Shrimp scampi is a kind of magical dinners that appears fancy, tastes restaurant-worthy, and nonetheless lands on the desk in about 20 minutes. Juicy shrimp are tossed in a garlicky butter sauce with white wine, lemon, shallots and parsley, then twirled with linguine so each chew is shiny, wealthy and just a bit luxurious.
It is weeknight simple, date-night fairly and wildly good with a hunk of crusty bread for swiping up the additional sauce.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Fast sufficient for a weeknight: The complete dish comes collectively in about 20 minutes.
- Restaurant taste: Garlic, butter, lemon and white wine do the heavy lifting.
- Flexible: Serve it over linguine, angel hair, rice, zucchini noodles or with crusty bread.
- Simple elements: No thriller bottles or specialty elements.
- Big taste payoff: Fresh garlic and lemon maintain the butter sauce shiny as a substitute of heavy.

Ingredients for Easy Shrimp Scampi
Like many conventional Italian dishes, Shrimp Scampi recipe is straightforward to organize and solely makes use of a handful of elements. The distinction between good and dangerous scampi lies within the high quality of elements.
- Linguine – Linguine is my favourite as a result of the flat strands catch the garlic butter sauce superbly. Spaghetti, angel hair, fettuccine or zucchini noodles additionally work.
- Shrimp – Use uncooked giant or jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined. Tails-on shrimp look fairly and add taste, however tails-off are simpler for weeknight consuming. Frozen shrimp are completely fine-just thaw them first and pat them dry so that they sear as a substitute of steam.
- Butter – Since butter is the bottom of the sauce, use one with good taste. European-style or grass-fed butter provides the sauce a richer end. Many cooks additionally prefer to make clear their butter.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic is non-negotiable. Jarred garlic (jarrlic) has its place, however shrimp scampi is just not that place. It can style uninteresting or bitter, and this sauce is straightforward sufficient that each ingredient must be prime notch.
- Shallot – Shallot provides delicate sweetness with out taking up the sauce. If you would not have one, use a small quantity of finely minced yellow onion.
- White wine – Choose a dry white wine like Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc or unoaked Chardonnay. Avoid candy wines.
- Lemon – Use contemporary lemon juice and, if you would like additional brightness, a bit lemon zest. Bottled lemon juice can style flat or metallic.
- Salt and Pepper – Use these to style. I like to complete the white wine sauce, style it after which add salt and pepper in accordance with my style.
- Parsley – Fresh parsley provides shade and a clear end. Skip the dried parsley right here should you can.

Best Shrimp For Shrimp Scampi
Large or jumbo shrimp work greatest for shrimp scampi as a result of they keep juicy and are much less more likely to overcook within the skillet. Look for shrimp labeled 16/20, 21/25 or 26/30 per pound. For the very best taste, use uncooked shrimp as a substitute of pre-cooked shrimp. Pre-cooked shrimp can flip rubbery by the point the sauce is prepared.
Frozen shrimp are sometimes an incredible alternative as a result of they’re normally frozen shortly after being caught. Thaw them in a single day within the fridge or place them in a sealed bag beneath chilly working water. Pat dry earlier than cooking.
How to Make Easy Shrimp Scampi
- Cook the pasta. Cook the linguine in a big pot of salted water till al dente in accordance with package deal instructions. Before draining, reserve about ½ cup of the starchy pasta water. Drain the pasta and set it apart.
- Start the garlic butter sauce. While the pasta cooks, soften the butter in a big skillet over medium warmth. Add the shallot and prepare dinner till softened, stirring usually so it doesn’t brown an excessive amount of.

- Add the garlic. Stir within the contemporary garlic and prepare dinner simply till aromatic, about 30-60 seconds. Do not let it burn, garlic will get bitter.
- Cook the shrimp. Add the shrimp to the skillet and prepare dinner till they flip pink and opaque, flipping as wanted. They ought to curl right into a unfastened C-shape.
- Add the white wine. Pour within the dry white wine and let it simmer briefly so the sauce reduces barely and the flavors come collectively. If you might be skipping wine, use seafood inventory, hen broth or a splash of reserved pasta water with additional lemon.

- Toss with pasta. Add the cooked linguine on to the skillet and toss it with the shrimp and garlic butter sauce. Add a splash of reserved pasta water, if wanted, to assist the sauce cling to the noodles.
- Finish and serve. Remove from the warmth and end with contemporary lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper. Serve instantly with additional lemon wedges, crushed purple pepper flakes or Parmesan cheese, if desired.
You may also serve your garlic butter Shrimp Scampi sauce over crusty bread as a substitute of pasta. If you might have a vegetarian eating at your desk, merely put aside a small quantity of sauce and frivolously sauté asparagus minimize into 2-inch items as a substitute of shrimp. Serve with Cheesy Garlic Bread Sticks and a pleasant inexperienced salad.
Can I Make Shrimp Scampi with out Wine?
Yes. Replace the white wine with hen broth, seafood inventory, vegetable broth, or reserved pasta water with an additional squeeze of lemon. Wine provides acidity and depth, so if you skip it, you wish to exchange both-not simply the liquid.
- Best substitute: seafood inventory + lemon juice
- Most pantry-friendly: hen broth + lemon juice
- Lightest possibility: reserved pasta water + lemon zest
Chef tip: If utilizing broth as a substitute of wine, add it after the garlic and let it simmer for 1–2 minutes so the sauce nonetheless tastes layered, not flat.

