This mouth-watering Easy Jamaican Curry Shrimp is bright, fresh and delicious! It includes large fresh shrimp, curry powder, capsicum peppers, onions, coconut milk and thyme. Serve it with white rice, plantain or coleslaw and make it in 30 minutes.
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I love serving this restaurant-quality Jamaican coconut curry shrimp for dinner and special occasions. It is creamy, rich in flavor and surprisingly easy to put together. All you need is a few easy-to-find ingredients and you'll be enjoying this curry in no time.
Another thing I love about making this curry at home is that it can be customized to suit your taste. For example, add two scotch bonnets if you like spicy curries; if you want milder heat, use half. I also like to be generous with the number of shrimp I add to the curry as it is the best part! The capsicum peppers add beautiful color and fresh sweet colors to the curry so try not to skip them if you can.
Traditionally, Jamaican shrimp curry is served with white rice, rice and peas, roti, fried plantain, easy crunchy coleslaw, or veggies. However, feel free to serve it with whatever you please. It is guaranteed to disappear in seconds and is truly a seafood lover's dream!
Why You Should Try This Recipe
- This easy, creamy Jamaican shrimp curry is a bold and flavorful restaurant-style dinner.
- It is filled with flavor and ready in 30 minutes!
- This easy Jamaican shrimp curry pairs well with yellow rice, noodles and Creamy Mashed Potato.
- You can adjust the seasoning to suit your taste.
Easy Jamaican Curry Shrimp Ingredients
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
- Shrimp: The fresher, the better for this recipe. I like to use good-quality raw shrimp when cooking. They come in the shell, so I remove the head and devein the shrimp before seasoning. Alternatively, you can buy cleaned shrimp or frozen shrimp instead. If you use frozen shrimp, allow them to thaw before seasoning. If you are short on time, you can soak the shrimp in warm water, which will help them defrost faster.
- Curry powder: To make this curry shrimp Jamaican style, it is important to use good-quality Jamaican curry seasoning. Curry powder gives this dish its excellent darkish-yellow color.
- Salt to taste: To enhance the flavors in the curry and shrimp.
- Pepper to taste: My pepper of choice for this easy Jamaican curry shrimp recipe is cayenne pepper, but you can also use paprika or black pepper.
- Green sauce: This sauce is a staple in most Caribbean households and is used to season many dishes. It typically includes basil, parsley, celery, garlic, onion, habanero peppers, and more. However, don't worry if you don't have any. The curry will still taste great.
- Onion: Use white onions for this recipe to add savory flavor.
- Garlic cloves: Fresh garlic cloves work best in this recipe. Chop them thinly or grate them.
- Scotch bonnet: For extra heat, add red scotch bonnets to this curry. Alter the heat level according to your preference.
- Capsicum peppers: For a hint of sweetness, add red, green, and yellow capsicum peppers to the curry.
- Coconut milk: This is the base of the curry, giving it a rich and deliciously creamy flavor.
- Thyme: Traditionally, fresh sprigs of thyme are used but if you don't have any then feel free to use dried thyme instead.
- Oil: Use vegetable or sunflower oil to cook the curry.
Tips and Substitutions
- Shrimp: Remove the shell and head and devein the shrimp before seasoning. Otherwise, they will have a bitter taste. You may also enjoy this delicious red Thai shrimp curry.
- Curry powder: Add the curry to the saucepan and cook it on medium heat for at least 1 minute. This ensures that the curry powder is cooked and not raw.
- Tasting: Taste the curry while cooking and adjust the seasoning if necessary. For example, you may need to add more salt.
- Low heat: Once the shrimp have been added, cook them on low heat to thicken the sauce, stirring it occasionally.
- Consistency: If you prefer thicker curry, mix 1 tablespoon of cornflour and 1 tablespoon of water and pour it into the curry before adding the shrimp and stirring well. This will thicken the sauce.
How to Make Easy Jamaican Curry Shrimp
- First, the shrimp need to be prepared. Clean and devein the shrimp and add them to a medium-sized bowl. Next, season the shrimp with curry powder, green sauce, salt to taste, and pepper to taste.
- Rub the seasoning into the shrimp and refrigerate while you start the curry.
- Next, prepare the curry. Heat a splash of oil in a saucepan.
- Then add onions, garlic and scotch bonnet. Cook and stir the ingredients for a few minutes.
- Add capsicum peppers to the saucepan and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Then add curry powder and stir while cooking on medium heat for 1 minute.
- Pour coconut milk into the saucepan, add thyme, salt, and pepper to taste, bring to a boil, and cook on low-medium heat for 5-7 minutes.
- Remove the shrimp from the refrigerator, add the seasoned shrimp to the saucepan, and stir well. Cook the shrimp on each side for 5-7 minutes or until done.
