Looking for prawn recipes? Try our top prawn dishes, from garlic prawns to prawn curry, and plenty of simple starter ideas for your next dinner party…
Prawns are a great midweek meal ingredient as they only take minutes to cook. You can buy them chilled or frozen, raw or ready-cooked. Always defrost frozen prawns thoroughly to ensure safe and even cooking. Most recipes will specify shell-on or peeled but peeled are probably the most widely sold and convenient.
How to cook prawns
- Frying prawns: To fry simply heat oil in a pan until smoking hot. Add peeled prawns and cook until pink (if using pre-cooked a couple of minutes will be enough to heat through).
- Boiling prawns: If you prefer to boil raw peeled prawns (before adding to a prawn cocktail for example) drop into boiling water with salt and juice of a lemon and cook for 3-4 minutes until pink then drain well.
- Grilling prawns: Large raw shell-on prawns can be grilled either on a griddle, under a hot grill or on the BBQ in the summer. Just toss in oil and seasoning then cook for about 3 minutes per side until they turn from silvery grey to bright pink. You can tell prawns are cooked when they turn pink, curl up and feel firm when squeezed.
Easy prawn recipes
Prawn pasta recipes
Prawn spaghetti with tomato, chilli and basil
20 minutes is all it takes to make this mean midweek pasta dish, flavoured with all the good things: white wine, butter, olive oil and prawns.
Prawn and watercress stir-fry
Toss juicy pink prawns with peppery watercress to make a simple but satisfying stir-fry that’s ready in 20 minutes.
Prawn linguine with ’nduja
Our prawn linguine with ‘nduja is super quick and easy to make and packed with big Italian flavours. Check out more of our best linguine recipes here.
Harissa lime prawn cocktail
An absolute classic, made that bit more exciting by adding rose harissa paste and plenty of fresh lime to the mix. With only 15 minutes prep time, this is the perfect dinner party starter.
Baked orzo with harissa prawns
Flavour prawns with harissa, dill, garlic and lemon, then serve swirled through orzo pasta for a speedy but sophisticated midweek dinner.
Goan prawn and coconut pie
Prawns are the star ingredient in Maunika Gowardhan’s crowd-pleasing savoury Goan pie (Apa de camarão).
Prawn orecchiette with roasted-shell olive oil
Large juicy prawns with punchy chilli and orecchiette is an easy way to impress friends at your next dinner party.
Linguine with prawns and samphire
in this recipe, king prawns pair with the sea vegetable samphire to make an easy linguine dish.
Spicy prawn linguine
Healthy food doesn’t have to be boring – this spicy prawn pasta has a spicy chilli kick to keep it interesting.
’Nduja prawns with orzo, feta and olive salad
Juicy prawns, spicy ‘nduja pesto and crumbly feta are the star ingredients in this orzo salad recipe. Plenty more salad recipes here.
Prawn stir fry recipes
Pad thai
Put king prawns to work in this classic Thai dish, full of vibrant flavours and ready in half an hour.
Indian stir-fried prawns
Stir fragrant spices with juicy king prawns and sweet peppers for a protein-packed midweek meal ready in under half an hour.
10-minute prawn rice bowl
Our Moroccan prawn rice bowl delivers big flavours in no time at all – and it’s under 500 calories. Perfect for a mid-week meal.
Kung pao prawns
This Kung Pao shrimp recipe is a really low-calorie stir-fry and is served in a homemade sauce with noodles or rice. Add Szechuan peppercorns and chilli flakes to spice things up. Best stir-fry recipes here.
Healthier pad Thai
Make the most of prawns in our skinny pad Thai packed full of authentic Thai flavours but without the high calorie count, perfect for midweek meals.
King prawn yaki soba
We’ve used King prawns as a hero ingredient in our take on the classic Japanese recipe, yaki soba.
Garlic and cumin butter prawns
Make the most of juicy king prawns by slathering in this buttery garlicky sauce – a light, punchy dinner idea ready in 20 minutes.
Szechuan prawn noodles
These hot and spicy Chinese-style noodles with fresh prawns only take 15 minutes to whip up – a quick and easy midweek meal.
