This perfectly grilled tequila lime margarita shrimp will quickly become a summer staple! With fresh squeezed lime juice, minced garlic, and chopped cilantro, this easy grilled shrimp recipe is just bursting with bright flavors.
Jump to:
📋 About the Recipe
- Margarita grilled shrimp is marinated with fresh and flavorful ingredients. Just like the drink, it's coated in a blend of tequila, fresh squeezed lime juice, and agave.
- The addition of garlic, cilantro, and other seasonings packs a punch of extra flavor, while keeping the dish perfectly light and healthy.
- With delicious flavor from both the tequila lime marinade and the grill, it's sure to be a real crowd-pleaser. And with simple ingredients, you can easily size it up or down to feed more or less servings.
- Grilling the margarita shrimp with the skin on helps them remain moist and juicy. It also adds another layer of flavor.
- Skewers help to prevent the shrimp from falling through the grates of the grill, while also allowing for a more even cooking.
- This recipe is quick and easy. Best for busy nights when you still want restaurant-quality flavors.
- With just a few simple steps, you'll feel like you're on a beach-side vacation with fresh, summery flavors. You'll have a perfectly healthy dinner for your family made in no time with minimal effort too!
- Pair the skewered shrimp with a delicious homemade margarita and serve with fresh vegetables and coconut lime rice for a complete meal. You can also serve tequila lime grilled shrimp as an appetizer with a side of cocktail sauce or on top of fresh salads.
🛒 Ingredients
A few notes about the ingredients:
- Large peel-on fresh shrimp - I HIGHLY recommend buying fresh shrimp from your grocery store's seafood counter, instead of using frozen. Fresh shrimp tend to have more flavor than frozen. Additionally, larger shrimp cook better on the grill. It is also highly recommended that you purchase them with the skin still on, so they remain moist, juicy, and extra flavorful as they grill.
- Garlic - 4 cloves of fresh garlic packs a delicious garlicky punch. The garlic infuses into the shrimp as it marinates. Plus, any pieces of garlic stuck to the shrimp while grilling will cook and add flavor too.
- Olive oil - olive oil provides a little fat to the shrimp, keeping them from drying out on the grill.
- Tequila - tequila adds a slightly smokey, acidic flavor. It pairs really well with the lime, as well as the flavor of seafood. The tequila paired with lime and agave mimics the flavors of a margarita.
- Lime - lime adds acid as well. It is fresh and fruity and brings brightness to the shrimp.
- Agave - agave is added to help balance out the acidic flavors. It is slightly sweet and made from the same plant as tequila so the flavors work perfectly together.
- Cilantro - cilantro adds fresh and herby flavor. If you're not a fan, you can either leave it out or substitute it for parsley or scallions.
- Jalapeño - the jalapeño is optional for a little added kick. It adds a subtle heat and peppery bite.
- Chili powder, salt, pepper - these seasonings bring out even more flavor, making this margarita marinade truly one of the best!
📓 Instructions
1. In a large mixing bowl, add all of the ingredients, besides the shrimp, to create a marinade. Mix the marinade to evenly combine everything.
2. Add the shrimp to the marinade and gently toss them around to evenly coat them.
3. Marinate for 30 minutes to an hour.
4. Gather about 10 skewers and skewer 4 to 5 shrimp on each one, allowing any extra marinade to drip off. Leaving a little space in between each shrimp, stick the skewer through the bottom and out the top, forming a "c" shape with each one. Discard the marinade.
5. Preheat your grill to 350 degrees F before adding the skewered shrimp onto the grill grates.
6. Cook the shrimp for around 3 minutes on each side or until slightly charred outside and opaque in the middle, about 6 minutes total. Remove the skewers to a clean plate as soon as they're cooked through to prevent overcooking.
7. Serve margarita grilled shrimp with a drizzle of fresh squeezed lime juice and a sprinkle of freshly chopped cilantro over top.
⁉️ Substitutions and Alterations
Instead of tequila: you can use vodka, white rum, or beer.
Instead of lime: all kinds of citrus pair well with shrimp. You can use lemons, oranges, or even grapefruit in place of the lime.
Instead of cilantro: you can either leave out the cilantro or add in parsley or scallions in its place.
❄️ How to Store
To store: Allow the tequila lime grilled shrimp to cool completely before placing them in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator 3 to 4 days.
To freeze: Freezing is not recommended as it will dry out the shrimp.
To reheat: You can place the margarita shrimp back on the grill for a minute or two to heat them up, or you can microwave them for a few seconds just to take the chill out. Just be careful not to overcook them while reheating.
