Sweet and Spicy Mango Shrimp Stir-Fry

By Laura Fuentes Updated Dec 30, 2024

5 from 75 votes

Recipe

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Mango Shrimp Stir-fry with a sweet and spicy kick from Sriracha sauce and fresh mango! It's a refreshing and delicious meal you can pull together fast!

Need to get dinner on the table fast? Make this Mango Shrimp Stir-fry! A delicious 20-minute meal you can make with fresh or frozen shrimp.

closeup of mango shrimp and rice on a blue plate

Easy Mango Shrimp

What I love about this sweet and spicy Mango Shrimp Stir Fry recipe is that it comes together in just 20 minutes. The spicy kick is balanced out by the sweet mango. This recipe is not only delicious but also brings back memories of my upbringing in Spain.

As many of you know, I spent a lot of time in my grandmother’s kitchen as a young adult. Many of my recipes are inspired by the lessons I learned cooking with her. What I’ve never shared before, however, is that she spent twenty years living in South America, where she learned to cook with fruits like mangos.

While fresh mango fruit is great, she loved that as the fruit cooks, its sweet juices release into the food to bring delight to the palate. My grandparents lived on the east coast of Spain, yards away from the beach, where fresh seafood was abundant. This mango shrimp was inspired by a much simpler version of hers, to which I added a little spice.

Ingredients

You’ll find the amounts in the recipe card, but first, check what you need for this mango shrimp recipe and swaps you can make:

Oil: for cooking.
Onion: chopped for a delicious sauce.
Garlic cloves: crushed, chopped, or diced garlic for added flavor.
Soy sauce: its saltiness balances the mango’s sweetness.
Lime: you want the juice for the sauce and for serving.
Sriracha: for a spicy kick. You can use less for a milder sauce.
Shrimp: peeled, deveined, tails removed. Use fresh or frozen. If frozen, thaw them first since they tend to hold a lot of water and will make your dish runny.
Mango: fresh or frozen mango (thaw it first). Mangos take a few days to fully ripen at room temperature; then you can move them inside the fridge to slow down the ripening.
Cooked white rice: for serving.
Unsweetened shredded coconut: for garnish.
Green onions: add them chopped for extra texture and color.

two kids sitting on a countertop eating mango slices

The Mango Shrimp Sauce

The sweet and tangy sauce brings out the flavors of the mango and shrimp without overpowering the entire dish. It’s super light and can be toned down a notch by reducing the Sriracha chili paste to half a teaspoon; something I do when I’m making it for the kids.

hand squeezing a lime over plate of mango shrimp and rice

How to Make Mango Shrimp Stir Fry

The important part of this Mango Shrimp recipe is a ripe mango and making sure the shrimp is cooked perfectly and I’m going to help you do both. Here’s how to make this dish:

Make the sauce
You start making the sauce in a skillet by sautéing onion, garlic, soy sauce, lime juice, and sriracha. Stir to combine.
Cook the shrimp
If using frozen, make sure they are fully thawed. Add them to the HOT skillet and toss to combine with the sauce. Cook until the shrimp are opaque and slightly pink.
Add the mango
Stir in the diced mango with the shrimp and sauce, and cook until warmed and the juices are released. The aroma is EPIC!
Serve
Scoop some rice onto a plate, top with the mango shrimp, sprinkle shredded coconut, green onions, and a squeeze of lime juice. Bon appetit!

Want to learn to cook this meal with me? Watch this quick recipe video:

If savory-sweet meals are your thing, you also need to try my Jamaican Pork and Pineapple Stir-Fry. Delicious!

Tips for Making Shrimp in a Skillet

Shrimp is a very simple ingredient to incorporate into a variety of meals such as pasta, stir fry, tacos, and more! See more of my family’s favorite shrimp dinner ideas here. However, there are a few pointers to take along the way so you can make perfectly tender shrimp every time:

Frozen shrimp:
Frozen shrimp defrost quickly, in about 5 minutes, in a colander in the sink in cold water.

Fresh shrimp
If using fresh shrimp, peel and deveine them before cooking them in this dish.

Peeled and deveined
If buying frozen shrimp, look for peeled and deveined on the package. This is one less step to make the dish quicker.

Defrost shrimp
To prevent your mango shrimp stir fry from getting mushy, thaw frozen shrimp before using them. The best way to defrost shrimp is to let it thaw overnight in the fridge. For a quick thaw, take the shrimp out of the package, place them in a strainer, and run cold water into the bowl while the excess water goes down the drain.

From freezer to the pan, frozen shrimp should be ready to cook in about 10 to 15 minutes. I do not recommend thawing out shrimp in the microwave. The microwave will cook your shrimp and make them chewy.

Don’t leave them in the skillet
Shrimp tend to cook fast which is great for us, but not so great when they come out over-cooked. To prevent that gummy, chewy texture remove the shrimp from the skillet once they are cooked through. Depending on the size shrimp take anywhere for 3 to 5 minutes to cook.

You’ll know they are cooked when they turn from translucent to opaque or turn from gray to light pink in color.

What to Serve with Mango Shrimp Stir Fry

I love serving this Mango Shrimp Stir Fry over a bed of white rice or cauliflower rice for a low-carb swap. You can also add extra veggies by serving this meal in lettuce cups. Crave a fresh side? Cucumber Salad and Corn and Tomato Salad are my favorites for this meal!