Is there anything prawns can’t do? We like them tossed through pasta in a spicy tomato sauce or done wafu pasta-style with sake-soy butter; but we’re equally pleased by prawn recipes that see the crustacean kissed by the smoke and char of a barbecue; prawn ceviche with a green-chilli dressing; or a comforting prawn curry. This versatile crustacean is available year-round, so don’t leave all your prawn eating to summer.
Prawns are easy and quick to cook, making them primed for simple dinners as well as impressive dinner party snacks. Whether you’re a lover of prawn pasta recipes, barbecued prawns with a lovely marinade or sauce, or a fresh prawn salad, nothing pleases like a prawn.
In our collection of perfect prawn recipes, we have delicious pasta recipes, barbecued delights like Mat Lindsay’s prawns with brown butter and tamari and light and quick seafood meals such as a soba noodle salad with sake grilled prawns that takes just 15 minutes to make. We also have brilliant starters, from our chicken, prawn and chilli pot stickers recipe or super-easy charred prawns on skewers with lime that takes less than 10 minutes to cook. For easy midweek dinners, try Liberté’s stir fry garlic prawns with chilli and Thai basil or our linguine with tomato, prawns and rocket.
Here are our best prawn recipes, perfect for all occasions.
Best prawn recipes to cook in 2024
Salt and pepper prawn and pork noodles
A flavour-packed noodle dish that requires very little time and effort.
Prawn chowder with sweetcorn from Sean Moran
This warming bowl of prawn chowder is an elegant variation of the North American classic.
Tomato and prawn empanadas with picante sauce
Our tip is to make a double batch of this picante — a smoother, more refined version of salsa — to serve at will.
Chilli-rosemary prawns with butter
Ready in just 15 minutes.
Prawn and crab toast with herb salad
This crunchy, fragrant prawn and crab toast recipe makes for a tasty snack at cocktail hour.
Lemongrass prawns with gỏi xoài
Gỏi xoài is a traditional Vietnamese green mango salad with a zesty dressing. In this recipe, we used ripe sweet mangoes to balance the sharp green mango and tart salad dressing.
Paul Farag’s grilled prawns, corn, saffron pine nut milk
If you have a little bit of time on your hands and you’re raring to dress up your usual prawn salad routine, this is the recipe for you.
Saffron and coconut prawns
Make this vibrant, aromatic saffron and coconut prawn curry recipe for dinner tonight.
Summer paccheri with prawns, tomato and pickled chilli
Add some cooked crab or lobster meat to this weeknight favourite and transform it into a luxe dinner party entertainer.
Prawns with basil verde and seared scallops seafood platter
A seafood platter of barbecued prawns and seared scallops that’s primed for summer entertaining.
Prawn linguine with semi-dried tomatoes and olives
A summery prawn pasta that’s a no-fuss midweek meal? Yes please.
Prawns and clams baked in tomato and chilli
There’s something so satisfying about cooking with clams.
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Soba noodles with nori sesame butter and sake-grilled prawns
An easy, everyday Japanese-inspired soba noodle recipe that requires little time and effort.
Tony Tan’s char kway teow
Char kway teow is a perennial Malaysian favourite for a reason. Tony Tan shows us how it’s done.
Philipa Sibley’s spaghettini, prawns, charred corn, green chilli, black garlic
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for spaghettini, prawns, charred corn, green chilli, black garlic.
Linguine with tomato, prawns and rocket
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for fast linguine with tomato, prawns and rocket.
Fragrant prawns with Thai basil and udon noodles
Fresh, fast and flavourful: this is the easy way to make prawns a midweek meal.
Vesuvio with prawns, white wine and tomato
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for Vesuvio with prawns, white wine and tomato.
Tedesca Osteria’s prawns with saffron, fino sherry and garlic sauce
When very fresh prawns mingle with garlicky saffron butter, only good things happen.
Prawn sandwich with kimchi mayo
Bring a little bit of humble sophistication to your next friendly gathering with these delicious prawn sandwiches with kimchi mayo.
Barbecued prawns with brown butter and tamari
Mat Lindsay recipe for barbecued prawns with brown butter and tamari from Ester restaurant in Sydney.
Helly Raichura’s Bengali prawns and seablite (shorshe chingri)
If you have the forethought to soak your mustard seeds overnight, we can guarantee the results are well worth it for the vibrant colour and flavour they lend to the prawns.
Mixed grilled seafood salad with lemon mignonette
Feeling like something fresh this Christmas? Look no further.
Chicken, prawn and chilli pot stickers
If you’re entertaining a crowd, prepare the pot stickers ahead and store, covered with a damp clean tea towel in the refrigerator and cook when required.
Okonomiyaki hotcakes with school prawns
This variation of okonomiyaki combines the fluffy hotcakes you know and love with the traditional Japanese flavours.
Rockmelon, lime and poppy-seed prawn cocktails
We’re saying cheers to a classic with this tweak of the unbeatable prawn cocktail. Thinly mandolined rockmelon adds a sweet touch, which you can always offset with as little or as much Tabasco as you’d like.
Charred prawns on skewers with lime
Because barbecued things on sticks just taste better.
Prawn and sesame toasts
A snack that’s extremely hard to turn down.
Palisa Anderson’s yum makeua (grilled eggplant salad with prawns)
Fire up the barbecue for maximum flavour.
Al Dente’s prawn ravioli
A very luxe pasta indeed.
Tony Tan’s typhoon shelter prawns
Love garlic? Love prawns? You’ll love this.
Mustard butter prawns with corn and wilted greens
A combination of flavours that just works.
Vietnamese rice paper rolls
Flavour and freshness with every bite.
Grilled prawns with coconut rice and peach sambal
Add a little luxury to your weeknight dinner.
Louis Tikaram’s Mooloolaba prawn ceviche with green chilli dressing
An ideal summer starter that’s all zing and spice.
Mike McEnearney’s grilled prawn, watermelon and tomato salad
Summer’s greatest hits, all in one bowl.
Prawn cocktail tower
And that’s a wrap – the perfect self-serve summer dish.
Cutler & Co’s wood-grilled prawns with fried garlic and chilli oil
Things heat up with Andrew McConnell’s wood-grilled prawns with a smoky chilli oil.
Penne with prawns and fra diavolo sauce
Prawns, pasta and big whack of chilli. Sometimes it pays to play with fire.
Prawn and scallop har gow with garlic oil
Strictly traditional, these are not. Delicious? You bet.
Charred cabbage with chestnuts and prawns
Turn the humble vegetable into something special.
Prawns with saffron, chilli and quinoa
A light midweek dinner made easy.
Raes on Wategos’ king prawn sangas
With the added crisp and crunch of prawn crackers.
Prawn, cabbage and soba noodle salad
A quick and easy salad that sings with that sesame-miso dressing.
Rumi’s prawn börek
“Filled pastries have a very long history in the Middle East,” says Joseph Abboud. “The original, sanbosag or sanbusaj, became samosa in India, sambousek in Lebanon and sambusa in Ethiopia, to name a few. Börek, which are a great snack, are another.”
Wafu pasta: Fettuccine with prawns, tomato and sake-soy butter
An umami-packed combination that just works.
Prawns with black beans, chorizo and chipotle
Top black beans with chorizo and prawns, and serve with coriander and fresh lime.
Ma hor (galloping horses)
This classic Thai appetiser pulls out all the stops.
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Spicy prawn and lemongrass sticks
The sambal packs a mighty punch in these spicy prawn sticks, and using lemongrass stalks in place of skewers adds even more flavour.
Crab, prawn and fennel stew with rouille
Think of this as a simpler version of bouillabaisse with all the flavour, but less work
Prawn, slaw and pico de gallo tacos
You can only say yes to tacos.
Prawn carpaccio with prawn oil
Spanking fresh prawns lend a sweet and clean taste to this summery dish.
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Charred prawns, eggplant and chickpeas with roast tomato vinaigrette
A simple but elegant dish that works beautifully as either a main or a side.
Pork, prawn and tofu fritters with salted chilli sauce
Salted chilli sauce adds a powerful kick to these pork, prawn and tofu fritters.
Prawn tostadas with corn relish and chipotle crème fraîche
The perfect combination of fresh prawns, chipotle chillies whipped into a crème fraîche and a tangy corn relish on canape-sized tostadas.
King prawns and brown butter
“Every time I go back to Australia we go on surf trips up to Yamba and we buy a couple of kilos of cooked prawns, and sit on the headland and eat them with a dipping sauce,” says Beau Clugston.
Charred prawn sandwich with fennel, lemon myrtle and lime
These luxe sandwiches are a treat for lunch or dinner, but can easily morph into a cocktail snack. That’s versatile.
Lau’s Family Kitchen’s prawns and char siu with vermicelli in a claypot
A knockout dish from the family-run Cantonese restaurant in Melbourne.
Kylie Kwong’s Cantonese-style prawn wonton soup
“The success of this classic soup, the ultimate comfort food, lies in using the freshest ingredients,” says Kylie Kwong.
Bloody Mary prawn rolls
Vodka-pickled prawns, soft pull-apart rolls and a generous slather of mayonnaise. It’s the sandwich of summer.
Prawn and bean salad with preserved lemon dressing
Fresh, light and simple – this salad makes the perfect midweek meal.
Prawn and pomelo salad with roasted chilli dressing
The prawns in this salad can also be left whole and barbecued in their shells for extra flavour.
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Prawn and avocado salad with spiced tomato dressing
How to improve on fresh prawns with avocado? Adding a smoky, spicy tomato dressing to the mix.
Prawn and avocado with lime
With creamy avocado and the zing of lime juice, this Mexican-ish prawn cocktail is perfect for the summer. Just add corn chips.
Vietnamese-style grilled prawns with chilli dressing
The perfect grilled prawn lies in the dressing – and this one’s a winner.
Kylie Kwong’s prawn dumplings with organic tamari and chilli dressing
Don’t underestimate that dressing – it’s a smoky, sweet, sour, spicy and salty hit that works wonder with the dumplings.
Bucatini with prawn fra diavolo
Bucatini with prawn fra diavolo recipe – For fra diavolo sauce, preheat oven to 200°C. Toss ingredients together in a roasting pan and roast until tender and starting to caramelise at the edges (40-45 minutes).
Grilled prawns with tamarind, coconut rice and watermelon
Salty, sweet and sour, these grilled prawns with tamarind make a perfect match for the coconut rice and juicy watermelon in this recipe.
David Thompson’s prawns baked with vermicelli
“Baked prawns with vermicelli are found mostly in Chinatown in Bangkok, but it deserves to be eaten everywhere,” says Long Chim and Nahm David Thompson.
Prawn curry
Comfort in a bowl.
Liberté’s garlic prawns with chilli and Thai basil
A tried-and-true combination.
Barbecued prawns with honey, sesame and lemon
Time to throw a shrimp on the barbie.
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