The Best Air Fryer Crispy Shrimp Burgers

These panko-crusted shrimp patties are jam-packed with flavor, air fried until crispy golden brown then topped with melted cheese, spicy pepper jam, lettuce, and nestled in a sesame seed brioche bun. It’s truly one of the best bites you’ll ever have!

Which Is It?

This is one of those recipes that could be called a “shrimp patty“, a “shrimp cake” or a “shrimp burger” to be honest. As we all know, most burgers do not contain bread or bread crumbs. This one contains panko so it’s technically not a burger but since I assembled (and ate it) as a burger, I’m calling it a burger.

I’m going to go with this: however you dress it to be eaten, it can be one of those 3 things. On a bun, it’s a burger. Serve with a sauce/remoulade only – it’s a cake. Depending on the thickness (and what you serve with it), it’s a patty.

Grab Your Ingredients

Most of these ingredients y’all have in your pantry and fridge. If you don’t, most local grocery stores carry the items.

• Shrimp – I’ve made this with both raw and pre-cooked shrimp and didn’t notice any difference in taste. The only difference is how long you cook them.
• Dairy – cream cheese, parmesan cheese, egg
• Panko- Egg and Panko (Can use keto-friendly/gluten-free as well)
• Veggies – green onions and garlic
• Seasonings – red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, parsley
• Sauce – you have to bring some heat with Gochujang paste or sriracha (or both!)

Chop & Mix

Yes, it’s literally that easy. Well okay, the cream cheese needs to be super soft to mix it in with the other ingredients but that’s really it.

Shape & Chill

So this is the fun part for me as I like to get my hands in there when I’m making food. Set up a station of your panko and parsley mixture, a parchment lined tray and damp hands. That’s the trick here.

1. Using a extra large cookie scoop (or eye ball it and divide the mixture into sixths), scoop out the mixture onto damp hands.
2. Gently shape the mixture into a patty and then place into the bowl of seasoned panko.
3. Using a clean/dry hand or a spoon, coat the patty with the panko, genly flip and coat the other side.
4. Transfer to the prepared tray and repeat.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours to chill completely. *You can even make these up to 24 hours in advance as long as they are kept cold and covered.

Any Way You Fry It

So my Breville Toaster Oven has a built-in air fry function that honestly, I rarely use but for this recipe, I wanted to give it a go.

What I ended up with were truly OUTSTANDING crispy, crunchy shrimp patties with the most creamy/luscious middle. They almost reminded me of the inside of a crab rangoon. I’ll give you a few ways to make these to help you out.

Air Fry Method

1. Spritz the patties with olive oil and air fry at 400 F for 10-12 minutes per side. If you start with raw shrimp you’ll need to add another minute or two. The internal temp is to be 145F.

Baked Method

1. Bake on a sprayed parchment paper-lined pan. Spritz the patties with olive oil and bake at 425F for ~10 minutes per side.

Pan-Fried Method

1. To a heavy bottom skillet add about 1/4″ of neutral oil like canola. Once the oil has reached 350F, carefully add your patties to the pan and cook for about 3-4 minutes per side.

GBD – Golden, Brown, & Delicious

As soon as I pulled them out of the air fryer I sprinkled them with sea salt flakes.

Time To Assemble

Now with this burger, I wanted to keep what I added to the burger simple as to let the flakes shine through.

1. Brioche bun – I opted to not toast it as I wanted all of the crunch to come from the burger itself
2. Cheese – I went with Colby Jack and Sharp Cheddar
3. Green Onions – I just love green onions with seafood
4. Spicy Jam – I went with a spicy pepper jam similar to my red pepper jelly. I just switched out the peppers.

A Recipe On Repeat

I’ve made this burger thousands of times over the years and honestly was hesitant to post another shrimp burger recipe as my Chunky Shrimp Burger has gone viral countless times but honestly, this is too amazing not to share.

Recipe Substitutions

• Shrimp – You can also use cooked crab or lobster as well
• Cream Cheese – Mascarpone works too.
• Panko – gluten-free panko, crushed pork rinds, ground Chex cereal

Recipe Additions

• Seafood medley – Add chopped crab with the shrimp
• Toppings – avocados, radishes, Korean mayo, slaw

Reheating Instructions

On the off chance you have leftovers, these will store up to a week in the fridge (covered).

1. To reheat, preheat the oven to 350F, place on a lined pan, and spritz with cooking spray or olive oil.
2. Reheat for 5-7 minutes or until warmed all the way through.

Serving Suggestions

What I love about this recipe is you truly can make 4 huge burgers all the way down to sliders and mini appetizer-sized balls.

I’ve served this on crostini, crackers, appetizer spoons, for game day, card night, or even as a movie snack.

You can serve with avocado sauce, duck sauce for a true wonton flair, honey sriracha – whatever your preference is.

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