Shrimp scampi with pasta is the perfect date night meal! It looks and tastes restaurant quality, but is quick and easy to prepare. You’ll want to make extra, because this date night delight also makes a fantastic lunch. My kids have a fairly decent sophisticated palate and love this easy shrimp scampi pasta too!
Lemon juice really brings out the flavor in the shrimp, creating a beautiful contrast to the rich, buttery angel hair pasta. Scampi feels both indulgent and fresh. This recipe is the perfect way to break up the monotony of your weekly pasta night.
Why You'll Love This Seafood Dish
• Big Bang for Your Caloric Buck – This seafood dish with shrimp is low in calories, and is packed with protein, iodine, and omega-3 fatty acids. Keep in mind that I'm talking about the shrimp scampi sans pasta. You can always use zucchini noodles as a healthy alternative for your pasta.
• Light and Fresh – Featuring shrimp that is baked, not fried, this dish isn’t especially heavy, so it can easily transform from dinner to lunch. Serve with fresh bread for dinner, or reheat leftovers for a tasty lunchtime treat.
How to Make Creamy Seafood Pasta
First, prepare your fresh ingredients. Wash, slice, and juice your lemon until you have collected 3 tablespoons of juice. Peel and mince your shallot and garlic. Wash and chop parsley. Set aside.'
Next, preheat your oven to 350F. Lightly spray a medium casserole dish with olive oil. After setting this aside, make your sauce. Place shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss with olive oil, lemon juice, white wine, minced shallot, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, half of the parsley, and salt and pepper. Toss until coated.
Then grab a separate bowl and use a fork to mix panko, melted butter, remaining parsley, and salt and pepper.
Spread shrimp evenly into the casserole dish. Pour remaining juice on top of the shrimp, and top with panko mixture.
Bake for 12 – 15 minutes. When done, the breading will begin to brown, and the shrimp will be bright orange and white. It is important not to overcook the shrimp. Overcooked shrimp will be rubbery and difficult to chew.
While your shrimp bakes, boil your angel hair pasta as usual, and slice and toast a hearty, crusty bread to accompany your dish. Use a serving spoon to top pasta with shrimp and juice. Serve immediately.
Cook's Tips:
- How long should I cook shrimp?
- You'll know when the shrimp is cooked when the flesh is totally pink and opaque. Make sure there is no more gray. Since this is a baking recipe, a meat thermometer is a great way to ensure that food is cooked safely, without getting overdone. Shrimp should reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees.
- How do I get a thicker sauce?
- For thicker sauce, save a little pasta water, and add to sauce slowly until desired consistency is reached. You can also make a cornstarch slurry or use arrowroot root. A cornstarch slurry is essentially a tablespoon of corn starch and water and add it to the sauce. Let it simmer.
- What kind of wine should I use?
- Choose a nice, acidic white wine for your base. Cooking sherry, or any dry white wine will do the job, but choosing a wine you love will really help the dish pop. Sauvignon Blanc is a great option.
- What can I use instead of wine in shrimp scampi?
- Chicken or vegetable stock is a substitute stock for white wine if you want to add more flavor to a dish.
FAQ:
• Can you freeze these?
Yes, you can freeze it up to 3 months. However make sure you don't overcook the shrimp when reheating.
Shrimp Scampi With Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb jumbo shrimp peeled & deveined
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice about half a lemon
- ⅓ cup white wine can sub cooking sherry
- 1 shallot minced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon red pepper
- ½ cup panko crumbs
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees and lightly spray a medium casserole dish. Set aside.
- Place jumbo shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss with olive oil, lemon juice, white wine, minced shallot, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, fresh parsley, salt and pepper. Toss until thoroughly coated.
- In a separate bowl, fork together the panko crumbs, melted butter, salt, pepper and fresh parsley.
- Line the casserole dish with the tossed shrimp, along with any juice that remains in the bowl.
- Sprinkle panko mixture across the top of the shrimp.
- Bake shrimp for 12-15 minutes. The panko should brown and the shrimp should turn bright orange and white. Enjoy with angel hair pasta and a crusty bread. Best fresh.
Notes
Nutrition
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If you're looking for more easy dinners to make, try these simple pasta dishes and seafood dishes!
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