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This ultra flavorful shrimp and broccoli recipe comes together in minutes for a fast and easy dinner! Serve with rice or over noodles.

Shrimp and broccoli
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Looking for an easy dinner idea? Try shrimp and broccoli! This recipe is a family favorite that has saved us on many a weeknight meal. Cook up crisp tender broccoli and juicy shrimp with soy sauce and and rice vinegar. Serve it with rice or noodles to make it a complete meal that comes together quickly! Depending on what you serve it with, dinner can be on the table in just 20 minutes. We love this one, especially since our son is a huge shrimp fan!

Ingredients in this shrimp and broccoli recipe

Big flavor comes from just a few ingredients here! This recipe uses Asian-style flavors to make a savory, complex sauce. Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Large shrimp: It can be fresh or frozen, peeled or unpeeled. Tail on shrimp is the prettiest, but you’ll have to remove the tails when eating (which can be logistically challenging!).
  • Broccoli
  • White onion
  • Rice vinegar
  • Soy sauce
  • Chili garlic sauce: Optional, but it brings big flavor and a bit of heat
  • Sesame oil: For cooking (not toasted)

This recipe comes together so quickly! Sauté the broccoli and onion for 5 to 6 minutes, then add the shrimp for 3 to 4 minutes. Pour over a sauce of vinegar, soy sauce and chili garlic sauce and cook 1 minute more. Dinner is done!

Shrimp and broccoli

Option 1: Serve with noodles!

The fastest serving suggestion for shrimp and broccoli is using rice noodles or soba noodles. Many rice noodles don’t even require boiling on the stove: instead, just pour boiling water over the noodles! Most brands are gluten-free (check the package). Soba noodles are also a great choice; they’re buckwheat noodles that are cooked on the stove like traditional pasta. Try our Quick Soba Noodles!

Either way, flavor them a little after cooking! Toss the cooked noodles with sesame oil and some salt so they’re flavored a little before serving. The shrimp does have a bit of sauce left over you can spoon over as well.

Option 2: Serve with rice!

Another great option for this shrimp and broccoli recipe is serving with rice! Make sure to start the rice before you begin to cook the shrimp. Here’s what to know about rice types:

Shrimp and broccoli

How to thaw frozen shrimp

Using frozen shrimp for this shrimp and broccoli recipe? There are a few different options for how to thaw shrimp, depending on when you’re planning to make the recipe:

  • Day before: If you think ahead, simply place the frozen shrimp in the refrigerator overnight.
  • Day of: Place the frozen shrimp into a large bowl with very cold water. Stir the bowl every 5 minutes to break up clumps of shrimp that freeze together. The shrimp should be defrosted in about 15 minutes.
Shrimp and broccoli

What to look for when buying shrimp

Is there a preference between fresh vs frozen shrimp? What about buying sustainable fish? Here’s what you need to know when you’re at the grocery buying shrimp:

  • Fresh vs frozen. A myth about fish is that “fresh is best,” but frozen isn’t necessarily lower quality. In fact, it might be even better! If a fish is frozen when it was caught and stays frozen until it gets to you, it will be higher quality than a raw fish that takes a week to get to your shopping cart.
  • Look for wild-caught or US caught. Wild caught is usually a sustainable choice if you can find it. If you live in the US, look for US caught. Imported seafood runs the risk of being overfished, caught under unfair labor practices, or farmed in environmentally harmful ways.
  • Look for hook and line as one example of a sustainable type of fishing gear. Bottom trawling is considered the most destructive and least sustainable method.

This shrimp and broccoli recipe is…

Gluten-free, dairy-free and pescatarian.

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Shrimp and broccoli

Easy Shrimp and Broccoli


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4.5 from 2 reviews

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
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Description

This ultra flavorful shrimp and broccoli recipe comes together in minutes for a fast and easy dinner! Serve with rice or over noodles.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 pound large shrimp, deveined (peeled or unpeeled)
  • 1 1/2 pounds (3 large heads) broccoli
  • 1 small white onion
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 4 tablespoons soy sauce
  • ½ tablespoon chili garlic sauce (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil (regular, not toasted)
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • Sesame seeds, for garnish
  • Thinly sliced green onion, for garnish (optional)
  • To serve: rice or noodles (see notes above)

Instructions

  1. If frozen, thaw the shrimp according to the package instructions or the notes above.
  2. Chop the broccoli into small bite-sized pieces. Cut the onion into wide slices.
  3. In a measuring cup, stir together the rice vinegar, soy sauce, and chili garlic sauce.
  4. In large skillet or wok, heat the sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli, onion and kosher salt and cook 5 to 6 minutes until fork tender, stirring occasionally. Add the shrimp and cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently.
  5. When the shrimp is just about opaque, add the sauce mixture and cook 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Serve with sesame seeds.
  • Category: Main Dish
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Asian
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Other shrimp recipes

Love shrimp? Us too. Here are some of our other very favorite shrimp recipes:

About the authors

Sonja & Alex

Hi, we’re Alex and Sonja Overhiser, married cookbook authors, food bloggers, and recipe developers. We founded A Couple Cooks to share fresh, seasonal recipes and the joy of cooking! Our recipes are made by two real people and work every time.

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6 Comments

  1. Lisa A says:

    This was really good, it had a lot of salt so I added some honey at the end but it was good. It isn’t a dish I’d make again soon, but I’m glad I tried it.






  2. kayla says:

    Thank you for these recipes. Please note though that soy sauce is not gluten free:( (unless you get specifically gluten free soy sauce). tamari is the gluten free option or amino acids.

  3. Paul Steinberg says:

    This is a keeper for sure. Love that it is super easy, very light and flavorful! Now I just need to check out some more of your recipes.
    Cheers!






  4. loretta says:

    Calorie count?

    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      Hi! Nutrition info is below the recipe card.

  5. Robin says:

    I made this last night and the whole family loved it, including the “discerning” 3 year old—high praise. Will make again for sure.