Instructions on how to air fry Kirkland brand Panko Shrimp from the frozen section at your local Costco store.
📋 What's New In This Post (4/8/25) - Added suggestions of what else to air fry to serve with the shrimp and what ingredients I like to make a homemade dipping sauce.
Our Family's Quick Go-To Meal
For a quick meal when I want something easy that all the kids will enjoy, I turn to frozen fried shrimp. Whether it's because we had a busy day hiking or it's a 90-degree summer day and I don't have the energy, this is our convenience meal when we just need to eat something.
In recent years, the air fryer has become our chosen appliance for when we need food fast. There's no need to preheat the air fryer to cook these shrimp, and they get crispier in the air fryer than they ever do in the oven, where the bottom of the shrimp often ends up soggy.
We've found a great deal on frozen Kirkland Panko Shrimp from Costco, as it's tasty and family-approved.
If you have dual basket air fryer, like my family does you can cook one of these recipes as a great side dish to go with your shrimp - Air Fryer Asparagus, Air Fryer Broccoli, or Air Fryer Cauliflower. Sometimes for a family my size I use both baskets to cook twice the amount of shrimp at the same time.
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How Much Does It Cost?
The last time I was at Costco a 2.5 pound box of Kirkland Signature Breaded Panko Shrimp was going for $19.99. That equals about $7.99 a pound. The amount of shrimp you get in a box varies from 40-50 depending on how large each shrimp is. The box is by weight not the exact shrimp count - that is how shrimp is sold.
How Long to Air Fry
Time can vary slightly by the power and size of your air fryer. For me I found that 15 minutes was the sweet spot. The shrimp was hot all the way through and the breading was nice and crispy without being dry.
I would start with 10 minutes and see how the shrimp is doing. You need to at least reheat the shrimp to an internal temperature of 140 degrees.
Did You Need to Thaw First?
No. There is no reason to thaw the shrimp before you cook it. It will thaw so quickly once the heat hits it that it won't make any difference. So don't waste your time defrosting it. It's best for it to go straigth from the freezer to the air fryer.
Instructions
Straight from the freezer take the shrimp and place it in your air fryer basket.
You will have to work in batches as you don't want to pile the shrimp in. You need the hot air to be able to reach around each piece of shrimp. If you don't, you may have spots that aren't heated all the way through or are soggy and no one wants soggy breaded shrimp!
Set your air fryer to 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Shake the basket and cook another 5 minutes until crispy.
💡 Tip - If you are working in batches and want to serve all the shrimp at once, you can throw it all back in the air fryer basket for 1 minute to re-warm. Once they are crispy, I am not worried about overcrowding the air fryer at that point.
Do I Need to Use Any Oil?
A lot of recipes call for oil, typically spray oil, but I don’t find that necessary at all. The shrimp have never stuck to the basket for me, and I’ve been able to get them to brown without any oil, so I recommend skipping it. The only time I use oil when cooking frozen, breaded foods is with fish, as that tends to stick. Shrimp has never been an issue. I never used oil when I cooked it in the oven either.
What to Dip the Shrimp In?
Ketchup is always the easy go to for my family for dipping their shrimp. But I do like a good sweet chili sauce. Here is what I include in mine:
- 3 parts ketchup - Any ketchup you like will work. My favorite ketchup brands are Red Duck, Primal Kitchen, and True Made Foods. But those you can't get at Costco.
- 1 part sweet chili sauce - You could use Siracha as well.
- 1 part mayonnaise - Look for Chosen Foods mayo that is made with avocado oil at Costco.
- salt, pepper, and garlic powder - These ingredients I just add to taste. Once you have combined everything else, taste and see how much of these you want to add.
🎧 Podcast Episode - How to Make Dinner from Costco Frozen Foods
Listen to me share a whole bunch of different meal ideas using Costco frozen foods by clicking the play button below..
More Costco Shrimp
Costco also carries a frozen tempura shrimp as well. You follow the same air fryer instructions to cook it. If you want to see how I make a rice bowl with the temprua shrimp then check out my post on the Kirkland Tempura Fried Shrimp. I also have a guide that shares all the types of shrimp at Costco and a list of the best foods to serve with Panko shrimp.
BONUS RECIPE IDEA - Cut off the tails and use the shrimp to make my Air Fryer Fried Shrimp Tacos.
Air Fried Kirkland Panko Shrimp
Equipment
- air fryer
Ingredients
- Kirkland Brand Panko Fried Shrimp
Instructions
- Place the frozen fried shrimp directly into the basket of an air fryer. Make sure the heat can reach each shrimp from all directions.
- Work in batches if you can't fit all you want to cook at one time.
- Set your air fryer to 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
- Check the shrimp after 10 minutes. Give the basket a shake and cook for another 5 minutes or until crispy.
- If you are working in batches, add all the shrimp back in and cook for 1 minute to make sure all the shrimp is nice and hot.
Notes
- 3 parts ketchup
- 1 part sweet chili sauce
- 1 part mayonnaise
- salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
- 1 part horseradish (optional)
Hal
Best fried shrimp I ever had other than what I make from scratch. Excellent!
Eric Samuelson
I agree with you.