A quick grilled shrimp recipe with a special Mediterranean sauce. Makes a great appetizer; or serve it for dinner with rice or your a favorite pasta! See the step-by-step tutorial below.
Where I grew up, a shrimp recipe–or any seafood recipe for that matter– is deemed successful only if it had loads of garlic.
Today’s grilled shrimp recipe does begin with garlic–a whole head of it, in fact. But, I’m taking more of a modern Mediterranean twist with it.
First, to tame it’s pungency, the garlic is roasted whole. The added bonus here is the hint of sweetness and earthiness that is brought to life when garlic is roasted.
Watch the video for this recipe…
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The mellowed roasted garlic and fresh cilantro become the main ingredients for the sauce in which the quick grilled shrimp will immediately bath! A combination of lime juice; white wine; and good extra virgin olive oil completes the sauce. And a little chili paste adds a spicy kick.
What to serve alongside this grilled shrimp recipe?
This grilled shrimp is great served tapas-style with your favorite crusty bread, along with other small plates like this fattoush salad; creamy hummus; or fried eggplant and green peppers. Browse our “Small Plates” section for more ideas.
To serve it for dinner, make sure to double (or even triple) the amount of sauce, and toss in your favorite pasta to complete the meal!
Here is the step-by-step tutorial for today’s Grilled Shrimp Recipe
(Scroll down for the print-friendly recipe)
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F (you’ll need the oven to roast the garlic).
Peel, devein and rinse the prawns. Pat dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper. Place the prawns in fridge until ready to grill.
Trim top of the garlic head off; leave the garlic intact and do not peel. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Roast the garlic in the 400 degrees F-heated oven for about 10-15 minutes or until slightly tender and fragrant. When ready, remove from oven. Let cool briefly. Peel and crush or chop the garlic finely.
In a small bowl, combine the garlic with the cilantro leaves, lime juice, white wine, olive oil and chili sauce (or chili flakes). Whisk together and set aside.
When ready, heat a cast-iron grill or griddle to medium high. Dress the prawns with some olive oil and grill for 3-4 minutes or so on each side. You want to achieve some char, but be careful not to overcook.
Remove from heat and coat the prawns with the roasted garlic and cilantro sauce. Alternatively, serve the sauce on the side instead.
Grilled Shrimp with Roasted Garlic-Cilantro Sauce
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 16 mins
- Total Time: 26 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Appetizer
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb uncooked prawns
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil
Roasted garlic-cilantro sauce:
- 1 small head garlic, top trimmed off
- 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 lime, juice of
- 1 tbsp dry white wine
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp chili sauce like this one
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Peel, devein and rinse the prawns or your choice of shrimp. Pat dry and season with salt and pepper. Place the prawns in the fridge until ready to grill.
- Trim the top of the garlic head off, but leave the garlic intact. Drizzle generously with olive oil. Roast the garlic in the 400 degree F-heated oven for about 10-15 minutes or until slightly tender and fragrant. When ready, remove from the oven. Let cool briefly. Peel and crush or chop the roasted garlic as finely as possible.
- Now prepare the roasted garlic-cilantro sauce. In a small bowl, combine the roasted garlic with the remaining sauce ingredients of cilantro, lime juice, white wine, olive oil and chili sauce. Whisk together and set aside.
- When ready, lightly oil and heat a cast-iron grill or griddle to medium-high. Dress the prawns with a little olive oil and grill for 3-4 minutes on each side. You want to achieve some char, but be careful not to overcook the prawns.
- Remove the prawns from the grill to a bowl and coat well with the roasted garlic and cilantro sauce. Transfer to a serving platter. Alternatively, transfer the grilled prawns to a serving platter and simply add the roasted garlic-cilantro sauce on the side.
- Serve with pasta or rice and a green salad for dinner; or simply as a party appetizer. Enjoy!
Looking for more seafood recipes? Here are some more favorites
Mediterranean-style Oven Baked Salmon in Foil
Recommended for this recipe: Cast Iron Grill or Skillet
what can you add in replace of wine
Hi Lindsey, so the dry white wine is a very small amount here. You can substitute with a white wine vinegar. Or you can omit the white wine adding more lemon juice and olive oil. Enjoy!
Hello Suzy,
We had some leftover savory mushroom steel cut oats risotto and were looking for a prawn recipe to compliment it. It didn’t take long to find your recipe; we typed ‘prawn recipe’ into the search engine and then looked at the photos… yours was the clear favourite.