Quick peri peri prawns
These peri peri prawns are quick and easy to make and are under 300 calories
Easy prawn jambalaya
This super easy prawn recipe is packed with plenty of flavour, and it’s low in calories. A wholesome midweek meal for two.
Prawn curry recipes
Hirwa kolambi kalwan
Try our vibrant green coconut prawn curry with chilli, coriander and curry leaves. We’ve used shell-on prawns as they add so much flavour, although you could make this with shelled prawns as well.
Prawn massaman curry
Make the most of juicy prawns in this Massaman curry, packed with plenty of fragrant flavours.
Quick prawn curry
This 10-minute prawn curry is super easy to make and, yep, ready in just 10 minutes. Ideal for a speedy midweek meal.
Prawn caldine
Make our Indian curry recipe packed with juicy prawns, creamy coconut milk and crunchy green beans. This light, fragrant Indian curry originates from Goa.
Tamarind prawn curry
Prawn curry in under half an hour, even when you make your own spice paste. Add tamarind and coconut milk for flavour and serve with rice and chapatis.
Jamaican prawn and sweet potato curry
This Jamaican prawn and sweet potato curry is easy, ready in under an hour and under 500 calories.
Prawn starter recipes
Giant champagne and lemon prawn vol-au-vents
Take your starter to the next level by adding champagne to your king prawn vol-au-vents.
Sriracha prawn and avocado cocktail
This sriracha prawn and avocado cocktail is a quick and easy throw-together starter but still packs a punch flavour-wise. Try our easy dinner party starter recipes here.
Prawn and avocado Vietnamese summer rolls
These fresh and easy rice paper rolls are filled with prawns, avocado, chilli and ginger, shredded carrot and noodles. Serve with chilli sauce for a dip.
Spring onion and prawn empanadas
Empanadas are dough turnovers which originated in Portugal and are now also popular in many Latin American countries. Here are ours stuffed with prawns and spring onion.
Skagen toast
Make this shrimp Skagen recipe for a sophisticated change to a traditional prawn cocktail. It’s super quick to make, why not try it as a simple starter.
Other prawn dishes
Ten-minute prawn tacos
Fill tortillas with punchy stir-fried prawns and a chopped tomato and coriander salad to make the speediest midweek tacos ready in just 10 minutes! Check out more of our taco recipes here.
Smoked haddock and prawn stew
Try this creamy seafood stew with haddock for a comforting dinner for two ready in 30 minutes.
Grilled prawns with roasted gooseberry salsa
Believe it or not, prawns and gooseberries are made for each other. Try them together in this super simple BBQ recipe.
Quick Japanese-style rice salad
Use a pack of ready-cooked or left-over rice to put a super-fast (and low calorie) king prawn salad together. Make it green with edamame beans, cucumber and avocado.
Viet-Cajun fried prawns
The Vietnamese community of Houston, Texas, has created its own twist on a crawfish boil by frying them in a mixture of Cajun and Vietnamese seasonings. We’ve substituted king prawns for the crayfish.
Mexican prawn soup
Put fresh prawns at the heart of this easy Mexican soup – perfect for an easy midweek meal.
Prawn aguachile salad
Make the most of prawns in this aguachile salad recipe. Traditionally, raw prawns would be used but we’ve used cooked here to cut down on time.
Light prawn laksa
Ready in just 30 minutes, this quick prawn laksa recipe is packed with punchy flavour and is super simple to make. What’s more, it’s low in calories and low in salt.
Prawn and pepper gumbo
A colourful jumble of tiger prawns, smoked bacon, green peppers and paprika, served with rice. Plus it’s under 300 calories per serving and is ready in 35 minutes.
Smoky prawn, pepper and new potato stew
An easy fish stew with juicy butterflied prawns and sweet red peppers. This vibrant dish is low in calories and ready in 30 minutes.
Mango and prawn rice noodle salad
Make the most of king prawns in this noodle salad sweet and juicy mango and crunchy veggies.
Prawn and mushroom miso soup
Try our prawn and mushroom miso soup means you can have a healthy but comforting meal on the table in just 15 minutes – perfect for a midweek supper.
Spicy prawn fajitas
Make your own paprika-laced prawn fajitas in less than half an hour for a punchy midweek meal.
