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This delicious Shrimp Scampi recipe features shrimp cooked in garlic, butter and a hint of lemon served over pasta. Ready in under 15 minutes!
Looking for more quick and easy dinner ideas? I think you’ll love Parmesan baked salmon, garlic shrimp, and shrimp creole.
Why I Love This Recipe
- Delicious. Buttery, garlicky shrimp with a light hint of lemon is perfect served in so many ways. My favorite way to serve it is over a bed of cooked pasta.
- Quick. Ready and on the table in 15 minutes, this recipe is a busy cook’s friend!
- Easy. This is a simple recipe that yields big flavor. Easy enough for a weeknight but elegant enough for entertaining friends.
Shrimp Scampi Recipe
What is Shrimp Scampi?
Scampi, or langoustines, are pink crustaceans similar to shrimp but have a taste similar to lobster. Reportedly, Italian American chefs changed the recipe long ago to use shrimp instead of scampi, as scampi are not readily available in America. Shrimp is more plentiful, so it is commonly used in this dish.
However, even though scampi are not commonly used in the recipe here, the word “scampi” is still used in the name of the recipe, Shrimp Scampi.
In addition to shrimp, the dish also commonly contains butter and olive oil, fresh garlic, a bit of lemon juice and either white wine or chicken stock. I make this Shrimp Scampi without wine – I use chicken stock or broth. There are a few more ingredients, but those are characteristic for a buttery, garlicky shrimp scampi with a hint of lemon.
How to Make Shrimp Scampi
There are a few ingredients that make this dish a favorite.
Ingredients
- shrimp – I prefer wild-caught shrimp over farm raised. Frozen is fine. I suggest buying with the tail on and removing the tail, peeling, and deveining yourself. Shrimp will be fresher – and probably a lot less expensive than if you buy it with all that already done. Thaw the frozen shrimp in a bowl of cool water for around 10 minutes.
- butter – I usually use salted butter, but unsalted works fine too. The buttery sauce is iconic for this dish.
- olive oil – this adds to the sauce and keeps the butter from browning too much.
- garlic – fresh garlic is best in this recipe. Peel the garlic and mince it yourself for the most flavor.
- red onion – adds a special bit of flavor to the dish, as well as a bit of color. Some people use shallots, but I prefer the bit of red onion.
- chicken stock or broth – I use this instead of wine to make a flavorful sauce. You can use your favorite store-bought chicken stock or broth if you wish. I like making homemade stock, canning, and using it for cooking.
- lemon juice – fresh lemon juice will give the most flavor, but you can certainly use good quality refrigerated lemon juice if you want.
- salt – I prefer to use Kosher salt, but use salt to your tastes.
- fresh parsley – finely chopped
- pasta, zucchini, or crusty bread – I use linguini pasta in the recipe. If you prefer zucchini noodles, use the amount of zucchini to make the equivalent amount of pasta as the recipe. A thick crusty bread to soak up some of the buttery, garlicky sauce is also a delicious option!
Step-by-Step Instructions
First, make sure you’ve prepped all of your ingredients and have them nearby the stove. The shrimp cooks quickly, so for the best results, prep the ingredients prior to cooking.
- Preheat. Begin by placing a large skillet over medium heat. I then add the butter to melt along with the olive oil. Once the butter has melted, I add my garlic and red onion and saute until tender.
- Cook. Next, add in shrimp and cook until the shrimp turns pink about 2-3 minutes. Remove the shrimp and pour in the chicken stock and lemon juice. Now, increase the heat to medium-high heat until the stock boils.
- Add ingredients. Remove it from the heat and gently stir in cooked pasta, shrimp, salt, and fresh parsley. Lightly toss shrimp to make sure it is well coated.
- Serve. Plate the shrimp scampi, serve and enjoy.
Other Delicious Shrimp Recipes
Here’s my favorite shrimp scampi recipe. I think you should make it soon!
Shrimp Scampi Recipe
Ingredients
For the Pasta
- 1 pound linguine
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
For the Shrimp Scampi
- 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 tablespoons chopped red onion
- 1/4 cup chicken stock or broth
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
For the Pasta
- Set a large pot of water over medium heat and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, add a couple of tablespoons of salt and the linguini. Stir to make sure the pasta separates and then cover. When the water returns to a boil, cook for about 6 to 8 minutes or until the pasta is not quite done. Drain the pasta and toss with olive oil.