🔍 FAQs
For this recipe, it is recommended to only marinate the shrimp no more than an hour or two.
If you're using a different recipe that does not include any citrus or acidic ingredients, you can probably marinate your shrimp a bit longer without consequence.
When shrimp is marinated in citrus (lime juice in this recipe) over a long period of time, the citrus can actually start to cook the shrimp. If you leave shrimp in the marinade too long, it'll turn them mushy or rubbery.
If your shrimp turned out rubbery, they are most likely overcooked. Shrimp cook very fast, so it is important to remove them from the grill as soon as they turn opaque and cooked through in the middle.
Additionally, you may have marinated the shrimp too long, which will cause the citrus to begin "cooking" them before you even place them on the grill. Make sure to only marinate them for about an hour.
You don't need to skewer the shrimp, but the skewers help in preventing the shrimp from falling in between the grates of the grill.
If you buy large enough shrimp, or your grates are close enough together, you can skip the skewering and simply lay the shrimp directly on the grill.
Also be aware that the skewers help you rotate the shrimp much faster than if you rotate each piece of shrimp individually, since you'd be rotating the entire skewer (most likely about 4 to 5 shrimp at a time). Therefore, skewering can make you more efficient and help prevent the shrimp from becoming overcooked.
If you're using bamboo skewers, you can opt to soak them in water before grilling so they don't burn.
However, I've found that because shrimp cooks so quickly, the skewers aren't really on the grill long enough to burn. So soaking them can be an unnecessary step.
💭 One More Tip
Shrimp do not take long to cook, so make sure to keep a close eye on them. You'll know when they are cooked through when they turn orange and opaque.
Perfectly cooked shrimp will be in the shape of the letter "c," while overcooked shrimp will curl up almost entirely to resemble an enclosed "o" shape.
Remove the tequila lime grilled shrimp when it is "c" shaped, as overcooked shrimp will become dry and tough.
🍴 Related Recipes
Share your cooking with me! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know! Tag @yourhomemadehealthy on Instagram or leave a comment with a rating and some feedback at the bottom of this page!
📖 Recipe
Tequila Lime Margarita Grilled Shrimp
Equipment
- grill
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds large skin-on fresh shrimp (around 30-40) SEE NOTES
- 4 large garlic cloves minced
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup tequila
- 2 limes juiced
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro chopped
- 1 tablespoon agave, honey, or maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 jalapeño diced, optional for added spice
- 10 skewers
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add all of the ingredients, besides the shrimp, to create a marinade. Mix the marinade to evenly combine everything.
- Add the shrimp to the marinade and gently toss them around to evenly coat them.
- Marinate for 30 minutes to an hour.
- Gather about 10 skewers and skewer 4 to 5 shrimp on each one, allowing any extra marinade to drip off. Leaving a little space in between each shrimp, stick the skewer through the bottom and out the top, forming a "c" shape with each one. Discard the marinade.
- Preheat your grill to 350 degrees F before adding the skewered shrimp onto the grill grates.
- Cook the shrimp for around 3 minutes on each side or until slightly charred outside and opaque in the middle, about 6 minutes total. Remove the skewers to a clean plate as soon as they're cooked through to prevent overcooking.
- Serve margarita grilled shrimp with a drizzle of fresh squeezed lime juice and a sprinkle of freshly chopped cilantro over top.
Storage
- To store: Allow the tequila lime grilled shrimp to cool completely before placing them in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator 3 to 4 days.To freeze: Freezing is not recommended as it will dry out the shrimp.To reheat: You can place the margarita shrimp back on the grill for a minute or two to heat them up, or you can microwave them for a few seconds just to take the chill out. Just be careful not to overcook them while reheating.
Notes
- I HIGHLY recommend buying fresh shrimp from your grocery store's seafood counter, instead of using frozen. Fresh shrimp tend to have more flavor than frozen. Additionally, larger shrimp cook better on the grill, since they don't overcook as fast. It is also highly recommended that you purchase shrimp with the skin still on, so they remain moist, juicy, and extra flavorful as they grill.
- If you're not a fan of cilantro, you can leave it out or substitute it for parsley or scallions.
- Make sure to keep a close eye on the shrimp as they cook! They will overcook quickly. You'll know when they are cooked through when they turn orange and opaque. You want them to be "c" shaped when you remove them from the grill. If they curl up entirely and are "o" shaped, they are overdone.
Nutrition
Want more recipes like this delivered right to your inbox? Be sure to subscribe above and never miss a thing!
Tina
Love how juicy and flavorful these are!
Alana Lieberman
Definitely a staple recipe around here. Thank you!