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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I made this for the first time and as a beginner cook, this is so very easy and quick to make. So full of color and flavor. I piled some scampi on pasta with the sauce and a side of Italian bread and it was perfect! My hubby said it was better than his! I will be making it again.
Let me tell yall! I made this dish for my parents and my Dad was begging for seconds and thirds!!! Definitely will be making this again!!✔✔✔
Isn’t it the best? Glad your dad is a fan! Thanks for sharing, Sabrina!
I think the lemon zest made it bitter but other than that it was good. I think next time I will leave it out.
Be careful to zest just the yellow rind. The white pith underneath is very bitter. I made it for the second time tonight. So delicious that I printed the recipe and it’s officially in our favorite recipe binder.
I just made this shrimp scampi. It was my first time making shrimp scampi ever and it came out amazing. Restaurant quality. I will be making this again and again!
It just so simple..
Over egg noodles
Can you use already cooked shrimp? Would you cook it for as long as raw shrimp?
I recommend using uncooked shrimp to avoid overcooking, resulting in rubbery shrimp.
I used cooked and it turned out great just cooked on lower heat to get hot and then serve. Great recipe thanks!
I made this and it was so good that I decided to use it as a base for another dish – Make some angel hair pasta and reserve the pasta water. Add 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese and one cup of pasta water. Toss. Chop up at least one cup of arugula (more if you like arugula) and mix into pasta, then toss in the garlic butter shrimp scampi! Serve immediately. DELICIOUS!!
I always add heavy cream… yum yum
As good as I hoped it would be! DEElicious! I halved the recipe for the amount of shrimp that I had, but doubled the garlic. I didn’t have a shallot, so I used some red onion. So I pretty much followed the recipe. I took the advice of having some good bread to soak up every drop and that we did! My husband and I both loved it and I will definitely make it again. Thanks for the recipe!
This recipe is quick, easy and DELICIOUS! Made it last night for my husband and adult son- there wasn’t a scrap left after the meal! We had 2 pound bags of shrimp so used that amount vs. the 1 1/2 pounds in the recipe. Also didn’t have a shallot so used red onion. Other than that, did everything just as stated. Was afraid with the extra shrimp we might not have enough sauce but that wasn’t the case. After drenching the shrimp and dipping about 20 toasted slices of a petit loaf of organic bread- the guys still had enough for ladling tasty spoonfuls directly into their mouths. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Your review is mouthwatering, Karen! I think I might have to make this again myself! 🙂
This was fantastic—a great basic shrimp scampi recipe that could be adjusted to suit people’s tastes—like adding a fave veggie or putting over noodles or rice. But it really does not need any additions to be delicious. And the cook time and prep time is basically nothing for such wow flavors. A definite make again in our family rotation.
I made this dish and it was amazing! I actually used leftover shrimp from my favorite seafood restaurant that I froze two months ago. At first I was just looking for a dish that I could use my leftover shrimp. They were just too good to throw away and it was quite a bit. Needless to say I was skeptical. This recipe was fast, simple and a breeze. The flavor was incredible… restaurant quality. I will definitely make this again! Next time I plan to add crab or lobster. I painted this dish with pan seared asparagus. One of the best decisions ever.
What a great way to repurpose your leftover shrimp! 🙂
I had to modify slightly because I had cilantro and not parsley. And then because I added the cilantro, I also added some finely chopped serrano pepper. Otherwise followed your recipe to the T. It was so delicious it was sinful! I’m on keto so I didn’t have bread to dip into it (which was a travesty) but it was so good. I will absolutely have this on rotation and it will be my go to recipr for shrimp scampi and any variation. I always love your recipes!
That’s so great to hear, Karen!
ADDED CLAMS and a little sherry. Even better.
Great additions, Michael!
Amazing. Definitely a keeper
Super quick and delicious.
Fed my son and his lady as well as my picky parents and everyone loved it.
Isn’t this the best? I’m currently obsessed with it myself! 🙂
Absolutely delicious made for my fiance with oven-roasted parmesan asparagus. AMAZING and carb friendly. She loved it very much…
making this tonite just curious how long o i cook frozen shrimp
Barbara, I recommend thawing the shrimp prior to using.
Best scampi recipe we have made. Will definitely make it again!
We love hearing that, Debbie! Thank you for sharing!
My mom gave me some tomatoes and mozzarella cheese to make caprese salad so I needed something else to make a light dinner out of it and came across this recipe. We just finished eating this shrimp scampi (no really, my fiance is doing the dishes as I type this) and wow was it delicious!!! We sopped up every last drop of the sauce with crusty bread! Thank you! 🙂
We love hearing that! Thanks, Susie!