Easy Skillet Shrimp with Homemade Honey Garlic Sauce

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Discover my recipe for easy skillet shrimp with homemade honey garlic sauce; it's a great solution for busy weeknights and so much better than take-out.

Fresh shrimp are sautéed in a simple, sticky honey garlic sauce that's perfect for spooning over cooked white rice. Serve with steamed broccoli, green beans, or hibachi-style vegetables, and dinner is done!

Easy Skillet Shrimp with Homemade Honey Garlic Sauce in a blue handled pan.

Now that school is back in session, I'm always looking for healthy recipes and quick meals that my whole family loves. With a prep and cooking time of less than 30 minutes, this recipe fits the bill.

And, it's also customizable if you're not in the mood for shrimp. Boneless skinless chicken breast, chicken thighs, boneless pork chops, or pork tenderloin sliced into medallions are all great substitutions.

Looking for other easy weeknight recipes that are ready in less than an hour? Be sure to check out my Easy New Orleans-Style Skillet Barbecue Shrimp, Harvest Grain Bowl, Mediterranean Bowls, Chicken Cobbler with Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuit Topping, and Cast Iron Chicken Parm recipes.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions
Variations
Bonus: hibachi-style vegetables recipe
Equipment
Storage
Tasty tip
Frequently asked questions
Related
Even more
🍽Get the recipe
Recipe guidelines and test kitchen tips
Food safety

Ingredients

First, let's gather all the ingredients needed for this recipe:

fresh shrimp
fresh garlic cloves
fresh ginger
honey
soy sauce
brown sugar
vegetable oil (or other neutral oil)
dark sesame oil
rice vinegar
crushed red pepper flakes
corn starch
green onions
sesame seeds

(See recipe card for quantities.)

Instructions

Now that we've got all our ingredients, it's time to get cooking!

Whisking the stir fry sauce in a white bowl on a wooden board.

First, whisk together the soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, rice vinegar, cornstarch, and crushed red pepper flakes.

Sautéing garlic and ginger in a two-handled skillet.

Then, heat the vegetable oil and sesame oil in a large skillet, add the garlic and ginger, and sauté until fragrant.

Cooking the shrimp and honey garlic sauce.

Next, add the shrimp and soy sauce mixture and cook until the shrimp turn pink and the sauce is thickened.

Stirring in green onions and sesame seeds.

Finally, stir in the green onions and sesame seeds and serve over white rice.

Hint: To get 1 pound of peeled and deveined shrimp, be sure to buy 1 ¼ pounds to account for the weight of the shells. Or, to save time buy already peeled and deveined shrimp.

Substitutions

Looking for ways to make this recipe your own? Check out these substitution options:

Protein - instead of shrimp, use chicken breast, boneless chicken thighs, or boneless pork chops.
Gluten-free - use tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce to make this gluten-free.
Noodles - instead of cooked white rice, you can also use cooked rice noodles.

Variations

Here are even more ways to change up this recipe:

Spicy - stir in chile-garlic paste to the sauce to give the honey garlic sauce even more of a kick.
Wings - make honey garlic wings. Heat the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan until thickened and then toss or serve with your favorite crispy chicken wings.
Kid friendly - omit the crushed red pepper flakes for a spice-free kiddo version.

Bonus: hibachi-style vegetables recipe

I love to make hibachi-style vegetables to serve with this recipe; it's one of my favorite no-recipe recipes using a handful of simple ingredients. First, I cut a yellow onion, a container of whole mushrooms, and two zucchini into chunks.

Then I sauté the vegetables in hot oil, in that order, adding a little kosher salt while cooking to help release the liquid and soften the veggies.

Once they begin to brown, I add a little butter and soy sauce and cook until the vegetables are tender and caramelized. Combined with the sweet and savory sauce from the shrimp, the rice, and some yum-yum sauce...oh man, it's delicious.

Easy Skillet Shrimp with Homemade Honey Garlic Sauce over rice on a white plate with a bowl of hibachi vegetables on the side.

Equipment

Here's what you'll need to make this recipe:

whisk
liquid measuring cups
small bowl
cast-iron skillet
measuring spoons
zester
rice cooker

Storage

If you have any leftovers, separate the shrimp and sauce from the rice, and store them separately in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

I don't recommend freezing the leftovers. The sauce tends to separate and the shrimp become rubbery.

Tasty tip

Try not to overcook the shrimp. They only take a couple of minutes to cook so keep a close eye on them.

Frequently asked questions

What does this honey garlic sauce taste like?

This simple stir fry sauce is sweet and sour and perfect for shrimp, chicken breasts, chicken wings, or even pork chops.

How do you thicken this honey soy sauce?

For this recipe, I use cornstarch as the thickener.

What is the quickest and most flavorful way to cook shrimp?

I think sautéing shrimp is the way to go. For best results, while they're cooking, I like to add the homemade honey garlic sauce to the shrimp and let it thicken. That way the shrimp don't get overcooked.

Does honey and garlic taste good together?

You bet! And, what I love most about this shrimp recipe is that it is ready in a snap and requires only a handful of pantry staples that you most likely have on hand.

How long does homemade honey garlic sauce last in the fridge?

If you want to make this stir fry sauce by itself, it'll last for about 2 weeks in the fridge. Keep in mind though that once you add protein or veggies to it, it'll only last a couple of days.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Even more

Here are more of my favorite recipes:

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