Quick and Easy Shrimp Scampi Recipe
I want to bring you restaurant-quality shrimp and pasta dish at home! This classic shrimp scampi comes together quickly with a short list of essential ingredients and a fast and simple cooking process. It’s a perfect dish for weeknights, date nights, and special occasions.
Rave Reviews
Made this recipe for the first time and my husband loved it came out so delicious…Definitely will be making again for guest. ~Miriam
This was the easiest and tastiest shrimp scampi ever! I will definitely make this my go to for shrimp scampi! Thank you!! ~Barb
Table of Contents
Lyuba’s Recipe Overview
The very first time I tried shrimp scampi was at our family restaurant when I started working there. No wonder that it was one of the top selling items on the menu because the combination of lemon garlic butter shrimp pasta with the white wine sauce is a burst of flavor at each bite.
When I started in the restaurant, I didn’t just taste these dishes though, I learned how to make them the right way. I was taught by chefs, trained on the classics, and over the years I’ve built a professionally trained foundation that helps me understand the “why” behind each step, not just the recipe itself.
Important Ingredient Notes Before Cooking
I want to note that a scampi recipe is a combination of a few specific ingredients and that’s what makes the recipe what it is:
- Important ingredients: most important ingredients of shrimp scampi are shrimp, butter, white wine, garlic, and fresh lemon juice. Those should not be substituted!
- Butter: you cannot omit butter but you can use plant based butter substitute. I often use lactose free/plant butter substitute like I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, Earth Balance, Avocado Oil Plant Based Butter.
- Wine: make sure to use dry white wine like Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio. Do not use sweet wine!
Tips For Cooking Shrimp Scampi
- Prepare: Before we can really get started on the shrimp, you’ll need to prepare! Clean and de-vein the shrimp if needed.
- Shrimp doneness: Best indication is the color of the shrimp, they turn from translucent to opaque as they cook. When shrimp turned opaque on one side, flip them and wait until they turn opaque on the other side. Tails is another indication. Once the tails start to turn inward and the shrimp are “C” shaped, they’re likely ready to go!
- Don’t overcook shrimp: they will turn rubbery and tough if overcooked so it’s important to take them off heat once opaque throughout.
- Prevent garlic from turning blue: you may have noticed that garlic can turn blue when introduced to a highly acidic ingredients (like lemon juice) while cooking. The way to prevent it is by using fresh garlic AND searing the garlic until golden first (BEFORE introducing acid), make sure to stir and sear. Once it’s cooked through, it should not react when combined with acids.
Serving Suggestions and Additional Flavors
- Pasta is the most traditional way to serve shrimp scampi.
- In additions to pasta or instead of pasta, try it with broccoli or a mix of vegetables. Broccoli is great because the florets soak up a lot of sauce and it comes out very tasty. Some other vegetables that would work well in this dish are shallots, mushrooms, zucchini, asparagus, green beans, cauliflower, and other mild tasting vegetables.
- In our family restaurant, I’ve had many people order shrimp scampi with mashed potatoes or roasted potatoes. This is a less conventional option but many people love it.
- Optional Additional Ingredients – Red pepper flakes and shallots are great add-ins. Red pepper flakes give the dish a nice layer of heat but it’s not overpowering. Shallots sautéed at the same time as the garlic will add a lot of flavor to the dish.
- To make it creamy: you can add some heavy whipping cream AFTER the white wine sauce had a few minutes to simmer. It’s important to give alcohols and acids time to cook before adding cream or the sauce could curdle. (1/4 to 1/2 cup will work.)
Recipe FAQs
That is a personal preference but if you want my professional opinion, no, I would not recommend leaving tails on. While it’s esthetically pleasing to top off a dish with beautiful looking shrimp with tails on, it’s not that kind of recipe. It will be much more comfortable to eat shrimp scampi if you take the tails off before cooking.
Most of the alcohol in the wine will cook out, leaving a hint of the flavor. However, if you would rather not use it, you can substitute the wine but note the flavor of sauce will change! You can simply use chicken broth, vegetable broth, instead of wine and you can also add a little splash of grape juice (just a tablespoon or two).
In the refrigerator!
As a chef certified in food safety management, I want to make sure I address this. Do NOT thaw shrimp (or other meats) on the counter and do NOT thaw shrimp (or other meats) in the sink. To thaw meats in the sink, there is a proper process that food handlers learn but I don’t recommend it for home cooks due to food safety concerns.
Thaw shrimp (and other meats) in the refrigerator. Depending on size and thickness, it could take a few hours for shrimp. So pull it out the night before and put it in the refrigerator to thaw.