9. Then, leave the curry to cook on low heat for 5-7 more minutes.
10. Stir from time to time until the sauce thickens.
11. Once the easy Jamaican curry shrimp with Coconut Milk is ready, add fresh chilies and roughly chopped parsley. Serve curry with white rice, rice and peas, plantain, roti, Homemade Flatbread and Creamy Jamaican Guinness Punch.
Recipe FAQs
Jamaican curry is a beautiful dark yellow color. This is because the dish includes yellow curry powder. Some Jamaican curries include coconut milk, while others are cooked with water.
There are many different types of Jamaican curries, such as Jamaican shrimp curry and Jamaican chicken curry. They usually include curry powder, coconut milk, water, thyme, scotch bonnets, some sort of protein like chicken, shrimp, beef, or chickpeas, and vegetables like carrots or potatoes.
Jamaican curries usually have a reasonably mild heat. However, if you make it yourself, you can control the heat level by adding fewer or more scotch bonnets. If you aren't a fan of heat, you can skip the scotch bonnets altogether.
Jamaican curries are versatile and can be served with white rice, rice and peas, roti, coleslaw and more!
More Tasty Caribbean Recipes
Easy Jamaican Curry Shrimp
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Large Bowl
Ingredients
- 650 g of large shrimp
- 4 tablespoon of Jamaican curry powder
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon of green sauce
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 scotch bonnet
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 medium red capsicum pepper
- 1 medium yellow capsicum pepper
- 1 medium green capsicum pepper
- 1 can of coconut milk
- ¼ teaspoon thyme or 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
- A splash of oil
Instructions
- Add cleaned and deveined shrimp to a medium-sized bowl and season with 2 tablespoon of curry powder, green sauce, salt to taste and pepper to taste. Rub the seasoning into the shrimp and leave it in the refridgerator for later.
- Heat a splash of oil in a saucepan. Add onions, garlic and scotch bonnet and cook for a few minutes.
- Next, add capsicum peppers and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add 2 tablespoon of curry powder and stir while cooking on a medium heat for 1 minute.
- Pour coconut milk into the saucepan, add thyme, salt and pepper to taste and bring to a boil then cook on lowmedium heat for 5-7 minutes.
- Add the seasoned shrimp to the saucepan and stir well. Cook shrimps on each side for about 5-7 minutes or until done. Then, leave the curry to cook on low heat for 5-7 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Once the curry is done add fresh chilies and roughly chopped parsley. Serve curry with white rice and plantain.
Notes
- Shrimp: Use fresh shrimp, shop-bought shrimp or frozen shrimp for this recipe. If you are using frozen shrimps then make sure you allow them to thaw before seasoning. If you are short on time then you can soak the shrimp in warm water and this will help them to thaw faster.
- Scotch bonnet: Add red scotch bonnets to this curry for some extra heat. Alter the heat level depending on your preference level.
- Consistency: If you prefer curry with a thicker consistency then mix together 1 tablespoon of cornflour and 1 tablespoon of water and pour it into the curry before adding the shrimp and stir well. This will thicken the sauce.
- Low heat: Once the shrimps have been added cook them on a low heat to thicken the sauce and stir it from time to time.
- Green sauce: Includes basil, parsley, celery, garlic, onion, habanero peppers and more. However, you can skip it if you don't have any to hand.
Marta
I was gifted some green sauce from a neighbor and thought this would be the perfect dish to use it in and I was right! The curry shrimp was flavorful, juicy, and so easy to make.
Trisane Morgan
This recipe was topnotch, perfect. It was the best coconut curry shrimp I have made.
Britney
This curry was so good! Not too spicy and perfectly zesty! Loved this recipe so much!
Nicholas Gordon
What size can of coconut milk are you using in this recipe?
Jen Sim
Hi Nicholas, I use 400ml of coconut milk for this recipe. It will still work if there is slightly less or more in the can.
Stephanie
This curry was packed with the perfect punch of flavor. My husband loves shrimp and it couldn't stop talking about the juiciness of the shrimp and how well it complemented the curry.
Robin
I made this for dinner last night along with plantain. This recipe made me feel like I was back in the Jamaican countryside. Thank you.
Jen Sim
You're welcome, Robin. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Lilly
This shrimp curry is so delicious with the perfect amount of spice! Thanks for the detailed instructions! This was super easy to make for dinner
Jazz
Just the perfect amount of spice in this curry shrimp. We loved it!
Kaluhi
This was rich, super tasty and quick to whip up! I will be making it again and again and again!
Jessica
This curry was easy to make and the heat level was perfect. Will definitely make again!
Jessica
I can’t seem to find the nutritional information, do you know how many calories per serving? Looks delicious can’t wait to make it
Nicholas Gordon
What size can of coconut milk do you use in this recipe?
Jen Sim
Hi Nicholas, I usually use 400 ml of coconut milk for this recipe.
Brie
Holy crap! This recipe is amazing! We left out the scotch bonnet pepper and only added 1/2 the salt. My kids abd hubby inhaled it!
Jen Sim
Thanks for leaving a comment Brie. Glad you enjoyed it!