We made the dish last night and absolutely loved it. We’re going to have the leftovers on pasta tonight and think it would be perfect on homemade pizza too. Thanks so much for posting.
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My family loved this. I served it with rice that I seasoned with lemon and terregon and made it a meal. We will be roasting garlic more often in our home. 🙂
Awesome, Anne! Thanks so much for sharing. I am glad to hear you all enjoyed this. XOXO
Hi Suzy, I really wanna try my hands at this recipe! It looks so easy and yum! But where I stay, I cannot find dry white wine, cud u please suggest an alternative for it!!:) Thank u;)
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Hello, Zahra! Thank you so much for your question. I have been away from my office and just now am able to connect my laptop, sorry for the delay. Yes, you can eliminate the wine here, and I would simply adjust the lime juice and olive oil to your liking to compensate for the missing 1 tbsp wine. Or, you can use 1/2 tsp mild vinegar such as white wine vinegar and adjust from there. Enjoy!
Hola, mi sugerencia para sustituir el vino blanco, sería agregar una cucharada adicional de jugo fresco de limón y una cucharada de miel de abejas
Hello, my suggestion to replace the white wine, would add a spoonful of additional fresh lemon juice and a tablespoon of honey bee
Hello David! Yes, your idea to sub the white wine for more lemon juice and a little honey would completely work here! thanks for sharing!
This was SO good. My husband couldn’t stop commenting on it. And thank you for posting a link to the chili sauce you used. I was thinking of using a Cajun hot sauce but the quantity had me concerned. Clicked on the link and realized that I had the same sauce you recommended in the fridge. My husband also suggested that I use your sauce recipe with scallops. We served this tonight with barley (cooked with Rotel tomatoes and cheddar cheese) and a caesar salad.
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Carol, thank you so much for taking the time to share! The sauce would be great on scallops as well…Good idea!
It looks so good!!!
The recipe looks simple enough, but there are so many types of hot sauce, what do you recommend???
Hi Sylvia, you really can’t go too wrong with hot sauce. Just be sure it’s a chili sauce that is not sweet like this one for example http://amzn.to/1V7yMoO
This was really flavorful, easy to make, and light (so you don’t feel terrible after eating it!) I added chicken with the shrimp and almost liked the chicken better since is soaked up more flavor. I love anything with cilantro!
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Wonderful to hear! I like that you added chicken…I’ll have to try that sometime! Hope you find more recipes to try.
Love baking with little foil packets and especially with salmon. Copper River Salmon goes pretty quick as it’s season is gone before you can blink, but Costco usually carries it. This looks sensational. Thanks!
Jacquline, thanks for stopping in! Isn’t cooking salmon in foil so easy. If you try my salmon baked in foil, let me know how you like it!
Our new favorite dish!! The sauce is amazing and so easy!! Do you happen to post the nutiritional information anywhere?
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Jennifer, so glad to hear you liked this shrimp recipe! It’s a favorite of mine as well. At this point, I do not list the nutritional information, but there are some great apps out there to help you with that. This is a fairly light recipe though 🙂
We are going to make this on the grill this weekend! So excited to finally try this recipe!! Also serving steak with a sweet & spicy hoisin sauce. I’m lost for a side though??!!! Any help? Plain white rice? Couscous? Orzo??
This would be perfect on the grill, Jacqui! I typcially do a plain white rice or couscous with a salad like fattoush http://www.themediterraneandish.com/fattoush-salad/. And actually, here is a like for an Israeli Couscous recipe that doubles as side or salad http://www.themediterraneandish.com/israeli-couscous-recipe/
Hope you enjoy it all!
I made this for a Memorial 6 couse luncheon this last May> It is fantastic and I will add this recipe to my collection. I’m going to make it again, but cooked over an open fire when I go camping. Thanks for sharing.
David, I am so glad to hear this! And I love your idea of cooking the shrimp over an open fire when camping! Brilliant!!! Have a great weekend.
Made this for Valentine’s Day and now it is our go-to meal for special occasions and/or impressing guests. Love this recipe! Thank you!
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Jennifer, that is so great to hear!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to share. I hope you find other fun recipes here.
