Grilled Shrimp Skewers are loaded with flavor from Chipotle, lime, garlic, and fish rub, and shrimp is quick and easy to cook on the grill! And grilled shrimp is amazing served with a tasty low-carb salsa for a perfect summer meal.

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Grilled Shrimp Skewers on serving plate with bowl of tomato-avocado salsa.

Grilled Shrimp Skewers are so perfect for a warm-weather meal, and recipes like this always make me happy when it’s grilling season! And this dinner of shrimp cooked on skewers is so easy to make.

The shrimp only needs to marinate for about an hour in a mixture of ground Chipotle chili powder, garlic powder, fish rub, lime juice, and olive oil. Then the marinade is drained off, the shrimp are threaded on to skewers and the shrimp cooks on the grill in less than five minutes! And this easy shrimp main dish is delicious served with the delicious tomato-avocado salsa you see peeking out of the corner of the photo.

I’m also going to give you a few other options below for a tasty salsa to serve with the shrimp. And this post also has notes about why I have so many sentimental feelings about this recipe; hope you enjoy trying it.

Thanks to Nick Rhodes for teaching me how to grill shrimp!

In the very earliest days of my blog, the charming father of my friend Mary sent me a recipe! Through the years that recipe has evolved into this one where you can use the salsa you prefer, but this post is still dedicated to the memory of Nicholas Rhodes. I don’t think I’d ever heard of cooking shrimp on the grill until I got this recipe from Nick, and it was delicious just like all the food he made.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

What size shrimp did I use for the Grilled Shrimp recipe?

For this recipe I use frozen raw shrimp from Costco, preferably 21-25 size shrimp. I buy shrimp that has had the shell and vein removed, but still has the tails on so when you slide the shrimp off the skewers, it’s easy to pick up a piece of shrimp by the tail and eat it!

What type of skewers are best for kabobs?

Any time youโ€™re making kabobs or skewers I highly recommend using either thicker blade-type skewers (affiliate link) or double skewers (affiliate link) to prevent the food from spinning around. In these photos you can see my well-used double skewers working perfectly for shrimp. If you donโ€™t have either of those types of skewers, make sure you fold over the shrimp and put the skewer through each piece of shrimp twice to hold it in place.

What salsas are good with these Grilled Shrimp Skewers?

Although I first made the recipe with the black bean salsa in Nick’s recipe, through the years I’ve been eating this with a low-carb salsa to make it a delicious low-carb meal:

How low in carbs is this shrimp cooked on the grill?

This recipe only has 3 net carbs and 7 grams of protein in one skewer filled with shrimp!

How to make Shrimp Skewers without an outdoor grill:

If you donโ€™t have an outdoor grill (or itโ€™s not grilling weather) the grilled shrimp skewers can be cooked on a stove-top grill pan with ridges or George Foreman Grill as well. (affiliate links) Remember the George Foreman Grill cooks both sides at once, so it will be VERY quick for shrimp.

Grilled Shrimp Skewers process shots collage

How to make Grilled Shrimp Skewers:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

  1. Thaw shrimp over night in the fridge. Drain well in a colander placed in the sink.
  2. Whisk together ingredients to make the marinade.
  3. Put shrimp in a Ziploc bag or a plastic container with a snap-tight lid, add the marinade, and marinate in the fridge for about an hour.
  4. Drain shrimp and discard marinade. Preheat grill to high.
  5. These are the well-loved double skewers (affiliate link) I used that were perfect for shrimp. Whatever skewers you use, fold each piece of shrimp over so the skewer goes through it twice.
  6. Cook shrimp until you’re starting to see grill marks on the first side, about 2 minutes.
  7. Turn over skewers and cook about 2 minutes more on the second side, or until shrimp is firm (but not hard) to the touch.
  8. Serve the grilled shrimp hot, with salsa of your choice.

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

This amazing shrimp cooked on the grill would be a perfect dinner with any of these low-carb salads:

Grilled Shrimp Skewers on serving plate with salsa in bowl

More Recipes for Shrimp Lovers:

Check out Amazing Low-Carb Shrimp Recipes for lots more good ideas!

Grilled Shrimp Skewers on serving plate with bowl of tomato-avocado salsa.
Yield: 4 servings

Grilled Shrimp Skewers

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Additional Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

These Grilled Shrimp Skewers are a delicious low-carb main dish that's quick and easy to make!

Ingredients

  • 20 large raw frozen shrimp (see notes)ย  ย ย 
  • 1/4 tsp. ground Chipotle chile powderย 
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic powderย 
  • 1/2 tsp. Szeged Fish Rub (or other fish rub of your choice)
  • 3 T fresh-squeezed lime juice (see notes)
  • 3 T olive oil
  • salt/pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Thaw shrimp over night in the fridge. Drain them very well in a colander placed in the sink. (If your shrimp seems wet, I would pat dry with paper towels.)
  2. Whisk together ground Chipotle chile pepper, garlic powder, Szeged Fish Rub, fresh-squeezed lime juice, olive oil, and a pinch each of salt and pepper to make the marinade.
  3. Put shrimp in a Ziploc bag or a plastic container with a snap-tight lid, add the marinade, and marinate in the fridge for about an hour. (Don't marinate much longer than that or the marinade will start to "cook" the shrimp.
  4. Drain shrimp and discard marinade. Preheat grill to high.
  5. Whatever skewers you use, fold each piece of shrimp over when you put it on the skewer so the skewer goes through it twice.
  6. Cook shrimp just until you're barely starting to see grill marks on the first side, about 2 minutes.
  7. Turn over skewers and cook about 2 minutes more on the second side, or until shrimp is firm (but not hard) to the touch. (Shrimp cook VERY quickly on the grill, so be careful not to overcook.
  8. Serve hot, with salsa of your choice.

Notes

I use 21-25 size frozen raw shrimp from Costco.

I used myย fresh-frozen lime juice.

This recipe was given to me by my friend Mary's father Nicholas Rhodes in the very early days of my blog. Nick died in 2012 and the recipe is dedicated to his memory.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 134Total Fat 11gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 58mgSodium 408mgCarbohydrates 3gFiber 0gSugar 1gProtein 7g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

Square image of Grilled Shrimp Skewers on serving platter with black bean salsa in back.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Grilled Shrimp Skewers are a great dish for any low-carb or Keto diet plan, and also for any phase of the original South Beach Diet. Nutritional information in this post is for the shrimp skewers only, so if you’re eating it with one of the salsas, be sure to calculate that separately.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Grilling Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalynโ€™s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes Iโ€™m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
In 2005 Nick Rhodes gave me a recipe for grilled shrimp with black bean salsa that I posted on my brand-new food blog! I made the recipe and updated the post a few times through the years, but in 2021 this recipe was updated with options for a low-carb salsa. The recipe was last updated with more information in 2025.

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