Air fried Paleo Coconut Shrimp from the air fryer is not only crispy but so flavorful with the briny shrimp flavor. No more squishing through oil before getting the real shrimp flavor! It’s so much better than deep frying! So try these air fryer coconut shrimp today! 
Whenever I see “Coconut Shrimp” on the menu at restaurants, I’m always tempted but I never order it. I know they would be delicious with crunchy coconut flakes on the outside and juicy tender meat on the inside. Who wouldn’t enjoy that, right? And if I choose the right restaurant, a delicious sweet dipping sauce would accompany it. Sometimes I think the sauce is better than the shrimp! But I digress.
Unfortunately, fried anything at restaurant usually means, they would be deep fried in oil that was also used to fry flour battered food, making them not gluten-free anymore. This goes for French Fries and extra crispy bacon.
Did you know that? Yeah. Not cool.
But besides that little important fact, the wet and oily coconut flakes always turn me off as the restaurants rarely use healthy oils. Blech.
And trust me. I tried frying them at home with healthier oil. But while they might be healthier than restaurants’, I hate cleaning the oil splatter mess for two days afterward. I mean, Coconut Shrimp taste great but I am definitely not fond of the aftermath.
But you know what’s better than frying in deep oil?
Air frying!
I discovered air frying, thanks do my daughter. She told me about air fryers three years ago but I didn’t buy it. I know I know. I should listen to her more often. When I finally bought it, I got hooked. We made fun making crispy foods for a change since Paleo diet does not use grains and making crispy food can be challenging. But I experimented with many recipes and loved how the air fryer was making Paleo food fun again.
Then, a publisher asked me to write a Paleo cookbook for air frying. And the rest is history.
Air Fried Paleo Coconut Shrimp
It took months of continuous writing, developing, testing, re-testing, and re-testing recipes to write this cookbook. Some of the recipes had to be reworked and retested (my poor family who had to taste all of them…) and some worked like magic on the first try.
Like this Paleo Coconut Shrimp recipe.
This is one of my favorite recipes in the book, not because shrimp is one of my favorite foods but because it is a simple, easy, and fail-proof recipe. And everyone in my family – even my daughter who doesn’t like the coconut flavored foods – absolutely loves them.
Writing the Paleo Cooking with your Air Fryer cookbook took me to creative side of me that I didn’t know I had. And I came up with a few tricks to help you succeed when making these Paleo recipes. One trick I learned … never mind. You’ll just have to buy the book to learn all my tricks.
But I’ll share this one tip. You have a much better success if you refrigerate the food for a few minutes before air frying so the coating doesn’t fly everywhere with the circulating hot air inside the air fryer.
So when you make these bad boys, dredge them first and refrigerate them while the air fryer is preheating. And then place them in the air fryer and 7 minutes later, they’re done! No oil to blot from the shrimp or no oily mess to clean up. Air frying changed my frying method! And my family can enjoy them without upset stomach and I can enjoy without worrying about the clean up!
The air fryer I used to write this book is Philips Avance XL (Amazon Affiliate Link) and I highly recommend it. The wire basket where the food touches is made of stainless steel so you don’t have to worry about Teflon touching my food. Other areas are coated with non-stick material but not the basket’s wire bottom where the food is cooked on. Also, the this brand is really reliable, unlike other cheaper models on the market, that break easily. You can imagine how many recipes I made with mine and it’s still going strong!
Anyway, here is my book – my baby – that was born today!! For those of you who Pre-Ordered the book, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart! And to those who haven’t bought it yet, this book was written for you to enjoy food as they were intended to be without sacrificing the taste and texture! So grab your copy today!
Happy frying!
Air Fried Coconut Shrimp
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 Wild Caught XL Shrimp
- ⅓ c Cassava Flour
- 2 Large Eggs beaten
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Tropical Dipping Sauce
- 4 tsp coconut aminos
- 1 C pineapple juice
- 1 tsp raw honey
- ¼ tsp ground ginger powder
- ½ tsp tapioca
- 1 lime wedge
Instructions
- Wash the shrimps, take the shells off and devein them. Make small slits in the belly of the shrimps, so they don’t curl when cooked.
- Place cassava flour on a plate, eggs in a shallow bowl, and shredded coconut on another plate. Dredge shrimps in the flour, dip in the egg and roll and coat with the shredded coconut. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the air fryer 360°F.
- Brush the basket with EVOO. Place 6 shrimps in the basket, in a single layer, and set the timer for 7 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring pineapple juice to boil and then simmer in low heat, until it’s reduced to half. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Take the pan off the heat and set aside.
- When the timer goes off, take the shrimp out to a plate and cover. Put the rest of the shrimps in the basket and cook for 7 minutes. When the timer goes off, squeeze some lime juice on the shrimp, serve immediately with the Tropical Dipping Sauce.
Notes
You might like these air fryer recipes
- Air Fryer Paleo Buffalo Cauli Bites
- Air Fried Garlic and Butter Shrimp
- Air Fried Paleo Korean Chicken Wings
Coconut Shrimp Image from Paleo Cooking with your Air Fryer by Donna Crous of Eighty20Nutrition
