This Shrimp Stir Fry recipe, with juicy shrimp, asparagus, and red bell peppers makes a quick, easy, and healthy dinner for any night of the week. Ready in less than 20 minutes!
Easy Shrimp Stir Fry Recipe
Making a stir fry is one of my favorite ways to create a dinner that’s quick, easy, flavorful, AND filled with veggies – whether it’s with ground beef and broccoli stir fry, garlic chicken stir fry, tofu stir fry, or shrimp. This shrimp stir fry recipe features juicy shrimp, crisp asparagus, and bright red bell peppers in a savory sauce. Since the shrimp cook up in just a few minutes, the entire thing comes together in about 20 minutes. Serve with some cooked rice and dinner is ready to go! Prefer chicken to shrimp? Check out my chicken and broccoli stir fry recipe!
Why You’ll Love This Stir Fry Shrimp and Vegetables
- Quick and easy. Shrimp cooks very quickly on the stovetop and so do the crunchy veggies, meaning this shrimp stir fry recipe comes together in well under 30 minutes.
- Crisp, crunchy veggies. The bell peppers and asparagus add a nice burst of flavor and texture to this recipe. Since the asparagus cooks for just a few minutes, it still has a nice crunch when you bite into it.
- Easy to customize. Feel free to customize this shrimp stir fry with your preferred veggies. You can also decide how much heat, if any, you’d like it to have with the addition of optional sriracha sauce.
What You’ll Need
Besides shrimp and asparagus, you’ll need a handful of ingredients to make the stir fry sauce. Scroll down to the recipe card below for measurements.
- Water – For the cornstarch slurry.
- Cornstarch – Thickens the stir fry sauce.
- Soy sauce – Use low-sodium to control the saltiness or gluten-free tamari.
- Rice vinegar – Adds tangy undertones to balance the other flavors of the sauce.
- Brown sugar – Sweetens the sauce.
- Ginger – You can also use garlic or both together.
- Sriracha – An optional addition for a bit of heat. If you don’t have, you can also use red pepper flakes.
- Sesame oil – You can also use vegetable oil, as it’s for frying the shrimp.
- Shrimp – Peel, devein and pat dry first or buy shrimp that is already cleaned.
- Asparagus – Cut into 1-inch pieces. You can also use snow peas.
- Red bell pepper – Also cut into 1-inch pieces. Adds a lovely pop of color to the stir fry.
- Cooked rice – For serving.
- Toasted sesame seeds – An optional final garnish.
How to Make Shrimp Stir Fry
Making stir fry shrimp and vegetables is a quick and easy process. See the recipe card below for more detailed instructions.
- Make the sauce. Whisk the water and cornstarch until smooth then add in the soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, and sriracha.
- Cook the shrimp. Heat the oil until it shimmers and is nearly smoking. Add the shrimp and cook for 2 minutes, until mostly pink.
- Add the veggies. Add in the red bell pepper and asparagus. Cook for a minute.
- Add the sauce. Stir in the sauce. Cook until glossy and starting to thicken, for 30 to 60 seconds. Sprinkle with sesame seeds just before serving.
Tips & Variations
- Don’t overcook the shrimp. Shrimp cooks very quickly, so in the first step you only need to cook it until mostly pink. It will finish cooking with the asparagus and other ingredients.
- Mix up the veggies. Feel free to customize the stir fry to your preference. Water chestnuts, snap peas, zucchini, mushrooms, baby corn, carrots, broccoli, onions, green onions, and bok choy are all common stir fry ingredients.
- Adjust the heat level. You can make this stir fry as spicy or not as you’d like, by adding or omitting the sriracha.
Serving Suggestions
This stir fry shrimp and vegetables is served with a side of white rice but you can swap them for noodles. I love using my Instant Pot rice, since it’s so quick and easy to prepare. You could also use cauliflower rice, brown rice, fried rice, cauliflower fried rice, or even quinoa fried rice.
If you’d like to add a side, I love these shrimp egg rolls.
Proper Storage
- Fridge. Store leftover shrimp stir fry in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I recommend storing the rice separately.
- Reheat. Reheat quickly on the stovetop or in the microwave, until just heated through.
More Easy Shrimp Recipes
- Cilantro Lime Shrimp
- Spicy Shrimp Francese
- Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp
- Mexican Shrimp Cobb Salad
- 30-Minute Shrimp, Peas, and Rice
Shrimp Stir Fry
Equipment
- large deep skillet or wok
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce, or gluten-free tamari
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger or garlic, or both
- 2 teaspoons sriracha, optional
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil or vegetable oil
- 1 1/4 pounds peeled large shrimp, patted dry
- 8 ounces asparagus cut into 1-inch pieces, or snow peas
- 1 large red bell pepper, cut in 1-inch pieces
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds for serving
Instructions
- To make the sauce, whisk the water and cornstarch in a small bowl until smooth. Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, and sriracha (if using). Set aside.
- In a large deep skillet or wok, heat the oil over high heat until it shimmers and is nearly smoking. Add the shrimp, in a single layer if possible, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes, or until they’re mostly pink (they’ll finish cooking in the remaining steps).
- Add the asparagus and red bell peppers and stir fry for 1 minute.
- Pour in the sauce, stir to coat, and cook until the sauce is glossy and starting to thicken, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Serve with cooked rice and sprinkle with sesame seeds just before serving.
Last Step:
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- Don’t overcook the shrimp. Shrimp cooks very quickly, so in the first step you only need to cook it until mostly pink. It will finish cooking with the asparagus and other ingredients.
- Switch up the veggies. Feel free to customize the stir fry to your preference. Water chestnuts, snap peas, zucchini, mushrooms, baby corn, carrots, broccoli, onions, green onions, and bok choy are all common stir fry ingredients.
- Adjust the heat level. You can make this stir fry as spicy or not as you’d like, by adding or omitting the sriracha.
