Can you Put Frozen Shrimp in Slow Cooker?

Can you put frozen shrimp in a slow cooker? There are a few different reasons people are asking this question. The most obvious is that frozen meat is not recommended for slow cookers; the other is that seafood is sometimes scary to cook.

Can you put frozen shrimp in a slow cooker? Crockpot shrimp recipes may call for fresh shrimp, but frozen shrimp recipes tell us otherwise. Crockpot Seafood Tips | Tips for Cooking Seafood in a Slow Cooker | Frozen Seafood Crockpot | Slow Cooker Dinner Recipes | Slow Cooker Shrimp Recipes | Slow Cooker Dinner Recipes | Easy Dinner Recipes | Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes | Weeknight Dinner Recipes

Can you put frozen shrimp in a slow cooker? Crockpot shrimp recipes may call for fresh shrimp, but frozen shrimp recipes tell us otherwise. Cooking frozen meat in a crockpot is not always a good idea.

In fact, most recipes will ask you to thaw the meat before you place it in a crockpot, and for good reasons. However, shrimp is a different story, partly. Before we can understand the answer to whether you can put frozen shrimp in a slow cooker, we must understand a slow cooker.

Can you Put Frozen Shrimp in Slow Cooker Close Up of a Person Picking Up Shrimp with Chopsticks from a Plate of Shrimp

Slow cookers cook food at a low temperature, which is great for tenderizing meat and allowing ingredients to meld together. Unfortunately, cooking at a low temperature also means it takes hours to cook food thoroughly.

You will come across many slow cooker recipes that take 4-8 hours, even if it’s something simple like BBQ chicken. Of course, we can cook BBQ chicken on the grill in minutes, but there’s more clean-up and far more prep than if you are just using a slow cooker.

Can you Put Frozen Shrimp in Slow Cooker Close Up of a Plate of Shrimp and Pasta with Baby Roma Tomatoes

That is the balance of the slow cooker. Many people have found those long cooking times to work well with their busy schedules. They can easily toss ingredients into a slow cooker in the morning, go about their days, and come home to a ready meal.

But shrimp is an entirely different ball game. The slow cooker will not change how it does its job, but we can change how we use it to get the desired results.

Can you Put Frozen Shrimp in Slow Cooker Close Up of a Platter with Shrimp Lined Up in Three Rows

Frozen Meat in a Slow Cooker

There are two schools of thought on cooking frozen meat in a slow cooker. One school says never do it; it is unsafe and unsanitary. They are right. The easiest example to work with is chicken, which must be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees before it is considered safe to eat.

The odds are high that frozen chicken will take too long to get up to 165 degrees internally, which means plenty of time for bacteria to grow. The other school says it is fine to cook frozen chicken in a slow cooker. They are also right.

Can you Put Frozen Shrimp in Slow Cooker Close Up of Shrimp Pesto Salad

How much bacteria grows in the chicken while it is cooking won’t matter if the meat and the food around it get to 165 degrees. Why does 165 degrees matter so much? That is the temperature at which all food-borne bacteria in chicken will die, making it safe to consume.

This is where being able to make a decision comes into play. The critical thing to remember is that chicken and all other types of meat have a safe internal temperature at which they need to be cooked before they are considered safe to eat.

Your job as a cook is to ensure the food is cooked to a safe temperature.

Can you Put Frozen Shrimp in Slow Cooker?

Shrimp is just like any other meat; it needs to be cooked to a specific temperature before it is considered safe to eat. That means the answer is yes, you can put frozen shrimp in a slow cooker.

However, it is also important to note a few basics about shrimp. The goal is not just to make food safe to eat; after all, we can burn the heck out of a chicken, and it is considered safe to eat.

But the flavor of burnt meat will not make your tastebuds very happy. This is another job of the cook, to make food safe to eat and taste delicious. Slow cookers can help in many ways by making it easier to achieve both of these goals.

Can you Put Frozen Shrimp in Slow Cooker Close Up of Cooked Shrimp in a Bowl

Rules to Consider When Cooking Shrimp in a Slow Cooker

Can you put frozen shrimp in a slow cooker? Yes, but there are some things you should know in order to make the best judgment ahead of time. Shrimp is small and not nearly as thick as, say, a chicken breast or a steak.

This means shrimp won’t take long to reach the proper temperature, even in a slow cooker. Many slow cooker shrimp recipes require you to add the shrimp toward the end.

Can you Put Frozen Shrimp in Slow Cooker Close Up of a Shrimp Platter

The goal is to allow the rest of the ingredients to cook almost completely before adding the shrimp, since it won’t take as long to cook through. But then we have the shrimp’s frozen aspect, which changes everything.

Now, you need to consider that the slow cooker needs to thaw the shrimp before cooking it. That added thaw time will mean using your best judgment when using frozen shrimp in a slow cooker.

For example, a shrimp scampi recipe will only require you to cook the shrimp for about an hour and a half, but that time would increase if you use frozen shrimp. Best judgment is always highly recommended when cooking anything in a slow cooker.