Garlic Butter Shrimp and Grits
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Speedy comfort food at its best! Perfectly garlicky, buttery shrimp served with the creamiest grits!
This is my new favorite speedy meal. And I know it looks super fancy and impressive and maybe even somewhat intimidating, but it is truly the quickest weeknight meal you can whip up during those busy weeknights.
First you’ll need some quick cooking grits, except we’re going to doctor it up a bit using chicken stock and milk, adding a little more flavor and creaminess here. Then you’ll need some shrimp, a good amount of butter, garlic, lemon, paprika, thyme and some white wine. This cooks super super fast so be sure to keep a close eye on it.
From there, you can top off your creamy grits with the most garlicky, buttery, lemony shrimp with all the saucy bits. So quick and so so good, letting those grits sop up all that leftover sauce.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH SHRIMP AND GRITS
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Garlic Butter Shrimp and Grits: 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 replace unsalted butter with salted butter in a pinch, reducing the amount of salt indicated in the recipe, and adding to taste.
Additional chicken stock can be used for white wine as a non-alcoholic substitute.
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).
The lemon juice helps balance out the flavors and richness of the butter.
Garlic Butter Shrimp and Grits
Ingredients
- 1 cup quick cooking grits
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups whole milk
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 shallot, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¼ cup dry white wine*
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves, divided
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Cook grits according to package instructions using chicken stock and milk in place of water; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in 1 tablespoon butter until melted, about 1 minute; set aside and keep warm.
- Melt remaining 7 tablespoons butter in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add shallot, and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in garlic, thyme and paprika until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in white wine and Worcestershire.
- Add shrimp; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pink and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in 2 tablespoons parsley and lemon juice.
- Serve immediately with grits, garnished with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley; if desired.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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This was so delicious, but it’s from Damn Delicious so of course, it was! I admit that I used my usual cheddar jalapeno grits recipe, but everything about the shrimp was delicious! It was a winner of a meal (just in case anyone is looking for sides that pair well with this, I served steamed sugar snap peas and roasted broccoli with pine nuts). Thanks for yet another winner of a recipe!!
Reading your blog always makes me hungry! I think I’ll make this one next- mmm looks so good. Great job!
Absolutely delicious! I made this tonight at our beach condo using fresh, local shrimp & then put the shrimp on a Cesar salad. It was the best! I will definitely make this recipe again.
I can’t wait to try this! Can I use frozen raw shrimp? Would the cooking time be a little longer?
Hi Noelle! I would thaw the shrimp prior to cooking. Hope that helps!
Damn delicious!!!! I’ve made this recipe twice now and I’m sure I’ll make it many more times. The only things I did different was I used dried Thyme, no white wine, and I tripled the butter in the grits (buttery carbs are the best lol). Both my husband and I thank you for your many easy and damn delicious recipes.
Do you recommend a partial brand for the grits? 🙂 love all your recipes, can’t wait to try this one
Any store-bought brand should work just fine here, Jessica! 🙂
Looking forward to trying this, do you have any substitutes that would work for the whole milk in the recipe? I don’t usually have milk in my house and if I do have milk it’s non dairy almond milk.
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Topped with a little Louisiana hot sauce and green onions! It was so delicious – thank you!
Also saw the comment about almond milk vs whole – I used almond and it was still very good 🙂
I used half a cup of vegan cream cheese and it turned out very creamy!
Can I use rosemary instead of thyme? My thyme plant died but my rosemary is growing out of control!
Absolutely!
Where is the nutritional info on this recipe? Looking for amount of carbs.
Hi Pat! Nutritional information is provided only for select recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, we recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”). Hope that helps!
YUM! One of the last meals my husband and I ate together before we moved from Georgia to Utah was Shrimp and Grits. I’m going to have to make this and relive the glory days!