This delicious shrimp scampi recipe is ready in under 15 minutes and features a simple sauce made with garlic, butter, and lemon. It’s perfect served on its own, over pasta, rice, or zucchini noodles for a low-carb option.
How to Make the Best Shrimp Scampi
Classic shrimp scampi is such a wonderful dish. I love how simple it is to make (only 15 minutes) and the short list of ingredients. Add this easy recipe to your list of go-to weeknight dinners! For another easy shrimp recipe, try this garlic shrimp in a cilantro butter sauce.
Large shrimp are ideal for shrimp scampi, but you can use any size shrimp that you prefer. You’ll get around 30 large shrimp per pound, which works well when serving this as an appetizer.
Making Shrimp Scampi Sauce
Our sauce for shrimp scampi is simple and quick to make. You will need the following ingredients:
- Butter
- Shallot
- Garlic
- Red pepper flakes (optional, for a bit of heat)
- Dry white wine
- Lemon
- Parsley
- Salt and black pepper
Best Wine to Use
The best wine for shrimp scampi is a dry, crisp white wine. We reach for Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, or unoaked Chardonnay. The most important thing to remember is to use something you enjoy. Our scampi recipe calls for 1/2 cup of wine, so you will have some leftover to enjoy with the shrimp.
Substituting for Wine
If you do not have wine or choose not to cook with it, you can substitute the wine for chicken broth or vegetable broth. I also like adding more lemon to the sauce to balance the loss of acidity when leaving the wine out.
How to Make Shrimp Scampi — Our Best Tips
- Use fresh, high-quality shrimp. Jumbo or large shrimp are perfect, but you can use any size of shrimp that you prefer.
- Devein the shrimp before cooking. This will remove the dark vein that runs along the back of the shrimp, which can be gritty and unpleasant to eat. Some shrimp are already sold deveined.
- Cook the shrimp quickly over high heat in a large skillet. Shrimp only need to cook for a few minutes per side until they are opaque and pink. The larger skillet makes sure the shrimp have room.
- Add wine and lemon juice to the pan to deglaze it. This helps to loosen any browned bits from the bottom of the pan and add flavor to the sauce.
- Swirl in butter and parsley at the end of cooking. This will create a rich and velvety sauce. See our tips below for preventing the sauce from breaking.
- Serve shrimp scampi immediately. I love it over pasta, rice, or zucchini noodles. It is also delicious served with crusty bread for dipping.
How to Prevent Scampi Sauce From Breaking
To prevent the garlic butter sauce from breaking, add the butter to the skillet off the heat at the end of cooking and swirl it in slowly.
Storing Leftovers
Leftover shrimp scampi can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
How to Make Shrimp Scampi Pasta
Spoon this easy shrimp scampi over spaghetti or linguine, or follow a few more steps for the best shrimp scampi pasta:
Get the pasta cooking in a large pot straight away. The shrimp takes around 5 minutes to cook. Check the package directions for the cooking time associated with the pasta you are using.
When tossing the cooked pasta with the sauce and shrimp, if it seems dry, add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of the cooking water to thin it out. The starches in the water will also help the sauce to stick to the pasta strands.
More Easy Shrimp Recipes
Easy Shrimp Scampi
-
PREP
-
COOK
-
TOTAL
How to make garlic butter shrimp scampi in under 15 minutes. Perfect served alone or spooned over pasta, rice or lower carb zucchini noodles.
Makes 4 servings
You Will Need
1 pound large or extra-large shrimp, peeled with tails left on and deveined
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoons butter, cut into four pieces
1/4 cup minced shallot (1 medium), see notes
1 ½ tablespoons minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
1/2 cup dry, crisp white wine like pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc or unoaked chardonnay, see notes for alternatives
1 lemon, cut in half
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves and tender stems, chopped
Directions
- Cook Shrimp
1Pat the shrimp dry then season with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper.
2Add the olive oil to a wide skillet. Place the skillet with olive oil over medium heat then add the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Stir around the pan until fragrant; about 1 minute.
3Add the shrimp, nestling them into the pan so that they are in one layer. A few shrimp stacked on top of each other is okay. Cook, without moving until the edges start to turn pink, about 1 minute.
4Flip the shrimp and stir in the wine and the juice from half a lemon (1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons). Continue to cook until the wine has reduced a bit and the shrimp are cooked through, another minute or two. Slide the skillet off of the heat.
- Make Scampi Sauce
1Transfer the shrimp to a plate, and then, with the skillet off of the heat, add the butter and parsley. Stir the butter around the pan so that it melts into the sauce making a creamy butter sauce. (If the butter is not melting, place the skillet over low heat until it does).
2Taste then season as needed with salt, pepper or additional lemon juice.
3Serve with a few extra slices of lemon on the side or with pasta, zucchini noodles or rice.
Adam and Joanne’s Tips
- Substitute for shallot: Use 1/4 cup minced yellow, white or sweet onion.
- Substitute for wine: Use 1/2 cup of chicken, vegetable or seafood broth.
- Shrimp Scampi with Pasta: Use 8 to 12 ounces of dry pasta for 1 pound of shrimp. If, when tossing the pasta into the scampi sauce, it seems dry, add a 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water to thin it out a bit. The starches in the water will also help the sauce to stick to the pasta strands.
- Nutrition Facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
Nutrition Per Serving
Serving Size
1/4 of the recipe
/
Calories
257
/
Total Fat
15.9g
/
Saturated Fat
7.8g
/
Cholesterol
213mg
/
Sodium
301.4mg
/
Carbohydrate
5.6g
/
Dietary Fiber
1.5g
/
Total Sugars
1.4g
/
Protein
24.4g
