Our classic shrimp scampi recipe has all of our favorite things: White wine, butter, olive oil, a LOT of garlic, and shrimp. if you’re a little vague on the exact definition of shrimp scampi, guess what? You’re not alone and you’re not “wrong.” ‘Shrimp scampi’ means different things to different people, but it always involves butter, garlic and shrimp, sautéd to delicious perfection. For many of us, this garlicky, rich dish is a nostalgic Italian restaurant classic that’s always served over pasta.
Which brings us to another reason to love shrimp scampi—it’s versatile. Serve it straight up, over rice, tossed with pasta, or as a luxurious appetizer, however you eat it, it’ll be delicious. For more easy, fast shrimp recipes, check out our simple Steamed Shrimp, Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry, Shrimp Scampi En Papillote or our easy Greek shrimp.
Classic Shrimp Scampi Ingredients
Large or extra-large shrimp. Hot tip: You can ask the fishmonger to peel and devein the shrimp for you (if they don’t seem super stressed out and busy).
Butter
Olive oil
Garlic. A lot of it—six cloves of fresh garlic.
Dry white wine. We like to use italian white wines like vermentino or pinot grigio that would also be nice to drink with the finished dish. If you don’t want to use wine in your scampi, that’s OK! Just use broth instead.
Red pepper flakes
Fresh parsley
Fresh lemon juice
How to Make Shrimp Scampi
Warm the oil and butter in a big skillet. Add all that garlic and breathe in.
Pour in the wine or broth, and crank the heat. Let the whole fragrant thing simmer for a few minutes, then add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.
Add those big, beautiful shrimp! You don’t want to overcook shrimp, so watch for the shrimp to go from gray to bright pink. They cook fast — check for doneness around the 3-minute mark. Tongs are our favorite tool for cooking shrimp and moving them gently around in the pan so they stay tender.
Shrimp scampi time! As soon as the shrimp are cooked, get those beauties off the heat. Move the pan, kill the heat, etc.
Serve! If you want to serve the scampi just as-is with some bread for soaking up the scampi sauce, go for it.
How To Serve Shrimp Scampi + Tips
Prefer your shrimp scampi with no wine? No problem! Just substitute chicken stock for the white wine.
To serve shrimp scampi over pasta: If you want to serve your shrimp scampi with pasta and want enough sauce to coat the noodles, add a quarter cup of pasta cooking water to the sautéed garlicky buttery shrimp mixture to make more of a pasta sauce.
Other ways to serve scampi: For some people, it’s just not shrimp scampi if it’s not served over angel hair pasta and we love to serve it over pasta. But these garlic-buttery shrimp can also be served as-is, alongside some crusty bread for dipping. It would also be delicious served over white rice, or even lemon rice.
How to shop for the best shrimp: Shrimp can be hard to buy — if you’re worried about fishing practices and human rights in the fish industry, check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch site, which always has good, up-to-date information about finding the best shrimp.
Why is it called ‘scampi’? “Scampi” is the Italian word for langoustine, a European crustacean that’s similar to shrimp. In Italy, a quick sauté in butter, olive oil and garlic (and sometimes white wine) is the traditional way to serve langoustines. Does this mean that “shrimp scampi” basically means “shrimp shrimp”? We like to think so. But in all seriousness, a more accurate interpretation would be to think of the name “shrimp scampi” as meaning that you cook American shrimp in the same style as scampi (langoustines) would traditionally be cooked in Italy.
More Easy Shrimp Dinner Ideas
Authentic, Classic & Possibly The Best
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