Moroccan Sweet and Spicy Shrimp
This easy, sweet and spicy shrimp recipe is seasoned with homemade Moroccan seasoning and pan fried until crispy. Pair them with Moroccan couscous or garlic rice and your favorite vegetable for a simple, healthy meal any night of the week.
Why I love this spicy shrimp recipes
Sometimes I just don’t want to cook, because I’m sick of cooking or I don’t want to do dishes. But, usually its because I’m lazy. So when I’m looking for something quick and easy but still yummy, I usually make something like this.
These spicy shrimp is made with a homemade Moroccan seasoning and only take about 15 minutes. If you serve it will fresh vegetables and some Moroccan couscous you’ll have a healthy and delicious meal. It doesn’t get much easier.

Here’s what you’ll need to make it
- Measuring spoons
- Mixing bowl
- Large skillet
- Kitchen tongs
Ingredient notes: I like to use raw peeled, deveined shrimp for this recipe. If you can’t find any, you can always peel or devein them yourself.

How to cook shrimp on the stove
Mix the seasoning. In a small bowl, stir the homemade Moroccan seasoning ingredients together. If you want to leave out the sugar, you can, and if you want to make the shrimp even spicier, you can do that too.
That’s the beauty of homemade seasoning blends. If you don’t feel like making your own, you can easily use store bought Moroccan seasoning (Cajun would work well, too)

Sauté the shrimp. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels and toss them with the seasoning, until they’re evenly coated.
Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Add some olive oil and let it get nice and hot before adding your shrimp.
Cook the shrimp for about 3 minutes, turning as needed to evenly cook both sides of each shrimp – I like to use a kitchen tongs for this.
When the shrimp is fully opaque and pink, remove from heat. Don’t forget to scrape up all the juicy bits from the bottom of the pan before you serve the shrimp.

FAQS and tips for making sweet and spicy shrimp
We love Moroccan seasoning on shrimp because my homemade blend is spicy and just a little sweet, but it’s also great with Italian seasoning or traditional seafood seasoning like Old Bay.
Absolutely! Since shrimp is relatively small in size, it won’t make a huge difference in the cooking time if you’re cooking your shrimp straight from the freezer. It will, however, probably put off a bit of water, so you might want to compensate for that.
If your shrimp are thawed, they should take about 3 minutes to cook in a frying pan. You may need to adjust for the size of the shrimp, but once they’re completely pink and opaque, they’re done.
Make sure you thaw your shrimp before cooking, and cook them quickly at a high temperature. It only takes about a minute for shrimp to go from tender to rubbery, so keep a close eye on them while they’re cooking.
More shrimp recipes:
- Peel and eat shrimp
- Chinese shrimp and broccoli
- Shrimp scampi pasta
- Shrimp po boy recipe with cajun remoulade
More seafood recipes you’ll love:
Print
Moroccan Sweet and Spicy Shrimp
This easy, sweet and spicy shrimp recipe is seasoned with homemade Moroccan seasoning and pan fried until crispy. Pair them with Moroccan couscous or rice and your favorite vegetable for a simple, healthy meal any night of the week.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground tumeric
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
- 1 1/2 pounds of shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Mix seasonings together in a small bowl.
- Toss the mixture with the shrimp until evenly coated.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the shrimp to the pan and fry until thoroughly cooked – turning occasionally (shrimp should be completely pink).
- Category: Mains
- Method: Sautéing
- Cuisine: Moroccan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 plate
- Calories: 217
- Sugar: 0.6 g
- Sodium: 795.8 mg
- Fat: 8.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 2.5 g
- Fiber: 0.9 g
- Protein: 34.7 g
- Cholesterol: 273.7 mg
Keywords: dairy free, gluten free, easy, healthy, spicy, shrimp, seafood
Moroccan seasoning inspired by Once Upon a Chef.
Last Updated on November 15, 2021 by Melissa Belanger
This post contains affiliate links. I may earn commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. I will never recommend a product I don’t use or trust.