Made this recipe this week – FANTASTIC!!! Loved the sauce – perfect combination of citrus, garlic and heat!!! I grilled the shrimp on skewers on the grill, then brushed the shrimp with the sauce while still warm. Served with a kale/shaved brussel sprout/quinoa/feta cheese salad – perfect compliment, and especially delicious on a warm Summer night! Thank you!!!
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Jan, this is great to hear! Thank you so much for sharing. I love your take ont his recipe and the kale and shaved brussel sprouts quinoa salad sounds wonderful! Hope you find other inspiring recipes here.
It is very tempting. I don’t have wine; any substitute?
Hi there! Since the wine is minimal, try compensating with a little more lime juice + olive oil to your taste.
This recipe sounds fantastic. Do you think it would work if I made the sauce a few days ahead of when I plan to have the meal. We are going camping and I’m thinking if I make the sauce before I leave it will make things a lot easier.
Hi Patty! Glad you like the grilled shrimp recipe. I have not tried making the sauce too far in advance. I imagine it would be okay up to two days in advance. You could also prep everything in advance and put it together, then add the cilantro last minute. Hope this helps.
Really good! My husband claims it’s the best recipe I’ve ever made, which is a huge compliment since I cook a lot. He’s been telling everyone about it. Thank you!!
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Jeannette, that is so great to hear! Thank you to you (and your husband) for the kind encouragement. I hope you will try more of my recipes soon! Thanks for taking the time to share.
Divine dish! Served it with warm tortillas and spinach avocado salad.
Thank you so much, Lisette! It’s great to hear feedback on my recipes. What a great idea to serve this shrimp with torillas and your spinach avocado salad! A healthy and tasty meal all around!
Didn’t have any shrimp on hand but used this on top of grilled salmon last night for dinner. It was easy, simple, and delicious! Thanks for this great recipe!
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Sarah, that is brilliant! This sauce is pretty versatile, I’m glad you liked it on the salmon. Stop by and see me again. Thank you!
Hi what kind of chili sauce I can use? is that the chili sauce the jar with name chili sauce? like the one you use for meat balls? o if will se the flakes is there any different of the taste??? I will make these, this coming Saturday for ester dinner. will try to grill it with the bamboo stick like shrimp kabob… can I use any white wine??? can I use lemon instead of lime????
Im excited for the outcome!!!!
thanks
rheva
Hi rheva. Thanks for stopping in. Yes, the chili sauce from the jar is what will work. Any kind as long as it is not a sweet chili sauce will work. Or, chili flakes, but go easy starting with a little amount and building from there. Since the sauce adds a little more liquid, if you use the flakes instead, you might add more liquid using the oil or lime/lemon juice and wine. Yes, lemon will work. You can certainly make the sauce your own and test as you go. Hope you’ll enjoy this recipe. Let me know how it turns out.
Where in the market can you find this type of chili sauce? I used sweet Asian chili sauce, and it turned out good, but I really want to use the original recipe.
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Brandon, if there is a Mediterranean or Eastern European market near you, you can find a spicy chili sauce there. Otherwise, I would check Wholefoods or World Market. Look for a chili sauce that is not sweet; although it sounds like that worked out fine as well. The chili sauce in this Amazon link has worked well for me in the past http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LO25RG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000LO25RG&linkCode=as2&tag=themedidish-20&linkId=JYXZMAUMNOFGNP67
Hi Suzy,
I have prepared your recipe for prawns today, for lunch! It was an amazing success. Everyone was delighted and asked me for the recipe.
I made tagliatelle with creamy sauce with blue cheese and it was a great combination. Tank you and I will follow you on Pinterest.
Hugs from Colombia
Maria-Lucia
Maria-Lucia, I am so glad to hear that you made my shrimp (prawns) recipe, and that it was a success! It gives me such joy to hear it! Thank you so much for taking the time to stop in and tell me. The sauce you made sounds delicious. Looking forward to seeing you here again. Hugs.
This looks so yummy, can’t wait to try it this weekend. Can the shrimp be cooked in a skillet rather than grilled? Do you think that would alter the taste too much? Thanks!
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Hi Lilian! Sure, you can go ahead and cook the shrimp in a skillet! The second time I made it, I did in fact use my skillet. It was fine. Enjoy and let me know how it turns out!
I really don’t want to use a whole head of garlic is there another way is just use some garlic. I really want to make this recipe.
