Honey Walnut Shrimp

This easy Honey Walnut Shrimp recipe takes just 30 minutes to make! Crispy shrimp are coated in a dreamy, creamy honey sauce and topped with candied walnuts. A total showstopper and so much better than takeout! Love easy dinner recipes? Make sure to try my Chicken Stir Fry and Cashew Chicken recipes!

There is something so special about this Honey Walnut Shrimp recipe. It feels extremely decadent and definitely worthy of a special occasion.

The shrimp is coated in egg and cornstarch and then lightly fried for a fabulously crispy coating and then tossed together with the candied walnuts and a sweet and tangy sauce made with just 4 ingredients. It’s better than takeout for sure!

The recipe looks complicated but it’s really not! In fact, this is definitely in our weeknight dinner rotation. We love to serve it over white or brown rice – so good!

Honey Walnut Shrimp Recipe

This recipe comes together in three steps:

1. making the candied walnuts
2. cooking the shrimp
3. making the sauce

I like to garnish with some slice green onions for a quick pop of color and bright, fresh flavor.

More Shrimp Recipes To Try

If you are a shrimp fan, here are some of our shrimp recipe favorites:

• Layered Popcorn Shrimp Taco Salad
• Easy Shrimp Po’ Boy Sandwich
• Slow Cooker Shrimp Boil
• 20 Minute Pesto Shrimp with Gnocchi and Asparagus
• Spicy Blackened Shrimp Skillet Nachos
• Roasted Red Pepper Shrimp Scampi Dip

Honey Walnut Shrimp Ingredients

Although I would imagine you will find the majority of these ingredients in your pantry, there are a few items here that you’re probably going to need to add to your shopping list. Let’s take a look at what you’ll need:

For the candied walnuts:

• water
• brown sugar – you can use light or dark brown sugar for this recipe (or even granulated sugar)
• walnuts – I like to get the walnut halves for this recipe, you could also use pecans instead of walnuts.

For the shrimp:

• large or extra large shrimp – you will need them raw, deveined, and peeled. You can buy them like this or do the deveining and peeling on your own. I have instructions on how to do that below.
• salt and pepper
• eggs – for dipping the eggs in
• cornstarch – to make the shrimp nice and crispy. You could also use flour here, but cornstarch isn’t as finicky as flour. 
• butter – for flavor and to sauté the shrimp in
• extra virgin olive oil – additional flavor and to sauté the shrimp in

For the cooking sauce:

• miracle whip – see my notes below on using this or mayonnaise
• honey – adds a lovely sweetness to the dish. The honey can be replaced with maple syrup or agave syrup. 
• heavy cream – to make the sauce nice and creamy
• soy sauce – adds a depth of flavor to the recipe

For the garnish:

• green onions – adds a pop of color and some fresh flavor

How To Make Honey Walnut Shrimp

Make Candied Walnuts

1. In a saucepan, bring water and brown sugar to a boil. Mix well. Once boiling, add in walnuts and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Carefully spoon out the walnuts and place them on a plate to cool off. Set aside.

For the Shrimp

1. Prepare shrimp by patting them dry with a paper towel and seasoning them with the salt and pepper. Make sure all shrimp are deveined and peeled. 
2. In a medium sized shallow bowl, whisk eggs together until smooth. 
3. In another medium sized shallow bowl, place the cornstarch.
4. Prepare shrimp for cooking by dipping each shrimp in the eggs, coating them completely, and then dipping them in the cornstarch. Make sure each shrimp is covered completely in cornstarch. Set aside. (I would recommend using a fork or tongs for this step.)
5. Heat butter and extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. 
6. Place shrimp in the skillet and cook until they turn golden brown and start to curl, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Flip shrimp and cook the other side. Turn off heat and set the skillet of shrimp aside. 

Typically to know if shrimp is cooked all the way, the shrimp will turn pink and begin to curl. Because of the coating, they will turn a golden brown with a slight pink undertone. 

