Everyone should have a few dishes up their sleeve at any given time. Dishes that are perfect, with a favorite recipe on the regular rotation. Easy Shrimp scampi is one of those dishes for me. It can be the perfect date night meal, but it also fits in at the family dinner table. When done well, it can really wow your guests, but it is also so satisfying to meal prep a batch and enjoy for lunches.
You can make shrimp scampi using different methods. I like this recipe because it is easy and there is less mess. Plus, it comes together in under 30 minutes! The flavors are classic, so if you are looking for an authentic tasting scampi, look no further!
Why You'll Love this Shrimp Scampi
• One Pan Wonder – This entire recipe is prepared in a single skillet! Say goodbye to the daunting task of after dinner dishes.
• Brain Food – This dish is a great source of protein and omega-3s, which are essential to healthy brain function!
Ingredients For One Pan Scampi
- Shrimp – Choose raw jumbo shrimp for this recipe. You should have them peeled, cleaned and deveined before you begin to cook.
- Salt & Pepper – Don’t forget the essentials!
- Butter – Butter serves a dual purpose in this recipe. You need it for frying your shrimp and your onion, but it also gives the dish an essential flavor note. Butter really brings out the flavors in seafood!
- Onion – You will need diced onion at the start of your scampi sauce. Just about any kind of onion will work, but red onions and shallots are popular choices.
- Garlic – Garlic has such a strong presence in this dish. Use freshly minced garlic if you can. It kicks the flavor up to a notch that jarred garlic simply cannot achieve.
- Stock – You need either chicken or seafood stock to create your sauce. If you plan to make this again, save the shells from your shrimp, as well as your leftover wine and onion, and make your own seafood stock to use in the next batch!
- White Wine – Wine adds a lightness and brightness to the sauce element in shrimp scampi. Look for something dry, like a pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc.
- Pasta – Shrimp scampi is usually served with linguine. Because this is a one pan recipe, there is no prep work required. Just grab a box of dry pasta.
- Lemon – You will need both lemon juice and lemon zest for this recipe. Bottled lemon juice is not the same, and you don’t want to skip the zest. Zest really helps to give the citrus flavor a punch, which will balance out the flavor of your shrimp.
- Parmesan – I have seen some recipes where people branch out and experiment with other types of cheese, but I prefer a good quality, fresh shredded parmesan to keep this recipe true to classic shrimp scampi.
- Parsley – It may just be an herb, but fresh parsley is such a treat! You really cannot have a great shrimp scampi without it. You want to chop it a bit roughly, so that you won’t get huge chunks of parsley, but that it will also keep its integrity.
How To Make It
- Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly on the cleaned shrimp.
- In a large, raised edge side skillet, over medium high heat, sauté the shrimp for 2-3 minutes in half of the butter. When cooked set the shrimp aside.
- Melt the butter into the hot pan and sauté the garlic and onions for 2 minutes or until onion become tender and translucent.
- Deglaze the fond from the bottom of the pan with the white wine and your spatula, then stir in the stock.
- Add the linguine to the pan and simmer for 10-13 minutes on medium low or until pasta is al dente. Try not to boil or your liquid will evaporate and more will need to be added.
- Stir in the lemon juice, lemon zest and parmesan, then simmer for another 2-3 minutes. Stir well to melt the cheese.
- Toss the parsley and shrimp back in then simmer for another 2-3 minutes, then garnish with fresh herbs and cheese as desired. Serve immediately.
Step by Step Instructions
To begin, prepare your shrimp by making sure it is peeled and deveined, and season it with salt and pepper.
Next, sauté the shrimp. Heat half of your butter in a large skillet with a raised edge. Add your shrimp and sauté on medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes, until shrimp turn pink and opaque. Once your shrimp is just cooked, remove it from the pan and set aside for later.
While your pan is still hot, melt the rest of your butter. Sauté your onions and garlic for about 2 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant and the onions become translucent.
