Healthy Shrimp Stir Fry is an easy, quick meal done in under 20 minutes. Use rice or keep it paleo, whole30 and keto with cauliflower rice! Gluten free, dairy free and so simple to make! This post is sponsored by our friends at Thrive Market.
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If you love healthy meals that are quick, easy, and delicious – you need to try this healthy shrimp stir fry.
Made with basic ingredients like rice, veggies, and other pantry staples – this is a quick healthy meal that is SO tasty!
Lately, I’ve been feeling soooo burnt out on cooking (I’m sure you probably are too) so I’ve been relying on quick, healthy staples for our weeknight dinners.
This shrimp stir fry feels like you’re eating takeout, minus all the salt, sugar, and delivery wait.
You can have a healthier meal on the table with this shrimp stir fry quicker than your local takeout spot can deliver. Here’s why we love this meal!
Healthy Shrimp Stir Fry Recipe with Rice
What makes this a healthy stir fry?
You might be wondering, how healthy is a stir fry? Very healthy if made the right way! Stir fry is one of our favorite healthy dinners for a few reasons:
- veggie loaded (carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, onions.. feel free to add more veggies too!)
- tastes like takeout
- quick & easy to make (under 20 minutes!)
- delicious & simple
- high protein – we like all of our meals to have at least 25g of protein. this meal has39 g of protein per serving, a full cup of veggies per serving, and healthy carbs from the rice.
Can you eat stir fry on a diet? Heck yes! Stir fry is one of the best meals when you’re on a diet or looking to eat healthy – it’s so easy to make it high in protein and loaded with veggies!
Ingredients for Stir Fry Shrimp
To make this recipe you’ll need:
- avocado oil
- shrimp
- veggies -we used onion, carrots, sugar snap peas, mushrooms, and zucchini
- coconut aminos
- toasted sesame oil
- rice wine vinegar
- honey
- lime juice
- red pepper flakes
- ground ginger, garlic powder
- short grain brown rice
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded substitutions box.
We got most of our ingredients from Thrive Market for this recipe!
We love Thrive Market for two main reasons: it’s convenient and the prices are awesome!
We have avoided grocery stores for most of this year. You can’t beat the convenience of having your groceries delivered to your door!
We also love to save money while eating healthy but don’t have time to watch sales/go to multiple stores. Thrive Market has everything and it’s always a great price.
If you want to join Thrive Market – they’re giving you 30% off and a free gift when you join today!
If you’re on the fence about Thrive Market – check out this Thrive Market Review where I explain why we like the service, and what we order from Thrive + more.
How do you make stir fry step by step?
Making shrimp stir fry is so easy!
- Lightly pan sear your shrimp. Remove from pan and add veggies.
- While veggies cook, whisk together your stir fry sauce.
- Add to the pan and coat vegetables.
- Add cooked shrimp, toss until everything is coated. Serve over rice of choice.
Shrimp Recipes Healthy Substitutions
This recipe is so versatile. There are tons of substitutions you can make!
Rice: You can use any type of rice in this recipe. Brown or white rice will work. You can also use cauliflower rice. We love our cauliflower fried rice! You could also serve this over noodles or try this Shrimp Lo Mein Recipe!
Oil: You can sub toasted sesame oil with olive oil, avocado oil, or canola oil. It will not be as flavorful and we really recommend using toasted sesame oil.
Vegetables: Bulk up the dish by adding more veggies. Carrots, peppers, leeks, tomatoes – pretty much any veggie will work! Frozen peas and corn are also great additions!
Vegetarian: Feel free to skip the shrimp and bulk up on veggies to make this vegetarian!
Protein: You can sub in chicken for the shrimp if you’d like. Chicken takes much more time to cook, I would cook cubed chicken for 9-11 minutes until browned on all sides. I have not tried this recipe with cooked tofu but I think it would work! You can also try this Chicken Stir Fry Recipe.
Coconut Aminos: If you don’t have coconut aminos – substitute soy sauce or Bragg’s liquid aminos. If you use Bragg’s use 1/2 the amount as it is much saltier.
Spicy: Make this recipe spicier by adding more red pepper flakes or drizzling sriracha on top.
Stir Fry With Frozen Vegetables: You could add a bag of frozen veggies instead of cooking fresh – I’m sure it would be delicious!
Garnish: Sesame seeds, green onions, and crushed peanuts would all be great toppings for this recipe.
Paleo/whole30: Serve over cauliflower rice instead of regular rice. Omit honey if whole30
Keto: Sub cauliflower rice for regular rice. Swap carrots for a lower carb vegetable. Sub honey for keto friendly sweetener.
Tips for Shrimp Stir Fry Recipes
- Cooking shrimp- Don’t overcook your shrimp! They should have just a tiny bit of browning on each side. 1-2 minutes max for small shrimp!
- Cutting carrots – an easy way to get small pieces of carrot is to peel in ‘ribbons’ and then chop with a knife. They’ll cook perfectly in this recipe that way!
