Description
This easy shrimp scampi recipe is made with garlic, butter, lemon, and parsley in under 15 minutes. Delicious as a light dinner, appetizer, or tossed with pasta for a restaurant-quality meal at home.
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 1 pound shrimp (12/16 or 16/20 preferred), peeled and deveined (defrosted if frozen)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tablespoons cold butter, divided
- 4 cloves garlic, minced, grated, or pressed
- 1/4 cup dry white wine (or chicken stock)
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or Calabrian chilis (optional)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)
- garnish: 1/4 cup fresh herbs such as parsley, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, more to taste if needed (reduce if using salted butter)
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare your shrimp by removing from the bag and patting dry with paper towels.
- Heat olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add garlic and sauté for 30–60 seconds until fragrant.
- Add shrimp, season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few spins of fresh black pepper, and cook 1–2 minutes per side until pink. (Reduce added salt if using salted butter.)
- Add wine (or stock/broth) and red pepper flakes; simmer 1–2 minutes until reduced.
- Stir in the remaining butter until emulsified. Add lemon juice and parsley and give it a final stir. Remove from heat. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Serve on its own, with rice or veggies, or toss with pasta (see notes).
Store in the fridge for up to 2 days in a covered container. Shrimp doesn’t reheat well, but it does taste great cold.
Notes
To turn this into Shrimp Scampi Pasta, add an additional 1 tablespoon each of butter and olive oil at the beginning of cooking to make more sauce. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water to al dente, then add 1/2 cup pasta cooking water to the shrimp once the dish is finished to create a silky sauce. Toss the shrimp and sauce with the pasta. Optionally, add a garnish of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for a gourmet pasta dish at home.
Swap butter for vegan butter or more olive oil to make it dairy-free.
Use stock/broth or more lemon juice instead of wine, if desired.
Store leftovers in the fridge up to 2 days. Shrimp doesn’t reheat well but it does taste great cold.