Oven-baked shrimp tossed in a blend of paprika spices and roasted alongside sweet, garlicky asparagus could easily be your new weeknight favorite dinner.
This simple combo is satisfying and delicious as well as low in calories but packed with protein, iron, and essential minerals—making it as nourishing as it is flavorful.
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Ready in under 20 minutes, it’s a one-pan wonder that feels special without the stress.
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Ingredients
- Jumbo shrimp
- Asparagus
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Kosher salt
- Paprika
- Smoked Paprika
- Sumac (optional)
- Lemon, for serving
Jumbo shrimp: Choose peeled, deveined to save time. Look for size 16-20 or 20-25 per pound. Smaller sizes are fine, too, but keep in mind that they will take less time to cook.
Asparagus: Here again, larger, fatter spears will take a little longer to roast to perfection. If your stalks are thin, cut the oven time by 3 to 5 minutes.
Olive oil: Extra-virgin olive oil contributes a subtle, fruity richness. However, it's not necessary to use an ultra-premium oil that's best for finishing dishes post-cooking or using as a dip for bread.
Garlic: Fresh minced cloves punch up the "wow" factor of this sheet-pan dinner. You can use frozen products like Dorot. Garlic powder won't perform well, but it's better than no garlic at all.
Salt: Large crystal Kosher salt (affiliate link) contributes flavor. Because shrimp are naturally salty, they won't need much of this seasoning.
Paprika: Hungarian paprika (affiliate link) with a mild red pepper flavor.
Smoked paprika: (affiliate link) This adds a smoky, Spanish accent, but is often not spicy hot.
Sumac: (affiliate link) This deep red spice gives the shrimp a lemony lift.
How to Make
Wash your hands, lathering with soap and rinsing with running water for 20 seconds, before starting.
Line a sheet pan (affiliate link) with extra-wide foil (affiliate link)and set the oven temperature to 400°F. If your oven has a convection roast setting, the temperature should be set at 375°F.
Start with thawed shrimp. Thoroughly coat them with olive oil, minced garlic, sweet and smoked paprikas, salt, and sumac.
Let this mixture sit.
Place trimmed asparagus on the foil-covered sheet pan and season with olive oil, garlic, and salt.
Use your hands and toss the spears in the seasoning until they are thoroughly glistening and have bits of garlic and salt crystals clinging to them.
Roast for 5 minutes and then remove the pan from the oven. Move the asparagus to one side of the pan, but try to leave them in a single layer. They will steam and become limp if pushed into a pile.
Add the seasoned, raw shrimp and return the pan to the oven for about 7 minutes until the shrimp reach an internal temperature of 145°F. They should be opaque and springy.
Remove the pan from the oven and squeeze half a lemon over the shrimp, and sprinkle them with a bit more olive oil. Turn the shrimp in the pan juices.
Serve shrimp and asparagus with a side salad for a keto, low-carb meal, or add some yummy fiber, protein, and complex carbs with whole-wheat orzo, pearl couscous, or simply steamed brown rice.
Tips and Tricks
This easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy dinner has the potential to be the fastest as well as one of the most nutritious and flavorful choices in your arsenal of weeknight dinner recipes.
The key to successful prep lies in how you thaw the shrimp. Sure, it's easy to take them out of the freezer about 15 minutes before you plan to start cooking and thaw in a colander under cool, running water.
You may sacrifice some of their sweetness and flavor with this method. However, since shrimp are usually treated with a sodium solution before freezing, it may also help remove excess salt from the shrimp.
Other defrosting options
- Refrigerator: Take them out of the freezer the night before. They will thaw in about 24 hours.
- Sink or container of cool water: In a plastic, waterproof bag, submerge in a basin of cool water. Change the water frequently, about every five minutes. They should be ready to cook in 10 to 20 minutes.
Once thawed, pat them dry with a paper towel. Just like chicken, pork, or beef, they will better absorb the seasoning if the surface is not wet.
The asparagus should be dry, as well, before you apply salt, oil, and garlic. Prep them by either snapping or cutting off the tough ends.
💪🏽Power Packed Nutrition
Pescatarians rejoice! Shrimp is loaded with lean, heart-healthy protein, and asparagus is a great source of fiber and calcium.
With the pairing of shrimp and asparagus, the recipe is a good source of calcium with approximately 123 mg per serving.
This easy sheet-pan meal supports bone health, according to Practical Dietitians, who are a nutrition resource for strong bones.
