Elevate lunch or dinner with this crispy and spicy keto bang bang shrimp recipe. It's gluten-free and seriously low-carb! I'll even share my homemade bang bang sauce (it's keto-friendly!).
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One of the best ways to stay in ketosis but curb your cravings for takeout food is to make copycat recipes of your favorite meals.
This way, you can still enjoy these delicious types of food, but your macros and carbs can stay right where they need to be.
That's where the inspiration for this bang bang shrimp recipe came from. I wanted to create a low-carb recipe that not only nourishes my body but is a whole lot of fun to eat, too.
You get to enjoy all the shrimp and it takes almost no time at all to make!
💛 Why you'll love it!
This bang bang shrimp recipe is a mouthful of delight in every bite.
First, you smell the aromatic bang bang sauce. Then, you bite into the crispy fried coating. Finally, under all that yummy fried goodness is perfectly cooked flaky shrimp!
This is a nearly perfect copycat recipe.
You can't even tell that the outer coating is gluten-free and that the bang bang sauce is made with completely sugar-free ingredients.
Whether you eat this for lunch, dinner or serve it as an appetizer, this is the perfect low-carb shrimp recipe. It's a family-loved recipe that will be a big hit at your next meal. There is almost no prep time involved either!
Keep reading, and I'll share some time-saving tips and give you ideas of things you can serve along with this bang bang shrimp.
📋 Ingredients
There are three parts to this bang bang shrimp recipe – the keto-friendly breading, low-carb bang bang sauce, and shrimp itself.
Keto-Friendly Shrimp Breading
These are the ingredients I like to use whenever I want something to have a crispy breadcrumb-like coating.
First, crushed-up pork rinds are a must. They are already crispy without containing extra carbs (easily replacing cornstarch). Make sure you use unflavored pork rinds, so the taste doesn't overpower the rest of the ingredients.
As with other fried foods, you'll need an egg and heavy whipping cream. This coats the shrimp so that the pork rinds really stick to them. You can use buttermilk instead of heavy whipping cream.
To give it more flavor, add some parmesan cheese and garlic powder to the pork rinds.
Together, this all makes a perfect copycat for a typical panko mixture used on bang bang shrimp.
Sugar-Free Bang Bang Sauce
Making your own sweet and spicy bang bang sauce could not be any easier!
Mayonnaise makes up the base of the sauce. Then, you add some chili garlic sauce (or Thai chili sauce) for flavor and sriracha hot sauce for some spice!
A little extra salt enhances all the flavors. Some people like to sprinkle a little lime juice in the sauce too.
This will make an incredible dip for your cooked shrimp.
I did not use a sweet chili sauce in this fried shrimp recipe. You can add some sugar substitute if you want it to have that sweeter taste.
Shrimp
Of course, you will need some cooked shrimp to make bang bang shrimp!
You'll need about a pound of large shrimp that you peeled and deveined. Leave the tails on. This will give you something easy to grab when you eat them. But, you can easily have the tails removed if you just want whole bites.
You can also use medium shrimp, but the larger the pieces, the easier they will be to pick up!
Garnish with green onions for some color and extra nutrition.
Please note: Check out the recipe card at the bottom for a full list of ingredients used to make this low-carb recipe.
💭 Tips
- Make the bang bang sauce ahead of time. This will save you time when you fry up this meal and it will give you another sauce to use in other recipes.
- Use your favorite keto-friendly oil for frying the shrimp. I used olive oil, but avocado oil is another fantastic choice.
- Buy deveined shrimp. This will save you quite a bit of time.
🔪 Instructions
There are just a few simple parts to this easy bang bang shrimp recipe. You basically make the sauce, fry the shrimp, and put it together!
Make Bang Bang Sauce
If you didn't already, make the keto bang bang sauce in a small bowl. If you want it to be spicier, add more sriracha. Then, set it aside. You'll drizzle the sauce on top of the shrimp later.
Prep and coat the shrimp
Next, you'll get the shrimp ready to fry by peeling and deveining them if they aren't already.
Then in a second bowl, mix together the heavy whipping cream and the egg in one bowl and the dry ingredients in the other shallow bowl.
Next, dip each shrimp in the wet ingredients first, then into the pork rinds mixture. Make sure the shrimp is completely covered by the pork rind breading.