Serving Suggestions
Shrimp scampi is wealthy, buttery and garlicky, so serve it with one thing that may absorb the sauce or stability it with freshness. Garlic bread, crusty bread or garlic knots are excellent for swiping up each little bit of that lemony garlic butter sauce.
For a lighter plate, pair shrimp scampi with Caesar salad, arugula salad, roasted asparagus, steamed broccoli or steamed inexperienced beans. Zucchini noodles additionally work nicely if you would like a low-carb possibility. Some people even want their scampi over white rice.

Chef Tips
- Pat the shrimp dry. Wet shrimp steam as a substitute of sauté. Pat them dry with paper towels earlier than including them to the skillet.
- Do not burn the garlic. Garlic ought to scent aromatic, not bitter. Cook it for about 30–60 seconds earlier than including the shrimp or liquid.
- Save pasta water. Before draining the pasta, scoop out ½ cup of starchy pasta water. Add a splash if the sauce wants assist clinging to the noodles.
- Watch the shrimp shape. Shrimp are achieved once they flip pink and curl right into a unfastened C-shape. If they curl tightly into an O, they’re in all probability overcooked.
- Toss the pasta within the skillet. Do not simply spoon sauce over bare noodles. Toss the pasta immediately within the skillet so the linguine absorbs the garlic butter sauce.
- Finish with lemon off warmth. Fresh lemon juice tastes brighter when added on the finish. Too a lot warmth can uninteresting the flavour
Frequently Asked Questions
Shrimp scampi sauce is normally made with butter, garlic, white wine, lemon juice and parsley. Some variations additionally use olive oil, shallots, purple pepper flakes or reserved pasta water to assist the sauce cling to the pasta.
Yes. Replace the white wine with seafood inventory, hen broth, vegetable broth or reserved pasta water. Add a bit additional lemon juice or lemon zest to switch the brightness that wine normally brings.
Linguine, spaghetti and angel hair are the very best selections for shrimp scampi as a result of lengthy noodles catch the garlic butter sauce nicely. Linguine is my favourite as a result of it has sufficient physique to carry as much as the shrimp.
Storage and Freezing
Make Ahead– Shrimp scampi is greatest served instantly. You can prep the garlic, shallots, parsley, lemon and shrimp forward of time, however prepare dinner the sauce and shrimp simply earlier than serving.
Leftovers– Leftovers might be saved in an hermetic container for as much as 4 days. Reheat gently in a skillet over low warmth with a splash of water, broth or pasta water. Avoid excessive warmth, which might make the shrimp rubbery.
Freezing- You can freeze it, however the texture of the shrimp and pasta could change. For greatest outcomes, freeze the shrimp and sauce with out the pasta, then make contemporary pasta when serving.
More Shrimp Recipes

Shrimp Scampi is a standard Italian dish made with a garlic butter sauce and shrimp with al dente pasta and contemporary lemon juice.
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Servings:
- 1 pound linguine
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 medium shallot , thinly sliced
- 4 cloves contemporary garlic , minced
- 1 pound shrimp , uncooked, peeled with tails on
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons contemporary lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest , for seasoning
- salt & pepper , for seasoning
- parsley , minced, for garnish
- lemon wedges , for serving, elective
Cook the 1 pound linguine in accordance with package deal instructions for al dente. Reserve 1 cup of starchy previous water (simply in case you want it). Drain the pasta and put aside.
While the pasta cooks, soften the ½ cup unsalted butter in a big skillet over low warmth.
Add the sliced 1 medium shallot, cooking 2 minutes and stirring.
Stir within the minced 4 cloves contemporary garlic, cooking an extra 1 minute.
Add the 1 pound shrimp, cooking 3-4 minutes or till shrimp flip pink and curl.
Pour within the ¼ cup dry white wine, cooking 1 extra minute. From from the warmth and toss with the 2 tablespoons contemporary lemon juice, 2 teaspoons lemon zest and verify for seasoning- add salt & pepper, if desired.
Toss the cooked pasta within the sauce, if it begins to look dry, add reserved pasta water, 2-3 tablespoons at a time. Sauce will soak into the pasta and coat.
Serve, topping with chopped parsley and contemporary lemon wedges.
If you have tried this recipe, come again and tell us the way it was within the feedback or star scores.
Calories: 648 kcal, Carbohydrates: 88 g, Protein: 15 g, Fat: 25 g, Saturated Fat: 15 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6 g, Trans Fat: 1 g, Cholesterol: 61 mg, Sodium: 12 mg, Potassium: 313 mg, Fiber: 4 g, Sugar: 4 g, Vitamin A: 711 IU, Vitamin C: 6 mg, Calcium: 42 mg, Iron: 2 mg




