is excellent and is in our regular weeknight dinner rotation! We made some adjustments: increased to 2 T of Siracha and we added some lightly sautéed red and/or orange bell peppers and onions…….these adjustments made an already amazing recipe shoot off the deliciousness chart!
Karen says
Delicious! Served it with your cheesy roasted broccoli. Enjoyed both and will make again.
Lisa says
Yummy! I sadly only used a pound of shrimp and kept the sauce ingredients the same because I love sauce so I knew it wouldn’t be as thick. It was still delicious but I would probably use cornstarch next time.
Dina says
Sounds yummy. I am excited to try it
Sarah says
My whole family loves this recipe. I usually add a little more Sriracha and cayenne to spice it up a little more.
The sauce is great on chicken too.
V Clark says
Excellent, quick, easy and DELIOUS!
Helene Lichtman says
PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT!! NEED I SAY MORE?!? I made the salmon version a million times over as well!! SUCCESS!! Now I need to try the chicken breast version!! Thank you for sharing your delicious recipes!! HUGS!!
Norma Hinderliter says
The honey garlic glazed salmon was a success, thank you!
Mary Brechler says
I’m sorry .. I posted this on your blackened shrimp recipe . . I meant it for this spicy honey lime shrimp!!
I made this today, along with your Cilantro Lime rice. I did saute some mushrooms and chopped green onions after browning the shrimp. Both recipes were absolutely amazing. I used my 13 inch braiser to cook the shrimp and the honey/garlic sauce deglazed the pan beautifully. I ended up taking the rest of the rice and mixing it with the few leftover shrimp and remaining sauce. It even looked beautiful in the bowl going into the fridge. I’m sure it will be gone by morning. 🙂 Thank you for the absolutely awesome recipes!
LeeLee6970 says
This was very good. I will definitely do the cornstarch next time to thicken the sauce. My other question for you is: what about cooking the shrimp in the sauce instead of just adding sauce at the end?
The Chunky Chef says
It could work that way, you’d just really have to watch that the sauce doesn’t burn. I developed the recipe this way so the shrimp can get a good sear, without the sauce burning.
Patti says
I was craving sweet and spicy shrimp. Came across this recipe. Oh my gosh… fabulous. I added mushrooms, green onion and spinach.
Yummy!!
Jeff Shultz says
This is a shrimptastic recipe, currently eating it right now, 3rd time making it and the I have to say the girlfriend approves! 5 stars.
Helen says
This is so special. It’s my new favorite shrimp recipe. Thank you!