- Precooked rice – You can buy precooked frozen brown rice or make it in the instant pot to save time. For Thrive Market’s Sprouted Brown rice we do a 1:1 ratio of rice and chicken broth for 15 minutes, naturally release the pressure for 10 minutes and serve.
- Veggies – You can buy pre cut veggies to save time. I love the Healthy 8 Mix from Trader Joe’s. Coleslaw or broccoli slaw mix will also work!
How can I make my stir fry better? This stir fry recipe is seriously perfect, but you can grab all our best substitutions below!
Important Note: This is not an authentic stir fry recipe. My goal is always to share recipes that are a bit healthier and made with affordable, accessible ingredients so everyone can enjoy them regardless of their food allergies or dietary restrictions. If you are looking for an authentic stir fry recipe – check out this recipe!
Storing Shrimp Stir Fry
Storing: I keep this healthy shrimp stir fry in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. I don’t like keeping cooked seafood for longer than that.
Reheating: You can reheat this shrimp stir fry in a pan on the stove or in the microwave. I would recommend re-heating on the stove.
Freezing: We have not tried freezing this stir fry but I wouldn’t recommend it!
What goes with stir fry and rice?
Stir fry and rice are an entire meal in themselves! Some of our favorite things to serve with stir fry and rice are extra steamed veggies, or roasted veggies to amp up the veggie content! You could also serve it with Instant Pot Fried Rice.
Low Calorie Shrimp Recipes
Is shrimp low in fat? Shrimp is very low in fat. There is less than 2g of fat in an entire pound of cooked shrimp.
FAQ for Shrimp Stir Fry
Yes, you should always cook your rice before adding it to a stir fry. Raw rice will not cook in a stir fry!
You shouldn’t pan fry frozen shrimp. In order to avoid bacteria and insure that your shrimp are cooked all the way through, make sure to defrost the shrimp thoroughly.
Shrimp is very versatile and can be seasoned with almost anything! Our favorite things to season shrimp with are salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
It’s best to pan fry shrimp for 1-2 minutes on each side. Shrimp cooks very quickly, so make sure to watch it. Shrimp will turn a very light pink when they are cooked.
Tips for prepping shrimp:
The best shrimp for stir fry is fresh shrimp. However, we like to buy shrimp that is frozen and keep it on hand. We used frozen shrimp peeled and deveined for this recipe.
To defrost frozen shrimp – Place shrimp in cold water in a bowl or strainer for 5-7 minutes until defrosted.
There is no easy way to peel or devein shrimp. You need to hand peel the skins off and use a tool to remove the veins (Click here for a shrimp deveiner)
You can leave the tails on shrimp, but the shrimp we bought had the tails removed. We prefer them without the tails.
Other healthy takeout inspired recipes:
Looking for other easy meals? Check out these 40+ Healthy Dinner Recipes. Click here to grab our free healthy 30 minute dinners cookbook.
Healthy Stir Fry Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Thrive Market Avocado Oil
- 1.5 lb shrimp peeled & deveined
- ½ cup onion diced finely
- 1 cup carrots sliced thinly
- 1 cup sugar snap peas ends trimmed
- 1 cup mushrooms sliced thinly
- 1 cup zucchini sliced in matchsticks
- 2 tablespoons Thrive Market Coconut Aminos
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Thrive Market Honey
- 2 tablespoons lime juice juice of one lime
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder or 1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic
- 2 cups Cooked Thrive Market Sprouted Brown Rice
- Garnish – sesame seeds & green onion
Instructions
- Over medium high heat, heat avocado oil in a pan. Lightly season room temperature shrimp with ¼ teaspoon of salt and pepper on both sides.
- While shrimp is cooking, cook your rice per the directions on the package or get your cauliflower rice ready to eat
- On medium high heat, lightly sear shrimp for 1-2 minutes on each side until lightly browned.
- Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside, keeping oil in pan.
- Add onions and carrots to the pan. Saute for 3-5 minutes.
- Add zucchini, mushrooms and sugar snap peas. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. While veggies cook, mix together stir fry sauce (coconut aminos, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, honey, lime juice + spices)
- Add the stir fry sauce to the pan and stir to coat veggies. Add shrimp back to pan, toss with veggies and sauce until coated
- Serve over cooked brown rice, cauliflower rice or with noodles. Garnish with sesame seeds or green onions if you like.
Katie says
I make stir fry for my family a lot but usually with a bottle of teriyaki sauce from the store. I am always looking for healthier options, so I was so excited to try this recipe. It was 1000x better than the premade bottled sauce! My whole family loved it. I will definitely use this recipe in the future for stir fry!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked it, Katie! thank you so much!
Nichelle says
This was so good and easy!! It will be in my meal prep rotation! I served with quinoa.
The Clean Eating Couple says
Glad you liked it, Nichelle! Thanks!
Joan says
Wow this was soooo good! I made it exactly as the recipe with rice and mixed in the soy low carb noddles and WOW!!! This will be on our weekly menu!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked it! Thanks Joan!
Makeey says
Can I substitute orange juice for the lime?
The Clean Eating Couple says
I haven’t tried that so I’m not sure. Orange juice is sweeter so I probably wouldn’t recommend it.