Inspiration: We recently bought a container of coconut oil for the first time and are starting to incorporate it into our diets. If you’ve never had it before, it’s fantastic and has a wonderful coconut flavor and scent that carries over to your food when you use it. It makes for a great tropical spin on fried eggs for breakfast! While we were eating our coconut fried eggs for breakfast one morning, B suggested using the oil to make coconut shrimp, and it was, of course, a great idea :)

What we Loved: B and I both loved these shrimp. Since we avoid carbs, I mixed together some almond meal and unsweetened coconut for the breading, and it turned out fantastic! The coconut flavor was nice and mild, though not so mild as to be undetectable, and there was the definite texture of coconut. The almond meal provided a mild, nutty flavor and acted as a great “breading” along with the coconut. I served these with some lima beans sauteed with almonds and topped with some shaved Parmesan, and to tell you the truth, I’m not sure which part of the meal I enjoyed more! It was a great, summery supper for one of the first days in so long that we’ve seen the sun!

Helpful Hints: My only little problem with this recipe is that the shrimp turned out a little bit greasy. Not that we mind too much, as we get a large portion of our calories from healthy fats, but if you’d like these to be a little less greasy, I’d suggest placing them onto paper towels after cooking, like you would with bacon, so that the paper towels can absorb some of the extra oil.

Almond Coconut Shrimp
Source: Original recipe

20-25 large shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails on
2 eggs
1/4 cup almond meal
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut
Coconut oil

1. Pat the shrimp dry on paper towels, getting them as dry as you can.

2. Beat the eggs together in a shallow bowl. Mix the almond meal and coconut together in a second shallow bowl.

3. Dip the shrimp into the eggs, and then dip them into the coconut mixture. Completely coat the shrimp in the coconut mixture, and then place them aside onto a plate.

4. Heat a good amount of coconut oil in a saute pan over medium high heat, enough to completely coat the bottom of the pan to about 1/8 inch deep. When the oil is hot, add the shrimp to the pan. Saute for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, and then flip the shrimp and cook the other side for the same amount of time. Cook in batches to avoid overcrowding your pan, and add more oil if necessary between batches.

5. Drain the cooked shrimp on a paper towel lined plate. Keep warm under foil until all of the shrimp are cooked.