This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
This shrimp bowl is a quick and easy weeknight meal that takes 20 minutes from start to finish. The shrimp is seasoned with Mexican spices, and fresh lime juice, then served with cilantro lime rice and fresh veggies. The protein in this recipe is interchangeable, so try it with salmon, chicken breasts, or even tofu.
Love healthy rice bowls? Try these quick and easy air fryer salmon bites over rice or make a simple ground turkey teriyaki rice bowl with coconut rice.
Table of Contents
One of my favorite things about seafood for an easy dinner is how quick it cooks. This blackened salmon is done in 15 minutes and these shrimp rice bowl can be done in under 20.
It’s no secret we’re obsessed with Mexican in our house (see cilantro lime chicken, one pot taco pasta, carne asada tacos and crispy instant pot carnitas carnitas). We love a good Taco Tuesday meal any day of the week. This recipe features all the best fiesta ingredients.
Don’t forget to top your shrimp bowl with your favorite toppings and sauces like avocado crema or creamy jalapeno ranch dressing.
Ingredients for Shrimp Bowls
Shrimp Marinade
- Olive oil (or avocado oil)
- Lime juice
- Spices: smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper
- Fresh cilantro
Shrimp Rice Bowl
- White rice (sub brown rice, quinoa or lettuce for a salad)
- Red onion
- Tomato
- Jalapeno
- Avocado
- Fire roasted corn
- Cilantro
- Creamy jalapeno dressing (I also like Tessemae’s cilantro lime ranch if you want store bought)
How to Make A Shrimp Bowl
Be sure to head to the recipe card below for step by step instructions and a video showing you how to make this!
- Start by marinating the shrimp. Add the olive oil, lime juice, spices and cilantro to a bowl. Pat the shrimp dry, then add it to the marinade and toss to coat. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- While it’s marinading, assemble the shrimp bowls. Make the rice according to package instructions (I like minute rice), then top with fresh ingredients.
- To cook the shrimp, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat (no oil needed). When it’s hot, add the shrimp to the pan in an even layer and cook for 2-3 minutes on one side, flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes on the other side. Remove the shrimp from the heat and stir the shrimp to fully coat it in any sauces that are in the pan.
- Add the shrimp to your assembled bowl and top with more lime juice, fresh cilantro and creamy cilantro ranch if desired.
Tips for Cooking Shrimp
To save time, buy shrimp that’s already peeled and deveined. Most of the time the shrimp at the seafood counter is already previously frozen, so I like to opt for the shrimp that’s in the freezer section. You can buy it with the tail on or off. The tail looks pretty and you can cook the shrimp with them on, but you’ll want to take them off to eat them.
Before cooking, the raw shrimp will be a gray color (so don’t buy the already cooked shrimp from the seafood counter:)).
Keep an eye on the shrimp the entire time because of how quickly it cooks (5-6 minutes total). It will turn an opaque and pink color when it’s done and curl to form a loose “C” shape.
You can either place it in the fridge on a paper towel overnight or my favorite option, transfer the shrimp to a sealed plastic bag and put it in a large bowl full of cold water then place another bowl on top to weigh it down. This method takes about 1-2 hours to thaw.
Looking for more healthy bowls? Try burger bowls, salmon rice bowls, or this turkey teriyaki rice bowl next.
If you love this recipe, don’t forget to leave a star rating and comment with a review. I’d love to hear and connect with you!
Fiesta Shrimp Rice Bowl
Save this Recipe!
Ingredients
Shrimp Marinade
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil
- 2 tablespoon lime juice (about 1 large lime)
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more if you want it more spicy)
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
- 1 lb raw shrimp peeled and deveined
Shrimp Rice Bowl
- 2 cups uncooked white rice (I like Minute Rice but you can also use quinoa, brown rice or lettuce)
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 1/2 cup diced cherry tomatoes
- 1 jalapeno sliced (optional)
- Fresh chopped cilantro
- 1 large avocado sliced
- 1 (15 ounce) can fire roasted corn draineda
- To serve: Homemade creamy jalapeno ranch or store bought cilantro ranch
Instructions
- Start by marinating the shrimp. Add the olive oil, lime juice, spices and cilantro to a bowl medium bowl. Pat the shrimp dry, then add it to the marinade and toss to fully coat. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- While it’s marinading, assemble the shrimp bowls. Make the rice according to package instructions (I like minute rice), then top with desired toppings.
- To cook the shrimp, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat (no oil needed). When it’s hot, add the shrimp to the pan in an even layer and cook for 2-3 minutes on one side, flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes on the other side. The shrimp will turn an opaque and pink color and form a loose “C” shape when it’s done. Remove the shrimp from the heat and stir to fully coat it in any sauces that are in the pan.
- Add the shrimp to your assembled bowl and top with more lime juice, fresh cilantro and creamy cilantro ranch if desired. See recipe notes for meal prepping.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This dish is amazing. Be sure to take a few minutes to make the jalapeño ranch dressing. It elevates the dish even more.
It’s all easy to make and delicious. I made it for Father’s Day. My husband and son loved it
Love that!! So glad I got to be a small part of your Father’s Day. Thanks for sharing!
Enjoyed this recipe! The shrimp turned out great – super flavorful. I made some fire roasted peppers and onions and mixed in the fire roasted corn and some black beans. We opted not to have the ranch dressing with it. An easy recipe that was tasty and satisfying.
Thanks, Sandra!!!
Husband approved! It was delicious and so simple! I did use store bought ranch that I added lime juice cilantro onion powder and a few drops of Tabasco to! FANTASTIC!!! I plan to make it for my church potluck next week Thank you
Tammi, this sounds amazing! Love the doctored up ranch idea. Thanks for sharing!
This recipe was very easy and absolutely delicious! I can’t wait to make it again.
Thanks, Tiffani!
I made this dish for supper. Easy prep. Love all the spices on the shrimp. I didn’t have the fire roasted corn so I used what I had. Birdseye southwest blend. Which is corn, black beans, poblano peppers, sweet onion and red pepper. It was super complementary to the other ingredients’. The flavor of the marinade of the shrimp is to die for! I couldn’t stop eating it. Definitely will make this dish again. I used Litehouse jalapeno ranch dressing on top and extra lime and cilantro. Yum!
Thank you, Deb!!
I have made this once (and it is on my menu this coming week). We really enjoyed it! I’m wondering if anyone serves a side with this (and if so, what). I like to have enough for 3 of us for supper and then lunch the next day. A side would make it go further (I could double the recipe as well but would prefer to try a side dish).
Thanks in advance for any ideas. 🙂
Beth
Hey Beth! We don’t typically do a side with this, but you definitely could do something like beand and corn salsa (on my site) or even roasted Mexican veggies like peppers and onion.
We made this meal for dinner tonight, so good! The shrimp had so much flavor. We also added black corn and cucumber. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks, Rozelle!! Glad you liked it!