Grilled Shrimp Marinade

3 reviews

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Shrimp is a nice and easy dinner option for those busy nights when you’re scrambling to get something on the table. With the help of my Grilled Shrimp Marinade, not only will you be able to make a nice seafood dinner quickly, but it’ll taste completely amazing as well.

A plated piled with grilled shrimp. The text overlay reads "Grilled Shrimp Marinade" at the top, and "Hey Grill Hey" at the bottom.
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Best Grilled Shrimp Marinade

Oh man, this is by far the best grilled shrimp marinade ever. And I’m not just saying that because I’m totally biased. Everyone who ate this shrimp after it came off the grill LOVED it. Even the super picky kids enjoyed this shrimp, and that’s saying something!

The secret to this marinade is in the ingredients (obviously!), particularly the lemon, honey, and fresh herbs. This shrimp tastes so light and refreshing, you’ll find yourself eating these by the handful. Shrimp is already a great dinner option, and when it’s something healthy, fresh, and flavorful to boot, it’s a winner in my book.

While this shrimp tastes amazing as-is, you can also enjoy it in salads and pastas, or served with rice. It’s particularly delicious with my Southern Grits. I say get creative with the way your serve this shrimp. It’s versatile and can be served in a variety of ways.

Shrimp, honey, and olive oil in bowls on a surface grouped by lemon wedges, garlic cloves, and fresh herbs.

Grilled Shrimp Citrus Marinade

As I mentioned previously, the magic to this marinade is that it is made with fresh lemon juice. The lemon juice makes it a good shrimp marinade for grilling because it’ll cover the shrimp in all sorts of flavorful goodness, and with the addition of a little heat from the grill, the flavors all work together for a fresh, yet savory shrimp.

Here’s what you’ll need for this marinade (exact measurements available in the printable recipe card below):

  • 4 sprigs thyme (leaves removed and finely minced)
  • 4 sprigs rosemary (minced)
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced)
  • ¼ cup Italian flat-leaf parsley
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper (freshly cracked)
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • juice of 2 lemons

Make sure you use fresh herbs for this marinade as well as freshly squeezed lemon juice. These two things will make all the difference!

Seafood cooking on smoker grates.

How to Marinate and Grill Shrimp

Let’s chat a bit about how to marinate and grill shrimp. I’m sure you’ll find that it is incredibly easy, and the shrimp cook FAST. If you have a hour to give to the marinade time, you’ll find that these shrimp cook quickly (making them a pretty great dinner option!).

Begin by preparing the marinade. Simply combine all ingredients in a zip top bag, add the shrimp (I used extra large sized uncooked shrimp, but you can use what ever is available to you), and place the bag in the refrigerator. Allow the shrimp to marinate for up to 1 hour. Don’t go much past these 60 minutes, though, or the citrus in the lemon will begin to cook the shrimp.

As your shrimp is nearing the 1-hour mark, preheat your grill to 450 degrees F. After your shrimp have had plenty of time to marinate, remove them from the bag and place them directly on your preheated grill. These shrimp only need to cook for about 2 minutes per side, or 4 minutes total. Remove them promptly from the grill.

You’ll know when the shrimp are done cooking when the tails are red, the exterior is peach/pink in color, and the shrimp is opaque. But griller beware! If you leave your shrimp on the grill too long they will become overcooked and be chewy. Some cooks recommend cooking your shrimp until it is a nice “C” shape. You’ll still find some shrimp cook into an “O” shape even when cooked correctly, but this is a good rule of thumb.

Marinated and grilled shrimp on a plate with lemon wedges.

More Marinade Recipes for Grilling

Marinating meat prior to cooking it on the grill helps to tenderize the meat and add great flavor. Scroll below to check out just a few of my favorite marinade and marinated recipes for grilling.

Grilled Shrimp Marinade Recipe

Making dinner for your family should be easy, and Hey Grill Hey is here to help! I’m all about helping you make better BBQ, feed the people you love, and become a backyard BBQ hero. If you want to see more of my recipes, tips, and behind the scenes action, follow along on my social channels. You can find me on InstagramFacebook, and YouTube!

Grilled Shrimp Marinade

By: Susie Bulloch (heygrillhey.com)
5 from 3 votes
Shrimp is a nice and easy dinner option for those busy nights when you're scrambling to get something on the table. With the help of my Grilled Shrimp Marinade, not only will you be able to make a nice seafood dinner quickly, but it'll taste completely amazing as well.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Marinade Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes
Servings4 people

Video

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Ingredients
 

  • 1 pound shrimp (extra large 26/30) deveined, with the shells removed

Lemon Herb Marinade

Instructions
 

  • Make the marinade. Mix all ingredients for the lemon herb marinade together in a zip top bag. Add the shrimp to the bag and massage lightly to coat. Place the marinating shrimp in the refrigeration and allow it to marinate for 1 hour.
  • Grill the shrimp. Preheat your preferred grill (this works well on gas and charcoal) to 450 degrees F. Remove the shrimp from the marinade and place it directly on the grill grates. Grill the shrimp for 2 minutes per side until opaque throughout.
  • Serve hot. Remove the fully cooked shrimp from grill to a serving platter. Serve hot with fresh lemon wedges. This shrimp is also delicious in salad or on pasta or rice.

Notes

I used shrimps with the tails on because we were planning to eat these with our fingers like hors d’oeurves. If you want to mix these into pasta, sandwiches, rice, etc. cook shrimp with the shells off. 

Nutrition

Calories: 239kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 286mg | Sodium: 884mg | Potassium: 111mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 363IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 176mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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About

FOUNDER/BBQ BOSS LADY

Susie is the BBQ Brain behind the Hey Grill Hey website. Her passion for smoked meats and developing fun, new recipes have landed her on the Food Network, cooking turkeys with Shaq, and on a couple of Guinness World Records. When she’s not grilling, she is hanging out with Todd and their three kids, preferably outdoors!

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Recipe Rating




Reader Reviews

3 Reviews

  1. Patrice says:

    I was hesitant to try this because I never in a million years would think to put rosemary and thyme in a shrimp marinade! But it was AMAZING!!! Cannot wait to have people over and wow them with this one! Five stars aren’t enough!

  2. Dijon says:

    Not going to lie, I had eye balled the recipe and added one or two seasonings of my liking… It..Was..Mind..Blowing … I love it. The family loves it. Thank you. Grill On!!!

  3. Lew_AZ says:

    Your smoked meat recipes are always so good I thought I check here for a grilled shrimp recipe. I am glad I did!! My wife and I LOVED it. The herb flavor with the lemon kick was amazing. We couldn’t stop eating. Thanks for all the variety of top notch recipes!!!