Elegant enough for company but easy enough to make on a busy weeknight, this shrimp scampi recipe is an uncomplicated but impressive dish. You can serve it as an appetizer or as a main dish. Made with a handful of simple but flavorful ingredients, you can whip this restaurant-quality dish up in the blink of an eye from the comfort of your own home.
Juicy shrimp cooked to tender perfection in a bright and creamy garlic butter white wine sauce, this recipe is a classic Italian dish everyone will love. Everyone will lick their plates clean! If you want another delicious shrimp recipe, then try my coconut shrimp recipe, shrimp tacos recipe, or my shrimp alfredo recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Oil — don’t skip the olive oil! It helps keep the butter from burning in the skillet.
Butter — I recommend using unsalted butter to ensure the scampi sauce does not come out too salty. Butter adds amazing flavor to both the shrimp and the sauce.
Garlic — it’s best to use fresh garlic for the best flavor. Some pre-minced garlic has an unappealing aftertaste.
Shrimp — you can buy peeled and deveined to make preparing the recipe easier. You can also remove the tails if you prefer no tails. Also, use large shrimp as small shrimp will cook too fast and overcook. When buying fresh shrimp, make sure it smells fresh and feels firm.
Wine — use a dry white wine for the traditional shrimp scampi taste. Choose a drinkable wine that isn’t too expensive but still good in quality, such as Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, or Pinot Blanc.
Red pepper flakes — a little bit adds a nice kick of heat to the shrimp scampi.
Lemon — a splash of lemon juice adds brightness. Make sure to use fresh lemon juice and not bottled lemon juice.
How to Make This Shrimp Scampi Recipe
1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter and olive oil together. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
2. Add the shrimp, salt, and black pepper. Cook until the shrimp starts to turn pink.
3. Stir in the wine or chicken stock.
4. Add the red pepper flakes.
5. Bring to a simmer and cook until the liquid reduces by half and the shrimp is cooked through. Remove from the heat.
6. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, lemon juice, and parsley. Serve immediately over hot cooked pasta or with warm crusty bread.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- Be careful not to overcook the shrimp before adding the wine or chicken stock. The shrimp will continue and finish cooking when you simmer it. If you overcook the shrimp in the first sear, it will lead to rubbery shrimp.
- This recipe cooks quickly, so make sure you have all your ingredients measured and ready to go as soon as the ingredients hit the pan.
- Serve the shrimp scampi immediately as the shrimp will continue to cook in the sauce, and you don’t want the shrimp to overcook.
- This shrimp scampi recipe is a versatile dish, as you can serve it in many ways. I enjoy serving the shrimp with some linguine pasta or angel hair pasta, but warm crusty bread such as dinner rolls or baguette are perfect for soaking up the flavorful scampi sauce.
- Stirring in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter at the end gives the sauce extra body to help cling to the shrimp and pasta.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can easily make the scampi sauce without wine by substituting it with chicken stock. If you have shrimp stock on hand, that will make for an even more flavorful dish.
You can use frozen shrimp to make this shrimp scampi recipe! Just make sure to thaw the shrimp by running them under cold water. Pat the shrimp dry before adding them to the skillet, so you get a nice sear on the shrimp, as the moisture will make them steam.
Shrimp scampi keeps in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can gently reheat leftovers on the stovetop.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this Shrimp Scampi recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Shrimp Scampi Recipe
Video
Equipment
- Large skillet
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter divided (57g)
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 5 garlic cloves minced (20g)
- 1 pound large shrimp peeled and deveined (450g)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ cup dry white wine or chicken stock (60ml)
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
- Cooked pasta or crusty bread for serving
Instructions
- A large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter and olive oil together. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the shrimp, salt, and black pepper. Cook until the shrimp starts to turn pink, about 1 minute.
- Stir in the wine or chicken stock and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer and cook until the liquid reduces by half and the shrimp is cooked through about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, lemon juice, and parsley. Serve immediately over hot cooked pasta or with warm crusty bread.
Notes
- Be careful not to overcook the shrimp before adding the wine or chicken stock. The shrimp will continue and finish cooking when you simmer it. If you overcook the shrimp in the first sear, it will lead to rubbery shrimp.
- This recipe cooks quickly, so make sure you have all your ingredients measured and ready to go as soon as the ingredients hit the pan.
- Serve the shrimp scampi immediately as the shrimp will continue to cook in the sauce, and you don’t want the shrimp to overcook.
- This shrimp scampi recipe is a versatile dish, as you can serve it in many ways. I enjoy serving the shrimp with some linguine pasta or angel hair pasta, but warm crusty bread such as dinner rolls or French bread are perfect for soaking up the flavorful scampi sauce.
- Stirring in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter at the end gives the sauce extra body to help cling to the shrimp and pasta.
Denny says
Made this and it turned out great! Used 6 large garlic pieces.
Eileen Selogie says
Wonderful! I am also one of those who will at least double the amount of garlic called for in a recipe!
elyse says
You weren’t lying when you say easy!
heather says
Oh, yum! Looks delicious 😀