Garlic shrimp in coconut milk. This fragrant 20-minute meal is a seafood-lover’s dream. Seared shrimp simmered in a creamy garlic coconut sauce enhanced with lime juice and just the right amount of honey. It’s light, delicate and super flavorful. This recipe is most definitely going to kick your dinner game into high gear!
This dish will tempt people into the kitchen, wondering what smells so good. The shrimp are coated in garlic and paprika, then seared and simmered in a combination of coconut milk, lime juice and fish sauce. You can stir in a bit of green like spinach, or use your favorite quick-cooking greens like bok choy or kale and adjust cooking time if needed. Swap the shrimp for scallops or white fish, if you like.
Since there’s lots of sauce that deserves to be soaked up, serve it with rice, noodles or bread. It’s such a treat, one of the easiest, nicest meals you can eat at home.
Let me guide you through the recipe with this step-by-step VIDEO.
We shortly sear the shrimp first before simmering in the sauce, to prevent them from becoming tough. While it adds an extra step, this makes the shrimp taste buttery and moist with a tender texture.
To create a rich sauce that goes really well with seafood, we use coconut milk combined with garlic. At the end we whisk in fish sauce, add a twist of lime juice and fresh cilantro to keep this dish bright and citrusy. Just a few ingredients, but the result is out of this world delicious.
To spice things up, we add a pinch chili flakes. Adjust the heat to your liking, use one teaspoon for medium heat, and two if you don’t mind some sweat beading on your forehead.
Ingredients, Tips & Substitutions
Shrimp
- Shrimp: I typically use frozen (just be sure to thaw first), and prefer a large size (16-20 per pound).
- Seasoning: Salt, black pepper, garlic powder and sweet paprika.
- Butter and Oil: For searing the shrimp.
Garlic Coconut Milk Sauce
- Garlic: Our flavor base. Try not to use store-bought pre-chopped garlic, it will never add as many flavor as freshly minced.
- Coconut Milk: Use full fat coconut milk for best creamy result.
- Onion: Extra flavor, you can also use a shallot.
- Lime Juice: To add some acidity.
- Cornstarch: To thicken the sauce.
- Fish Sauce: To boost the salty, savory flavor.
- Honey: To jazz up the coconut flavor. Honey can be substituted for brown sugar.
- Cilantro: If you’re not a fan of cilantro, try it with Thai basil or parsley.
- Chili flakes: Add a nice spicy kick without overpowering the overall taste.
Recipe Notes
- Pair with an Asian cucumber salad, green beans or steamed broccoli.
- Serve with basmati rice, noodles, bread or naan.
- Stir in some veggies into the sauce, like spinach, sugar snaps, bell pepper, bok choy or kale. Adjust cooking time as needed.
- Storage: Store leftovers refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Try These Next
- Thai Coconut Salmon Curry
- Spicy Drunken Shrimp
- Thai Coconut Shrimp Curry
- Garlic Butter Sautéed Shrimp
- Thai Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs
Garlic Shrimp in Coconut Milk
Ingredients
- 1.1 pounds shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 small brown onion finely chopped
- 1 can (14 oz/400 ml) coconut milk full fat
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp honey
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro more for serving
- chili flakes for serving
- freshly cracked black pepper for serving
Instructions
- Get all the prep done before you start cooking. Add shrimp, salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder to a bowl. Stir to combine, set aside.
- Mince the garlic. Finely chop the onion and chop the cilantro.
- Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over high. Place shrimp in a single layer. Sear, 1 minute per side. Remove from skillet.
- Reduce heat to low, add garlic and onion. Sauté until soft and fragrant for about 3 minutes. Pour in ¾ of the coconut milk. Combine the remaining coconut milk with cornstarch and add to the skillet. Stir in fish sauce, honey and lime juice. Simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in cilantro and return shrimp to the skillet. Toss to coat and simmer for 1 minute or until heated through. Taste and adjust the amount of fish sauce and lime juice (by teaspoon).
- Top with cilantro, chili flakes and freshly cracked black pepper. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
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Flavor is good but not white color like photo. Better with no cornstarch and add kafir lime leaf or at least lime zest.
Thank you for trying out this recipe Dennise!
Super flavorful!
Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
While it is tasty, I felt I had to add more lime juice and fish sauce to make mine feel well rounded. The amount of milk leftover too is quite immense. Highly recommend having noodles or rice to go with this.
Thank you for trying out this recipe and your comment Summer!
Coconut milk has a way of ZAPPING all of the flavor out of a dish. It definitely would have been bland without anything extra. I had to add some of the seasonings into the sauce , along with some Tanjin , hoisin sauce and I didn’t have fish so I subbed soy. That definitely elevated the profile . The shrimp was on point though
Thank you for your comment Vee!
I love all your recipes, Anna! This one did not disappoint., as usual!! It has wonderful flavor.. I served it over rice and added steamed snow peas!
I love all your recipes, Anna! This one did not disappoint., as usual!! It has wonderful flavor.. I served it over rice and added steamed snow peas!
Thank you Pamela! It makes me so happy to hear that!
I made a couple adjustments based in comments. I added 2 extra cloves of garlic, grated ginger, zest of 1/2 lime and 1 1/2 lbs of shrimp.
Delish
So glad you enjoyed Ronnie! Thanks for making!
First time making this dish. Very flavorful I read the other comments and added lime zest and adjusted the fish sauce about. I used 1 1/2 lbs of shrimp. I served with jasmine rice for myself and picked up new potatoes and herbed butter for my better half.
Hi Rachel! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know it turned out well for you.
I made this pretty much according to the recipe. My only substitution was lemon juice for lime juice because that’s all I had. It was so delicious. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
You’re welcome Jordan! So happy you enjoyed!
This was SO delicious! Definitely going on our dinner rotation list.
Thanks Kim! Makes me so happy to hear that!
This was literally disgusting. The worst recipe I’ve ever made. Me and my husband threw it out. No coconut flavor and way too much fish sauce.
So sorry to hear you did not enjoy this recipe, I wish I could help out.
It was so gross. One bite and we threw it out. I should’ve know when it said 2 tbsp of fish sauce. No coconut flavor. Money and time wasted on top of a mess to clean up just to order take out. Yuck
This is pretty damn good. I did make minor changes do to what I had on hand. Smoked paprika instead of sweet. Added ginger and scallops bc I love them. Added cauliflower and spinach bc I wanted extra vegetables. The fish sauce was perfect for me. Juiced half a lime and added extra lime zest – bc why not.
Over rice.
The only thing I didn’t love is the cornstarch. It was a bit pasty for me maybe bc I added extra veg that soaked up some of the liquid.
Def making again. Cutting down the cornstarch a little.
Thank you so much for your comment! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Next time, if using vegetables, you could omit the cornstarch. Have a wonderful day! Anna