Skip the heavy, greasy takeout and make a better-for-you version of the Honey Walnut Shrimp. This crispy but tender shrimp in a creamy honey sauce is one of our restaurant favorites, made even better at home!
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When it comes to Chinese food, my oldest daughter and I have the same favorite dishes, but our favorite is Hong Kong inspired Honey Walnut Shrimp. And while you can get it at almost all Chinese restaurants or fast-food chains, it’s usually more expensive and often thickly battered and deep fried.
I much prefer this easier, lighter version that I can make at home to feed my whole family for about the same price as one serving at a restaurant! The crunchy, candied walnuts are also impossible for me to resist. I always make sure to make an extra batch to make sure there’s enough for everyone to have some extra.
Shrimp is one of our favorite proteins because it’s so versatile and quick to cook! I’ve already shared my Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas and Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp, Tomatoes, and Fresh Basil. I figured that now that I’ve got Mexican and Italian cuisines covered, it’s time to turn to Chinese food!
In my take on honey walnut shrimp take-out, I’m swapping out a heavier batter for a simple, light dusting of cornstarch. It actually gives just enough of a coating to make the shrimp crispy without weighing it down or making it soggy.
I’ve seen other recipes that first dip each shrimp in an egg wash, but I find it unnecessary, and it also makes the outer coating heavier than I like anyway. Plus, it’s a mess and a hassle!
Love take-out recipes that you can make at home? Be sure to also try our Orange Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork, and Beef with Broccoli!
Why We Love This Recipe
- Make this recipe your own by making homemade mayonnaise, or adding a bit of spice!
- We’re using fresh ingredients which always taste better and are always better for you!
- Whip this dish up for the entire family in just 30 minutes!
What You’ll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Shrimp – You’ll need thawed raw shrimp. I like purchasing peeled and deveined shrimp with tails off to save myself the trouble of doing it myself.
- Cornstarch – This is all you need for a light coating on the outside of the shrimp.
- Oil – I use corn oil but you can use vegetable oil if you prefer, or another oil that has a very high smoke point like peanut oil.
- Mayonnaise – For the base of the sauce, use plain mayonnaise, full fat for the creamiest flavor, but any kind is ok. Use plain Greek yogurt to make it even healthier.
- Honey – Use liquid honey so it mixes in easily with the mayonnaise for the sauce. You can substitute it for maple syrup, but the flavor of your sauce will be different.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk – Adds to the creaminess and sweetness of the sauce. Use heavy cream in a pinch but your sauce may not be as sweet.
- Walnuts – Use whole walnuts for a good bite of nutty flavor.
- Sugar – White Granulated Sugar will work well to make candied walnuts, but you can use sweetener alternatives, or coconut sugar if you prefer.
- Salt – To enhance all the flavors in this popular dish.
- Green Onions – Chopped green onions make a great garnish for this dish with a dash of sharp flavor for a perfect balance to the sweet sauce.
How to Make Honey Walnut Shrimp
- Make the sauce. The sauce is super easy to make. It’s just mayonnaise, honey, and a tablespoon of sweetened condensed milk. For an even better-for-you approach, you could swap out the mayo for plain Greek yogurt.
- Make candied walnuts. To make the candied walnuts, it’s just a matter of combining sugar and water in a medium saucepan and bringing it to a boil to make a quick simple syrup, then adding the walnuts for a couple of minutes before draining and spreading the walnuts out on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Set walnuts aside to dry.
- Coat shrimp. Coat the shrimp in cornstarch. You can either dip shrimp individually into the cornstarch a couple of times to fully coat, but sometimes the simplest approach really is the best. Here, that means just tossing the shrimp in the cornstarch and salt in a gallon-size Ziploc bag and shaking until the shrimp are evenly coated. Bah-da-bing, bah-da-boom, and shrimp are ready for the pan.