Simple answer – any pasta you love! I personally prefer a long thing pasta like angel hair. It goes great with the delicate nature of the dish. Pasta with rough exterior, like bucatini, is great for holding onto the sauce. But you can use fettuccine, linguine, spaghetti, penne, cavatappi, or any other pasta.
Feel free to also use gluten free pasta if needed!
Unfortunately, this is not a good dish to make ahead. Shrimp and other shellfish should be eaten soon after it was cooked because it doesn’t stand up well to reheating and can overcook in seconds.
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Shrimp Scampi Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb pasta like spaghetti, angel hair, or linguine
- 1 lb large shrimp
Scampi Sauce:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter additional
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 lemon – juice only
- 2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
- salt to taste
Instructions
If You Need To Clean Shrimp:
- If you got shrimp still in shells, you will need to peel and de-vein them before cooking: start pulling off the shell by the legs, cracking the underside. Be assertive, larger shrimp have a tougher shell. You can choose to take tails off or leave them on. Use a paring knife or another small knife to slice just the top of the skin all along the back. Cut very gently to only slice through the top thin layer of skin. Take out the "vein" running along the back of the shrimp.
Prepare Shrimp Scampi:
- Bring a pot of water to boil and salt it generously (for a 2 quart pot of water, I recommend 1 tbsp of coarse salt.) Cook pasta in boiling salted water until it is al dente, drain off the water, and set aside.
- Measure and prepare remaining ingredients before starting to cook because this recipe cooks fast.Expert tip: remember that if you like your pasta dishes extra saucy, feel free to double the sauce amount.
- Season shrimp with some salt and toss it so the seasoning is spread evenly.
- In a large skillet, melt butter and add olive oil.
- Smash garlic, mince it, and add it to the skillet. Add red pepper flakes too and sauté garlic and pepper flakes until garlic is golden-browned.
- Add shrimp to the skillet and cook until they turn opaque on one side.
- Flip all the shrimp and cook until it’s just turned opaque on the other side. Take shrimp out of the pan but leave butter and garlic behind.
- Add a little more butter and let it melt.
- Pour in white wine and deglaze the bottom of the pan by scraping it and mixing with the liquids. Let it simmer for a minute or two minutes.
- Add lemon juice and season the sauce with some salt. Return shrimp to the skillet.
- Cook for just about a minute, stir in parsley, and add cooked pasta. Toss to coat everything together and serve.
Video
Notes
- Like it saucy? Double the sauce: If you like your dishes saucy, feel free to double the sauce ingredients and make extra sauce!
- Using frozen shrimp: you can use previously frozen shrimp but make sure to thaw them completely first. Drain off all the excess liquids before starting to cook and pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel.
- Storing: In an airtight container in the fridge, any leftovers you have of this scampi will last for about 2-3 days.
- Reheating: Reheat it in the pan over medium-low heat until just warmed all the way through. You never want to overcook seafood, especially leftovers.
Nutrition
More Shrimp Recipes to Try
Shrimp and grits features buttery, cheesy grits is topped with big, juicy shrimp that are cook in bacon grease.
Super easy baked garlic butter shrimp features tender, juicy shrimp baked in a medley of butter, fresh garlic, lemon zest and sage.
Shrimp stir fry is a quick and healthy dish loaded with juicy shrimp, many different vegetables, and an easy homemade stir fry sauce.
Another classic! You will never need to order takeout with this amazing and easy shrimp fried rice recipe.
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in February 2020.
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Categories:
30 Minute Meals, Dinner Recipes, Italian Dinner Recipes, Most Popular Recipes, Mother's Day Recipe Ideas, Pasta Recipes, Seafood Dinner Recipes, Shrimp Dinner Recipes, Valentine's Day,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Made this recipe for the first time and my husband loved it came out so delicious..Definitely will be making again for guest
I am so glad you guys liked it!
Great!!
Good recipe . Wouldn’t change a thing except doubling the sauce ingredients for a whole lb of pasta. I only used a half of lb. I was completely out of olive oil and had a jar of sun dried tomatoes in olive oil. I used the oil and added some of the tomatoes which added to the dish. I also added the shallots like Lyuba suggested .and about a half cup of heavy whipping cream after she wine and lemon. I really love creamy pasta sauces . It thickened when I added the linguine to the pot I . Will more than likely make this often. My husband loved it and took leftovers for lunch today.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with the recipe! I love how you made it your own by using the sun-dried tomato oil and adding the tomatoes—such a great idea! I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed it and that it even made a great lunch the next day. Comments like yours inspire others to try new twists, so thank you for sharing! 😊
This was the easiest and tastiest shrimp scampi ever! I will definitely make this my go to for shrimp scampi! Thank you!!
