What to Serve with Coconut Shrimp

What to serve with coconut shrimp makes your golden brown shrimp with tropical flavors the perfect meal! Learn what dipping sauces to pair, and what side dishes to serve.

Coconut Shrimp is a delicious blend of large shrimp coated in coconut flakes and panko breadcrumbs. Fried to crispy perfection!

Crispy coconut shrimp need a delicate dipping sauce like sweet chili sauce or a creamy sauce with maybe some mango salsa stirred in.

How to Make Coconut Shrimp

First, you’ll need to either pick up some frozen coconut shrimp or make your own.

To make your own coconut shrimp recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Coconut Breading – which consists of panko bread crumbs and coconut flakes. If you can’t find a breading blend, just get the ingredients individually.
Jumbo Shrimp – this recipe works best with larger-sized shrimp.
Egg whites – to hold the breading
Oil for frying

You’ll need some other kitchen equipment like paper towels to soak up excess grease, a small bowl or shallow bowl to dredge with, a baking sheet, and a dutch oven to fry in.

If you are baking your battered shrimp, you can bake on a wire rack, so the cooking process goes a little faster! The air circulates around the shrimp (like it does in an air fryer!), so you don’t need to flip the shrimp.

This recipe for Crunchy Coconut Shrimp is a great one to follow! It bakes the succulent shrimp instead of deep frying them. Yum!

Dipping Sauces to Serve with Coconut Shrimp

You’ll want some dipping sauces! It’s a great way to enjoy the coconut flavor on your taste buds!

Sweet Chili Sauce (or Thai Sweet Chili Sauce) – this delicious combination of red chili peppers, rice wine vinegar, garlic, fish sauce, and a sweetener is so good! Usually served with crispy egg rolls or other Asian delicacies. While the name has chili in it, it’s not very spicy at all.

Apricot Preserves – this is a great substitute, especially if you don’t like spicy. If you do like spicy, try adding some chili flakes or cayenne pepper to the preserves.

Mango Sauce – this Indian favorite pairs so well with the crowd-favorite finger food!

Side Dishes to Serve with Sweet Coconut Shrimp

French Fries – these are an easy choice but make for a crispy addition. Added a bonus, you can heat these up right alongside the easy coconut shrimp. You can get frozen french fries and bake them in the oven, or use your air fryer for extra crispy fries!

Plain Rice – rice is one of the best side dishes you can serve! An extra drizzle of the coconut shrimp sauce of your choosing over top, and you have an incredibly amazing recipe. I like to buy my rice from the frozen section of Trader Joe’s – YES! I know that’s cheating. But, I am terrible at making rice, when it’s on the side of something.

Cole Slaw – crunchy cabbage mixed with a creamy and acidic dressing makes for a great addition to the main dish. Fill your large plate with juicy shrimp, coleslaw, and some french fries, and you have yourself a complete meal.

This baked Cajun fries recipe makes the best crispy fries straight out of the oven. They have just the right amount of spice and make the best side dish.

Jicama Salad with apples is light, crisp, tart, and refreshing. It’s quick and easy to make and packed with nutrition. It’s the kind of thing you can make quickly for a light lunch or in a large quantity for a summer cookout.

Broccoli slaw salad is packed with crunchy broccoli, crisp apple, chewy cranberries, and toasted almonds. It’s tossed with a creamy coleslaw dressing and is perfect for any gathering!