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Grilled Shrimp Kabobs Recipe

Be the hero of your summer BBQ’s with this Grilled Shrimp Kabobs recipe. It’s 1 WW Freestyle Point and is keto-friendly.

For more WW-friendly grilled recipes, check out our list of Weight Watchers-Friendly Grilling Recipes.

Be the hero of your summer BBQ's with this Grilled Shrimp Kabobs from www.drugstoredivas.net. If you're doing Weight Watchers, these are only 1 Weight Watchers Freestyle Point.

When we have company come and visit, they always want seafood. We live in coastal North Carolina, and fresh seafood is easy to come by.

Of course, there are a ton of seafood restaurants in town, but that can get pricey when there are a lot of guests. Plus, with young company coming, it’s hard to ask them to sit still at a restaurant. So Pete cooks amazing seafood at home, like these Grilled Shrimp Kabobs.

We originally were calling them Weight Watchers Grilled Shrimp Kabobs because after he made them, I realized they were only 1 WW Freestyle point each. Which is amazing. But he made them this way for company that doesn’t follow Weight Watchers, so honestly, don’t let the name deter you.

These grilled shrimp kabobs are great for anyone.

And these are something that will really impress your guests. Sure, you can serve hamburgers and hot dogs at your backyard BBQ, but if you know how to make shrimp kabobs on the grill, you’ll look like the King of the Grill.

If you’ve never grilled shrimp before, don’t worry. We have some tips for grilling shrimp after the recipe.

Two chicken kabobs on a grill with the words "Easy Shish Kabob Recipes" digitally written on top.

These Grilled Shrimp Kabobs aren’t the only kabob recipe on Drugstore Divas. For more ideas, check out all of our Easy Shish Kabob recipes.

Grilled Shrimp Kabobs Recipe

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Grilled Shrimp Kabobs Ingredients:

How To Make Grilled Shrimp Kabobs:

Cut your bell peppers into chunks.

Cut the onion into chunks as well.

Shrimp, onions, and peppers on skewers.

Start to skewer the shrimp, peppers, and onion, alternating the ingredients onto skewers.

Fill the stick completely, then place it in a pan.

Continue and make four skewers.

Shrimp, onions, and peppers on skewers.

Drizzle the olive oil on the skewers, then add a pinch of salt and pepper.

A charcoal grill with shrimp, onions, and peppers skewers.

Put the skewers on a hot charcoal grill. Keep the top of the grill’s lid partway off in order to let a little air in.

Grill one side until the shrimp starts to turn pink and the vegetables get a little char on them. Flip them over and grill until the shrimp is completely pink.

Shrimp kabobs on a charcoal grill.

Keep flipping for another two to three minutes, making sure the shrimp is cooked through. Serve immediately.

Tips For Grilling Shrimp

Do you need to peel shrimp before grilling?

You can grill shrimp with or without the shell, although we prefer to grill shrimp without the shell.

Why? Two reasons.

First, if you marinade shrimp with the shell on, and then cook them, you end up peeling off the shell and the majority of the flavor.

Second, cooked food is hot. So it’s kind of a pain to try and pull the shell off the shrimp while they’re hot. That could result in burnt fingers. If you pull the shell off before you cook the shrimp, you can just eat them.

Keep this in mind, though: Peeling the shrimp, then grilling shrimp, will expose the shrimp to a higher heat than if you don’t peel it. So be sure to watch your shrimp more closely so you don’t overcook them.

Do you need to devein shrimp before grilling?

You don’t need to devein shrimp before grilling. But you should.

At least, we prefer it.

That black vein isn’t actually a vein. Yes, it’s called deveining shrimp, but that’s because it rolls off the tongue a lot easier than de-digestive tracking shrimp.

The vein in shrimp is actually its digestive track. And the black stuff in the digestive track is grit. Everyone says the black stuff in shrimp’s vein is poop, but it’s really grit in the digestive track.

Either way, shrimp looks a lot more appetizing if you remove that before you cook it. You can stick a fork prong (which is actually called a tine) in the vein and pull it out. Or, you can actually buy a tool for deveing shrimp.

Do you need to grill shrimp on skewers?

Shrimp don’t need to be grilled on skewers. That’s the short answer. We have a simple shrimp on the barbie recipe where we grilled shrimp on foil. So there are alternatives to skewers.

You want to either use skewers, foil, or a pan to grill shrimp. If not, the shrimp could fall down the grates on your grill and get lost.

If you’re absolutely opposed to those methods, you can buy a BBQ Grill Mat to sit on top of your grill grates. You can place your shrimp directly on that and it will cover the grates so the shrimp don’t fall.

How long do you grill shrimp for?

Shrimp take about 5 to 7 minutes to grill completely. We suggest grilling the shrimp for two minutes on one side, flip, grill for another two minutes, then flip once more and grill for another two minutes.

Of course, this varies on how hot your grill is.

When are grilled shrimp done?