- Fry. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Shake off any excess cornstarch before adding half the shrimp to the skillet, taking care not to crowd the pan. Cook until the shrimp curl into a ‘c’ shape and are pink and crisp on the outside, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with the remaining two tablespoons of oil and the remaining shrimp.
- Combine shrimp and sauce. Stir the crispy shrimp into the creamy sauce, and sprinkle the top with candied walnuts and green onions. Serve it with white or brown rice, a nice green vegetable like Baby Bok Choy, and a side of these Homemade Egg Rolls, and boom! You’ve got dinner that is so much better (and better for you!) than takeout.
Recipe FAQ’s
The creamy sweet sauce in this delicious dish is only made with three ingredients! Mayonnaise, honey, and sweetened condensed milk are all you need, just mix them together, and voila!
This dish as we know it is a Western interpretation of a dish commonly served in Chinese banquets. While most of us know if the Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp with thick batter and thich syrupy sauce, the original has a thinner batter making the shrimp crisper and more delicate. My recipe is lightly coated with cornstarch and then shallow fried to provide that light crispy coating.
Honey Walnut Shrimp is best served freshly made. Try to portion it right so you don’t have leftovers.
Tips for Success
- Just be sure to cook the shrimp in two batches because you don’t want to crowd the pan!
- Pan-fry the shrimp in just a couple of tablespoons of corn oil or vegetable oil instead of deep-frying them.
Which Oil for Frying?
Corn Oil and Peanut Oil have a higher smoke point than most other cooking oils, at 450°F so it’s great for stir-frying and sautéing.
Vegetable Oil has a smoke point of 400-450°F so is good for this recipe too.
Canola Oil has a smoke point of 400°F, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil has a smoke point of 325-375°F, so may not be suitable for frying like this.
Substitutions and Variations
- Oil. Coconut oil also works well for frying these shrimp.
- Air Fryer. You can Air Fry the shrimp if you have one. They don’t turn out quite as crisp, but it’s almost just as good.
- Protein. Use a different meat, or meat substitute in this recipe, like chicken or tofu.
More Asian-Inspired Recipes
- Beef with Broccoli
- Grilled Thai Pork Tenderloin with Coconut Lime Peanut Sauce
- Oven Baked Korean BBQ Chicken Wings
- Japanese Chicken Curry
- Korean Beef Tacos (Bulgogi)
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Honey Walnut Shrimp
Ingredients
Shrimp
- 1 1/2 pounds large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 Tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- Thinly sliced green onions, for garnish
Sauce
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 3 Tablespoons honey
- 1 Tablespoon sweetened condensed milk
Glazed walnuts
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup walnut halves
Instructions
Glazed Walnuts
- Stir the water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Add walnuts and continue to boil for 2 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper using a slotted spoon and spread in a single layer. Set aside.
Honey Sauce
- In a medium bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, honey and sweetened condensed milk.
Crispy Shrimp
- In a large ziploc bag, combine the cornstarch and salt. Add the shrimp to the bag, then seal and shake to coat evenly in the cornstarch.
- Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add half of the shrimp to the skillet, shaking off excess cornstarch first, taking care not to crowd the pan. Cook until the shrimp curl into a 'c' shape and are pink and crisp on the outside, about 2 minutes per side side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with the remaining two tablespoons of oil and the remaining shrimp.
- Combine the crispy fried shrimp and honey sauce and toss to coat. Sprinkle with candied walnuts and green onions and serve.
I have never had Honey Walnut Shrimp but sounds really nice dish. Love sweet and savory I must try it soon! Thanks for your participation on this shop.
I love that you eliminated the heavy batter – it’s one of those things that as you’re making it just makes you feel gross before you’ve even eaten it. This looks amazing!
This sounds really delicious! I prefer less greasy, less heavy versions of restaurant food too- and I definitely would rather pan fry my shrimp than deep fry. Delicious as usual Amy!
