When it comes to the best fried shrimp, I consider myself a bit of an expert. See, I grew up in Northeast Florida, where you can head to the docks and get shrimp that was battered and fried just moments after it came off a trawler. (Oh, how I miss you, Singleton’s!) Frozen fried shrimp from the grocery store is unlikely to approximate the crustaceans you’d eat at a picnic table outside a shrimp shack in the dense Florida humidity, but it shouldn’t be bad either.
Sadly, a lot of frozen fried shrimp is pretty bad. The shrimp is small. It’s covered in too much breading (and when there’s too much breading, it all turns to soggy mush). And it has none of that signature shellfish snappiness whatsoever. We tried a lot of mediocre shrimp to find the best frozen shrimp, including the best popcorn shrimp, the best coconut shrimp, and now the best shrimp tempura, too.
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- SeaPak Popcorn Shrimp
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Popcorn shrimp is a childhood classic, and SeaPak makes the best frozen fried shrimp of the popcorn variety we tried. These tasty little morsels are pleasantly salty, wonderfully crisp out of the oven, and the shrimp itself is super tender, even if it doesn’t bring big seafood flavor. That’s allowed with popcorn shrimp. Throw some of these lil’ guys on a cookie sheet with good frozen french fries , grab some cocktail sauce or malt vinegar, and that’s dinner, baby.
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Trader Joe’s Honey Walnut Shrimp
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This fried shrimp from Trader Joe’s doesn’t necessarily taste like the walnut shrimp you’d get at a Chinese restaurant, but, holy moly, this stuff is good. The sauce tastes kind of like honey mustard—I recognize that honey mustard shrimp doesn’t sound great, but I think Trader Joe’s is onto something. It’s tangy, sweet, and has a little bit of that kick-you-in-the-nostrils burn I love in hot Chinese mustard. The sauce—which you toss the shrimp in after you cook them in the oven—is thick enough that it doesn’t make the breading soggy. It clings beautifully. Oh, and along with the tangy, tasty sauce, you get a little packet of crushed walnuts to garnish with, too. These are the best fried shrimp to have in the freezer when a Chinese takeout craving hits—seriously, serve these with some white rice and sauteed broccoli and you’ll forget about your takeout place altogether.
Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s
- Whole Catch Black Peppercorn
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When I worked at Applebee’s in college, we served a shrimp caesar salad topped with black peppercorn breaded shrimp, and I could never resist stealing one off the plate before I served it (don’t worry, there were A LOT on the plate, but, also, this is why I’m no longer in the service industry). I expected these peppercorn shrimp from Whole Foods to be like the ones I pilfered from hungry Applebee’s diners, but, good news, they’re even better. They’re coated in a crispy, flavorful batter that reminded Sporked editor-in-chief Justine Sterling of chicken nuggets. They’re so black peppery, it almost reads as heat. The shrimp themselves are much higher quality than a lot of frozen shrimp—they actually have bite rather than being mushy or chewy. These are the best fried shrimp to toss on top of a caesar salad—hey, Applebee’s wouldn’t steer you wrong.
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- Whole Catch Crunchy Coconut Butterfly Shrimp
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So many of the frozen fried coconut shrimp we tasted were just. too. sweet. Coconut shrimp should taste like mild, nutty, fresh coconut flakes, not like a damn Piña Colada. These shrimp from Whole Foods are by far the best frozen fried shrimp you can buy if you’re looking for something a little tropical but not cloying. They’re big and the coconut coating doesn’t overpower the flavor of the shrimp. With a ramekin of sweet chili dipping sauce on the side, these make a restaurant-quality app. I even put in my notes that if I got these at a restaurant, I’d be into it! If I ever have the space to host a proper party, I’m serving these.
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- Trader Joe’s Shrimp Tempura
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There aren’t a lot of shrimp tempura options at the grocery store, but we taste tested everything we could find, and Trader Joe’s makes the best fried shrimp tempura by far. These are long bois, which we love. The shrimp is firm and snappy and not slick and mushy like frozen shrimp can tend to be. It tastes sweet and mildly oceanic, not fishy. And the tempura coating is just much better tasting than others we tried. It’s actually well seasoned. It’s puffy and fluffy, and it gets golden brown in the oven. Bonus: This fried shrimp comes with a fantastic dipping sauce that tastes exactly like the sweet soy sauce you get with tempura at a Japanese restaurant. TJ’s, now that we know you make the best frozen fried shrimp tempura, we need you to make some tempura veggies to go with. Sound good?
Credit: Liv Averett
- Kirkland Breaded Panko Shrimp
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Kirkland’s panko-breaded shrimp are the best fried shrimp we tried, by a longshot. They’re at least twice as big as the other shrimp we taste tested. The breading is crispy rather than soggy. The oil they’re fried in is super fresh tasting. These are probably intended for parties (the box is gigantic), but I say make space in the freezer and keep a box on hand for everyday dining. Seriously, the next time you make an Asian rice bowl with veggies and a squiggle of yum yum sauce, these will make the perfect protein.
Credit: Merc / Instacart
Best Popcorn
Best Sauced
Best Seasoned
Best Coconut
Best Shrimp Tempura
Best of the Best
Other products we tried: SeaPak Budweiser Beer Battered Shrimp, Gorton’s Beer Battered Shrimp, Gorton’s Butterfly Shrimp, Amazon Coconut Shrimp, Kroger Popcorn Shrimp, Kroger Coconut Shrimp, Kroger Butterfly Shrimp, Great Value Butterfly Shrimp, SeaPak Tempura Shrimp, Tiger Thai Tempura Shrimp, Waterfront Bistro Tempura Shrimp