Excellent!
Thank you, Sally!
Hi
I would like to know if you can omit the lemon juice part, would love to try this recipe but I am deathly allergic to anything citrus. Please let me know
Thank you for reaching out! Yes, you can absolutely omit the lemon juice in this recipe. The dish will still be delicious without it! Enjoy, and let me know how it turns out!
My family loved this recipe! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for the lovely feedback! I’m so happy to hear this pumpkin bread recipe is your favorite! I love that you compared it to pumpkin pie filling – that’s exactly the cozy, fall flavor I was going for! So glad you’re enjoying it, and thank you again for sharing your experience!
Easy recipe! Just minutes if you have everything ready and measured out ahead of cooking. Olive Garden eat your bread sticks!
So glad you liked the recipe!
Simple and great recipe! Love it!!
So glad you liked the recipe, Teresa!
Made it for me, was great I didn’t have pepper flakes so used paprika. . No lemons, but lemon juice. I find a lemon varies amount of juice and this way I can taste and get what I like. I had frozen cooked shrimp, worked great. Great white wine and rotini instead of angel hair pasta, etc. just what I had! It was great, definitely enjoyed it!
I am so glad you liked it!
My family loves this recipe!!
I’m so happy to hear that your family loves the shrimp scampi recipe! It’s always great to know when a dish is a hit at home. Thank you for sharing!
Really flavorful and easy. I added parm on top.
I am glad you liked the recipe, you can never go wrong with more cheese!
It really tasted awesome and my adult daughter loved it!
That is great! I am so glad she liked it!
Love this recipe. I have made it multiple times. I always double the sauce recipe. This time I added scallops with the shrimp and it was great. I also added 1/4 cup of the water from the pasta. It Mae it easier coat the pasta. I also used homemade pasta using my kitchen aid.
I am so glad you liked it, George!
Love this recipe! I added capers and shallots to it as a personal touch but highly recommend this to all my friends!!
So glad you liked it, Monica!
I used this recipe tonight and it was my first time making scampi. I followed recipe but only cooked 1/2 lb pasta and used 16/20 shrimp, I wanted the extra sauce so I made full amount. This is an excellent dish and I will use this recipe again! My advice, don’t overcook shrimp bc it can ruin the dish!
I am so glad you liked it, Noreen!
I appreciate your feedback, and I’m sorry to hear that the red pepper flakes overwhelmed the dish for you. I have never had that complaint but I understand how disappointing it can be when a favorite dish doesn’t turn out as expected. I’m glad you’re willing to give the recipe another try without that particular ingredient. Adjusting the spice level to your preference is a great approach, and I hope the next attempt results in a shrimp scampi that suits your taste better.
LOL!! I had to add more pepper flakes. It is a great recipe!! Adjust to your spice level. Thank you for sharing the recipe!!!
Thanks, so glad you liked it!
Easy and delicious! I prefer a lot more sauce so I doubled the amount of butter and added a little more wine. I used a Sauvignon Blanc And I think that added a little sweetness that hubby and I both enjoyed. Also, I used half a lemon. Definitely a keeper!
I’m so happy to hear that you found the recipe easy and delicious! The touch of sweetness from the wine is a great idea, and it’s wonderful that both you and your hubby enjoyed it!
MY GO TO RECIPE FOR SCAMPI. I LIKE THAT THE SAUCE IS EASILY DOUBLED. IT IS A MUST I AT OUR HOUSE DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON AND WHEN WE HAVE GUESTS OVER. COMPLIMENTS ALWAYS.
Thank you, Maureen! I am so glad you like it! :
Great recipe I enjoyed it
I am so pleased to hear that, Bill!
What can I use to substitute to the wine if I dont have any?
You can use chicken broth; but white wine is so much better.
Can cooking wine be used instead of dry wine?
Incorrect email prior
Hi Missy,
I wouldn’t use cooking wine it has a lot of preservatives, sweeteners, and salt, which can make your final dish taste overly sweet, salty, or even metallic and it’s not much cheaper you can get a good bottle of dry wine for $10 at your grocery store.
Maureen is right the wine is better but chicken broth will do. I hope you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Great recipe thanks for sharing
I’ve made this recipe two times already and will be making it a third time for a group. Always a crowd pleaser.
I am so happy to hear that, Lori!
