Instant Pot Steamed Shrimp (Perfect Every Time!)

Name: Instant Pot Steamed Shrimp
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 1 min
Ingredients: 1 cup Water; 1 lb Shrimp

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The Instant Pot is the best place to make perfectly steamed shrimp every time! Fresh or frozen, the Instant Pot is the only place you'll make shrimp from now on!

A bunch of shrimp are on an oval, yellow plate

The first time I made this recipe I was a little nervous that the result would be rubbery shrimp under the pressure of the Instant Pot. When I opened the Instant Pot and let the shrimp cool, I thought this might be the best, most tender shrimp I ever had!

They were not overcooked, and were so easy to make! This is now one of my favorite recipes! It's definitely added to my easy recipes file! To make a full meal with shrimp and the Instant Pot, make sure to check out this Instant Pot Shrimp Scampi and Instant Pot Jambalaya too!

You can use this shrimp in all sorts of Instant Pot shrimp recipes. It's versatile because it doesn't have a ton of seasoning, but if you wanted, you can add seasoning to the Instant Pot before cooking! I'll explain more below!

Jump to:

Ingredients You'll Need
What Size Shrimp Is Best?
Let's Make Instant Pot Steamed Shrimp!
Fresh or Frozen Shrimp?
Variations
How To Serve Instant Pot Steamed Shrimp
Frequently Asked Questions
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Ingredients You'll Need

An overhead shot of the ingredients for Instant Pot Steamed Shrimp — You only need a few basic ingredients for this recipe!

Shrimp. One pound of cleaned and deveined shrimp.
Water. To produce the steam in the Instant Pot.

What Size Shrimp Is Best?

You can use any size shrimp in this recipe, as long as your steamer basket holes are small enough. You do not want any shrimp falling through the holes and then boiling in the Instant Pot.

Jumbo shrimp or larger shrimp are the best shrimp to use if you are making shrimp cocktail or a low country boil.

When you are looking for shrimp in your local grocery store, you'll see numbers on each bag of shrimp. What that indicates is the size of the shrimp, meaning how many shrimp will be per pound. So if the bag says 21/25 that means there are 21-25 shrimp per pound.

Let's Make Instant Pot Steamed Shrimp!

Place a steamer basket or silicone steamer basket in your Instant Pot . Add the cold water to the Instant Pot.

Clean your shrimp. Place shrimp in the steamer basket. They do not have to be in a single layer. Set the cooking time to one minute. The shrimp cooks as the Instant Pot comes up to pressure, and then cooks at the highest temperature for one minute. All together, the cooking time is 10-12 minutes.

After the Instant Pot is done cooking, quick release the pressure. Open the Instant Pot and serve immediately or let them cool in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them.

The water is being poured into the Instant Pot — You'll need a steamer basket for this recipe.

The frozen shrimp is added to the steaming basket. — You can use frozen shrimp or thawed shrimp.

The shrimp is cooked in the steamer basket. — The shrimp is cooked to perfection!

Pro Tip! Make sure you stay away from the top of the Instant Pot when the steam is releasing. The steam can be very hot and sometimes liquid comes out of the top as well.

Fresh or Frozen Shrimp?

For this recipe, frozen shrimp provides the best results. If you would like to use fresh shrimp cook the shrimp on low pressure for one minute, or high pressure with zero minutes of cook time.

You do not want to use cooked shrimp for this recipe, only raw shrimp. Cooked shrimp does not need to be cooked further, just defrosted.

A hand is grabbing a shrimp from a pile of shrimp. — Serve these shrimp with your favorite cocktail sauce or dipping sauce.

Variations

Sprinkle the shrimp with your favorite seasonings before cooking. Old Bay Seasoning, Cajun seasoning, or your favorite seasoning blend.
Use a different liquid. You can use chicken broth, chicken stock, white wine, or vegetable broth in place of water.
When the shrimp is cooked, top with a squeeze of lemon juice to brighten up the flavor of the shrimp.

How To Serve Instant Pot Steamed Shrimp

With cocktail sauce without horseradish or your favorite dipping sauce. Sriracha aioli is my favorite dipping sauce! Top the shrimp with fresh parsley before you serve them
Cooled and tossed into shrimp salads.
As a delicious meal with white rice, soy sauce, and a variety of your favorite veggies.
Simply tossed with mixed greens, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar as a delicious meal!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use the steam function on my Instant Pot?

You can! Some Instant Pots do not have the steam function, so high pressure works the same.

What should the internal temperature of the shrimp be?

If you have a meat thermometer, the internal temperature of the shrimp should be 120 degrees Fahrenheit. The shrimp will be a bright pink when they are done and not have any gray on them at all.

Should you steam shrimp frozen or thawed?

For this recipe, you do not have to thaw your shrimp before adding them to the Instant Pot. As the Instant Pot comes up to pressure, it will thaw the shrimp and then cook it for 1 minute.

Do I have to peel and devein the shrimp before I cook them?

You do not have to, but it's best practice to clean the shrimp before hand. Cleaning shrimp can get messy, and you don't want to have to clean the shrimp when they are cooked. Your local grocery stores should have shrimp that are already cleaned and deveined if you don't want to do it yourself.

Did you make this recipe and love it?

If you did, don't forget to leave a 5-star review below! Show me your creation on Instagram or Facebook. Just mention @Lynn'sWayofLife or use this hashtag #lynnswayoflife.

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