For the sauce

1. Mix together miracle whip, honey, heavy cream, and soy sauce in a bowl. 
2. Place the skillet of shrimp back on low-medium heat. Add the sauce mixture, stir, and cook together for 3 to 5 minutes being gentle with the shrimp so as to not remove the coating.
3. Plate and top with candied walnuts and garnish with chopped green onions. 

FAQs

Tools Needed

This is an easy recipe that doesn’t require any special tools but here’s a quick look at what you’ll need:

• A large skillet will work but if you have a wok, that works great too.
• Mixing bowls – I love this glass mixing bowl set.
• Tongs – not necessary but they work better than a fork in my opinion

Variations To Try

I always recommend making the recipe as written the first time and then trying a different variation if you want the second time you make it. And trust me, there will be a second time 😍 Here are some fun variations to try:

• You can try this dish with mayonnaise instead of Miracle Whip if you don’t have it on hand. (The miracle whip gives the sauce an extra tang.)
• The walnuts can be replaced with pecans and is equally delicious.
• The honey can be replaced with maple syrup or agave syrup. 

More Easy Dinner Recipes

1. Homemade Baked Mac and Cheese
2. Easy Chicken Stir Fry
3. The Ultimate Crockpot Chili
4. Chicken Fried Steak with Gravy
5. Easy Stuffed Shells
6. The BEST Tater Tot Casserole
7. Tuna Casserole with Noodles

How To Make Honey Walnut Shrimp

Print Pin

5 from 6 votes

Honey Walnut Shrimp

This easy Honey Walnut Shrimp recipe takes just 30 minutes to make! Crispy shrimp are coated in a dreamy, creamy honey sauce and topped with candied walnuts. A total showstopper and so much better than takeout!

Course Entree, Main Dish

Cuisine Chinese

Keyword honey walnut shrimp, honey walnut shrimp recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 921kcal

Author Trish – Mom On Timeout

Ingredients

Candied Walnuts

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup brown sugar light or dark
• 1 ½ cups walnut halves

Shrimp

• 1 pound large shrimp raw, deveined, peeled
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 3 eggs
• ⅔ cup cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon butter salted
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Honey Sauce

• ¾ cup miracle whip or mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• ½ teaspoon soy sauce low sodium

Garnish

• green onions
• serve with white or brown rice

Instructions

Candied Walnuts

• In a saucepan, bring water and brown sugar to a boil. Mix well. Once boiling, add in walnuts and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Watch carefully to make sure the nuts and sugar do not burn.
• Once the 2 to 3 minutes are up, carefully spoon out the walnuts and place them on a plate covered in paper towel to let them cool off. Set aside.

Shrimp

• Prepare shrimp by patting them dry with a paper towel and seasoning them with the salt and pepper. (Make sure all shrimp are deveined and peeled.)
• In a medium sized shallow bowl, whisk eggs together until smooth.
• In another medium sized shallow bowl, place the cornstarch.
• Prepare shrimp for cooking by dipping each shrimp in the eggs, coating them completely, and then dipping them in the cornstarch. Make sure each shrimp is covered completely in cornstarch. Set aside. (I would recommend using a fork or tongs for this step.)
• Heat butter and extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
• Place shrimp in the skillet and cook until they turn golden brown and start to curl, about 1-2 minutes per side. Flip shrimp and cook the other side. Turn off heat and set the skillet of shrimp aside.

Honey Sauce

• Mix together miracle whip, honey, heavy cream, and soy sauce in a bowl.
• Place the skillet of shrimp back on low-medium heat. Add the sauce mixture and gently fold in with the shrimp. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until the sauce is heated through.
• Plate and top with candied walnuts and garnish with chopped green onions.

Notes

Typically to know if shrimp is cooked all the way, the shrimp will turn pink and begin to curl. Because of the coating, they will turn a golden brown with a slight pink undertone.

Nutrition

Calories: 921kcal | Carbohydrates: 100g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 45g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 436mg | Sodium: 1688mg | Potassium: 426mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 73g | Vitamin A: 464IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 282mg | Iron: 5mg