Next, deglaze the fond to lock in lots of flavor! To do this, add your white wine to the pan, and use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to scrape the bottom of the pan. Then, add your stock to the pan. Now you can cook your pasta. Add the dry, boxed pasta to the pan and simmer for 10-13 minutes on medium-low, or until your noodles are al dente. Cooking pasta this way results in the perfect bite, plus it is even more flavorful than boiling your pasta in water. The trick is not to boil the liquid.
Once your pasta is cooked, stir in the lemon juice and zest. Add your parmesan and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Stir well, to melt and distribute the parmesan.
Add your parsley, and your cooked shrimp to the pan. Toss and then simmer for another 2-3 minutes, until everything is mixed well and warmed through.
Garnish as desired with fresh herbs or extra shredded parmesan. Enjoy warm!
Cook's Tips
- Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat on the stovetop, or microwave in 30-second intervals.
- Freeze the shrimp scampi up to 3 months and reheat by microwave or oven at 350 F for 10-12 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 145F.
- Shrimp are easy to cook, but you should take care to avoid over or undercooking. You will know that your shrimp are done cooking when they are bright pink or orange and opaque. They will be in a C shape when they’re ready
- I love adding red pepper flakes and adding the garlic shrimp over pasta. Large shrimp over angel hair is one of my favorites. It makes this scampi recipe a classic.
FAQ
Scampi sauce has a base broth of garlic, butter, and white wine. Sometimes folks use olive oil, garlic butter, served over pasta. It's a classic shrimp recipe.
While following this recipe to the measurement will result in a perfect sauce, if you should need to thicken yours, you can add a slurry made of water and cornstarch. In a pinch, you can make it out of flour and water as well.
Serve shrimp scampi on top of pasta – typically linguine, fettuccini, or spaghetti. It is best served with a warm, crusty bread. Some other great side dishes include salad, steamed broccoli, roasted asparagus, tomatoes or potatoes, green beans, bruschetta, or stuffed mushrooms.
Shrimp scampi calls for white wine, and you will want something dry, like a pinot grigio, or sauvignon blanc. Pinot grigio pairs really well for drinking as well, so you might like to find a bright, crisp bottle that you can serve at the dinner table after you have used what you need in the dish.
Looking for more easy chicken dinner ideas? Try these:
Easy Chicken Parmesan with Homemade Marinara
Tried this one pan shrimp scampi and loved it? Please leave a comment and rating below. For inspiration follow us on Instagram or like us on Facebook
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Raw Jumbo Shrimp deveined & Peeled
- ½ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Pepper
- 3 tbs Butter divided
- ½ Small Onion small diced
- 2 Garlic Cloves minced
- 1 ½ cups Chicken or Seafood Stock
- ¾ cup White Wine
- 8 oz Dried Linguine Pasta
- 2 tbs Lemon Juice
- 2 tsp Lemon Zest
- ⅓ cup Parmesan Cheese shredded
- 2 tbs Fresh Parsley chopped
- Optional Garnish- Parsley Parmesan
Instructions
- Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly on the cleaned shrimp.
- In a large, raised edge side skillet, over medium high heat, sauté the shrimp for 2-3 minutes in half of the butter. When cooked set the shrimp aside.
- Melt the butter into the hot pan and sauté the garlic and onions for 2 minutes or until onion become tender and translucent.
- Deglaze the fond from the bottom of the pan with the white wine and your spatula, then stir in the stock.
- Add the linguine to the pan and simmer for 10-13 minutes on medium low or until pasta is aldente. Try not to boil or your liquid will evaporate and more will need to be added.
- Stir in the lemon juice, lemon zest and parmesan, then simmer for another 2-3 minutes. Stir well to melt the cheese.
- Toss the parsley and shrimp back in then simmer for another 2-3 minutes, then garnish with fresh herbs and cheese as desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
Reheat by stovetop or microwave in 30 second intervals
May be frozen up to 3 months and reheated by microwave or oven at 350 F for 10-12 minutes or until internal temp reaches 145F
Great dish! Lemony, creamy, and satisfying! Best of all, just one pan! Thanks for the great recipe!