Shrimp are done when they’ve turned pink and reach an internal temperature of 120 F. The shrimp will start to constrict if you’ve overcooked them, so be sure to pull them off the grill before that happens.

If you want to check the temperature, you can use a probe thermometer to check the internal temperature of cooked food. Just stick the probe thermometer into the center of the shrimp to check the temperature. Be sure to not go all the way through the shrimp and hit the grill because then you’ll be getting the temperature of the grill, not the food.

Grilled Shrimp Kabobs: Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have to use fresh shrimp in grilled shrimp kabobs?

The shrimp in these grilled shrimp kabobs are fresh and local, purchased from a seafood store in town. The shrimp are fresh, not fresh frozen, so you can cook them right away. We don’t buy them cleaned, so it does take a little time to remove the shell and devein them. But it’s so worth it when you realize what you can make at home.

But, if you don’t have a seafood store in your town, you can use frozen shrimp to make grilled shrimp kabobs. Just make sure to completely defrost them before trying to skewer and cook them.

If you buy a bagged of frozen shrimp at the grocery store or order frozen shrimp online, here’s the easiest way to defrost it. Open the bag and fill it will cold water. Dump the water out, then fill the bag a second time with cold water and place the bag in the fridge overnight. By the morning, the shrimp will be defrosted and will be ready to use.

If you only want to defrost a portion of the bag, not the whole bag, you can place the portioned shrimp into a ziptop plastic bag and follow the same instructions as above.

Either way, with fresh or frozen, these end up being really easy shrimp kabobs.

Why is this considered a Weight Watchers shrimp recipe?

If you are following Weight Watchers, this is the perfect summer recipe for you. The shrimp and vegetables are ZeroPoint Foods under the Weight Watchers Freestyle Program. The only ingredient that counts towards your points is the olive oil.

You only need a tablespoon spread over four skewers, and it’s mostly just so they don’t stick to the grill while you’re cooking. One tablespoon of olive oil is 4 Smart Points or Freestyle Points. Since this is spread over four skewers, each skewer is only 1 Smart Point or Freestyle Point. That’s amazing for an entire grilled shrimp kabob.

If you had a oil spray bottle, you could spritz some oil on these shrimp kabobs instead. That would save some oil and lower the total points.

Is this a keto-friendly shrimp recipe?

Shrimp are a really low carb food. Peppers aren’t too bad. Onions aren’t considered a keto-friendly food alone, but when they’re with low carb foods, onions are considered okay for keto diets. So in this recipe, where you aren’t eating too much, onions are fine.

According to the app we use to calculate, these are 9 grams of carbs per skewer, although I feel like that’s a high approximation. I would definitely recalculate based on the size of the onion and peppers you use, and then decide how many shrimp skewers you can eat.

Asparagus on foil on the grill.

What is a good side dish with shrimp kabobs?

You can make these grilled shrimp kabobs the main dish of your meal, then serve a few delicious side dishes, that you can also grill, with them. Some of our favorite grilled side dishes for shrimp kabobs are:

Yakitori (Japanese grilled chicken skewers) over a plate of rice.

Want more kabob recipes?

If you’re looking for some more kabob recipes, check out the following:

Yield: 4 Kabobs

Grilled Shrimp Kabobs

Be the hero of your summer BBQ's with this Grilled Shrimp Kabobs from www.drugstoredivas.net. If you're doing Weight Watchers, these are only 1 Weight Watchers Freestyle Point.

Be the hero of your summer BBQ's with this Grilled Shrimp Kabobs recipe. It's only 1 WW Freestyle Point too.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound colored bell peppers
  • 1/2 medium Vidalia onion
  • 1 pound cleaned shrimp
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Instructions

  1. Cut your bell peppers into chunks.
  2. Cut the onion into chunks as well.
  3. Skewer the shrimp, peppers, and onion, alternating the ingredients. Make four skewers.
  4. Drizzle the olive oil on the skewers, then add a pinch of salt and pepper.
  5. Put the skewers on a hot charcoal grill. Keep the top of the grill partway off in order to let a little air in.
  6. Grill one side until the shrimp starts to turn pink and the vegetables get a little char on them. Flip them over and grill until the shrimp is completely pink. Keep flipping for another two to three minutes, making sure the shrimp is cooked through.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 195Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 239mgSodium 1224mgCarbohydrates 9gFiber 1gSugar 4gProtein 27g

Have you made these Grilled Shrimp Kabobs? Comment below and let us know how you liked them.

MEM

Saturday 28th of September 2019

Cook shrimp (jumbo) 3 minutes on first side and only 2 on other side. I microwave veggies about 4-5 minutes, let cool and place on skeeers.

Jenny

Saturday 2nd of June 2018

I don't live by fresh seafood, but I love shrimp. I can't wait to try these on the grill, plus I love Weight Watchers.

kid can doodle

Thursday 31st of May 2018

I always find that shrimp gets dried out on the bbq. Looks good though!

drugstore diva lisa

Thursday 31st of May 2018

If you overcook it, it can be so be careful!

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