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This easy Bacon Wrapped Shrimp is the perfect appetizer for holidays, football season, pool parties, and more! With keto options, these come to just 5 net carbs per serving.
This bacon wrapped shrimp recipe will be your new favorite party appetizer or finger food dinner! They’re ready in just 10-15 minutes of cooking (depending on if you use the air fryer or oven), so you can easily whip this up on a weeknight. It’s a high-protein snack you can even make low-carb if you’d like!
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- Versatile – This recipe is great no matter the time of year or reason for eating! It can be a simple dinner one night and a special party appetizer the next night. You can also make this in the air fryer or oven, so you don’t have to worry about which appliance is available! If you don’t eat pork, you can even use turkey bacon!
- Quick & Easy – Only 5 ingredients are needed, and these are simple things that you can find at nearly any grocery store. The recipe can even be prepped ahead of time to make it as convenient as possible for you.
- Everyone’s Favorite Appetizer – Bacon, BBQ sauce, and shrimp are three foods that SO many people love! If you’re looking for something you know your picky eaters will enjoy, this recipe is perfect for you.
Ingredients for Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
Here’s a quick overview of what you’ll need for this recipe. Find exact measurements in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Shrimp – You want the extra-large, peeled, deveined shrimp for this recipe. One pound was 24 shrimp for me, but that number may vary depending on your package. Keeping the tails on is fine–These act as little “handles” for you to hold as you eat!
- BBQ Sauce, Brown sugar, and Apple cider vinegar – This creates the amazingly flavorful sauce. If you’re keto or diabetic, use a sugar-free BBQ sauce (we like G Hughes) and your favorite alternative sweetener (we like brown sugar monk fruit). If you don’t have cider vinegar, a white wine vinegar would be the closest substitute.
- Bacon – You want thin-cut slices for this recipe. If you go for the thick-cut bacon, it won’t be fully cooked and crispy by the time your shrimp is finished.
You’ll also need a small mixing bowl, a baking sheet, a brush, and an air fryer or oven.
How to Make Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
This recipe is simple enough for beginner cooks! Here’s a quick step-by-step guide to making this delicious shrimp appetizer.
Make sauce
In a mixing bowl, combine the BBQ sauce, sweetener, and apple cider vinegar. Set aside half of this mixture in a small bowl, then toss the shrimp in the remaining half.
Wrap with bacon
Gently stretch a piece of the thin-cut bacon–This will help prevent the bacon from shrinking as it cooks, and it makes it easier to wrap the shrimp. Cut the stretched piece of bacon into thirds, then continue with remaining bacon.
Wrap each shrimp with 1/3 slice of bacon, then lay each wrapped shrimp on a baking sheet, seam-side down. You can use toothpicks to help secure the bacon if you prefer.
Brush
Once all shrimp is wrapped in bacon, brush them with the remaining sauce that you previously set aside.
Cook
If using the oven, preheat to 400 degrees F. Cook for 12-15 minutes or until the shrimp is cooked through. If using the air fryer, preheat to 390 degrees F and cook for 8-10 minutes.
For super crispy bacon, broil for 1-2 minutes and brush with additional BBQ sauce before serving.
How to serve Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
We love this shrimp appetizer served hot right out of the air fryer with a bit of BBQ sauce for dipping. Chopped chives or other fresh herbs add a little boost of flavor while adding a pop of color for presentation. These would be great dipped in this Crock Pot Beer Cheese Dip, too.
More easy appetizers for a party spread:
Store
This appetizer should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge up to 2 days. You can freeze cooked bacon-wrapped shrimp up to 1 month for an easy snack, too.
For prepping ahead of time, you could easily assemble shrimp up to 1 day in advance and store in the fridge. If you’re not using previously-frozen shrimp, you can assemble the bacon wrapped shrimp, then freeze up to 2 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge, then cook as directed and serve!
Reheat
The best way to reheat this dish is on a baking sheet in the oven. Preheat to 350 degrees while you place the bacon-wrapped shrimp on the pan. Separate them so that they aren’t touching, then reheat for 4-6 minutes or until warmed throughout. You may choose to broil for 30 seconds or so to add some extra crisp to the bacon.
If you like this easy appetizer, you’ll love these quick recipes!
- Air Fryer Frozen Meatballs – This recipe has a delicious 2-ingredient sauce that turns your favorite bag of frozen meatballs into a delicious party appetizer in no time!
- Keto Jalapeno Poppers – Such a simple, super-flavorful appetizer for people who like to keep it low-carb! Leftovers are great to pack up for lunch the next day.
- Air Fryer Mushrooms – These stuffed mushrooms are ready quickly and are full of your favorite pizza toppings! It’s the perfect bite-sized app for get-togethers.
- Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts – This restaurant copycat is full of flavor and includes a delicious, simple dipping sauce that brings this dinner party appetizer to the next level.
- Air Fryer Cauliflower – All the flavor of buffalo wings, but made quicker, lighter, and healthier! Dunk these in some blue cheese dressing for an easy vegetarian appetizer.
Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp FAQs
No, you need extra-large shrimp for this recipe. Small shrimp cook so quickly that the bacon won’t have time to finish cooking. If you use cooked shrimp, it will be rubbery and overcooked by the time the bacon is crispy.
I don’t recommend using thick-cut bacon as it takes longer to get crispy. Thin-cut bacon is able to be cooked through and crisp right when the shrimp becomes perfectly opaque and tender.
Gently stretching the strips of bacon help loosen the bacon up, making it more pliable and willing to stay wrapped around the shrimp. It also causes it to shrink less, preventing the bacon from coming off while cooking. You can also pierce the bacon and shrimp with a toothpick to keep them secure, too!
Bacon Wrapped Shrimp (air fryer or oven)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound extra large peeled, deveined shrimp, (this was 24 for me)
- 1/4 cup BBQ sauce, sugar-free if keto
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar, brown sugar monk fruit or swerve if keto
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 8 slices thin cut bacon
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl combine the BBQ sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar.
- Toss the shrimp in half of the BBQ sauce mixture and set aside.
- Take each slice of thin-cut bacon and gently stretch it out. This will help prevent the bacon from shrinking as it cooks and makes it easier to wrap the shrimp. Once you have stretched the bacon, cut each piece into thirds.
- Wrap each shrimp with 1/3 slice of bacon and lay on a baking sheet, seam side down. If desired, you can use toothpicks to help secure the bacon.
- Once all of the shrimp has been wrapped, brush the tops with the remaining BBQ sauce.
Oven Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cook the bacon-wrapped shrimp for 12-15 minutes until the shrimp is cooked through.
- If desired, broil for 1-2 minutes to crisp the bacon even more and brush with additional BBQ sauce before serving.
- Air Fryer Instructions:
- Preheat the air fryer to 390 degrees F.
- Cook the shrimp for 8 minutes, seam side down. Once the cooking time has ended, cook an additional 2-3 minutes until the shrimp is cooked through and the bacon is crisp.
- If desired, brush with additional BBQ sauce before serving.
Video
Notes
- We love G Hughes sugar-free barbeque sauce and Lakanto brown sugar monk fruit to make these keto-friendly and low-carb. The nutrition values listed below reflect keto options. When made keto, each serving has 4.9 net carbs.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