Enjoyed making this recipe. Added a pile of parm at the end. Easy peasy
I am so glad you liked it!
I use chicken broth instead of wine, tastes great!!
So glad you like it, Deb!
Super delicious and super quick meal!! The red pepper flake was the perfect touch!
I am glad you liked it, Chris!
Simple quick tasty dish!
The only fault I found was the amount of red pepper flakes suggested. I did half the amount listed and my mouth is still on fire. I recommend adding red pepper flakes to taste.
Excellent dish.
Thank you, Eric! Glad you liked it!
This recipe was very easy and delicious. It took little time and effort to make. I would recommend it to anyone. I would probably use more garlic but that is the only thing I would change. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I am glad you liked the recipe, Latisha!
It turned out well My husband and I enjoyed it. I wonder if a bit of all purpose flour to thicken the sauce work?
I only use a half a pound of pasta. Next time I will add more garlic and more chili flakes..
Glad you liked it, Debra!
I had leftover shrimp from Costco platter. It came out delicous. I only used half the pasta. I noticed your note about doubling the sauce after I added pasta. I added presh parmesan to top it off. I will double the sauce next time. Thank you for the easy, delicous recipe.
I am so glad you liked it!
If I don’t drink wine can I just leave it out or should I substitute it, if substituting what do I use?
Hi Carla,
You can replace it with a little chicken stock.
This recipe was excellent!! I added fresh spinach to the pasta water before draining. Wonderful scampi taste, but not too heavy or greasy. Will definitely make again!! Thank you.
I am so happy to hear that!
Great recipe! My peeps loved it! The sauce was sooooo good and I added a Parmesan cheese topping to mine. Thanks!
I am so glad everyone liked it, Hannah!
Super easy and flavorful dish! I doubled the sauce and it was perfect! Thank you
So glad you liked it, Donna!
My husband and I love this recipe! We don’t double the sauce most of the time, unless we’re eating it with other people. I make it with either whole grain 🌾 spaghetti, or the spinach🍃linguine. We just had it tonight. Thank you for this great easy recipe!
I am so happy to hear that you loved it!
Amazingly simple & delicious. I think doubling the sauce is the way to go, because the pasta just sucked up every ounce. I will definitely need making this one again.
I am so glad you liked it!
A truly delicious meal. I’ve made this several times and I did as suggested and doubled the sauce. Next week I am making a double batch for some friends. I feel confident it will be perfect as always. With the dish, I serve garlic toast and a simple green salad. What a meal! Thank you for sharing this scrumptious, easy dish.
Excellent recipe with A nice pre-recipe narrative. That helps! This dish tasted amazing, I made it for my son and daughter in law and they loved it. Will definitely be making this again.
So glad you liked it!
Could I use Sherry cooking wine?
Hi Amy! I don’t recommend using cooking wine because it’s not actually a wine and they tent to have odd flavor. Sherry is also a sweet wine. You want to use something not sweet, like a dry wine. If you want to avoid alcohol all-together, you can use chicken broth with a splash of grape juice for that taste. (If you can, get a grape juice that is not very sweet, like Honest brand.) It will not taste the same but it will help you avoid using acohol.
Wow!!! Delicious…I doubled the ingredients (except for the pasta) a few changes to the recipe I had to make were: used 1 1/2 tablespoons of dried parsley; 3 tablespoons of lemon juice (bottle); used Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper spice to season the shrimp; and used to 2 pounds of large shrimps. Both my husband and son loved it! This will definitely be repeated in my cooking Ank you for sharing this recipe.
Glad you liked the recipe!
An easy and tasty dish. Big hit at our house
So glad you like it, Sandi!
Outstanding Recipe. I followed it to a tee.
My wife and Son lLOVED it. Both demanding I make it again soon! I payed out measures and items.. step by step… it came out remarkably
Fantastic! Thank you!!!! So easy..😎
Thank you for the kind comment, Mike! I am so happy you liked the recipe! 🙂
Great recipe! It transported us to Hawaii where we had a similar dish made by the locals except they made it with white rice instead of Angel hair! This dish was scrumptious! Thank You for sharing! ❤️
I am so glad you liked it, Sandy!
Very good, used have the amount of butter. Was by mistake but turned out very good.
Will make it again
Glad you liked it, Chris!
Fantastic! I only had fresh cooked shrimp so I added it last minute and stirred it around until infused with the garlic. Super recipe. I served it over angel hair. Thank you for this. I’ve made it 3 times already!
So glad you liked it, Dana!
This was a very easy recipe and I doubled the shrimp and sauce. Loved it!
