Air Fryer Popcorn Prawns (Shrimp)

These golden and crispy Air Fryer Prawns take just 7 minutes in the Air Fryer. With flavors of garlic and parmesan and panko breadcrumbs for that perfect crispy texture.

Serve these air-fried crispy prawns in Prawn Tacos (a.k.a Shrimp Tacos!) with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and mango salsa or opt for a lighter Shrimp Salad Bowl with mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and avocado, with a lemon vinaigrette. They also go great with this kimchi noodle salad.

Recipe Highlights

• Weeknight Dinner with a simple salad: Perfectly seasoned, crispy on the outside, tender on the inside
• Minimal Cooking Oil: Just a little olive oil spray or avocado oil spray is needed
• Crispy and Crunchy: One of my favourite ways to cook popcorn prawns and delicious with a classic cocktail sauce
• Add your own twist: Easy to add your own flavour and spice variations with black pepper, chilli powder or extra garlic
• Frozen of Fresh Prawns: Make these with either frozen or fresh small prawns or shrimp
• Notalgia: Tastes like good old fashioned prawn cutlets

Ingredients

With such simple ingredients, its easy to make crispy and crunchy foods in the air fryer that taste delicious and are way healthier, like my Air Fryer Cauliflower Bites, and these kid friendly Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets.  And, honestly this Air Fryer crispy and tender Calamari is so good you’ll be eating it more often then you think!

Ingredient Notes

• Prawns: Remove heads and tails, patting dry with paper or kitchen towel to eliminate moisture. I also use this technique for this simple Mongolian Prawns dish.
• Eggs: Serve as a binder to help panko crumbs adhere and provide an even coating.
• Flour: Use all-purpose/plain flour to "dry" the prawns' exterior, ensuring the egg wash adheres. Almond or self-raising flour can be alternative options.
• Panko Breadcrumbs: Opt for rough-textured panko breadcrumbs for a crispy and crunchy coating. Wholemeal breadcrumbs can be substituted for a smoother texture.
• Seasonings: Utilize garlic powder, crushed garlic, salt, and basil to create the base savory flavor profile. Substitute garlic powder with onion powder or other herbs as desired.
• Parmesan Cheese: Choose finely grated parmesan for richness, with variations available from mild to more robust.
• Cooking Oil Spray: Essential for a crunchy, golden coating in air frying. Options include Extra Light Virgin Olive Oil, grapeseed oil, or avocado oil, avoiding low smoke point oils like peanut and sesame oil.

How To Make

1. Prepare Dredging Station: Bowl one - combine the all purpose flour and garlic powder. Bowl Two - whisk the eggs and minced garlic. Bowl three - combine panko with parmesan, garlic salt, and chopped basil.
2. Preheat Air Fryer: 200 degrees C or 385 degrees F for 5 minutes

2. Coat Prawns: Dredge the prawns/shrimp in the flour, then the beaten eggs and garlic, then the bread crumbs. Gently press bread crumbs into the shrimp to help it to adhere.

3. Cook Prawns: Add prawns/shrimp to the air fryer basket in a single layer. Spray lightly with cooking oil and cook for 7 minutes, stopping once halfway through to shake the basket to redistribute them and evenly cook. Cook until golden brown.

Recipe Tips

• Use Uncooked Prawns/Shrimp:  this recipe is not suited to prawns or shrimp that have been pre cooked.  Using uncooked seafood that has the head, tail and intestinal tract removed is best.
• Size of Prawns/Shrimp:  size affects cooking time so different sizes will take longer or shorter to cook.  The times in this recipe are for small bit sized pieces of prawn or shrimp.  If yours is bigger, you may like to either cut them into smaller pieces, or increase the cooking time.  Whatever size your shrimp or prawns are, make sure they are all roughly the same size so they cook evenly.
• Single Layer:  Don’t overcrowd the basket when cooking as you want to give the prawns/shrimp enough room so the air can circulate to create crispy crunchy outsides
• Shake Halfway Through Cooking:  To get the best results and the most even colouring and crunch, at the halfway point, take the basket out and give it a quick shake and replace to finish cooking.

Make sure to serve with a drizzle of lemon juice!

Common Questions

Storage

To store air fryer popcorn prawns, transfer them to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 days, ensuring they maintain their crispy texture by reheating briefly in the air fryer before serving.

More Air Fryer Recipes

• Air Fryer Crispy Fish Tacos
• Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes
• Air Fryer Chicken Tenders (Low Carb!)
• Air Fryer Honey Soy Chicken Wings