Coated in panko breading, baked to crispy perfection, and tossed in spicy buffalo sauce, these Buffalo Shrimp make the ultimate game day snack (or easy weeknight dinner) with just the right amount of heat.
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Raise your hand if you're here for buffalo EVERYTHING.
As in, buffalo sauce makes everything better and whether it's wings, or mac and cheese, or grilled cheese, or tacos, when you add buffalo sauce, you instantly have the ultimate football party snack.
Though I've added it to many foods, I haven't tried shrimp yet. Until now. I always love shrimp as a game day appetizer because its a delicious finger food that's easy to prepare in so many different ways.
This buffalo shrimp is nice and crispy and packed with flavor, but it's also baked instead of fried and is easy to make.
🗒 Ingredients
The ingredients for buffalo shrimp are pretty simple and really just consist of shrimp, the sauce, and the ingredients for coating (be sure to view the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions):
- Shrimp: I use extra-large, but you can use the size of your choice. Peel and devein them and either remove the tails or keep them on.
- All-purpose flour
- Garlic powder
- Paprika
- Salt
- Large egg
- Water
- Panko
- Unsalted butter
- Buffalo sauce: like Frank's Red Hot best.
🍤 How to make
If you've ever made anything panko-coated, you'll follow the same process for these buffalo shrimp.
First, be sure your shrimp are peeled and deveined. You can either leave the tails on or remove them. I typically like to leave them on for presentation, but it actually doesn't matter too much with this recipe.
Pat the shrimp with paper towels to ensure they're as dry as possible. This will help with the crispiness!
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
Place a wire rack over the top of the baking sheet and spray it lightly with cooking oil (I like to use avocado oil). I recommend putting the shrimp on a rack as it helps them crisp up a bit more than putting them directly on the baking sheet.
In a shallow dish, whisk together flour, garlic powder, paprika, and salt.
In a second shallow dish, whisk together egg and water. And in a third shallow dish, add the panko.
Dredge each shrimp in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess. You can work with a few at a time.
Then dunk them fully in the egg mixture to coat.
Lastly, press the shrimp into the panko, ensuring an even coating on all sides.
And place the shrimp in a single layer on the prepared rack set over the baking pan.
Lightly spray the shrimp with cooking oil.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until shrimp are cooked through and panko is just starting to turn golden, flipping the shrimp about halfway through baking time.
When you remove the shrimp, keep the oven on.
While the shrimp are baking, add the butter to a small saucepan set over low heat and let it melt. Then, stir in the buffalo sauce until combined and heated through.
When the shrimp are out of the oven, add them to a large bowl and pour the buffalo sauce over them.
Toss gently to coat evenly.
Then, return the shrimp to the wire rack over the baking sheet and put them back in oven for another 3-4 minutes to crisp them up.
Serve with blue cheese dressing (or fine, ranch, if you prefer!), carrots, celery, and any other game day snacks you choose!
If you're a fan of all things buffalo, you're going to wonder why you've never had buffalo shrimp before!
This crispy and flavor-packed shrimp makes the perfect game day snack, but it can also be served as an any-time appetizer... or even placed atop a salad and eaten for lunch or dinner.
However you eat it, it's sure to be a hit with anyone you serve it to!
🎉 Variations on recipe
These buffalo shrimp are perfect in my eyes, but there are lots of ways you can make them in order to suit your own tastes.
Here are some ideas:
- If you don't have panko, you can use breadcrumbs for the coating.
- You can also try coating them in Cornflakes for a different kind of crunch.
- Instead of the egg and water mixture, soak the shrimp in buttermilk before the tossing in the panko.
- Add grated parmesan cheese to the panko for even more flavor dimensions.
- Experiment with different buffalo sauces. Like I mentioned, I like the basic Frank's Red Hot, but you can use a mild sauce if you like buffalo flavor without a lot of heat, or you can add honey, BBQ sauce, or chipotle adobo sauce to your buffalo sauce as it's heating.
- Feel free to fry the breaded shrimp in vegetable or peanut oil instead of baking them. Just heat about 2-3 inches of oil in a deep skillet or Dutch oven to 350 degrees and cook shrimp for 2-3 minutes per side.
⏲️ How to make ahead of time
I do think these buffalo shrimp are best when served fresh, but I also understand that if you're making them for a party, you might want to do some of the prep ahead of time.
I recommend breading the shrimp with the flour, egg, and panko ahead of time (no more than 8 hours ahead). Put them on the rack over the baking sheet and cover lightly with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge.
Bake and sauce the shrimp right before serving.
You CAN skip the second bake if you want; the shrimp just won't be as crispy.
🍽️ How to reheat
And if you have leftovers, you'll definitely want to reheat them before enjoying again.
You're best of reheating the buffalo shrimp in the oven or toaster oven to keep them as crispy as possible. Put them back on a wire rack over a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Of course, you can also toss them in the air fryer if you have one! Be sure to keep them in a single layer and heat for about 3-5 minutes, shaking halfway through.
🏈 More game day recipes
Add these shrimp to your game day menu, along with some of my other favorite football food:
🌶️ More buffalo recipes
And if it's that delicious buffalo spice flavor you're after, try these favorites of mine:
Of course, anything buffalo flavored also works perfectly for football watching parties!
Let me know if you add these buffalo shrimp to your game day menu and tell me what else you had at your spread!
📖 Recipe
Buffalo Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 lb extra-large shrimp (or the size of your choice), peeled and deveined, tails on or off
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 ¼ cups panko
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ⅔ cup Buffalo sauce (I like Frank's Red Hot)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Place a wire rack over the top of the baking sheet and spray it lightly with cooking oil (I like to use avocado oil).
- Pat shrimp with paper towels to ensure they're as dry as possible. You can leave the tails on or remove them. I like to leave them on for visual appeal.
- In a shallow dish, whisk together flour, garlic powder, paprika, and salt.
- In a second shallow dish, whisk together egg and water.
- In a third shallow dish, add panko.
- Dredge each shrimp in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess. Then dunk it fully in the egg mixture to coat. Lastly, press the shrimp into the panko, ensuring an even coating on all sides.
- Place shrimp in a single layer on the prepared rack set over the baking pan. Lightly spray the shrimp with cooking oil.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until shrimp are cooked through and panko is just starting to turn golden, flipping the shrimp about halfway through baking time. When you remove the shrimp, keep the oven on.
- While the shrimp are baking, add the butter to a small saucepan set over low heat and let melt. Stir in the buffalo sauce until combined and heated through.
- When shrimp are out of the oven, add them to a large bowl and pour buffalo sauce over them. Toss gently to coat evenly.
- Return to wire rack over baking sheet and put back in oven for another 3-4 minutes to crisp them up.
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