So glad you loved it, Glenne!
Very good and quick. I did add a couple of handfuls of fresh spinach before the pasta to make it a complete meal.
I am so glad you liked it, Robert!
Hi! I have frozen already cooked shrimp. What would I modify to make that work with this recipe? Thanks for your help!
Hi, I am sorry you can’t use cooked shrimp in this recipe it will make them over cooked and rubbery and not good.
Is there an alternative you can use to white wine?
You can replace the wine with chicken stock if you’d like
I cooked this recipe for a family Christmas dinner. This recipe was so quick and easy and oh so delicious. The fresh lemon juice really. Brings this dish together! I set all the ingredients in front of me, started the noodles cooking and sautéing the shrimp and other ingredients came together in 15 min.
QUICK, EASY AND DELICIOUS!
I am so glad you liked it, Patty!
I added some mushrooms one time I made it and broccoli another time I made it and it was fantastic. I just love this recipe.
Yum, Glad, you liked it!
I’m not a wine drinker, what wine would you recommend?
Hi Christina,
There are several brands you can use, last time I made this I used a dry pinot gris and the brand was Chateau Ste Michelle which I got from my local grocery store for around $10 and it went very well. Hope this helps!
Thank you for #4!!! It’s sooooo helpful knowing this ahead of time!!
Delicious! Mine came out spicy 🤔 would too much garlic do that? I doubled the sauce and didn’t use any crushed pepper the 2nd batch to tone it down. But still has quite a kick. The kids loves it after I put soy sauce in it to take the spice taste lol! Will make again!
This recipe was easy to follow and make. It was delicious! We liked the kick from the red pepper. I will make it again and recommend it to others.
When you say Scamp is another word for shrimp you are completely wrong. That would be like calling the dish “Shrimp Shrimp.” The word Scampi describes a method of cooking, i.e. a dish of shrimp , typically sautéed in garlic and butter and often topped with bread crumbs.
I want to make this for dinner. Can I substitute chicken broth for the wine? During this pandemic, I don’t want to just run to the store for 1 item.
Hi Melanie,
Yes, you can replace it with stock it will of course have a different flavor but it will still be good.
I tried with the chicken stock and doubled the sauce. My family loved it! Thanks!
Yay! So glad you liked it! 🙂
Outstanding – easy to do – delicious – thank you for simplicity with perfection!
Thank you, John! I am so glad you liked it! 🙂
Was looking for a quick easy shrimp pasta and this delivered. I’m from the deep south so added a little more butter, wine, and seasoning. Also stirred in a little parmesan cheese to the finished pasta….whole new level,
I am so glad you liked it! Thanks for stopping by!
This recipe is amazing! Just made it for dinner and even my kids loved it! Thanks for sharing 😊
So glad you liked it, Jessica!
This looks so good and will most likely make it. Just wondering why so high in calories and if there is a way to reduce.
Hi Lynn,
It has butter and some wine but mostly it is the pasta to cut the calories you could use zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash instead of the pasta.
Hi! Cooking newbie here- at what temperature/heat setting should I be cooking this dish on? Thank you!! Looking forward to trying 🙂
My husband wants extra sauce with all pasta dishes. What exactly do I double in this recipe? What constitutes the “sauce?”
Hi Jan,
Double everything but the shrimp and pasta for extra sauce. I hope you like it!
Made this….loved it.
Hi Molly,
I am so glad you liked it ! 🙂
This is my favorite recipe for scampi. It’s simple and if I have frozen shrimp, I can get it on the table in 45 minutes with bread and a salad. So easy and deliicious.
Hi Judy,
Thank you so much! I am so glad you liked them!
Mmmm…that looks delicious, will have to try it out!
Hi! I’m belatedly stopping by from the UBP. Nice to meet you! I have two blogs, and I’d love for you to stop by when you get a minute. We’re giving away a $100 Visa gift card until the 19th at Giveaway Corner. Thanks!http://giveawaycorner.blogspot.com/ (A free giveaway every weekday)http://anne-somekindofwonderful.blogspot.com/ (Family blog)
Shrimp Scampi is one of my favorite meals of all time…this looks delicious!
Wow! Is it weird that I want this right now and it’s only 7am??? Sorry your hubby doesn’t eat seafood. I would eat this every day!!!
It’s Ian’s and Jaydon’s loss, Pop and Grandma love shrimp!
Looks great! I’m going to try this :)I’m following you back for http://MyCreativeWay.blogspot.com 🙂 I’m excited to read more of your blog!Raychel