Garlic Butter Shrimp Recipe

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This Garlic Butter Shrimp recipe is easier than you think, made with wine or without will be the highlight of your dinner table. Elegant, garlicky, and buttery, serve as an appetizer, in pasta, over rice.

And this fancy dish is way easier to make than you think!

Why We Love This

It is easier than you think - it may look like this recipe is a fancy dish, but it is way easier to make than you think. It is nothing but gathering the right ingredients, sauteing garlic in butter, and adding shrimp. That's it! Anyone can do this!

Versatile - Serve as an appetizer or add to pasta, rice for a wholesome meal. This garlic butter shrimp will be ready in less than 30 minutes.

Ingredients

Red pepper flakes - are optional and we only need just a pinch basically. It gives a nice smoky pepper flavor but you can omit and use only black pepper. Chili powder and chipotle powder would also work here, add just ¼ teaspoon of these.

Fresh Shrimp - frozen raw fresh shrimp with tails or tails off (peeled or unpeeled). A larger size is better, smaller shrimp will not be as tasty and cooking time will be less. But a precooked shrimp will also work. Just need to adjust the cooking time. Also, shrimp in shells will have more flavor (but are a bit messy to eat) and are in fact cheaper. This recipe makes very delicious scallops too! If you're into Mexican food, be sure not to miss our Easy Shrimp Fajitas recipe!

Broth - vegetable or seafood broth. And as a note, shrimp shells make an excellent seafood broth.

Pepper flakes - the amount in this recipe will not make this dish spicy it will add the flavor of peppers just about enough to enhance the overall flavor.

Fresh Garlic - not a fan of garlic? I am sorry but this is the essential ingredient, even more, important than the shrimp itself! Seriously, this dish is not the same if you substitute the garlic or add less than the recipe requires 🙂 Use freshly minced garlic and not the jarred option. Garlic powder could also work but again, not the same as fresh!

For the full list of ingredients, please scroll down where you'll find the recipe card.

Instructions

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter and add oil in a large skillet or pan over medium heat. Stir constantly for butter not to get brown.

Once melted, add garlic and saute just until fragrant (30 seconds). Add prawns and cook until they start to turn light pink. (This will happen very fast!). Season with salt and pepper.

Add broth and red pepper flakes, and turn heat to medium-low. Simmer until the liquid is reduced in half.

Garlic Butter Shrimp ina skillet with butter and parsley

Finally, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter, squeeze in fresh lemon juice, and stir in fresh parsley.

Serve immediately with your favorite side dish and crusty bread.

Tips

Depending on which broth you are using (high or low sodium) don’t add too much salt when seasoning the shrimps. Although it is important to add enough salt to prawns for better flavor. If not sure, wait until the last step and season with salt and pepper right in the end.

The liquid should reduce rather quickly, and it is very important not to overcook the shrimp. The flavor and texture will be rubbery and not soft and juicy what they should be.

Once you add the shrimp to the pan, don’t cook the shrimp until they are all pink. The broth should be added once you see that the shrimp is just turning pink.

Shimp shells -if you got the shrimps with shells on that's even better. Thaw frozen shrimp in cold water until you can peel of the shells (this will be quick). Reserve the shells (in a sealed bag refrigerated or frozen) and cook a seafood broth to use in other recipes.

You can definitely add even more than 1 tablespoon of butter in the end to make this dish extra ''saucy''! This shrimp without wine has plenty of butter in it already, but still, in case serving it with pasta, I would add more. And in reverse, if serving simply as an appetizer, you can add half less of the butter BUT not recommended simply because the flavor is better with enough butter.

My favorite date night meal - want to wow your date? Serve this garlic butter shrimp over steamed spinach, cooked pasta, and a glass of crisp French white wine. Get ready for the best meal you have ever had! For a quick fancy appetizer, make these Crostini With Strawberry Salsa and/or Strawberry Mousse For Dessert as well!

And of course, traditionally, this Italian-style dish pairs very VERY well with risotto (simple risotto is better but any other flavor such as Mushroom Risotto. Another date night classic! Always a winner!

Freezing and Storing Instructions

Store this garlic butter shrimp in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge. You can freeze for 2-3 months but it is better to freeze the shrimp uncooked.

Serving Suggestions

A good side for this recipe would be:

Risotto
Mashed potatoes or cauliflower
Plain cooked rice
This is also a great dish to serve simply as an appetizer with Mango Habanero Salsa on the side.
This garlic butter sauce is delicious on it's own to serve over zucchini noodles, pasta, mashed potatoes.

Or simple salads:

Thank you so much for reading about the Garlic Butter Shrimp Recipe. Please feel free to comment with any questions you may have! I love reading your feedback.

Rita

FAQ

Why does my shrimp taste rubbery?

If you have overcooked your shrimp it will be rubbery and chewy. It cooks very quickly and it only takes about a minute or less for each side to sear the shrimp on high heat. Once the shrimp are turning pink it is ready.

Should I cook shrimp with shell on?

You can also buy shrimp with shells on and cook it this way and peel it later. Shells give a great taste to the shrimp but it will take some time to peel them later.

Easy Seafood Dinner Recipes

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