Everything is better with bacon, right? This bacon wrapped shrimp is one of my go-to appetizers that everyone loves! It’s a crowd-pleasing dish that will surely be a hit at any gathering. Even better, this juicy shrimp wrapped in bacon can also double as a meal.
The rich and smoky flavor of bacon paired with the delicate sweetness of shrimp makes it so irresistible. The bacon adds a crispy and salty layer, while the shrimp remains tender and juicy. It makes for such a wonderful texture and flavor combination.
If you’re throwing a party and want another easy appetizer recipe to serve, then try my buffalo chicken dip recipe, deviled egg recipe, or bruschetta recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Bacon — use regular-cut bacon and not thick-cut bacon to ensure they cook through.
Shrimp — to save time, you can buy shrimp peeled with tails on and deveined instead of doing it yourself. Large shrimp is ideal as it’ll give you the best bacon-to-shrimp ratio and is harder to overcook accidentally.
How to Make Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
1. Combine the shrimp, oil, salt, pepper, and garlic in a medium bowl, and toss to coat.
2. Preheat the oven and line a large baking sheet with foil. Arrange the bacon strips in a single layer. Bake until the bacon is partially cooked but still pliable.
3. Wrap each shrimp with one slice of bacon and secure it with a toothpick. Return wrapped shrimp to baking sheet.
4. Drizzle any remaining oil mixture over the shrimp. Bake for 10 minutes or until the shrimp are pink and cooked through. Turn the oven to broil and broil until the bacon is crispy. Carefully remove toothpicks and serve warm.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- Want to change up the flavor? You can brush the cooked bacon wrapped shrimp with BBQ sauce, hot sauce, honey, or any of your favorite sauces. You can also add a pinch of your go-to seasoning mix, such as Cajun seasoning, chili seasoning, etc., to the shrimp before baking.
- If you are worried about the toothpicks burning in the oven, you can soak them in water for 10 minutes beforehand.
- You can double or triple the recipe for a party. Just make sure you don’t overcrowd the sheet pan and use additional pans as needed.
- Don’t skip pre-cooking the bacon. If you skip that key step, the shrimp will overcook by the time the bacon is cooked through. Pre-cooking ensures you have perfectly crispy bacon and tender shrimp.
- If the bacon you have is on the longer side, you can cut them into thirds instead of in half. The bacon needs to be long enough to wrap the shrimp but not too long, so there is a lot of overlap, as it won’t cook evenly.
- Bacon wrapped shrimp is delicious on its own, but you can also serve it with a dipping sauce like cocktail sauce, sweet chili sauce, ranch, or garlic aioli for extra flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
I recommend using regular-cut bacon instead of thick-cut bacon as it ensures it crisps up wonderfully in the oven in the short time it’s baked. Broiling the wrapped shrimp at the end helps crisp up the bacon as well. Just keep a very close eye on it to make sure you don’t burn the bacon.
It’s best to serve this shrimp recipe immediately. However, if you’re throwing a party or need to prepare this recipe beforehand, you can cook it as directed and store it in the fridge. When ready to serve, broil them again for a couple of minutes to warm them back up.
Once the leftovers are at room temperature, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Yes! If you are using frozen shrimp, thaw them and pat them dry. If there is moisture on them, it’s difficult for the oil and seasoning to stick, and they’ll steam in the oven.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this Bacon Wrapped Shrimp recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
Equipment
- Large baking sheet
- Foil
- mixing bowl
- Toothpicks
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon halved crosswise (224g)
- 16 large shrimp peeled with tails on and deveined (258g)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves minced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil.
- Arrange the bacon strips in a single layer.
- Bake for 8 minutes or until the bacon is partially cooked but still pliable. Let cool for 5 minutes.
- While the bacon cools, combine the shrimp, oil, salt, pepper, and garlic in a medium bowl, and toss to coat.
- Wrap each shrimp with one slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Return wrapped shrimp to baking sheet. Drizzle any remaining oil mixture over the shrimp.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until the shrimp are pink and cooked through.
- Turn the oven to broil and broil until bacon is crispy, about 2 minutes. Carefully remove toothpicks and serve warm.
Notes
- Want to change up the flavor? You can brush the cooked bacon wrapped shrimp with BBQ sauce, hot sauce, honey, or any of your favorite sauces. You can also add a pinch of your go-to seasoning mix, such as Cajun seasoning, chili seasoning, etc., to the shrimp before baking.
- If you are worried about the toothpicks burning in the oven, you can soak them in water for 10 minutes beforehand.
- You can double or triple the recipe for a party. Just make sure you don’t overcrowd the sheet pan and use additional pans as needed.
- Don’t skip pre-cooking the bacon. If you skip that key step, the shrimp will overcook by the time the bacon is cooked through. Pre-cooking ensures you have perfectly crispy bacon and tender shrimp.
- If the bacon you have is on the longer side, you can cut them into thirds instead of in half. The bacon needs to be long enough to wrap the shrimp but not too long, so there is a lot of overlap, as it won’t cook evenly.
- Bacon wrapped shrimp is delicious on its own, but you can also serve it with a dipping sauce like cocktail sauce, sweet chili sauce, ranch, or garlic aioli for extra flavor.
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