Grilled Bang Bang Shrimp Bowls

Today I’m sharing what has become one of my family’s favorite dinner recipes: Bang Bang Shrimp Bowls!

Like most Americans, we fell in love with Bang Bang shrimp. That sauce! A little sweet, a little spicy, and so creamy-delish! I wanted to make it a whole meal, so I paired it with rice and fresh veggies. My kids went crazy for it! I love it when they really like something I make!

Over time, the recipe has evolved. We decided it was easier and healthier to grill the shrimp than to bread and fry them, and it tasted just as good!

I’m on a mission to share more of our favorite main courses. So far, I’ve given you a killer poutine recipe, a better-than-fast-food crispy chicken sandwich, and our knock-your-socks-off Detroit-style pizza. And today, I’m adding this refreshing, easy grilled bang bang shrimp recipe!

Here’s Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• DIY so everyone gets what they like! Prep all the ingredients like a buffet line. Grab a bowl and add as much or as little of each component as you like.
• The sauce absolutely makes the dish. If you haven’t ever had Bang Bang sauce, you’ve gotta try it! It’s positively addictive.
• This dish is healthy and light. Tons of fresh veg, and not a lot of carbs or fat. You can feel good about having a big bowl of this! It satisfies, tastes amazing, and doesn’t weigh you down or make you feel guilty.
• Plus it’s really quick and easy to make!

Ingredients You’ll Need

The recipe card at the bottom of the post contains the full list with all of the amounts. Refer to that when you’re cooking.

• Rice: Rice forms the base of the bowl. I just use regular old Carolina rice, but feel free to sub in whatever kind you keep on hand. Basmati rice, jasmine rice, sushi rice, brown rice, or even cauliflower rice would work just as well. You could even sub in another grain like quinoa, bulgur, or freekeh.
• Vegetables: We’ve settled on raw cucumber, red bell peppers, avocado, and scallions as our favorites, but we’ve experimented with others, too! Try matchstick carrots, shelled edamame, green beans, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, baby kale, spinach, or arugula, corn, beans, or pickled red onions or radish!
• Shrimp: I like to buy jumbo frozen shrimp that are deveined but still have their tails and shells on. Don’t ask me why, I just think they have the best flavor! Use whatever you like best. You can even buy pre-cooked shrimp if you want! That would be a great time-saver.
• Seasonings: Salt, pepper, and garlic powder are my go-to for just about any kind of meat/protein I cook. Follow the amounts on the recipe card below (they’re perfect for me!) or adjust them to your own taste.
• Oil: Any kind of cooking oil will do! This is just to prevent the shrimp from sticking to the cooking surface.
• Mayonnaise: The sauce begins with mayo. I like regular, full-fat mayo, but if you want, you can sub with light mayo or vegan mayo for an egg-free option.
• Sweet Chili Sauce: Sweet chili sauce gives the Bang Bang shrimp its signature flavor. It’s very sweet and syrupy, almost like a thin jam, and there’s just a hint of spice. It’s really not very spicy at all, but there’s a little something more there than with, say, duck sauce.
• Sriracha: We like a little more heat, so I add in a healthy squirt of sriracha. Not only does it add some extra tingle, but it also has additional seasonings that really balance the flavors of the bang bang sauce. If you like your bowls more on the mild side, you can add less or omit this ingredient.
• Sesame Oil: I love this ingredient! Toasted sesame oil adds something so special to this recipe! There’s nothing else quite like it. Be sure to keep it refrigerated once it’s been opened. It goes rancid very quickly!
• Crushed Red Pepper: This is another one you can add to taste or omit if you don’t like spicy food. Crushed red pepper flakes just bring in an extra pop of heat with every few bites.

Helpful Tips and Tricks

• I really love it when the rice is fluffy and separate. I find that cooking it ahead of time really helps keep it from getting sticky! This way, every grain of rice can get coated in that delicious Bang Bang sauce!
• It looks really pretty to julienne the veggies into long strips, but it’s probably not the most practical for eating. You might want to chop them into bite-sized pieces instead.
• The same goes for the shrimp! Bigger shrimp have the most incredible flavor (almost like lobster!), but they can be not-so-graceful to eat. You might want to chop them up!
• Shrimp cook very quickly! Don’t look away, or they could get overcooked and rubbery. You’ll know they’re done when they have a little flavorful brown crust on the outside and their insides look opaque white, not at all translucent.
• Don’t cut the avocado until the very last minute! It tends to go brown very quickly. You can coat it in citrus juice to slow the process, but there’s really no stopping it.
• Make the sauce as spicy or as mild as you like by adjusting the amounts of sriracha and crushed red pepper.