Garlic Butter Shrimp Scampi
Garlic Butter Shrimp Scampi is a classic dish, made with fresh shrimp cooked in butter with minced garlic, lemon juice, parsley, and red pepper flakes, ready in 10 minutes!
Garlic Butter Shrimp Scampi is a family favorite dinner in my house and one of our favorite shrimp recipes, made with unsalted butter, fresh garlic, lemon juice, and parsley. We also like to give it a kick with red pepper flakes, but that’s totally optional! It’s the perfect weeknight meal because it uses simple ingredients with minimal cooking time.
You can serve this with gluten free crusty bread for a light meal, or over some gluten free pasta. If you go the seafood pasta route, we like to pour the shrimp and all of the garlic butter sauce directly over it, and toss with some parmesan cheese. For a lighter version, serve over zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash.
If you loved this recipe, you’ll also love my Lemon Butter Baked Cod, and my Balsamic Glazed Salmon!
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Quick and Easy – This dish is ready in only 10 minutes, making it perfect for busy weeknights. It’ll be one of your new seafood favorites for dinnertime!
Fresh Flavor – My favorite part about this recipe is that it’s packed with flavor! Buttery sauce, heat from the red pepper flakes, savory garlic, and fresh notes from the lemon juice and parsley!
Restaurant Quality – This will make you feel like you ordered shrimp scampi at a coastal seafood restaurant. It’s fancy and simple all at the same time!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Shrimp. For this recipe you’ll need shrimp that’s peeled and de-veined. I like to use the tail-on shrimp, but that’s optional. Leaving the tails on while cooking adds flavor and looks pretty when serving.
Try to find larger shrimp, because they’ll give you a little more time while cooking, helping them soak up all of the buttery garlic flavor.
If you’re at the seafood counter wondering about wild-caught shrimp vs farmed shrimp, you can read more about that here. It mostly comes down to environmental sustainability.
If you have frozen shrimp, defrost them in the refrigerator the night before, and fully drain and dry them with a paper towel right before cooking.
Butter. I like to use unsalted butter, so I can add whatever salt I need later in the recipe. Shrimp is naturally higher in sodium, too. If you use salted butter, leave the salt out in the recipe later.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Adding a small amount of olive oil can help keep the butter from burning while cooking the shrimp.
Garlic. I’m a garlic lover, so I use four cloves (or more) when I make this. You can use more or less depending on your preference.
If you don’t have fresh garlic cloves, you can use 1 teaspoon of garlic powder.
Lemon Juice. Add this right at the end for a nice bright flavor. If you want more flavor, use some lemon zest as well.
Parsley. I also add this at the end so it doesn’t cook down too much. It adds a nice fresh flavor, and also makes the dish look really pretty.
You can roughly chop the parsley leaves, it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Spices. My family likes spicy food, so I add a decent amount of red pepper flakes. If you don’t like spicy, just leave them out.
I’m also adding black pepper and kosher salt to taste.
Kitchen Tools
For this recipe, you’ll need a medium to large skillet.
How to Make Garlic Butter Shrimp Scampi
In a skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and butter. While the butter is melting, pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper.
Add the shrimp to the skillet, leaving some space between each one. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then flip them over to cook another 2-3 minutes on the other side.
Push the shrimp to one side of the pan and add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the butter.
Let it cook for about a minute until it starts to brown, then toss everything together.
Top the shrimp with fresh lemon juice and parsley, and stir everything together in the skillet. The shrimp is finished cooking when they turn pink/white and opaque.
Add any additional black pepper and kosher salt to-taste before serving.
Recipe Variations
- If you don’t like spicy food, it’s ok to leave the crushed red pepper flakes out. If you want even more spice, add a dash of cayenne pepper, too!
- Try adding other herbs like dill or basil instead of parsley. Or a dash of Old Bay seasoning for more of a shrimp boil flavor (just check that the brand you use is gluten free).
- Add a splash of white wine for more of a restaurant version of shrimp scampi.
- You can also add veggies to this dish! Try adding some chopped cherry tomatoes, asparagus, baby spinach, or cabbage.
- This recipe would also work with scallops, just make sure they’re fully cooked through at the end.
- Instead of a skillet, you can also add all of the ingredients to a baking dish (melt the butter first) and bake for 10-15 minutes at 350°F.
Recipe Tip! Make sure your skillet is hot when the shrimp is added, to help it sear instead of steam. This also helps the garlic cook right when it’s added to the pan, which builds the flavors in the dish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Shrimp cooks really fast, so keep an eye on it. It only needs a few minutes on each side. Raw shrimp is more transparent, while cooked shrimp turns pink/white and becomes opaque and curls into a “C” shape.
Overcooked shrimp can have a rubbery texture, so it’s important to watch them closely while they’re cooking. According to the USDA, a safe internal temperature is 145°F.
Recipe Tip! This is best when served right away, I don’t recommend making this ahead of time. Prep all of your ingredients first, because it cooks in only 10 minutes!
More Seafood Dishes
Storage
Refrigerate leftover garlic butter shrimp for 2-3 days in an airtight container.
Freeze leftover shrimp for 2-3 months in a freezer-safe container.
Cooking Tips
- I like to add some olive oil to the butter because the oil has a higher cooking temperature, and will help keep the butter from burning. You don’t have to use it, but if you don’t, just watch the dish closely.
- Fresh garlic will have the best flavor, so I highly recommend using that instead of jarred garlic or garlic powder. If you use jarred garlic, use a little more than you would with fresh.
- Be careful not to burn the garlic, it only takes about a minute to become fragrant and start to brown. If you cook it too far, it’ll become bitter.
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Garlic Butter Shrimp Scampi
Ingredients
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled, de-veined, tail-on
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
Equipment
- 1 skillet medium to large
Instructions
- In a skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and butter. While the butter is melting, pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the shrimp to the skillet, leaving some space between each one. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then flip them over to cook another 2-3 minutes on the other side.
- Push the shrimp to one side of the pan and add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the butter. Let it cook for about 1 minute until it starts to brown, then toss everything together.
- Top the shrimp with fresh lemon juice and parsley, and stir everything together in the skillet. The shrimp is finished cooking when they turn pink/white and opaque. Add any additional salt and pepper to-taste before serving.
Notes
- I add olive oil to the butter because the oil has a higher cooking temperature, and will help keep the butter from burning.
- Fresh garlic will have the best flavor, so I highly recommend using that instead of jarred garlic or garlic powder. If you use jarred garlic, use a little more than you would with fresh.
- Be careful not to burn the garlic, it only takes about a minute to become fragrant and start to brown. If you cook it too far, it’ll become bitter.
Nutrition
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