This sweet and spicy mango shrimp dish is ready in just 20 minutes and has a nice kick of spice that is balanced out by the sweet mango.
I seldom cook with shrimp.
Doesn’t mean I don’t love those little guys because I totally do.
Especially when they can be used solely as a vehicle for consuming copious amounts of spicy cocktail sauce.
But reality is, buying shrimp that haven’t grown up in some nasty farm situation floating around in their own shit is expensive. If you doubt that’s the reality for most farmed shrimp, check out this guide to the different types of shrimp for the details.
Throw in the fact that I want those suckers shelled, de-veined and tails removed when I buy them because pulling off the skeletons and removing poop from sea creatures isn’t really my idea of a good time.
Plus, you’re looking at $15 minimum for a pound for that kind of service.
But, I gave in this past weekend and decided they’d be the perfect companion to the one mango left on the counter.
So as my brother and Ulysses built this ridiculous contraption outside to store and season 5 cords of wood for our new wood stove (it looks like we now have a barn on the side of our driveway, minus the horses), I hid in the kitchen to avoid getting roped into helping and came up with this mango shrimp recipe.
How Do I Make Mango Shrimp?
Making this 20 minute mango shrimp dish couldn’t be easier.
Everything is made in one pan/skillet (just like this Greek shrimp skillet – another great, easy shrimp recipe to try!)
If you buy shrimp already peeled and deveined the prep work is even less.
And while the recipe below says to use a fresh mango that you’d need to chop, you could absolutely use frozen mango chunks to make life even easier (and then make some 5-minute mango frozen yogurt after dinner).
I suggest serving it alongside some white rice although on top of some salad greens would work well too.
If you like spice, this dish is for you.
It’s got some serious kick but it’s balanced out by the sweet mango and refreshing lime garnish at the same time.
It’s very similar to my mango habanero salsa recipe in that way.
A bit reminiscent of a good takeout meal (although not as much as shrimp lo mein) but with way better quality ingredients (like this sweet & sour tofu recipe) and a much fresher taste.
Eating it makes you feel like you should be somewhere tropical, you know, like some place other than upstate NY with wood barns being built outside your window.
Love this sweet and spicy mango shrimp?
Try one of these other shrimp dishes too:
Garlic Shrimp Bucatini
Shrimp Avocado Mango Lime Salad
Coconut Red Curry Shrimp
Brown Butter Shrimp with Parmesan Basil Corn Orzo
Sweet and Spicy Mango Shrimp
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1/2 large red onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons sweet Thai chili sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 pound large raw, deveined shrimp with tails removed
- 1 mango, chopped
- unsweetened shredded coconut for garnish
- chopped green onions for garnish
- lime for garnish
Instructions
- Heat coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Once melted, add red onion and saute for 5-7 minutes until softened.
- Add garlic, soy sauce, lime juice, Thai chili sauce, red pepper and shrimp to the skillet and toss to combine.
- Cook for 3-5 minutes until shrimp are pink and cooked.
- Add the mango, stir to incorporate and warm through.
- Plate the shrimp and garnish with coconut, green onions and a squeeze of lime. Serve with rice.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
My family loved this! This is a definite favorite to repeat often!
You must live far from the ocean. The Atlantic is less than a mile from where I am right now. I can buy shrimp at a cheaper price than steak. Also shelling and deveining shrimp is no more difficult than chopping an onion. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut through the shell and expose the vein with one cut. It takes me a good ten seconds to remove the shell and vein from an individual shrimp.
Really good. I didn’t have lime or sweet tai sauce, so I halved the coconut oil and used my chili oil….everything else the same. Really good….really.
Just made this and added a can of cocoanut milk, which I reduced, than thickened with cornstarch, served over noodles, absolutely delicious and picky eater hubby loved it!!
Does this dish need to be served hot? Has anyone served it cold or room temperature?
It doesn’t need to be. If you prefer it cold, it definitely could be served that way once cooked.
Can you please tell me what to substitute for the chili flakes and sweet Thai chili sauce? My sister cannot tolerate the spice, but I really really want to make mango shrimp.
Hi Tracy – you can just omit the chili flakes but the sweet Thai chili sauce is really the flavor component of the dish. It’s not spicy but sweet rather as the name implies. I would think it’d be tolerated fine.
@Tracy Goins, You Can buy mango sauce that really makes it easy
@Tracy Goins, then go look for a different recipe picky eaters, good lord 🤦♂️