Introducing our Smoked Shrimp Skewers: an irresistible twist on classic grilled shrimp! Infused with the rich, smoky flavor of paprika, these grilled shrimp skewers are a tantalizing treat for seafood lovers. Get ready to savor the perfect combination of smokiness and succulence in every bite with our Paprika Grilled Shrimp.
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💖 Why This Recipe Works
- Flavorful & Low in Points: Paprika Shrimp is a tasty, 1-point Weight Watchers recipe that's packed with bold flavor.
- Perfect for Meal Prep: A great addition to salads, wraps, or served with your favorite veggies for a balanced meal.
- Satisfying & Light: Shrimp is naturally low in calories and high in protein, making it a perfect WW-friendly option.
📋 Ingredients
To make the delicious paprika grilled shrimp, here's what you'll need.
- Olive Oil: Provides a smooth, rich base and helps to carry the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Lemon Juice: Adds a bright, citrusy note that complements the shrimp.
- Smoked Paprika: Infuses the dish with a warm, smoky flavor.
- Minced Garlic: Enhances the savory elements in the dish.
- Red Pepper Flakes: Optional, but can add a hint of heat if desired.
- Sea Salt Flakes: Enhances the natural flavors of the shrimp and seasonings.
- Peeled Cleaned Shrimp: The main protein, adding a sweet and slightly briny flavor to the dish.
For the complete list of ingredients with measurements and instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
🌈 Substitutions and Variations
- Veggie Party: Slide on some portobello mushrooms, squash slices, red onions, or cherry tomatoes alongside your shrimp for extra flavor and color.
- Juicy Swap: Out of apple juice? No worries! Orange juice steps in just fine for that tangy-sweet kick.
- Season It Your Way: Feeling adventurous? Sprinkle on some Creole or Italian seasoning to jazz up the marinade.
🔪How to Grill Smoked Shrimp Skewers
- Step 1: In a mixing bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, smoked paprika, garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt. Shrimp in a bowl and mix until they’re completely coated.
- Step 2: Allow the marinated shrimp to rest in the fridge for half an hour. Thread the shrimp on skewers and brush some more of the marinade on top.
- Step 3: Grill the shrimp on skewers for a few minutes on each side, until they are cooked to perfection.
- Step 4: Transfer the grilled shrimp skewers to the plate and drizzle with the remaining marinade. Serve the paprika skewers with spinach leaves, fresh parsley and pomegranate seeds.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
- While you can use pretty much any grill to make this delicious shrimp recipe, using an outdoor grill is highly recommended, since it will give you that perfect, smoky flavor and char you're looking for.
- You can, in fact, use a simple grill pan on your stove to achieve similar results.
- Smoked paprika lends the shrimp a nice, bold flavor, but if you don't have it, you can just stick to using regular paprika.
- I also love the idea of using old bay seasoning or some cayenne pepper to lend some extra flavor and deliciousness to the grilled shrimp.
- If you don't have sea salt, you can use regular salt or kosher salt instead.
- Minced garlic adds a nice flavor and a chunky texture to grilled garlic shrimp. To make things simple, you can just skip adding it and use garlic powder instead.
- Remember to grill the shrimp at medium high heat, so that it cooks through, and at the same time, gets that perfect char on the outside.
- To keep the shrimp from sticking to the grill grates, you can rub a bit of olive oil or spray some cooking spray on it.
💭 FAQs
Remaining shrimp can be cooled and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Just remember to use an airtight container to preserve its freshness. You can also choose to marinate the raw shrimp and refrigerate or freeze it until you're ready to grill.
If you are using bamboo skewers or wooden skewers to thread shrimp, yes, you must soak the skewers for a few hours in cold water before you pop them on the grill. This will help keep them from burning during the cooking process. If you’re using metal skewers, no soaking is needed.
While a lot of shrimp recipes can be crafted using shrimp with the shell on, this one in particular, heavily relies on the marinade nicely coating the shrimp, which is why, I would highly recommend using peeled and deveined shrimp for this recipe.
Frozen shrimp tend to defrost pretty quickly. All you need to do is immerse the package in a large bowl filled with cold water and let it stay there for 20-30 minutes. You can check if the shrimp has completely thawed by the end of this time, and immerse the package into the water again, if needed.
You sure can! You can prepare the marinade well in advance and refrigerate it. Then, when you want to enjoy this grilled shrimp, all you need to do is combine the marinade with the shrimp in a bowl and cook it until it is done.
Shrimp itself is zero points on Weight Watchers and it packs a punch of protein!
These Paprika Shrimp are only one Weight Watchers point per skewer - the only pointed ingredient in the recipe is the olive oil.
Serving Suggestions
These are my favorite side dishes to serve with paprika shrimp:
- Garlic Butter Asparagus: soft asparagus spears tossed in garlic-infused butter for a flavorful and tender side.
- Lemon Herb Quinoa Salad: Light and refreshing quinoa salad with a zesty lemon and herb dressing to complement the smoky paprika shrimp.
- Grilled Corn on the Cob: Charred corn brushed with butter and sprinkled with paprika for a sweet and spicy kick.
- Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges: Oven-baked sweet potato wedges seasoned with paprika for a delightful blend of sweetness and smokiness.
- Crusty Bread: Serve your paprika shrimp with crusty bread and a side salad.
🍜 Related Recipes
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Try These Great Shrimp Recipes
If you enjoyed trying out this recipe, and are inspired enough to give some more such recipes a try, here are some more ways to put shrimp to use.
- Instant Pot Shrimp Scampi
- Instant Pot Gumbo
- Air Fryer Chicken and Shrimp Alfredo
- Instant Pot Shrimp Boil
- Shrimp Cucumber Bites
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