Meow Recipes: Baked Coconut Shrimp with Springy Rice and Honey Butter Sauce

Coconut shrimp in a bowl with rice and peas

This post is sponsored by ALDI

This beautiful and perfectly springy shrimp and rice combo has us feeling that sunshine on our faces. The slightly sweet crunch of the coconut shrimp (with a nice & simple bake method, so a lot of the crisp with none of the fry-smells), the bright, sweet, green peas popping up here there and everywhere in the light, lemony, herby rice. And then there’s the honey butter sauce for sweet dips and drizzles that taste like vacation. Plus everything you’ll need for this spring crush is from ALDI, so you know you’re getting quality, affordable ingredients. BIG thumbs up from us!

For those of you who also experience a change of seasons, maybe you are also so ready for spring that you get all teary-eyed just thinking about it. Here in Minnesota, we’re in infamous “fake spring” where the weather is like, “Oh man, would you like a 50 degree day today? Okay, here you go. You deserve it!” And then turns right around and is like, “LOL, JUST KIDDING GET READY FOR SUBZERO TEMPS AND A SNOW EMERGENCY TOMORROW.” Right to our faces, like we’re not even friends.

Our hearts collectively break and we ache for the warm and the bright and the green.

And this springy coconut shrimp piled high on a mountain of steamy pea-speckled, lemony rice with drizzles on drizzles of honey butter sauce? Yeah, that’s what we’re here for and it won’t turn on us. It keeps being A+ over and over again.

Ingredients For This Delicious Springy Coconut Shrimp

When we want a little spring in our step and also in our grocery bags, we always round up our favorites from our favorite, ALDI! A definite go-to for affordable and high quality seafood options (the Fremont Fish Market Jumbo EZ Peel Raw Shrimp is a top-notch choice for this), beautiful fresh and frozen veggies, and lots of other seasonal delights. But we also – like always – are hitting up the pantry items too, like the panko, coconut flakes, and rice. ALDI always has so many options to brighten up our days.

Here are the major hitters that you’ll need for this spring fling:

For the golden crunchy shrimp:

Fremont Fish Market Jumbo EZ Peel Raw Shrimp
Chef’s Cupboard Panko Breadcrumbs
Baker’s Corner Coconut Flakes (sweetened or unsweetened, but sweetened sure ups the yum factor! )

For the springy rice:

Specially Selected Jasmine Rice
peas (we used frozen Simply Nature Organic Sweet Peas, but you could use fresh or any other green veg favorite)
lemon juice and zest
herbs or greens
garlic

For the delicious honey butter drizzles and dips:

butter
honey
Dijon mustard

How To Make Baked Coconut Shrimp

In addition to the fresh and ready ingredients comin’ atcha ALDI-style, it’s also relatively simple to bring it all together. Like we said, we love this baking method for the shrimp in order to minimize clean up but maximize perfect shrimp cooks and crunch factors.

Panko & Coconut. You’ll give the panko & coconut flakes a little pre-toast in the oven first to guarantee that golden brown goodness. Yum!
Shrimp. Coat the shrimp in flour, then egg, then panko/coconut mixture and spread out on pan. Give them a little drizzle of oil before heading into the oven to bake.
Rice. Whatever rice cook method you prefer (we used our pressure cooker!) and then toss in the butter, lemon zest and juice, and stir in the frozen peas.
Sauce. Whisk all your sauce ingredients together and try not to drink it right then and there.

Serve those crisp beachy shrimp on a pile of bright sunny rice, drizzled with that sweet, zippy honey butter sauce and, yep yep yep, it already feels warmer here.

Baked coconut shrimp on a sheet pan with lemon and honey

Our Love Keeps Going and Going and Going For This One

The tender juiciness of the shrimp under the solid crunch of the coconut coating, plus a pile of steamy green-flecked garlicky lemon rice and a drizzle of honey butter sauce… all of it is just freshness and brightness and color hard at work. It’s one of those meals you can look forward to all day. And again the next day. And maybe we’ll just make it every night this week.

So, basically, we’ve laid out a big ol’ welcome mat for spring in the form of this coconut shrimp and rice and we really, really, really hope it pays us a visit ASAP.

Baked coconut shrimp in a bowl with rice, peas, and a lemon wedge

Baked Coconut Shrimp: Frequently Asked Questions

Does coconut shrimp taste like coconut?

Sure does! The beautiful sweet and nutty coconut flakes shine through on the shrimp and leave you with a slightly sweet tropical flavor.

Should I make the shrimp with the tails on or off?

For this recipe, we typically remove the tails; however, you could keep the shrimp tails on if you want them to be more of a finger snack. We like to eat them on the plate with a fork, which is why we pulled the tails off.

Can I fry the shrimp instead of baking them?

You can! Add oil to a medium skillet and fry a few shrimp at a time over medium-high heat. Be sure not to overcrowd your pan. Cook the shrimp for about 2 minutes per side until they come out a beautiful golden brown color.

Baked Coconut Shrimp with Springy Rice and Honey Butter Sauce

Author: Lindsay
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 3-4 servings

Print Recipe

Description

Perfectly springy baked coconut shrimp piled high on a mountain of steamy pea-speckled and lemony rice and drizzles upon drizzles of a beautiful honey butter sauce. This is exactly the spring vacay you need!

Ingredients

Units

Coconut Shrimp

3/4 cup Chef’s Cupboard Panko Breadcrumbs
3/4 cup Baker’s Corner Coconut Flakes (sweetened or unsweetened, but I prefer sweetened)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound Fremont Fish Market Jumbo EZ Peel Raw Shrimp, thawed, tails removed (see notes)

Springy Rice

1 cup Specially Selected Jasmine Rice, uncooked
10-ounce bag of Simply Nature Sweet Peas
lemon juice and zest
herbs or greens
1 clove grated garlic
2 tablespoons butter

Honey Butter Sauce

4 tablespoons melted butter
2–3 tablespoons honey
1–2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Instructions

Prep: Cook the rice according to package directions. (I do this in a pressure cooker)
Toast the Coconut: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place panko and coconut on a baking sheet; toast for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until nice and golden brown.
Coat the Coconut Shrimp: Make three bowls: one for the flour, one for the egg, and one for the toasted coconut. Coat individual shrimp in flour, then egg, then press into the panko until the mixture sticks to the shrimp. (I usually do all the shrimp in flour first, and then do the egg / panko dip so it’s a bit cleaner). Place coated shrimp back on the baking sheet. Spritz or drizzle with oil.
Bake the Coconut Shrimp: Bake shrimp at 425 for 10 minutes.
Finish the Rice: Add peas, lemon zest, herbs, garlic, and butter into the hot rice and gently fluff with a fork to combine. The peas just need to get heated through.
Make the Sauce: Whisk the melted butter with the honey and Dijon mustard. (And add whatever else you like – red pepper flakes, chili paste, lemon, etc.)
Serve: Serve shrimp with a pile of rice and generously drizzle with the sauce. HELLO! So yummy.

Notes

I prefer to make these with the tails removed because I like to pile them on a plate and eat them with the rice, and honestly, pulling the tails off with every bite is kind of annoying. But if you want it to look a little fancier or if you want this to be more of a finger-food situation, then you can also leave the tails on.

This amount as written feeds my family of 4 (mom, dad, toddler, baby) perfectly, with little to no leftovers. If you are serving a larger group, or people with bigger appetites than little kiddos, I would double the amounts!

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Category: Dinner
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American