Bring the islands to your kitchen with these DELICIOUS grain-free, gluten-free and Paleo Kombucha-Battered Coconut Shrimp. Fresh shrimp get dunked in a kombucha batter and breaded in a coconut-flax seed mixture before being baked to golden perfection in the oven. You don't need to be a Paleo enthusiast to enjoy these shrimp! They're just as delicious as any restaurant's coconut shrimp! The healthier ingredients are just an extra bonus!
Move over Outback, there's new and improved coconut shrimp in town, and they're ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD FOR YOU! As a recipe developer, I try to create recipes that I'm fairly certain are going to work. This was not one of those recipes. I applaud food bloggers that will tweak recipes over and over again until they get it just right. I am not one of those food bloggers. If something doesn't work out after the 2nd or 3rd attempt, I accept that it just wasn't meant to be and return to the drawing board.
That being said, this coconut shrimp recipe was totally out of my comfort zone. I don't have much experience hand breading seafood, let alone battering it in kombucha first, so yeah -this was one hell of an experiment that actually worked, anddddd I'M SO PROUD OF MYSELF. Damn, they're good. So without further ado...
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Ingredients for Paleo & Gluten-Free Kombucha-Battered Coconut Shrimp
What I love the most about these shrimp are the clean, whole ingredients that make these just as delcious (if not better) then their restaurant-quality counterpart! Here's what you'll need:
- Extra Large Shrimp: peeled, deveined & tail on! You can use fresh or frozen shrimp. If frozen, be sure to defrost them in the fridge or under cool running water first. Also, be sure to leave the tail on the shrimp, so you have something to grab on to while you're battering them!
- Coconut Flour
- Sea Salt & Black Pepper
- Paprika, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder & Cayenne
- Kombucha: I tested this recipe with two flavors -GT's Watermelon & GT's Passionberry Bliss. Both were fantastic. I'm a huge fan of GT's Kombucha because most of the flavors are inherently sugar-free and Whole30 compliant! I definitely recommend using a fruit-flavored, sweeter kombucha -and a flavor you actually like drinking. You'll only be using half of the bottle for the batter, so you might as well drink the rest while you're munching on your coconut shrimp!
- Eggs
- Honey: To make these shrimp Whole30 compliant, simply leave out the honey. The shrimp won't be quite as sweet, but they'll still be DELICIOUS. I tested the recipe with and without the honey. You won't be missing out on that much if you omit it completely, I promise.
- Coconut Oil
- Shredded Unsweetened Coconut & Milled Flax Seeds: the combination of these two ingredients as the breading adheres really well to the shrimp along with providing boat loads of nutrients!
How to Make Paleo & Gluten-Free Kombucha-Battered Coconut Shrimp
First things first, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Next, prepare a baking sheet by lining it with foil or parchment paper and setting a wire rack on top. Spray the wire rack with cooking spray and set it aside while you batter the shrimp.
You're going to need 3 mixing bowls for the battering process. The easiest way for me to thoroughly explain this process is by referring to each bowl by number. Bowl #1, #2 and #3 makes the most sense. Okay, so in bowl #1, you're going to add the coconut flour, sea salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and cayenne. Mix the ingredients together thoroughly with a fork or wire whisk.
In bowl #2, whisk together the kombucha, eggs, honey and coconut oil. Just a quick gentle reminder to omit the honey if you're on a round of Whole30!
In bowl #3, mix together the shredded coconut and milled flax seed.
Still with me? Great! From here, you're going to pour the dry ingredients in bowl #1 into bowl #2 with the wet ingredients while whisking vigorously. Continue whisking while pouring in about a cup of water. The batter shouldn't be goopy. If it's too thick, add more water while whisking. When it resembles pancake-batter, you've reached the right consistency!
Hand battering shrimp is a lot easier than I thought it would be. Call me crazy but the process is actually pretty relaxing. I'd go as far as to say the process is therapeutic. To do so, simply hold the shrimp by the tail, dunk them in the bucha batter and then dredge them through the shredded coconut-flax mixture. You may need to use your fingers to gently press the coconut breading onto the shrimp to adhere.
