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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 – Works for oven or air fryer, dinner or appetizer. Don’t eat pork? This is great with turkey bacon, too.
- Quick & Easy – You only need 5 ingredients, and you can prep this ahead of time if you need to.
- Everyone’s Favorite Appetizer – Even picky eaters love the bacon-BBQ combination! It disappears quickly at every party.
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 the sauce – combine BBQ sauce, sweetener, and apple cider vinegar. Toss the shrimp in half of this mixture, and leave the other half in a bowl for now.
- Wrap & brush shrimp – Lightly stretch the bacon (prevents shrinkage), then cut strips into thirds. Wrap each piece of sauced shrimp in a piece of bacon, then lay on a baking sheet, seam-side down. Brush wrapped shrimp with remaining sauce from Step 1.
- Cook – Preheat oven to 400 degrees, then cook bacon wrapped shrimp for 12-15 minutes or until cooked through. For the air fryer, preheat to 390 degrees F, then cook for 8-10 minutes.
- OPTIONAL: If you prefer super crispy bacon, broil these for 1-2 minutes, then 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.
Storage & Reheating
- Fridge: In an airtight container up to 2 days.
- Freezer: In a freezer-safe container up to 1 month.
- Reheat: On baking sheet in the oven, 350 degrees 4-6 minutes. Broil for 30 seconds to add some extra crisp to the bacon.
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 pierce the bacon and shrimp with a toothpick to keep them secure, too!
Yes, you can assemble shrimp up to 1 day in advance and store in the fridge. If you are using fresh-never-before-frozen shrimp, you could assemble them and freeze up to 2 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge, then cook as directed.
More Great Recipes
- Shredded Chicken Quesadillas
- Air Fryer Frozen Meatballs
- Keto Jalapeno Poppers
- Air Fryer Mushrooms
- Easy Overnight Chia Pudding
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.
Hi, I’m Maggie! After obtaining a Master of Education degree in 2020, I decided to combine my love of teaching with my passion for food. Cooking good food feeds our bodies and souls, but it also helps give us a confidence that empowers us far beyond the kitchen. I hope to share my knowledge and experience to help cooks of all levels create delicious meals, snacks, and desserts for everyone they love!
