Garlic Butter Shrimp Scampi
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Made in just 20 min from start to finish! The garlic butter sauce is TO DIE FOR – so buttery, so garlicky/lemony + so perfect!
Is it just me or do you all want to go swimming in this pool of butter sauce?
Don’t be shy, guys. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to face plant yourself right into this sauce.
It’s just that good.
I mean, it’s plenty of butter, garlic, shallots, red pepper flakes, and lemon! And did I mention all of the butter?
But to be honest, I want to do more than just swim in this.
I really just want all the crusty bread in this world to soak up all of this sauce. A single drop should not be left behind.
And when all the sauce has been devoured and inhaled, I’ll just make this again and again.
After all, you just need 20 minutes to whip this up.
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Garlic Butter Shrimp Scampi: Frequently Asked Questions
Unsalted butter allows you to add as much salt (or as little) salt in your dish. It allows for more control and consistency.
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).
Garlic Butter Shrimp Scampi
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cubed
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium shallot, diced
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 ½ pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, shallot and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Add shrimp; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pink and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in parsley, lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
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Does the shrimp have to be frozen? Or does it release to much water?
Sautéed 8 ounces of portabella mushrooms with the shrimp and served it over angel hair pasta with fresh parm. Delicious.
Really good!! Increased the butter, mixed the pasta in!! My husband said it was absolutely delicious and he’s not a big pasta person.
Delicious
Absolutely amazing! I’ve made many versions of shrimp scampi before and this was hands down the best one I’ve ever made! So full of flavor! My husband loved it so much!! A definite repeat on our menu for sure! Thank you for sharing this!
Wonderful! I substituted some of the butter with olive oil and added only a quarter teaspoon lemon juice replacing it with 1/3 cup white wine.
This recipe was so simple and end result amazing!
love it…perfect amount of butter & garlic
LOVED this recipe! It was so easy to make and the red pepper added a nice twist to it! I will be making this again and often!
Absolute a favorite !! So easy to make, and delicious. Love this recipe.
I made this for my boyfriend the other day when I had my own dinner plan. It was my first time making shrimp, as they’re not something I eat, so I was nervous to do so. Luckily he devoured it! He raved about how flavorful it was, how well the angel hair pasta I served it over soaked it up too, and how perfectly the shrimp were cooked. The shrimp took to the flavor so well that he assumed I marinated them beforehand!
Have made similar. All great!
This was easy and oh so tasty! Thank you!
this shrimp recipe was wonderful – the only thing I can say, is there wasn’t much sauce…what there was of sauce was delicious and I “hungered for more!”
Any idea how to get more of the sauce?
Thank you!
The picture does show a lot of sauce. I make 1 1/2 – 2 times the recipe if I want to swim in it! ; )
So good!! We make it all the time and the whole family loves it. I added a little something (don’t want to be one of those recipe modifying people really..:). Just a tiny little dash of Old Bay. A++++++. Thank you Chungah!
Best in the West, you won’t be disappointed, Sometimes I just pour it on linguine, love it
This was so easy and sooo good!! I will be making this again. Thank you
This is the perfect appetizer for holiday gatherings. You can even get the kids to be the ones who make this because it is so simply. Also, the cook is the one who gets to sop up all that sauce in the pan.
Just perfect! I would love to soak in a pool of garlic butter & lemon sauce. I’m blessed by living pretty close to the Gulf of Mexico & have a nearby source for large easy-peel shrimp.
First time making shrimp scampi. Decided I wanted it tonight so I had to use what I had on hand. My garlic head was old and I didn’t have a lot of fresh ingredients but I still made it. I used a lot of lemon and a lot of butter and my shrimp was frozen salad shrimp. I still made it and it was very good. I served it over rice. I will make it again and make sure I have all fresh ingredients. Thank you for the great recipe.
This looks fabulous! I’m planning on making your wonderful shrimp dish to company once we open up again after Covid. Can your shrimp be made in the oven?
Yes. About 10-12 minutes.