Our top prawn recipes for every occasion and season

There’s no definitive best way to cook prawns. Really, it comes down to personal preference. Some like crispy prawns that have been butterflied and cooked over a barbecue for that smoky flavour, while others prefer prawns plumped and primed for a spicy Asian dish.

Leftover cooked prawns can be super versatile — you just need to know how to prevent them from becoming rubbery. To do so, you’ll want to gently reheat them or serve them cold. For the latter, prawn cocktails, prawn salads and rice bowls work a treat (we recommend letting the prawns come to room temperature before serving). Meanwhile, if you want your prawns warmed, your go-to dishes will be stir-fries, pastas, fried rice, Thai-style soups and coconut-based curries where you add your cooked prawns in the last minute of cooking.

What you can make for dinner with prawns is endless. Whether you’re in the mood for a comforting curry; a lighter dish with fresh, char-grilled prawns and dipping sauce; Asian pork and prawn pot stickers; or simple prawn salads, we’ve got the prawn recipe for you.

Often, the first recipe that comes to mind when we think of prawns is barbecued prawns served simply with a sauce, but the plump protein has a breadth of use cases. Why not take a leaf out of our 2026 Restaurant of the Year, Zareh’s book and crown homemade hummus with pepper-spiked king prawns, dialled up with a garlicky toum? Or head down an Asian-inspired route, baking whole prawns with vermicelli in a dish that’s mostly found in Chinatown in Bangkok but should be on everyone’s must-make list. Whatever your palate or preference, there’s a prawn recipe you’re bound to come back to time and time again.