A healthier coconut shrimp recipe with a delightfully sweet and spicy mango coconut sauce inspired by my trip to Turks and Caicos.
This month’s recipe redux challenge is to create a vacation inspired recipe. I was stoked about this month’s theme because good food is a big part of my travel experience. While everybody else is scouting museums, I’m looking for the nearest open market. I like to bring home a (legal) food item from the country. I got paprika in Hungary, aji amarillo pepper in Peru and a tasty salsa from Costa Rica.
I travel more than the average person but most of those miles don’t qualify as vacation ones. However, this summer, I took a 5-day vacation to beautiful Turks and Caicos. I said I’d post a trip summary a while ago but since we are almost 2 months post-vacay, this might be it!
We stayed in Grace Bay on the Providenciales island (aka Provo). I could go on and on about how beautiful this place is but you have to see it to believe it. The water is crystal clear (like a freshly cleaned pool). The sand is as soft as powder. The people are friendly and fun. And the food is delicious. The island is known for conch but I’ll admit I didn’t try it! Can’t do jiggly sea creatures. I did get plenty of grouper, shrimp, jerk chicken, rice and peas and fruit.
I had the best coconut shrimp of my life at the Thursday night island fish fry. This fresh caught shrimp was breaded and fried to a perfect crisp. It was succulent and sweet.
If you’re ever in Turks and Caicos on a Thursday night, the island fish fry is the only place to be. Go around 6p to get a decent parking space and get ahead of the long lines. You’ll also have an opportunity to eat then watch the sunset before the dancing starts.
[Tweet “Head to the tropics with this Coconut Roasted Shrimp with Mango Sauce from @marisamoore”]
That coconut shrimp inspired this healthier coconut shrimp recipe. As much as I loved the fried version, I just can’t do that at home. It’s messy and just not a good habit to bring home. BUT roasting shrimp is a fantastic way to enhance its naturally sweet flavor.
I found wild caught gulf shrimp at Whole Foods a couple weeks ago. It was “on sale,” so it was the perfect protein to play around with for this dish.
Keeping with the tropical theme, I paired the shrimp with mangoes. The sauce is mostly mango, so it’s a beautiful, sweet complement to the shrimp. I used a little of the PeppaJoy hot sauce that I brought back from Turks and Caicos to add a little heat to the mango coconut sauce.
This recipe comes together in just 10 minutes. It’s so easy that you can put it in regular rotation or serve it up at your next game night or girl’s night in. Try my healthier coconut shrimp recipe and let me know what you think.
Marisa Moore, RDN
Yields 4 servings
10 minCook Time
10 minTotal Time
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Ingredients
- Coconut Roasted Shrimp
- 1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- coarse salt and pepper to taste
- ½ lime, juiced and zested
- 2 tablespoons toasted unsweetened coconut flakes
- fresh chopped cilantro (optional)
- Mango Coconut Sauce
- ½ fresh mango, cubed
- ¼ cup coconut milk (not the refrigerated one)
- ½ lime, juiced
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 5 dashes hot sauce
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Pat the shrimp dry. Spread on a single layer on a sheet pan. Drizzle with avocado oil, salt and pepper. Toss to coast. Roast at 400°F for 8-10 minutes or until the shrimp is opaque and just starts to curl. Remove the shrimp from the oven. Once plated, squeeze on a little lime juice and top with the toasted coconut, lime zest and cilantro.
- Make the mango sauce while the shrimp roasts. Blend the mango, coconut milk, lime juice, garlic, honey, ginger and hot sauce in your high powered blender. Taste. Add salt to taste. Pour into a small bowl and serve with the warm shrimp.
I also had a fun drink served up in a coconut!
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