This garlic butter shrimp scampi recipe is quick, easy, and delicious. The classic scampi sauce, made with garlic, butter, white wine, and lemon juice, comes together in minutes. You’ll love it!
Our family loves this garlic butter shrimp scampi recipe. It’s so quick to make and tastes incredible. Serve these garlicky shrimp as an appetizer, with toasted or grilled bread or over pasta.
This is a classic recipe for shrimp scampi. If you love the classic but want to try a fun twist, try our cilantro lime butter shrimp!
Key Ingredients
- Shrimp: Use fresh, high-quality jumbo or large shrimp. You can keep the tails on or remove them, whichever you prefer.
- Shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes: These will be cooked in olive oil to create the base of your sauce.
- Fresh lemon juice and white wine: Use these to deglaze the pan and create the scampi sauce. The best wine for shrimp scampi is a dry, crisp white wine. We reach for pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, or unoaked chardonnay. The most important thing to remember is to use something you enjoy. Our scampi recipe calls for 1/2 cup of wine, so you will have some wine left to enjoy with the shrimp.
- Butter and parsley: These will be added at the end to make the sauce smooth and creamy.
How to Make Shrimp Scampi
Shrimp scampi is a quick and easy dish. Begin by sautéing your aromatics (think shallots, garlic, and a pinch of red pepper flakes) in olive oil until fragrant.
Next, add your shrimp to the pan. Shrimp cook quickly, so keep a close eye on them. They’re done when they turn pink and opaque, usually within a few minutes per side. Once cooked, remove the shrimp from the pan and set them aside.
Now, it’s time to deglaze the pan. Add a splash of white wine and fresh lemon juice, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom to pick up as much flavor as possible.
Finally, finish the sauce by swirling in butter and a handful of chopped fresh parsley. The butter melts into the wine and lemon juice, creating an unbelievably delicious garlic butter sauce for the shrimp.
What to Serve with Shrimp Scampi
You can serve shrimp scampi in a variety of ways. I love this as an appetizer next to other light Italian dishes like our Caprese salad, tomato bruschetta, or this easy olive oil dip with crusty bread.
It’s also excellent served over rice, grains, and pasta (I’ve shared tips for shrimp scampi pasta below the recipe). You can also add it to our garlic zucchini noodles!
Perfect Shrimp Scampi
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
How to make garlic butter shrimp scampi in under 15 minutes. Perfect served alone or spooned over pasta, rice or lower carb zucchini noodles.
You Will Need
1 pound (450g) large or extra-large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoons butter, cut into four pieces
1/4 cup minced shallot, 1 medium
1 ½ tablespoons minced garlic, about 4 cloves
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
1/2 cup (118ml) dry, crisp white wine like pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc or unoaked chardonnay, see notes for alternatives
1 lemon, cut in half
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves and tender stems, chopped
Directions
1Pat shrimp dry, then season 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper.
2Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Stir them around the pan and cook until the shallots soften, 1 to 2 minutes.
3Add the shrimp in a single layer to the skillet. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes per side or until pink and opaque. Transfer to a plate.
4Add white wine and the juice from half a lemon to the skillet. Simmer until slightly reduced, about 1 minute.
5Remove the skillet from the heat. Swirl in the butter and parsley until melted and creamy. Season with additional salt, pepper, or lemon juice to taste.
6Spoon the scampi sauce over the shrimp and enjoy.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Substitute for wine: Use 1/2 cup of chicken broth, vegetable broth, or seafood broth. I also like adding a bit more lemon juice.
- Storing: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Shrimp scampi with pasta: Use 8 to 12 ounces of dry pasta for 1 pound of shrimp. If, when tossing the pasta into the scampi sauce, it seems dry, add a 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water to thin it out a bit. The starches in the water will also help the sauce to stick to the pasta strands.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Hello! This recipe looks great and I have all the ingredients. One question. After step 3 where you remove the shrimp from the skillet, are you removing the onions and shallots as well, or does everything else stay in the skillet except the shrimp? Thanks.
Correct, you are only removing the shrimp and leaving everything else in the skillet so you can finish the scampi sauce. Removing the shrimp at this point just makes sure you do not overcook them while making the sauce.
I made this for my family three or four months ago and they just love it so now I make it about once a month. Thank you for sharing this recipe. My family really do really does love it.!
I made this for my family about three or four months ago and now I make it about once a month my family loves it. I have the time to like five times but they do love it. Thank you for sharing this recipe.!
I made this about four months ago and I make it now about once a month for my family. They love it.
Delicious and easy-to-make recipe! Perfect for a quick dinner or an impressive appetizer. Loved the detailed tips!
Fantastic! Best recipe yet!
Wonderful! So happy you loved it.
Made this for dinner and it was a hit with parents and young kids alike (6 and 8). Just opted to keep out the red pepper flakes to ensure it was kid-friendly. Loved making this with the shallots AND garlic incorporating the parsley in the butter sauce instead of scattering over the finished product like a lot of recipes suggest. Can’t wait to make again.
That’s wonderful, Angie! Thanks for coming back and sharing.
This is a great recipe and super easy. My favorite is to combine it with zucchini noodles.
I love adding this shrimp to zoodles, too! Such a light and tasty dinner.
Cooking this for the second time tonight. Served it with roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli the first time. The Scampi was so delicious you wanted pasta to soak the sauce up with. Cooking it with angel hair tonight. I went heavy on all the spices and you could still add more. This recipe is as good as scampi gets. Anything more is just more. Easy to make and delicious to eat!!!
That’s wonderful, Michael. We completely aggree with the sauce!! So good.
So timely I was just looking for a recipe for my favorite restaurant meal..shrimp scampi ?
That’s wonderful, Melody. We hope you enjoy this version 🙂
Hi..recipe looks simple and delicious. Is it my understanding you do not flip the shrimp at all after cooking on first side? Thanks.
Hi Kevin, We are so happy you like the sound of the recipe! We do flip / stir the shrimp when we add the wine and lemon juice. Happy cooking!