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With only 3 ingredients and one-pan, this juicy and fresh Cast Iron Pan-seared Shrimp recipe is the perfect way to have a quick dinner. In this post, I include tips to season and sear your shrimp to get the crust on the edges. Plus, I recommend side dishes to save you time with meal planning. This main protein fits with those looking for shrimp, Whole30, Paleo, low-carb, and keto seafood recipes.
It should go without saying that I love seafood. And, you probably do too since some of my most popular recipes are copycat bang bang shrimp, seared scallops with cauliflower risotto, keto shrimp and grits, and shrimp scampi. One of the reasons that I love seafood is because it comes together in minutes. In fact, this pan-seared shrimp recipe takes less than 5 minutes.
Ingredients in Pan-Seared Shrimp:
One of the main ingredients is shrimp. I’m using jumbo (you get 8-12 shrimp per pound), but you can use whatever you have on hand.
Besides shrimp, I’m using this low-sodium fajita spice mix and salted butter (or ghee).
If you don’t have the spice mix, then no stress, you can substitute it with things like my cajun seasoning, homemade taco seasoning and spicy dry rub recipes. If you’re particularly sensitive to salt, use unsalted butter. You can always add a dash of salt at the end.
How to Make Cast Iron Seared Shrimp:
Making this dish is super easy. Simply toss the shrimp in the spices and preheat your pan. Next, add your butter and cook the shrimp for 1-2 minutes per side. You can see my note below about the type of pan to use.
Skillet or Cast Iron: Best Pan for Searing Shrimp
I regularly make this recipe with my traditional frying pan and cast iron skillet. Overall, you can get the same results with either as long as you have a hot pan.
But, many people prefer cast iron because once pre-heated, the heat distributes around all areas of the pan evenly. That’s why it’s an awesome tool to have in the kitchen for everything from these shrimp to strip steak, scallops, pan-seared halibut, surf & turf, and chicken.
Instead of limiting myself to one pan or another, I allow my butter to tell me when to add the shrimp to the pan. You can tell that your pan is hot enough once the butter starts to dance and sizzle.
One note, if your butter starts to turn brown immediately, your pan is too hot. Just remove the pan from the heat for 30 seconds to a minute. This way, your shrimp doesn’t burn too!
What to Eat Cast Iron Shrimp With:
There are a few ways to turn this easy, seared shrimp dish into a meal. Some ideas are:
- Make a Keto Shrimp Taco Salad: swap the shrimp for ground meat in Keto Taco Salad Supreme
- Make Shrimp Lettuce Wraps: add the shrimp to slices of romaine or butter lettuce and top with your favorite salsa. If you like making your sauces at home, then one possibility is this Homemade Pico De Gallo recipe or this Restaurant Style Salsa.
- Add a quick vegetable side dish: some quick options are sauteed asparagus, air fryer green beans, creamed spinach, and keto mushroom risotto.
- Make a Shrimp Caesar Salad: Use these shrimp in my keto caesar salad recipe. I personally love this one because it has my Creamy Caesar Dressing poured all over it.
- Make a Mexican-inspired Salad: add spring mix, Cojita cheese, sauteed peppers and onions, and the creamy cilantro dressing that I included in this Keto Mexican Shrimp Salad recipe.
Cast Iron Pan-Seared Shrimp Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb Shrimp, peeled & deveined
- 1 tbsp Spicy Fajita Seasoning, this is low-sodium
- 2 tbsp Ghee, or Butter
Instructions
- Toss the shrimp in the seasoning mix and set aside.
- Pre-heat a cast iron skillet for 2-3 minutes. That will allow it to get to medium-high heat.
- Add the ghee or salted butter and allow it to coat the bottom of the pan. You know your pan is hot when the butter sizzles.
- Add the shrimp and cook for 1-2 minutes per side. I used jumbo shrimp so they took 2 minutes per side. However, if you are using smaller shrimp then it will cook faster.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Details
The nutrition facts come from entering the recipe ingredients into Spoonacular API, a database of food ingredients. They may vary for any recipe based on the exact product used. The keto sweeteners I use have 0g net carbs & are not included because sugar alcohols do not impact most people. This is provided as a courtesy, but you can do your own calculations if you wish!
