Shrimp Scampi

Name: Easy Shrimp Scampi
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons butter; 1 tablespoon fresh garlic (minced); 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes; 2 pounds extra-large shrimp (peeled and deveined (21-25 pieces per pound)); 2 tablespoons dry white wine; 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or 1/2 teaspoon of any other salt); 1 tablespoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed ); 2 tablespoons parsley (finely chopped ); 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground )

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Shrimp scampi is simple, fresh, and flavorful. When making this recipe, your top priority as a chef is to avoid overcooking the shrimp.

This tasty dish is ready in just 20 minutes. You can serve it as is or with spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles.

Shrimp scampi served on a white plate with a napkin.

This recipe is ready fast, and its flavor combination is fresh and flavorful. Butter, garlic, white wine, and lemon juice combine into a delicate yet flavorful sauce that perfectly complements the shrimp.

This is one of my favorite weeknight dinners and one of my favorite ways to prepare shrimp. Other shrimp recipes I make often include baked shrimp, sauteed shrimp, grilled shrimp, boiled shrimp, and shrimp salad.

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Ingredients
Variations
Shrimp Scampi Instructions
Expert Tips
Recipe FAQs
Serving Suggestions
Storing Leftovers
More Shrimp Recipes
Recipe Card

Ingredients

Here's an overview of the ingredients needed to make shrimp scampi. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below:

Butter: I like to use creamy European butter, but any butter will be great.
Minced garlic: Mince it yourself or use the stuff that comes in a jar. Both work, although freshly minced tastes better.
Red pepper flakes: They don't make the dish spicy - they merely add a layer of flavor.
Extra-large shrimp: Peeled and deveined. I like to use tail-on shrimp simply for aesthetic reasons.
White wine: You can make the dish with or without it. I do feel it enhances the flavor of the sauce.
Kosher salt and black pepper: If using fine salt, you should reduce the amount you use by half, or the dish could become too salty.
Fresh lemon juice: Do use freshly squeezed juice. It makes a difference.
Chopped parsley: Adds a splash of color and another layer of fresh flavor.

Variations

Sometimes, I use good olive oil instead of butter. I still prefer the taste of butter, but olive oil is excellent, too.
If you don't have lemon juice, use ½ tablespoon of white wine vinegar.
You can use cilantro instead of parsley. It has a stronger flavor, but if you like cilantro, I think you'll enjoy it. I do!

Shrimp Scampi Instructions

Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps for making this recipe:

You start by briefly sautéing the garlic and red pepper flakes in butter. (Photos 1-2).
Add the shrimp, wine, and kosher salt. (Photo 3).
Cook until the shrimp are fully cooked - this takes about 5 minutes. (Photo 4).
Off heat, stir in the lemon juice, parsley, and black pepper, then serve! (Photos 5-6).

A six-photo collage showing the steps for making shrimp scampi.

Expert Tips

As with most shrimp recipes, the most important thing when making this recipe is to avoid overcooking the shrimp. Once you add them to the saucepan, cook them just until they turn pink and opaque, then remove them immediately from the heat and serve. When overcooked, they become dry and rubbery.
The best shrimp size for this recipe is extra-large (21-25 pieces per pound). They are plump and juicy. However, if all you have is large shrimp (31-40 pieces per pound), that works too.

A two-photo collage comparing large and extra-large shrimp.

Recipe FAQs

What is shrimp scampi?

It's an Italian-American dish of shrimp tossed in a simple yet exquisite sauce of butter, garlic, and white wine. The original Italian dish is simply called "Scampi."

Scampi, or langoustines, are small crustaceans that look like tiny lobsters. A traditional way of preparing them in Italy is to sauté them with olive oil, garlic, onion, and white wine.

Immigrant Italian cooks in the United States used what was available instead of langoustines, which was shrimp, but they kept both names. This resulted in the somewhat weird name of this dish, which would literally translate to "shrimp lobster."

What is a scampi sauce made of?

Since it's a variation of the traditional Italian recipe, there are quite a few ways of making this sauce. All of them are excellent!

In my version, the sauce is made from butter, garlic, white wine, and lemon juice. I season it with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and parsley.

This delicately flavored sauce is ideal for shrimp. It highlights their mild flavor rather than overpowering it.

It's not that spicy shrimp are bad - they are, in fact, excellent. But there's something about pairing delicately flavored seafood with a delicate sauce.

Can you make this recipe without wine?

Yes. The small amount of wine I use in this recipe adds excellent flavor, and drinking it with the meal is fun.

But if you're not a fan of wine, you can simply omit the wine and leave the rest of the recipe as is. It would still be delicious.

Serving Suggestions

This saucy dish is often served on top of pasta or with crusty bread. I like to serve it on any of the following:

Sometimes, I serve this dish with its marvelous sauce on a bed of raw baby spinach leaves. The warm sauce wilts the spinach leaves just enough to cook them perfectly. The whole dish is sublime.