Air Fryer Bang Bang Shrimp is simple to make and full of flavor with a spicy sweet copycat bang bang sauce.
» You might also like this Honey Garlic Salmon or Cajun-Seasoned Blackened Cod.
The first time I tried Bang Bang Shrimp was at Bonefish Grill. It’s a pretty famous shrimp appetizer that has sparked the “bang bang” revolution. Everyone needs a good copy cat recipe for this delicious appetizer.
This recipe is so simple to make. The air fryer is a crazy useful tool that cooks food super fast, but also really well, without the oil and complication of deep frying.
Why Use an Air Fryer
An air fryer is an incredibly easy way to cook just about anything. You place the food in a fryer-style basket and hot air rapidly circulates all around the food, making the food crisp – much like deep-frying, but without the oil. You can cook anything you’d make in the oven.
- If you don’t have an air fryer yet, check out these options to find one that fits your needs.
- See reviews and prices for air fryers on Amazon.
- Click to find more recipes to make in your Air Fryer.
- Learn how to make fun things in the air fryer, like potato wedges, pork belly bites, and chicken wings.
You can make amazing crispy shrimp in the air fryer. Add this great Bang Bang Sauce to the crispy shrimp and you’ve got the perfect appetizer.
Bang Bang Sauce is just 4 ingredients: mayo, sweet chili sauce, Sriracha, and honey. You probably already have those things in your fridge, so you can make this up tonight!
Ingredients in Bang Bang Shrimp
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this dish. See the recipe for the quantities.
- Shrimp – Raw, shelled, cleaned and deveined. Any sized shrimp works fine. These are a medium sized shrimp. You may need to add a minute or two if you use bigger shrimp. Don’t use pre-cooked shrimp.
- Flour – Coating the shrimp in flour before the egg and bread crumbs helps the coating stay on during cooking.
- Salt and pepper – Salt and pepper are added to increase the flavor.
- Egg – The egg helps hold the breading on.
- Bread crumbs – This recipe uses panko bread crumbs but you could use regular bread crumbs.
- Mayonnaise – This is the base of the bang bang sauce.
- Sweet Thai chili sauce – You can find this in the Asian food section of most grocery stores. If you want to try making it use this recipe.
- Sriracha – Made from chili peppers, vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt. This hot sauce adds flavor.
- Honey – Adding sweetness to something hot mellows the heat.
How to Make Bang Bang Shrimp in the Air Fryer
If you’ve never made crispy shrimp in the air fryer, you’re totally missing out on one of the easiest and best things you can make in an air fryer. Check out our full post on breading and cooking shrimp in the air fryer.
The Steps
Bread the shrimp in a 3-step process. For this, I like to create three different dipping stations: one for flour, one for egg and one for breadcrumbs. Dredge the shrimp through the flour, then dip it in the egg, then coat it with breadcrumbs.
Lay the breaded shrimp in the air fryer so they aren’t touching each other. Don’t crowd the basket. The food needs room to become crispy.
Cook the shrimp in the air fryer on 400 degrees F for 3 minutes, then turn the shrimp over and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Times will vary a bit depending on the size of shrimp you are using.
While the shrimp is cooking, quickly mix up the sauce. It comes together in just one minute. Super fast.
Once the shrimp is done, you can toss the shrimp in a bowl with the sauce and serve it.
Rice or cauliflower rice are a great accompaniment, to turn this dish into a meal rather than an appetizer.
What Shrimp To Use
I like to use a medium sized shrimp that can be eaten in one bite. I think these make the best appetizer sized Bang Bang Shrimp.
I buy fresh raw shrimp that is already shelled and cleaned (who has the time for that!) If you do have that time, it’s totally fine to get shrimp with the shells on and do the shelling and cleaning yourself.
You can use frozen shrimp, but you’ll have to thaw it first in order to bread them properly. The flour, egg and breadcrumbs won’t adhere to the shrimp when they’re frozen.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to cook breaded shrimp in the air fryer?
Lightly spray air fryer basket with oil and place shrimp in the basket leaving space between each shrimp. Lightly spray the tops of the shrimp. Cook for 3 minutes. Flip shrimp over and cook an additional 3 minutes. Cook for 4 minutes per side for larger shrimp.
What is bang bang sauce?
Bang bang sauce was made popular because of a shrimp appetizer by the Bonefish Grill. It is a flavorful sauce made with mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, sriracha and honey.
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Air Fryer Bang Bang Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 pound shrimp shelled, deveined, cleaned
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
For the sauce
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon sweet Thai chili sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon Sriracha
- 1/4 teaspoon honey
Instructions
- Clean and dry the shrimp.
- You need three shallow bowls. Add flour, salt and pepper to one bowl, egg to another bowl, and breadcrumbs to the third bowl. Start by coating the shrimp in flour, then dip it in the egg mixture, then coat it with breadcrumbs. Bread all the shrimp this way.
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees F for 3-5 minutes.
- Lightly spray air fryer basket with oil and place shrimp in the basket, leaving space between each shrimp. Lightly spray the tops of the shrimp.
- Cook for 3 minutes. Flip shrimp over and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Large shrimp may need more time to cook through. Continue in small batches until all shrimp are cooked.
- Mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl. Once shrimp are cooked, toss the shrimp in a bowl with the sauce to fully coat.
Equipment Needed
Notes
Nutrition
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Laura is a home cook who loves making new recipes and finding new favorite things to eat, whether at home or abroad. She also runs a popular travel blog and spends a lot of her time traveling for food.
I love bang bang shrimp and made these the other night. They were delcious!
I made these for the kiddos and they loved them! Thanks for the recipe!
I love using my air fryer! Everything comes out so nice and crispy! Really easy and tasty sauce too!
I love the sound of the bang bang sauce on the shrimp!
Looks so delicious and plus it needs no frying!! Definitely making this soon.