For the Shrimp Scampi
- Set a large skillet over medium heat. Add the butter to melt along with the olive oil. Saute the garlic and red onion. Add in shrimp and cook until the shrimp turns pink, about 2-3 minutes. Remove the shrimp and pour in chicken stock and lemon juice. Increase heat to medium-high heat until the stock comes to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the cooked pasta, shrimp, salt and fresh parsley. Lightly toss shrimp to make sure it is well coated.
- Serve immediately.
Nutritional Information
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
I absolutely adore simple, gorgeous dishes like shrimp scampi. This recipe is a beautiful reminder that with a few quality, flavorful ingredients, you can have a special meal in no time at all! P.S.. YUM!
This looks so elegant. I adore shrimp too!
Your pictures are beautiful!!! …food looks good too!!
I wanted to say Thank you. Am a grandmother trying to raise a granddauther on my own and its been a while.
Lord know I need some help. This looks kinda fun so am going to give it a try. Thanks again young lady God bless you and your family
Thanks Robyn!! Pinned this one when I first saw it!!
I had printed this recipe out in March and just found my copy while looking for something to make for dinner this past weekend. We live near the ocean so fresh shrimp is usually easy to find and my husband could eat shrimp every day. I made your recipe and it was a hit! He loved it. We have enough for leftovers tonight and I can hardly wait!
This was our Valentine’s Day dinner, and it was absolutely delicious! Thanks for the great recipe!
I printed recipe Shrimp Scampi Recipe…read your ingrediance…What kind of pasta do you use? It said, bed of cooked pasta!
Hi Dennis,
I would recommend linguini or even a spaghetti noodle. I hope you enjoy it!
I love dishes like this that are fast and easy, but so guest-worthy 🙂
Aren’t they the best?
I made this recipe and it’s delicious! I omitted the red onion and sauteed the garlic in vegan butter until it turned slightly brown. Wonderful!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Brenda!
Robyn, this is such a quick, easy, delicious dish. Pinned. We love shrimp, and will be making it soon. Thanks for sharing. Have a great week. xoxo
love shrimp scampi!
Just bought some shrimp yesterday! Scampi is always a great, simple dish to whip up on a busy night. This recipe sounds delicious 🙂
Hi Robyn. Thanks for sharing this recipe. It sounds so tasty!
Dee- lious! Yummy! Specular! A new family favorite! Many thanks Robyn! Tell us more about your upcoming cookbook??
Yours is the first email that I open each morning because I can’t wait to see what wonderful recipe you’ve sent! and they never disappoint. Thank you for sharing so many wonderful recipes, it’s a great way to start the day.
And now, if you will excuse me, I need to go buy some shrimp!
This is a delicious and oh, so easy dish. I’m a Weight Watcher and this makes 4 servings for only 9 smart points. My hubs loved it too, and I will be making this dish again! Thank you!
Looking forward to making this. Thanks for the recipe.
Hope you enjoy it, Brenda! Thanks!
Thank you for your delicious recipe – I had bariatric surgery 2 1/2 yrs ago but I still LOVE good food. Pasta is off limits so. I substituted zoodles (zucchini noodles).. It came out delicious. I will be making this regurlarly. My family loved it too. Next time I’m going to try it with chicken.
This is delicious with zoodles! I’m thrilled that you enjoyed it! Thanks so much, Sandra! xo
Love classic dishes like this shrimp scampi. So simple and delicious! 🙂
Thank you for the recipe & photo. NOW I can make my own Shrimp Scampi!
I hope you enjoy it! Thanks so much!
I live in Trinidad and Tobago shrimp is always readily available fresh love the recipe shared it with others thank you your recipes are so beautiful and easy makes food fun
Thanks so much, Ria!
Love ALL shrimp dishes! And this one looks super tasty!
Thanks so much Bri! It’s delicious – hope you enjoy it! xo
My wife loves this recipe. I first made it for her, and now she’s addicted. We just made another batch, the third in two weeks.
This makes me so happy to hear, Steve! My family has loved it for such a long time and I’m glad to hear that you enjoy it too! Thanks!
My kind of recipe. Quick, easy, and delicious! Tossed in some cremini mushrooms. Yum! Thank you.
Thanks Christine! xo
This was so delicious! I needed a quick scampi recipe tonight. I used white wine and added a pinch of crushed red peppers to the skillet. Thank you so much for this fantastic recipe!!!
Glad you liked it Jami! xo
I should probably add that I didn’t use parsley because I didn’t have any on hand. Oregano worked perfectly!
Very good