10-Minute Grilled Honey Barbecue Shrimp — Fast, EASY, healthy, ready in 10 minutes, and the perfect way to enjoy shrimp!! Tender, juicy, and full of such great FLAVOR from the barbecue sauce and honey!!
Easy Barbecue Grilled Shrimp Recipe
Grilled shrimp have so much flavor, especially when they’re brushed with a mixture of honey barbecue sauce, garlic, olive oil, and finished with lemon juice for a tangy pop and fresh cilantro to round out the flavor profile.
This grilled barbecue shrimp recipe is fast, easy, healthy, ready in 10 minutes, and is a perfect way to take advantage of your grill before the weather turns too chilly. Cleanup is practically nonexistent which is another huge perk. The shrimp are tender, juicy, full of great flavor from the barbecue sauce and honey.
Because I am a fan of spicy foods, I added a couple tablespoons of sriracha to the sauce that’s both brushed onto the shrimp as they grill as well as to the dipping sauce you serve them with, but it’s optional. The shrimp don’t turn out wildly spicy, but rather have lots of flavor and a gentle heat. The grill seems to temper and mellow the potency of the sriracha.
What’s in Grilled Barbecue Shrimp?
For this honey barbecue shrimp recipe, you’ll need:
- Barbecue sauce
- Honey
- Garlic
- Sriracha (optional)
- Fresh shrimp
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Lemon wedges
- Cilantro
What Kind of Shrimp Should I Buy?
For this easy grilled shrimp recipe, I used U20 fresh shrimp, which means there are approximately 20 shrimp to a pound. You can go with bigger shrimp like U12-16, which are meatier and larger, but also cost more, pound for pound. I buy deveined shrimp with the shells off and the tails on. I could save a little money and buy intact shrimp and clean them myself, saving just the tail, rather than having the butcher at the grocery store do it, but time is money.
I always buy fresh shrimp. I have not tested this recipe with frozen shrimp and while it would probably be ‘okay,’ it wouldn’t be my preference for flavor and not something I would do.
How to Make Honey Barbecue Shrimp
Cooking shrimp on the grill takes no time at all and is so easy to do! To make this barbecue shrimp recipe, first mix together the honey barbecue sauce and divide it between two bowls (one for brushing onto the shrimp, one for dipping).
Thread shrimp onto metal or wooden skewers, then brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the shrimp on a preheated grill, brushing the honey barbecue sauce onto each side once it’s been grilled. Continue brushing barbecue sauce over the shrimp as needed while it grills.
Serve the grilled barbecue shrimp immediately with the reserved dipping sauce. Squeeze lemon juice over top and garnish with fresh cilantro.
How Long to Grill Shrimp?
Although it’s somewhat dependent on the size of the shrimp and the overall hotness of your grill, generally speaking shrimp will cook very quickly on the grill. Likely in about 2 minutes per side and because my outdoor grill is a serious hot monster, I always need to keep a close eye on things.
There is nothing worse than overcooked shrimp (or lobster) because it’s tough and rubbery and I find it to be nearly inedible. A little charring from the grill on the tails or certain parts of the flesh is okay and adds a ton of flavor, but just be careful not to overcook them as a whole. Note that I have not made this recipe in an indoor grill pan, but I’m sure you could.
Tips for the Best Grilled Shrimp
If you grill often, I highly recommend investing in a set of metal skewers. They’re easy to clean and can be used over and over again. If you use wooden skewers, you’ll need to soak them in water for 30 minutes before threading the shrimp onto them. If you don’t soak them, the skewers may catch on fire on the grill.
You can use any barbecue sauce you’d like for this recipe, but my personal favorite is this one. If you want your grilled barbecue shrimp to be gluten-free or refined sugar-free, double check the ingredients on your barbecue sauce before using it.
Lastly, grilled shrimp is best enjoyed right away. Seafood in general doesn’t reheat well, so if you wind up with leftovers you might want to enjoy it cold (this shrimp would taste wonderful atop a salad the next day).
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10-Minute Honey Barbecue Grilled Shrimp
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup your favorite barbecue sauce
- ⅓ cup honey
- 2 to 4 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
- 1 to 3 tablespoons sriracha or chili garlic sauce, optional and to taste if you prefer some spiciness
- 1 to 1.25 pounds fresh shrimp, cleaned and deveined (I use U20 shrimp, with tails still on; you can use larger shrimp or shrimp without tails on if desired)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, for seasoning
- fresh lemon wedges, for serving
- fresh cilantro or parsley, optional for garnishing
Instructions
- To a medium bowl, add the barbecue sauce, honey, garlic, optional sriracha or chili garlic sauce, and stir to combine. Divide mixture into two bowls (one for brushing on the shrimp while grilling and the other as a dipping sauce when serving); set bowls aside.
- Preheat an outdoor grill to medium-high heat (or indoor grill pan).
- Thread about 5 to 6 shrimp onto one metal or wooden grilling skewer (soak wooden skewers in water for about 30 minutes prior to using); repeat the threading with all remaining shrimp.
- Brush shrimp liberally with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Grill the shrimp for about 2 minutes on the first side.
- Flip and brush the just-grilled side with the barbecue sauce mixture from one of the bowls.
- Grill for about 2 minutes on the second side, and brush the first side with the barbecue sauce mixture. As necessary, continue to brush the shrimp with the sauce and flip every 30 to 60 seconds or until done. Note – Shrimp cook very quickly, especially on a hot grill. Keep an eye on them and do not overcook or they will become tough and rubbery. There is a difference between a little charring on the tails from the grill versus overcooking them.
- Drizzle with lemon juice, optionally garnish with fresh cilantro or parsley, and serve immediately with the reserved dipping sauce. Shrimp are best warm and fresh.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Originally posted September 7, 2018 and reposted June 18, 2021 with updated text.
It was absolutely delicious, will definitely make it again 🤤
Thanks for the 5 star review, Lily, and I’m glad it was delicious and you’ll make it again!
Love your sauce. The recipe is clear and easy. I hope more people can try this.
Wow! Thank you so much for providing this recipe, so that I can learn more, I also want to collect recipes from all over the world to cook, but maybe I need to increase my English ability first haha, so I consider going to 線上課程. So and other websites like 家教網網上課程兒童線上英文 for learning.
Wow I’m going to give it a try!! Looks awesome!!
I tried the Lemon Butter Garlic Shrimp With Angel Hair Pasta recipe you provided, and the pasta was delicious and went well with the shrimp. I believe I will have to try this Grilled Shrimp recipe. My mouth is watering just looking at the photos.
Looks so delicious, I and my kids are fans of grilled shrimps, you’ve stimulated my appetite, can’t wait anymore, I will definitely try it your way, step by step looks seems easy :D. Thanks so much for this guide. Looking forward to seeing more.