Valentina's Corner
Transport your home to the streets of Italy with this easy shrimp scampi recipe! Not only is this classic dish ready in 15 minutes, but it also results in the juiciest shrimp. It is all because of the incredible garlic butter sauce! You’ll want to serve these shrimp over spaghetti, alongside homemade italian breadsticks, for the immersive restaurant-style experience.
Shrimp are incredibly diverse and can be prepared in many ways. If you are looking for a crispy, saucy shrimp dish, you will love our copycat bang-bang shrimp!
There’s nothing that elevates a meal as much as juicy shrimp. The flavors are very reminiscent of our garlic butter sauteed shrimp, however, there is a notable addition of an incredible scampi sauce. Scampi sauce is a rich combination of wine and butter. Our wine sauce cod is another incredible scampi dish.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick. This recipe takes no prep time and comes together in only 15 minutes.
- Versatile. You can serve this shrimp with fluffy white rice, with your favorite pasta, or even with creamy mashed potatoes!
- Simple. This recipe calls for a very short list of ingredients, making this super easy to replicate.
Ingredients for Shrimp Scampi
You’ll need just a few ingredients to make this incredible dish:
- Shrimp – we suggest large shrimp, so they have more time to absorb the flavors as they cook.
- Seasoning – a combination of salt, black pepper, and paprika.
- White wine – a dry white wine helps to bring out the flavor of all the ingredients, as well as offering a touch of acidity.
- Garlic – fresh minced garlic cloves add incredible flavor to the dish.
- Chicken broth – adds depth of flavor to the scampi sauce.
For a full list of ingredients and quantities, see the recipe card below.
Frozen Shrimp? No Problem!
Frozen shrimp needs to be thawed for this recipe. A quick way to thaw them is to run them under cold water through a strainer. They should be fully thawed in 5 minutes!
Substitutions and Variations
- Seasoning: Take the flavors of this dish to the next level by adding homemade cajun seasoning. This will give you a fusion of our cajun shrimp as a shrimp scampi.
- Spice: Add some heat to your shrimp scampi by toasting red pepper flakes with the butter.
- Fresh herbs: Adding fresh basil, rosemary, or thyme will take your dish to new heights.
How to Make Shrimp Scampi
Step-by-step instructions to making the best shrimp you’ve ever had with just a few simple instructions.
Step 1 – Season: Toss the shrimp in a bowl with the season.
Step 2 – Cook shrimp: Heat a large skillet with olive oil. Add shrimp to the pan, and cook on medium to high heat for 1-2 minutes per side. Remove and cover to keep warm.
Step 3 – Sauce: Melt Butter and garlic in the same skillet. Then add wine and broth and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Then, add back the shrimp.
Serving Suggestions
How would you like to enjoy this shrimp scampi for dinner tonight?
- Pasta: Top with parmesan cheese, and serve shrimp with scampi sauce over angel hair pasta just like in our chicken scampi recipe.
- As a bowl: Feature this shrimp in an easy shrimp bowl, over some oven-baked rice, and your favorite toppings.
- Salad: This shrimp is incredibly tasty when featured in a salad! The buttery shrimp is balanced great by the crisp greens and tomatoes in our spinach quinoa salad recipe. You’ll want to leave out the sauce.
Picking the Right Shrimp?
Large or jumbo shrimp are best for this recipe, as the cooked shrimp will be juicier and will not result in a dry and chewy shrimp.
Recipe FAQs
The alcohol content from the wine cooks off in high heat and leaves behind a great flavor, but you can substitute it for extra chicken broth.
You can prepare salmon or chicken like this with excellent results. Cooking time with obviously depend on the protein and its thickness.
Adding fresh garlic is crucial for getting the notable flavor and aroma. If you must use garlic powder, you can, but I urge you to try getting fresh garlic for this recipe.
Yes, you can easily substitute prawns for the shrimp.
No, you do not want to use cooked shrimp for this recipe, they will taste like rubber.
Store & Reheat
- Storage. Leftovers can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheat. Warm up refrigerated leftovers on the stovetop over low heat until warm.
- Freeze. Allow the cooked shrimp to come to room temperature before freezing. Use a freezer-safe bag and store for up to 3 months. Reheat: Allow shrimp to thaw in the fridge before warming the stovetop.
More Shrimp Recipes
If you enjoyed this shrimp recipe, be sure to try our other popular seafood recipes, here are some of our favorites:
If you tried this Shrimp Scampi Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below – we appreciate it!
Shrimp Scampi Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb large raw shrimp, peeled & deveined
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp ground paprika
- 1 Tbsp olive oil or canola oil
scampi sauce-
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 Tbsp dry white wine
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 3 Tbsp chicken broth
- 3 Tbsp parsley chopped
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Combine the salt, pepper and paprika for the seasoning.
- In a large bowl, toss shrimp in the seasoning.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add shrimp to the skillet and cook over medium/high heat for 1-2 minutes per side. Remove shrimp from the skillet and cover to keep warm.
- In the same skillet, melt butter with garlic; sauté until fragrant.
- Proceed to add in the wine and chicken broth. Simmer for 3-4 minutes before adding back the shrimp. Stir and allow the shrimp to reheat.
- Top with fresh parsley and lemon juice.
- Serve, and enjoy friends!
Notes
- Size of shrimp: Large or jumbo shrimp or prawns are best because they are the juiciest after cooking.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan: Be sure to leave space in between shrimp on the pan, so they don’t begin to steam.
- Storage: Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days.