Shrimp Scampi
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You won’t believe how easy this comes together in just 15 minutes – perfect for those busy weeknights!
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reasons to make shrimp scampi
- Quick cook time. With a short ingredient list and a few easy steps, you’ll have this fancy meal on your dinner table in less than 30 minutes start to finish, perfect for busy weeknights and weekend company.
- Restaurant-quality. This is truly restaurant-quality, if not even better, with bigger, better-quality shrimp.
- Versatile. Shrimp scampi can be served over pasta or rice, or served alongside crusty bread and a light salad.
types of shrimp
Wild caught shrimp vs. farmed shrimp
Farmed shrimp are raised in controlled environments, whereas wild caught shrimp have been caught in their natural habitats by fishermen. Wild caught shrimp is generally preferred over farmed shrimp primarily due to taste.
Frozen vs. fresh shrimp
Unless you reside in a coastal area, the “fresh shrimp” on display at your local grocery store have already been previously frozen at sea. Frozen shrimp offers ultimate freshness (flash-frozen as soon as they are caught) and flexibility, using only what you need for dinner. Bottom line, frozen shrimp will taste better and cook better.
Ingredients
Linguine
Linguine is always our go-to since it holds onto all that lovely saucy goodness but you can also substitute spaghetti or fettuccine.
Butter
For richness and creaminess, of course.
Shrimp
Peeled, deveined and thawed overnight (or a quick 5-10 min thaw under cold running water).
Garlic and red pepper flakes
For maximum flavor. You can increase the amount of red pepper flakes for extra heat and spiciness.
White wine
A dry white wine is great here (pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc).
Lemon juice/zest
A little bit of acid goes a long way to help balance out the flavors and richness of the butter. Freshly squeezed is always the way to go (over the bottled stuff).
Parmesan
Add your finishing touches with a healthy dusting of freshly grated Parm.
tips and tricks for success
- Know your shrimp size. Shrimp size is calculated on number of shrimp per pound. The smaller the number, the larger your shrimp. There are about 40-50 medium shrimp per pound.
- Buy frozen shrimp. For superior quality and freshness, using frozen shrimp is ideal (but avoid the bags with freezer burn), opting for a quick thaw under cold running water.
- Choose a wine you will drink. A dry white wine (pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc) is great here – it does not have to be anything fancy or overpriced. Just something you don’t mind sipping on since you will have an open bottle.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with all the homemade crusty bread for dipping, sopping and dunking!
what to serve with shrimp scampi
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Shrimp Scampi: Frequently Asked Questions
You can thaw frozen shrimp overnight, transferring it from the freezer to the fridge the day before. For a quick thaw, you can run them under cold water until completely thawed, about 5-10 minutes. Pat them dry as thoroughly as possible to remove any excess moisture (so they can brown nicely and evenly).
Chicken stock can be used for white wine as a non-alcoholic substitute.
The lemon juice helps balance out the flavors and richness of the butter.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 day.
Shrimp Scampi
Ingredients
- 8 ounces linguine
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more, to taste
- ¼ cup white wine*
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
- Melt butter in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add shrimp, garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pink, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in wine and lemon juice. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes; remove from heat.
- Stir in pasta, lemon zest and parsley; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately, topped with Parmesan.
Video
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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This was delicious! And I surprisingly had all of the ingredients for it. Today was my birthday and I wanted a simple stay at home meal I could make with my husband. This hit the spot. A bonus was that one of my gifts from him was a nifty gaget that makes butter so I used butter I had literally made less then 6 hours before. Thank you for a restaurant quality meal in my home.
I was wondering if there is any way to make this a one pot meal? Or could I cook the pasta in some chicken stock (I’m using that instead of the wine) to give it more flavour? Or is that totally not necessary at all?
That sounds like a great idea but without further recipe testing, I cannot advise for sure if this will work or not. Please use your best judgment to convert this recipe to a one pot meal.
I added heavy cream, diced heirloom tomatoes and of course, the pepper flakes. It was amazing! Thank you, and to your little dog too 🙂 Such a cutie.
Any recipe that is interrupted by a corgi must be worth trying. Such a ball of cuteness. Mine sits at my feet every second I am in the kitchen.
Tried this recipe last night and it was super easy and super yummy!!! I highly recommend! Thank you so much for the recipe!
I am excited I just made this wonderful meal and it looks and smells marvelous! I am serving a couple of crab legs on the side too! 🙂
I’ve already made this several times, an it’s so delicious an easy. Can I use cooked shrimp? Will they end up being tough, you think?
Yes, I worry that they will get overcooked.
I want your puppy!!! What a patooters! :}
Great recipes – and adorable dog!!
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I love your blog, and I’m looking forward to trying this recipe out very soon! Just a quick question, do you leave the tails on the shrimp while they are cooked? Thanks!
Seanna, that’s completely up to you. I tend to leave it on for photographic purposes.
I saw this on Pinterest and decided to try this for dinner tonight! My four year old said it was “delicious!!” In her eyes that’s equivalent to a five star rating 🙂 I loved it
Too!
This looks so easy and so good!! I decided to try it because 1.) I like the name of your blog and 2.) we love corgi’s, my inlaws have 2 but they are older. I immediately called my hubby over to look at the puppy corgi (:
I really appreciate the *non-alcoholic substitute 🙂 so nice to not have to look up what I should put in a recipe instead of the alcohol option. Looking forward to trying this out!
Your puppy is so darn cute!!!!! I’m going to try this recipe tonight..
what an adorable puppy!!
oh sweet, how cute your dog is.
and i love to eat shrimp and i think i even love it a lot. its mouthwatering, i cant help it. i’ll make one when i get home.
I love how quick shrimp scampi is – perfect for weeknights! This recipe looks heavenly!! Pinned!
I love your site and the fact that all your recipes are simple plus economical. I’ve found my new go to website for dinner options, off to see what your breakie page has to offer.
This is a pretty good recipe, but I think it needs less red pepper next time. It was so spicy it overpowered the other flavours and my lips are still burning. I think I’ll probably leave it out next time 🙂
Yes, I recommend omitting the red pepper flakes completely if it is too spicy for you. But honestly for me, I think I could’ve added more! 🙂