At least once each day I receive a request from a reader for more dinner recipes that serve just two people.  Not everyone is feeding a crowd of hungry, growing boys each night! Whether you’re a young couple just learning to cook, a small family with only one baby to feed, or empty nesters with children who have left the house, it can be challenging to find recipes that serve just one or two people. Fortunately, this Sheet Pan Supper is a simple, flavorful meal that can easily be prepared in small quantities. The Honey Garlic Shrimp, Rice, and Green Beans all cook together on one tray for a healthy and easy dinner that’s ready in just 12 minutes from start to finish!
Oh my goodness, friends. This is a GOOD one! In fact, after I prepared multiple batches of the honey garlic shrimp for recipe testing and photographing, my 3-year-old was fighting me for the cold leftovers at lunch over the next few days. It’s seriously delicious.
With just a touch of sweetness from the honey, a salty, savory contrast from the soy sauce, and plenty of rich, flavorful garlic, this Honey Garlic Shrimp is a nutritious and tasty way to enjoy a complete seafood dinner with practically no effort at all.  You literally dump the raw ingredients on a tray, toss with the sauce, and let the oven do the work.
Maybe the best part of a Sheet Pan Supper? The clean up! Because there is ONE tray. Gotta love it.
So here’s the deal: as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, you can tweak the recipe to prepare as many servings as you want. As written, the recipe serves 3 or 4 (small) portions. If you want to bulk it up a little bit and serve larger portions for four people, I would add a second pouch of rice to the pan. If you prefer a lot of sauce, you can double the sauce recipe and use about 24 ounces of shrimp as well. That will give you plenty for one meal, or maybe even some leftovers for lunch the next day. That’s what I would do for my family of 5.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for a dinner that serves 2 people and you don’t want to mess with too many leftovers, simply decrease the amount of shrimp that you’re using from 1 lb. to a single 12-ounce bag. You can keep the green beans the same (or decrease them to about 8 ounces), use one pouch of rice (as called for in the recipe), and prepare the same amount of sauce as called for in the recipe. Voila!
Make the meal your own, adapt it to suit your family’s needs, and enjoy the ease of a simple Sheet Pan Supper that’s loaded with sweet and salty Honey Garlic Shrimp, tender brown rice, and nutritious green beans. I’m not kidding…this is better than Chinese take-out!
Sheet Pan Supper: Honey Garlic Shrimp with Rice and Green Beans
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 4
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce (or gluten-free tamari as an alternative)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 lb. peeled, deveined raw shrimp
- 1 (8.5 ounce) microwaveable pouch rice (I used Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice in the Brown Basmati variety, but any flavor will work)
- 10 ounces frozen cut green beans, thawed
- Optional Garnish: sliced green onion, toasted sesame seeds, and/or fresh lime juice
Instructions
- Position oven rack 4 inches from broiler. Preheat oven to BROIL.
- Line a large, rimmed sheet pan with aluminum foil (for easy clean up) and spray with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, and honey.
- Spread shrimp and green beans on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil mixture over the top and toss to coat.
- Broil shrimp and green beans for 5 minutes. While the shrimp is in the oven, microwave rice according to package instructions (this will take 90 seconds).
- After 5 minutes, remove shrimp from the oven. Add microwaved rice to the sheet pan, stir all of the ingredients, and return to the oven to broil for an additional 2-3 minutes (or until shrimp are pink and cooked through).
It can definitely be hard to cook for two people! It’s just my husband and I, but I usually make meals that serve four, mainly for leftovers, but also because it can be hard to scale down certain recipes. This sheet pan shrimp is calling my name, Blair! I love the honey garlic flavor, my favorite combo! What a perfect weeknight meal!
Thanks, Gayle! I’m a leftover lover too, but I think a lot of people don’t like them. 🙂 I just find it EASY!
I love one sheet pan meals due to the easy clean up! This shrimp flavor sounds delicious – may be trying this later this week!
Awesome! Enjoy Sarah! I agree — Sheet Pan Suppers are the best because there are so few dishes to deal with at the end!
Only 12 minutes from start to finish WHATTTT? How amazing is this? Not only is this recipe fast and has minimal clean-up, but it includes my beloved shrimp! Amen to this recipe!
Thanks, Bethany! I agree — it’s such a DREAM!
Could you use another type of meat? My husband is allergic to shrimp. Maybe chicken?
Totally! I would just cut up the chicken into bite-sized pieces so that it cooks quickly (just like the shrimp does). Enjoy!
This is such a delicious meal! What a clever idea to use microwave rice – so quick and easy!
Thanks, Kristy! It’s SO darn easy (and tasty)!
Could this be made easily with precooked shrimp?
Hi, Kate! Yes, I think that it would work fine with precooked shrimp. You obviously will not need to cook the shrimp as long, though, if they’re already cooked. You’re really just looking to heat them up, so you’ll want to be careful that you don’t leave them in the oven for too long and overcook them. Just add them to the tray when the green beans are almost done and let the shrimp finish in the oven and warm up during the final few minutes of cooking. Hope that helps, and enjoy!