This looks so delicious! I love shrimp and love seeing new ways of making it without my hubby saying, “shrimp again?” In fact, I think I’ll make this on the weekend and I can’t wait!!
I am all about cooking at home too. In fact we have takeout like 6 times a year at the most. Who needs it when you can make delicious (and much more healthy) dinners like this at home. Interesting about corn oil. I remember the days when it was getting a lot of negative reactions. Good to know it is a great oil to work with.
Honey Walnut Shrimp is my Husband and I’s absolute favorite Chinese dish. We can never get enough and we never order it for 2 reasons. 1) It’s never gluten free 2) It’s very expensive. I will be making this dish over and over again. I love how simple the ingredients are! I love that its naturally gluten free with a light corn starch dusting. I can not wait to eat this up!
I just LOVE walnuts and I’ve been totally into seafood lately too. This dish sounds awesome and I love that I can make it at home and customize it with ingredients I have on hand to control everything that goes into it. Takeout comfort food at home, at it’s finest! Yum!
I’ve actually never had – or even heard of – honey walnut shrimp! Given where I live (and the fact that I married into a Taiwanese family) I don’t get a whole lot of Western-style Chinese food, but nonetheless, I have to wonder if this is somewhat regional! There are a handful of Canada-specific Western-style Chinese dishes, so who knows? In any case, I can picture the original and all that breading/frying, and I’m sure the version you’ve got here is both flavourful and light. It sounds like a great meal, and as a big fan of walnuts, it sounds like a great combination of flavours. Cheers!
Oh wow! I love the flavors here. I’ve never thought to bring mayo and honey together, and I’m loving it. (I’m a sucker for mayo. I indulge as a treat only once in a while, but this would be a great excuse 🙂 )
I’m also loving the addition of walnuts. I love a crunch!
I am always looking for new recipes using shrimp. This honey walnut version looks beyond delicious! I have to try it this week!
Very nice recipe, I’m always looking for new ways of cooking shrimp, I’ll try yours next time the family is craving for shrimps, so much better than take away!
I’m such a creature of habit when it comes to Chinese cuisine and this isn’t a dish I’ve tried….until now! It looks phenomenal and I can’t believe that just a coating of cornstarch will make the shrimp crunchy. That’s a tip I’ll be keeping for plenty of future dishes to lighten them up.
This sounds delicious, I love seafood all the time. Cornstarch makes such a good coating for a light coat of crispiness. We fry in Mazola too, fantastic light flavour that doesn’t effect the food too much.
This sounds delicious. I am always looking for ways to make a dish less caloric if possible and still retain the flavors. Thanks for this recipe.
I want to make this for 2 lbs of shrimp and I’m wondering how much I should adjust the ingredients for that extra 1/2 cup of shrimp? Or is it not even necessary to make any adjustments to the other ingredients? I’ve never made this recipe before so I don’t know how much sauce there is for this dish.
Sorry, I meant the extra 1/2 lb of shrimp
You should be fine with the same amount of sauce.
I only use 2lb of shrimp and use extra sauce on rice
This is always a winner at my house and the most requested dish!
This was delightful. I substituted evaporated milk because I didn’t have condensed, and honestly the sweetness level of the final dish was perfect for us that way. my shrimp came out perfectly crispy but light with this method. Will be making this again for sure.
I’ve made this on many occasions and it is the best. I wish there was a real Chinese restaurant that served it in my area (not Panda Inn). Would it hurt to make the walnuts a day ahead of time?
Oh I am glad you enjoy this recipe! It is a family favorite in our household. Yes, it should be ok to make the walnuts ahead of time.
This really just didn’t get crispy enough.. I think it would be better with an egg added to the batter
This was amazing! Tastes just as good as the restaurant
Loved everything about this recipe! Saved and will make again!
Turned out amazing! I used Japanese mayo and it gave it that little bit of edge that you don’t get with regular mayo. The whole family loved it.
Easy recipe to make. Instructions were not complicated. Was very good!
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it!