Hi Heather! Great question. Sure, you can reduce the amount of garlic. One thing to note, the garlic here is roasted, so it’s taste is tamed. We are not all garlic lovers, so start with an amount you are comfortable with and go from there. The cilantro, lime, white wine and chili sauce all add good flavor as well.
I don’t know why more people haven’t rated this recipe. It is DELISH!! Thanks for sharing. I made it with roasted red pepper hummus, pita and a greek salad. All of my kiddos (2, 10 and 19) and husband tore it up. Thanks!
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Thanks so much, Michelle! Sounds like you put together a winning menu! Glad your family enjoyed it, and thanks so much for taking the time to tell me.
I made this about a week ago and it was delicious!!! And so easy to make. Will definitely be making this one often! Thank you!!
Great, Letty! I am so glad you liked it, friend.
Thank you so much for this shrimp recipe, l’m going to do a surf & turf for Valentines Day & my husband is turf & l’m the surf (l think l’m coming out ahead on this one:), can’t wait to make it.
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Jean, that is great to hear! I hope you enjoy this shrimp. Happy Valentine’s day!
Never mind, I read the recipe wrong and thought it was the shrimp that was roasted instead of the garlic. Sorry!
I’m confused, Why is this called grilled shrimp when it is roasted in the oven? Either way this looks yummy and I am going to try it. 🙂
Jenna,thanks for stopping in. The shrimp is grilled on a cast-iron grill (see in the step-by-step pictures below). Only the garlic is roasted in the oven 🙂
I am excited to make this! I am wondering what kind of chili sauce you used? Is it Sriracha or Franks Hot sauce or something more like the Heinz chili sauce? Thanks so much!
Hi Kristen, thanks for stopping in! Great question on the chili sauce in the shrimp recipe. No, I did not use Sriracha. From your local grocery store, you might find something like Huey Fong Chili Sauce like in this link below, I think it’s closer to the one I used. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LO25RG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000LO25RG&linkCode=as2&tag=themedidish-20&linkId=LWEMK5LDM7BWJ36U
Also, Whole Foods or World Market might have other options for you. You might like to start with a smaller dose of chili, since not all chili sauces are created equal in terms of hotness. You can always go up 🙂
Any suggestions for what to serve with this? I am doing a dinner and I want more than just shrimp. Healthy is always a +
TJ, thanks for stopping in. Great question.
I have served this shrimp for dinner with plain rice or couscous, green beans (broccoli or another vegetable dish would work too) and a simple Mediterranean green salad like this one http://www.themediterraneandish.com/simple-mediterranean-salad/. You could also use the shrimp in a pasta! Make more of the sauce (double or triple the amount) and toss it into cooked warm pasta. The recipe is written as a small dish/appetizer, so depending on how many people you are serving for dinner, you may want to adjust the portions if you use it as a main course.
I have served it also tapas style next to other small plates like this easy roasted red pepper hummus http://www.themediterraneandish.com/roasted-red-pepper-hummus-recipe/ and tomato bruschetta http://www.themediterraneandish.com/easy-bruschetta-recipe-middle-eastern-style/
Hope this helps! If you have more questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
This looks so good! What do you pair the shrimp with? pasta, rice?
Lauren, thank you for stopping in! Great question. Either a simple rice or pasta would work great with this shrimp recipe. In fact, if you do pasta, I imagine you could double the roasted-garlic cilantro sauce in this recipe so you can toss the pasta with that as well.
unfortunately I’m not big on fish or seafood. Do you think this may work for chicken?!?? Love garlic, cilantro, lime!
Sure! Actually, below is a link to cilantro-lime chicken recipe of mine that has been quite popular. Give it a try and let me know what ya think. Thanks for stopping in, Heather!
http://www.themediterraneandish.com/cilantro-lime-chicken-thighs-recipe/
this sounds yummy and I bet this recipe would be great on the BBQ too!
Renee, good to see you here again! Yes, once the weather warms up, you bet I’ll try this on the BBQ.
Why is no garlic listed in the ingredients?
Frank, good catch! It’s a main ingredient as u see in the pictures! There is 1 small head of garlic in the sauce. I have updated the ingredients. Really appreciate you pointing that out!
34K on Pinterest? That’s great!
Yes! I believe it’s the #1 shrimp on pinterest if you simply type shrimp in the search box. Crazy, eh? http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=shrimp&term_meta%5B%5D=shrimp%7Ctyped
Congrats! Attractive, tasty and simple! Great combination!
