Easy Shrimp Scampi is a classic yet simple dish to make, taking just under 10 minutes to cook. Its amazing sauce of garlic, white wine, and butter coats fresh, succulent shrimp cooked to perfection. Serve it over linguine with a piece of crusty French bread and a green salad on the side, and you have a restaurant-quality meal fit for kings.
This quick and easy shrimp scampi recipe features fresh, cleaned, and deveined shrimp sautéed in a garlicky butter and white wine sauce, finished with a splash of lemon and served over linguine. It's ready in just 20 minutes, making it the perfect weeknight dinner.
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Recipe at a Glance
- ✅ Ready In: 20 minutes
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Ingredients: Seasoned fresh shrimp, olive oil, butter, garlic, white wine, and fresh lemon juice
- 👩🍳 Serves: 4
- 💡 Difficulty: Easy
- 📦 Make-Ahead Friendly: Better eaten when made
Ingredients for Easy Shrimp Scampi
Preparing the Easy Shrimp Scampi: Step-by-Step
- Season the Shrimp: To start, add Creole seasoning, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper to the shrimp, and toss to combine. Then, set aside.
- Cook the Pasta: Add a tablespoon of Kosher salt to a large pot of boiling water. Then, add the linguine. Cook, stirring occasionally, to the al dente stage, around 9 minutes. Drain well and return to the pot until ready to add to the shrimp.
- Cook the Shrimp: Heat olive oil and a tablespoon of butter in a small braiser or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp in a single layer. After about a minute, turn the shrimp and cook the other side for another minute.
- Add the Garlic: Next, add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
- Add Wine and Lemon Juice: Once the garlic is fragrant, add the white wine and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Cook the mixture for 3 minutes.
- Add the Butter: After 3 minutes, turn off the heat and stir in 3 tablespoons of butter.
- Remove the Shrimp: Once the butter has melted, use a slotted spoon to remove the shrimp from the sauce and keep them warm.
- Add the Cooked Linguine and Finish: Add the cooked linguine to the sauce and toss to combine. Then return the cooked shrimp on top of the linguine. Sprinkle with minced fresh parsley and serve.
This shrimp scampi has everything you love about classic seafood dishes: rich, buttery, and perfectly balanced with bright citrus and savory garlic. Whether you're serving it for a quick weeknight dinner or an elegant dinner for four, it's sure to impress. Don't forget to soak up the extra sauce with crusty bread. Every drop counts. Yum!
Frequently Asked Questions
Frozen shrimp can be used in this recipe, but it won't be as tasty as fresh shrimp. If using frozen shrimp, thaw and pat dry before cooking.
Dry white wine adds depth to the sauce, but can be substituted with low-sodium chicken broth if needed.
I've used linguine, spaghetti, and angel hair pasta in the past. All three work well.
Shrimp scampi is best served fresh, but you can prepare the shrimp and seasonings ahead of time for quicker cooking.
Other Shrimp Recipes
Living on the Gulf Coast has many advantages, including access to fresh shrimp. Here are some of my favorite recipes.
This recipe for Shrimp Scampi was one of the first posts when I started PudgeFactor. Through the years, I've made it numerous times with consistently outstanding results.
I thought it was time to update the post with enhanced text, photos, and a video. Enjoy!
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Recipe
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Quick and Easy Shrimp Scampi
Equipment
- Small 10-inch braiser or skillet
Ingredients
- 1 pound Peeled and deveined fresh shrimp (See Note 1)
- 1 ½ teaspoons Essence or other Creole seasoning (See Note 2)
- ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt
- 8 ounces dry linguine (See Note 3)
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 Tablespoon minced fresh garlic
- ½ cup (4 ounces) dry white wine (See Note 4)
- ¼ cup (2 ounces) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon minced fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Toss the shrimp in a medium bowl with the Creole seasoning, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper. Set aside.
- Cook the pasta in salted boiling water for 1 minute less than the al dente stage. Drain well; return to the pan and keep warm. (See Note 5)
- Place the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a small braiser or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp and spread them evenly in the skillet. Cook for 2 minutes, quickly turning. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 30 seconds. Add the white wine and lemon juice to the pan and cook for 3 minutes, stirring often. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter.
- Remove the shrimp from the sauce and keep them warm.
- Add the cooked pasta to the sauce; toss to combine. Return the shrimp. If desired garnish with minced fresh parsley.
- Serve immediately. Yield: 4 servings.
Video
Tips/Notes
- The original recipe called for 1 ½ pounds of fresh head-on. For this recipe, I used headless shrimp that I cleaned and deveined. This ended up being approximately a pound of cleaned shrimp, or 24 large shrimp (20 to 25 in size). This refers to the average number of shrimp per pound.
- For the Creole seasoning, I used Emeril's Essence.
- You can also use spaghetti or angel hair pasta in this recipe.
- You can substitute chicken broth for the wine. However, the sauce will not have the same depth of flavor.
- I cooked the linguine for 9 minutes. It will continue cooking when added to the sauce.
Pete says
How much of each ingredient?
Chula King says
The quantities are listed in the recipe at the end of the post.
Chula