Find out more about why this recipe earned a "good" rating!
Clearly, this recipe is a keeper for anyone trying to get calcium from plants rather than dairy (animal) sources.
Nutrition Speak: A good nutrient source offers 10% to 19% of the Daily Value. An excellent source provides 20% or more.
Abundant minerals include copper, iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc.
⚡Because of its copper and iron content, this recipe has the potential to boost energy. Both minerals assist with the formation of hemoglobin in red blood cells, which carries oxygen to all parts of the body.
Shrimp, like many other crustaceans, has plenty of zinc, and asparagus boosts the amount of that immune-fortifying mineral even more. Zinc is excellent for wound healing, hormone production, and your senses of smell and taste.
🧂The potassium in this recipe helps offset the sodium in the shrimp. To keep them plump and firm, shrimp are frozen with sodium triphosphate. So, you may find you need little to no salt to bring out their flavor.
⚠️The amount of salt per serving is high. The recipe serves three generously. Reducing the serving size will bring the sodium count under 1,000 mg per serving.
Conclusion: These are the nutritional highlights of this shrimp and asparagus dish, a fantastic, dairy-free, low-carb, gluten-free option suitable for many diets that exclude meat or dairy.
It is especially excellent as a meal for people with diabetes, although the amount of sodium should be considered, particularly if blood pressure is high!
How to serve
Starchy carbohydrates with fiber and whole grains are perfect sides. Freezer bags of steamed brown rice are a no-brainer to keep the whole meal lightning fast.
If you have more time, whole-wheat orzo pilaf or pearl couscous are a contrast and complement to the shrimp and juicy, green asparagus.
Tiny new potatoes can be roasted in the same oven. Start them about 10 minutes before the asparagus.
🥖Another easy option is to warm sourdough or another crusty bread and a bowl of orange slices on the side. The citrus helps with iron absorption.
FAQ⁉️
The olive oil in the seasoning should help keep the shrimp moist. It's also important not to overcook the crustaceans. You can start checking for doneness at 5 minutes.
No; it's not necessary, but you can do it if you want.
The USDA recommends cooking them to 145°F. At this temperature, they will still look like the letter "C". They are overcooked when tightly curled.
Absolutely. The key is to choose a quick-cooking vegetable since shrimp cooks very quickly. Sliced zucchini and/or yellow squash work well. Bell peppers or onions cut into strips are also good choices.
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Sheet Pan Paprika Shrimp and Seasoned Asparagus
Equipment
- Extra-wide foil
- Medium bowl
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced, divided use
- ½ teaspoon Hungarian paprika
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt, Kosher, divided use
- ⅛ teaspoon sumac, optional but delicious
- 2½ Tablespoons olive oil, extra virgin, divided use, plus extra for drizzling
- 1 pound asparagus spears, trimmed
Instructions
- Wash hands thoroughly, lathering with soap and rinsing under running water before starting prep.
- Line a sheet pan with extra-wide foil.
- Heat oven to 400°F (375°F convection). Use a roast setting if your oven has one.
- Drain thawed shrimp and lightly dry with paper towels before placing in a medium bowl.
- Toss shrimp with a teaspoon of minced garlic, paprika, smoked paprika, ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt, sumac, and 1½ Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Let shrimp sit and marinate while you prepare the asparagus.Note: Frozen shrimp are soaked in a salt solution. If you thawed shrimp and did not rinse, you may not want/need to add any salt.
- Place cleaned, trimmed asparagus on the sheet pan and toss with the remaining teaspoon of garlic, ¼ teaspoon of Kosher salt, and Tablespoon of olive oil. Use your hands or tongs to ensure the spears are coated with oil and seasonings.
- Place asparagus in the oven and roast or bake for 5 minutes. Remove pan from oven and scoot asparagus to one side to make room for shrimp. Add shrimp to the pan in an even layer.
- Return pan to oven and roast/bake for 7 to 8 minutes until shrimp are pink and opaque throughout. The shrimp should reach an internal temperature of 145°F.
- Remove from oven and drizzle a teaspoon or two of olive oil on shrimp and squeeze half a lemon over. Turn shrimp in pan juices.
- Serve with rice, whole wheat orzo, or couscous. To keep the meal low in carbohydrates, simply add a green salad.
Ruth Hall
Wow! Filled with great protein and nutrients at a low calorie level!