Fry shrimp
Heat your oil in a skillet over medium heat and place the shrimp in the pan. Fry them until they are cooked completely through and lightly browned on both sides.
They should have a lovely golden brown color.
When you are ready to enjoy, drizzle some bang bang sauce on top of the crunchy shrimp. Serve immediately!
🍽️ Serving suggestions
Serve your favorite Asian-inspired sides along with this crispy keto bang bang shrimp!
Start out the meal with some creamy keto Thai coconut soup. The flavors in this soup are the perfect way to wake up your tastebuds.
Then, add some keto sushi rolls on the side. They taste delicious when you drizzle bang bang sauce on top.
Easy Thai chicken salad comes together in just a few minutes and has lots of the same flavors that are in this bang bang shrimp.
Finally, you can never go wrong with keto cauliflower fried rice. It's a no-fail side dish that has incredible umami flavors. In fact, the spicy sauce from the bang bang shrimp tastes amazing on top of cauliflower rice.
🙋 FAQs
Before we get to the printable recipe card, here are some questions people often ask about how to make it.
There are only 3 grams of net carbs in this delicious recipe. Most of the carbs are in the breading and the sauce.
Yes, you can freeze bang bang shrimp. Just fry them up, and then let them cool. Then, place them on a baking sheet in a single layer. Place the baking sheet in the freezer.
Once the shrimp is completely frozen, store it in a freezer-safe food storage bag and keep it in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Yes, you can use the same breading ingredients and bang bang sauce to coat pork chops, chicken strips, or even chicken legs.
However, I do not suggest using steak.
The only problem with Thai sweet chili sauce is that it has a good bit of sugar in it. I prefer to use chili garlic sauce instead.
If you like sweet flavors, add a little bit of your favorite sugar substitute to the sauce.
Yes, you can make this keto bang bang shrimp in the air fryer too!
Some people prefer that to deep-frying it. It doesn't require you to excess liquid drain this way either.
The air frying instructions are simple. After prepping shrimp, toss gently in the pork rind mixture. Then, fry at 350F for about 15 minutes, shaking the air fryer basket halfway through.
📚 Related recipes
Looking for other easy keto-friendly seafood recipes to make for dinner? Be sure to check out these gluten-free keto seafood dinner recipes. They are some of my favorites!
- Keto Gumbo With Shrimp And Sausage brings a taste of the deep south to your kitchen table.
- Easy Keto Crab Cakes are made with pork rinds and have no net carbs - so they are a completely guilt-free recipe.
- Keto Baked Cod is a flaky and light fish that is the perfect entree.
- Easy Keto Lobster Bisque is thick and creamy and a delight in every spoonful.
- Gluten-Free Keto Coconut Shrimp is both low-carb and paleo and there are just 2 grams net carbs in each serving.
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📖 Recipe
Keto Bang Bang Shrimp
Video
Ingredients
- 1 batch bang bang sauce
- 1 pound large shrimp peeled and deveined with the tails on
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup crushed pork rind crumbs
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the sauce.
- In a separate bowl, beat together the heavy whipping cream and egg.
- Combine the pork rind crumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste in another bowl.
- Coat the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil, and heat over medium high heat on the stove.
- Dip the shrimp into the egg mixture and then coat in the crumb mixture.
- Saute the shrimp evenly until cooked through and browned on both sides.
- Drain the excess oil on a paper towel lined plate, and serve the shrimp drizzled with sauce.
Notes
Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
Nutrition
Additional Info
Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Unauthorized use of this material without written permission from Lisa MarcAurele is strictly prohibited unless for personal offline purposes.
Single photos may be used, provided that full credit is given to LowCarbYum.com along with a link back to the original content.
Roberta
My family loved this bang bang shrimp recipe and the sauce. Thank you for your work in creating it. Especially from a less creative perspective. Definitely a make again. I was out of ground pork rinds so ground my own. No problem.
BS-H
Could one use crumbs made from keto-friendly bread? I've bought several varieties and I don't like them as bread for sandwiches and such but throwing away a $10 loaf of bread didn't seem like a good idea. I made bread crumbs. Now I'm looking for ways to use them.
Lisa MarcAurele
They should work. I usually toast the slices lightly then process them into crumbs.
GayLynn Pack
I'm dying to try this recipe but the link for the bang bang sauce is not working.
Lisa MarcAurele
Sorry about that! The link should work now.