Place the coated shrimp onto the prepared wire rack in an even-layer and bake in your preheated oven for 12 minutes or until the coating is gold and toasted and the shrimp are pink and no longer opaque. These shrimp are best served immediately! They're EVEN BETTER dunked into my Jalapeno Pineapple Aioli!
Can I Make Paleo Kombucha-Battered Coconut Shrimp in My Air Fryer?
You can, but I'm a proponent for working smarter, not harder. Using an air fryer for this recipe is kind of a pain in the rear end. I know from experience. In order to get the shrimp evenly toasted and crisp, you'll need to place them in your air fryer in a single-layer. Otherwise, the shrimp will stick together and become a big ol' mess. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to work in batches which is why it's probably easier just to do this in the oven.
That being said, if you're set on doing this in the air fryer, simply preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees and air fry the coated shrimp in a even layer for 8 to 10 minutes, flipping halfway through (and working in batches if need be).
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Use your favorite fruit flavored kombucha, so you can enjoy the rest of the bottle with your shrimp!
- The shredded coconut and flax seed mixture may become sticky and clump up as the shrimp are dredged through it. To avoid this, simply divide the mixture into two bowls -you'll have a fresh bowl once the first bowl gets too sticky and messy!
- These shrimp are great paired with my Jalapeno Pineapple Aioli!
- These shrimp are best served fresh from the oven!
These coconut shrimp are crisp, juicy, sweet and DELICIOUS. I don't know much about children, but I'm pretty sure kids love finger foods (especially finger foods of the breaded variety), so I'm sure they're going to love these shrimp! They're also a great appetizer to impress guests! You could also totally make these into a meal by serving them with a side of cauliflower rice and veggies or piling them above a hearty salad! However you decide to serve yourself this recipe, I'm fairly certain you'll be addicted after one bite!
Definitely let me know if you try them in the comments, and be sure to tag me on social media @paleoishkrista and tag your gorgeous food photos with #paleoishkristaeats! ENJOY! 🙂
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FAN OF THIS RECIPE? GREAT! I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
- Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Air Fryer Onion Rings
- Air Fryer Zucchini Fries
- Paleo Pumpkin Jalapeno Poppers
- Dairy-Free Broccoli & "Cheese" Stuffed Mushrooms
📖 Recipe
Paleo Kombucha-Battered Coconut Shrimp
Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- 8 ounces kombucha fruit flavored
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons honey omit for Whole30
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil melted
- ½ cup shredded coconut unsweetened
- ¼ cup milled flax seed
- 1 pound extra large shrimp (26 -30 count per pound) peeled, deveined and tail on
- jalapeno pineapple aioli (for dipping) optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Place a wire rack onto the lined baking sheet. Spray the wire rack with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Start with 3 mixing bowls. In the first bowl, stir together coconut flour, salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and cayenne. In the second bowl, whisk together kombucha, eggs, honey and coconut oil. In the third bowl, stir together shredded coconut and milled flax seed.
- Pour the coconut flour mixture in the first bowl into the kombucha mixture in the second bowl. Whisk everything together while pouring in 1 cup of water. Continue whisking vigorously until the mixture becomes a loose batter.
- To batter the shrimp: hold each shrimp by the tail, dunk into kombucha-batter, shake off any excess batter and then dredge through shredded coconut mixture; pressing gently to adhere. Place the coated shrimp on the wire in an even layer.
- Bake until the shrimp are gold and toasted on the outside and pink in the center, about 12 minutes.
- Serve immediately with Jalapeno Pineapple Aioli, if desired. ENJOY! 🙂
Notes
- Use your favorite fruit flavored Kombucha, so you can enjoy the rest of the bottle with your shrimp!
- The shredded coconut and flaxseed mixture will become sticky and clump up as the shrimp are dredged through it. To avoid this, simply divide the mixture into two bowls -you'll have a fresh bowl once the first bowl gets too sticky.
- These shrimp are AMAZING served with Jalapeno Pineapple Aioli!
- These shrimp are best served fresh from the oven!
Nutrition
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