I love this!! I want to Fix for super bowl Sunday!! Can you marinate over night?
I have not tried it marinated over night. I like the idea of grilling the shrimp somewhat dry to get a little char on it, then adding the sauce for that little bit of extra flavor. You could certainly prepare the shrimp (devein etc.) the night before; add a little squeeze of lemon juice if you like. You could make the sauce too the night before and keep it in a tight container or jar in the fridge. But if you try it marinated and it works for you, let me know! Excited to hear how it works for you. Thanks!
I made this last night using scallops ….. It’s AWESOME!
That’s wonderful Janet! I’m working on a scallop recipe as well!!!
Oh darn! I forgot about this recipe and I made shrimp for dinner last night! Well, next time!! 🙂
There is always next time, Letty 🙂 Do you get my blog e-mails? I find it easy to save emails of recipes I like for later. Or pinterest is another easy way too. But I’m happy you’re here!
I thought I had signed up for emails but I’ll double check. And I remember pinning this on Pinterest! I should have looked there. Duh! LOL Oh well. I’ll make it soon. I love shrimp!!
🙂 Me too! I am all about shrimp. I just came up with a spicy shrimp recipe that I can’t wait to make!!!!
Oooh yum! Hope to see that recipe soon!! 🙂
The shrimp looks good,I’m going to try them!
Joan, thank you for stopping in! I am glad you like the shrimp recipe, it’s a favorite of mine as well. Let me know how it turns out for you!
Wow! I love shrimp and I think I will love this dish! This is on my ‘must make soon’ list.
Great, Tricia! Glad you stopped in. Please stay in touch, and let me know how this recipe goes for you!
Hi!
This looks like a great dish but u was just wondering is there a substitute I could use for the white wine, we don’t use wine in our cooking just for religious purposes even though it burns off. Is there any way I could make it without?
Hi Laila, thank you for stopping in. You can certainly make this recipe without the wine. A little extra lime juice will do 🙂 Please stay in touch and let me know how this dish turns out for you.
i like the idea of simply grilling first and then applying the sauce. The true flavor comes through and I can serve some plain for my kids. I admire you for keeping old traditions alive.
Mike, welcome to The Mediterranean Dish! My four-year-old prefers her shrimp plain with a dash of salt and pepper, so like you, I totally keep a few without sauce for her. Thank you so much for stopping in, please stay in touch. Happy New Year!
Looks divine! I’m adding prawns to my shopping list!
Hey Joanna! Thanks for stopping in! Let me know how you like this dish. Stay in touch!
I just love the fragrances that come together in this lovely dish – will give it a try asap!
Thank you, Barbara! I am glad you stopped in. I’m hopping over to Cuisine de Provence in just a second.
Or the day after Christmas is a CRAZY day of shopping and waiting in ridiculously long lineups (my mother). But I prefer the lazy sleeping in version.
This looks AMAZING by the way! I SERIOUSLY need to start cooking with shrimp more often.
Hey Cathleen! Great to see you here. Wow, you spent some time shopping the day after Christmas! Hopefully you’ve had a chance to recover. Let me know if you ever try this shrimp recipe. Happy New Year!
What a terrific dish. It look so colorful, fresh and tasty. I hope your visit with your brother will be wonderful. Best wishes for a great 2015!
Thanks, Adri! Loving my time with my brother and his family. Wishing you a great 2015! Stay in touch!
I hope you have so much fun celebrating with your brother and his family! Hearing the traditions that people have is always so much fun. I like the idea of leaving a present at the foot of the bed!
I can see this shrimp being a HUGE hit at a NYE party. It’s so fresh and tasty!
Joanne, great to see you here again! Yes, family traditions around the holidays are priceless. All the best in 2015. Glad we can stay in touch.
I love grilled seafood…especially when it is as delicious as this. Grilled prawns are seriously ALL I am craving right now!
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Thank you, Thalia. If you ever try it, let me know. XO
Sign me up for this meal. I have been trying to decide how to cook the prawns for New Year’s Eve and this has to be it.
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Awesome, Maureen! Hope you like it.
wow what a gorgeous dish!
Caralyn, thank you for stopping by! Glad this shrimp dish looked good to you, if you ever try it, let me know how it goes. Stay in touch!