Chipotle Lime Shrimp Kabobs

If you love shrimp, this is a must-have recipe in your kitchen arsenal. These chipotle lime shrimp kabobs are easy to make, easy to grill and taste great every time thanks to fresh flavors like chipotle peppers, paprika, honey and fresh squeezed lime.

Jump to:

• About this Recipe
• Shrimp Size Chart
• Marinade
• Cooking
• What we like about this Recipe!
• Ingredients
• Top Tips
• FAQ
• Related
• Pairing

About this Recipe

Everyone just seems to love kabobs. Whether it's chicken, beef, pork or shrimp, kabobs are easy to make and fun to eat. This chipotle lime shrimp kabob recipe is one of our go-to recipe for seafood on a stick! The ingredients are simple, the marinade time is short and the results are always amazing.

Chipotle lime shrimp kabobs are great as an appetizer or you can serve them as your main course. They work perfect in tacos or over pasta for a Mexican-style shrimp scampi. We love our grilled shrimp over rice with some black beans, corn, salsa and cheese to make a delicious burrito bowl.

Whatever you choose, this chipotle lime shrimp recipe is sure to hit the spot. When we lived in Southeast Texas, fresh shrimp were easy to get. But now that we're back home in Utah, they're a bit harder to come by. So most of the time we buy frozen shrimp from the grocery store. (Which still turn out great.)

If we're cooking for just the two of us, a 1 lb bag of large frozen shrimp works perfectly. Large shrimp are typically defined as having 21-30 shrimp per pound. Also, we prefer our shrimp to be peeled and deveined, just to save time.

Shrimp Size Chart

Shrimp Size	Number of Shrimp Per Pound
Colossal	Under 10
Jumbo	11-15
Extra Large	16-20
Large	21-30
Medium	31-35
Small	36-45
Mini or Salad Shrimp	45+

You'll want to thaw the shrimp first. The easiest way to do this is to simply cut the top off the bag and fill it with cold water. PRO TIP: Never thaw your shrimp in hot or warm water. There are two reasons. 1) Hot water can actually cook the shrimp, resulting in a rubbery or chewy texture. 2) Hot water can also encourage bacteria growth on the shrimp that could make you sick.

When your shrimp are thawed, make sure to give them a good rinse and pat them dry. Then you can move on to the marinade.

Marinade

Our marinade is very simple and uses basic ingredients. It consists of extra virgin olive oil, fresh squeezed lime juice, lime zest, honey and chipotle peppers. We like the diced chipotle peppers that come in a resealable jar, so you can use the rest for other recipes, but you can use the canned variety as well. For the dry ingredients, we use smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.

We like to use a large bowl for our marinade. We add the ingredients one at a time, then mix. When your marinade is thoroughly mixed, pour half of it into a large Ziploc bag and reserve the other half for serving.

Add your shrimp to the Ziploc bag containing the marinade and 'knead' the shrimp to coat them completely. Roll the bag up tightly, releasing any trapped air and place in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes. Don't go over that time as the citric acid in the lime juice will begin to cook the shrimp, resulting in a rubbery texture.

Cooking

While your shrimp marinate, preheat your barbecue grill to medium heat and lightly oil the cooking surface. You can use a cooking spray like PAM or simply brush the grate with olive oil to prevent your skewers from sticking.

When your marinade time is up, remove the shrimp from the refrigerator and thread onto the skewers. We have a set of 15-inch metal skewers that are awesome for kabobs. But, wooden skewers will work too. Just make sure to soak them for 30 minutes or so before adding the shrimp to avoid burning.

Carefully thread the shrimp onto the skewers, piercing each shrimp twice if possible. Next, place each kabob on the grill. These kabobs cook quickly, so you'll want to keep an eye on them. 3-4 minutes per side on medium heat is perfect. An easy way to tell when they're done is the shrimp will no longer be translucent, but more of a pink color.

Now simply remove the skewers from the grill with tongs or oven gloves and place on a serving platter. Drizzle with the remaining marinade and serve hot! You can garnish with chopped cilantro, fresh lime wedges or even fresh parsley sprigs.

What we like about this Recipe!

Nicole - I love seafood and shrimp are high on my list of favorites. We like to use these shrimp skewers as the protein in our burrito bowls. Serve them over white rice with some black beans, corn, salsa and cheese for a delicious and easy dinner!

Mike - These Chipotle Lime Shrimp Skewers are just easy. The ingredients are simple and you only have to marinade the shrimp for a maximum of 30 minutes. Cooking time is quick too at just 3-4 minutes per side, so you can have a delicious, healthy dinner without a lot of hassle.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. (21-30) large fresh or frozen shrimp
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup fresh squeezed lime juice (2 limes)
• 1 tablespoon lime zest
• 1 teaspoon chipotle chili pepper
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon honey (preferably local)
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

FAQ

Related

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

These are my favorite dishes to serve with chipotle lime shrimp kabobs: