This shrimp burger recipe with garlic and ginger is a total win in our house. They’re juicy, a bit sweet from the shrimp, and perfect with our creamy lime slaw.

We’ve been dreaming up this shrimp burger for a while now, and I am so happy to be able to finally share it with you. The secret is raw shrimp, egg white, and a little cornstarch. The egg white and cornstarch hold the patties together while keeping the burgers light.

I highly recommend topping your burger with our creamy lime slaw (recipe below) and a bit of spicy mayo, which makes a great burger sauce.

Key Ingredients

• Shrimp: You really taste the shrimp in this burger recipe, so use shrimp you love. We particularly enjoy Patagonian pink shrimp, which cooks up to be firm and sweet. I use them for our shrimp salad, and I’m always happy I did. I also mostly buy frozen shrimp, thaw them overnight in the fridge, and then use them the next day. You can also quickly thaw them in a bowl under cold (not warm) running water. They’ll be thawed in a few minutes.
• Garlic, Ginger, and Green Onions: These burgers are inspired by Asian shrimp dishes, so we mix in fresh garlic, ginger, and lots of green onions. I mince the garlic, finely grate the ginger (though pre-grated frozen ginger works great), and then mince the green onion by hand.
• Egg White and Cornstarch: Flour and breadcrumbs overpower the shrimp’s flavor, so to bind the mixture into patties, we use one egg white and a good amount of cornstarch. It works like a charm.
• Salt, Sugar, and Tamari: To season them nicely, mix in a little salt, sugar, and low-sodium tamari (or use shoyu or soy sauce). You don’t use much of any of it, but they make a big difference in flavor.
• Burger Sauce: Stick to toasted buns and a little plain mayo, or we love our homemade spicy mayo for these burgers.
• Slaw: These sweet shrimp patties pair perfectly with something cool and crunchy, so we put together a simple coleslaw to serve with them. It’s cabbage, green onion (yes, more!), salt, pepper, lime juice, and mayo. The black pepper really makes this slaw, so feel free to add more than what we recommend in the recipe below. For a mayo-free version, we also love this cilantro lime slaw.

How to Make Shrimp Burgers

Tip 1: Preparing your shrimp. It’s the most hands-on part of this recipe, but honestly, it’s not hard at all.

• First, I toss the shrimp with a bit of salt, let it sit for a minute, then rinse, drain, and pat very dry. I use this trick a lot, like in our shrimp stir fry. It plumps up the shrimp and makes them taste cleaner in the end.
• Next, I finely mince about three-quarters of the shrimp. You can do this by hand or in a food processor. Then, chop the remaining shrimp a little chunkier for some nice texture in the patties.

Tip 2: Making the burger mix. Before adding your chopped shrimp, stir all the burger mix ingredients together until smooth (salt, sugar, tamari, garlic, ginger, green onions, egg white, and cornstarch). Then fold in the chopped shrimp.

Tip 3: Refrigerate the burger mix for 30 minutes. The mixture will be sticky and a little loose, so to help it firm up a bit and allow the cornstarch time to absorb the moisture, pop it into the fridge for half an hour.

While it chills, you can make your sauce and slaw (both are simple and just need a quick mix).

Tip 4: Sear the shrimp patties on both sides first. To get a little color, form the mixture into four balls (don’t worry if they’re not perfect or if things get a little sticky). Then, place each ball into a bit of oil in a skillet, gently press them into patties, and sear both sides until they get a little color.

Tip 5: Finish in the oven. Once both sides are golden, I move the patties to a baking sheet and let them finish in the oven for about 10 to 12 minutes, so they cook through in the middle.

Serving Suggestions

These burgers, simply topped with slaw, are excellent all by themselves, but you can always add something on the side. Oven-baked French fries or sweet potato fries are classic (don’t forget the fry sauce). They are also great with sautéed broccoli, garlic ginger spicy edamame, or pickles.

More of Our Favorite Shrimp Recipes