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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Made this several times with mixed seafood. Love it with pasta or over rice.
Its a little spicier than mu family was expecting but its good overall
This was delicious! Beautiful summer dinner. Thank you!
Turned out amazing! My family devoured it.
Ver good simple to make
Added a little olive oil. It was perfect and delicious.
Amazing. Easy. Picky kids liked it!
YUMMY!!! First time making. I’m excited to make again and add my own touch!! Can u freeze leftovers??
This is an excellent recipe. I didn’t have fresh parsley, so I used dill. I also added fresh chopped tomatoes and used chicken stock. Thank you for sharing this great recipe.
Delicious and easy to make just as advertised.
So easy and Damn Delicious. I put in extra wine and pepper flakes.
My only question is do you mean 1/4 cup parmesan cheese or 1/4 cup grated parmesan?
The perfect Shrimp Scampi, quick and easy and tasty. Made it as directed without deviation and turned out delicious. Perfection!! The Shrimp Scampi I’ve ever had!! Thank you so much
Too much lemon juice…
Used less lemon juice as all I had was in a bottle, very tasty
Great quick recipe! Only addition was I sautéed shallot before adding garlic in olive oil and butter. I also used a wild garlic linguine.
I will cut down the lemon next time.
Relatively quick, easy & tasty. Good weeknight meal. Overall, came together fairly quickly (depends how picky one is about cleaning their shrimp). I added extra red pepper flakes because my husband likes spicy, but I overdid it for myself, so next time I think I will stick to the recipe. Next time, I think I might also add more butter at the end with a little extra pasta water and the parm. Overall, good recipe. I will make again! Thanks!
I would remove the prawns to a plate. Don’t want them over cooked. Add rest of the ingredients and toss in the prawns for 1 minute + to heat through then serve. Yum!
Recipe was quick and easy but personally I think it’s too lemony. Next time I will add less lemon juice.
I would like to add cherry tomatoes what do you suggest
Making this now and my yorkie is named Butters..
Quick & easy, this tasty time saver really works! I didn’t have the parsley but added frozen peas leftover from another meal and it was a success. I wonder if adding heavy whipping cream would work to turn it into a creamy version?
This was really tasty but not enough sauce, or gravy, to cover pasta. I would’ve liked more to keep it from drying out.