10 Minute Lemon Garlic Butter Shrimp With White Wine
Ready in just 10 minutes and served with rice or pasta, this lemon garlic butter shrimp made with white wine (otherwise known as shrimp scampi) is my go-to dinner party recipe when I need something quick and easy. It tastes so good that everyone thinks it’s more complicated than it is.
If you’re looking for an easy (and impressive) seafood dish to add to your repertoire, look no further than this lemon garlic butter shrimp recipe!
This dish can be cooked in just 10 minutes and only requires a handful of simple ingredients.
So if you’re short on time and want to impress your guests, this shrimp is the perfect solution.
Plus, it’s a tasty recipe that even seafood skeptics will love!
It really is one of my favorite recipes. The only way it could get any better is if it had zero calories…
Ingredients
Here’s your shopping list:
- dairy: 1 stick (or ½ cup) salted or unsalted butter. If you are someone who is sensitive to salt, you may want to decrease the amount of added salt if you are using salted butter. (However, I have never noticed it being too salty.)
- produce: 1 lemon, 3 cloves fresh garlic – 3 teaspoons of jarred pre-minced garlic will work in a pinch.
- wine: ¼ cup white wine
- herbs: 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- seasoning: ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper. I like to use kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper for the best flavor.
- shrimp: 2 pounds of raw shrimp. I prefer to use fresh shrimp rather than frozen, but either will work. Large shrimp (such as 26 to 30 count per pound) work best. I usually buy the ones that are already peeled and deveined to save myself some time. Also, make sure not to get the already cooked shrimp since they won’t work for this recipe.
Substitutions
- For less saturated fat, use ¼ cup olive oil and ¼ cup butter instead of all butter.
- Substitute 2 Tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley instead of the dried herbs.
- You can also use basil, oregano or Italian seasoning instead of the parsley.
- For a bit of a kick, add ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes to the lemon juice and white wine with the rest of the seasoning.
How to make lemon garlic Butter shrimp
This recipe makes 4 half pound servings.
Prep work
If you have frozen shrimp, you’ll need to thaw them before continuing. You can do this by leaving them in the refrigerator over night. Or if you don’t have that much time, put them in a colander and run cold water over them for a few minutes.
Juice the lemon. You should end up with about ¼ cup of fresh lemon juice.
Mince the garlic.
If you bought shrimp with shells on, you’ll need to peel them. (And de-vein them if they didn’t already come that way).
Make the sauce
1. Melt the butter 2. Saute the shrimp 3. Add lemon juice and wine. 4. Stir in seasonings.
Add the butter to a large skillet and melt over medium heat. Don’t turn the heat up too high since you don’t want the butter to brown.
You’ll want to use a pan that’s big enough to hold the shrimp in a single layer (when we get to that point). Otherwise, they won’t be evenly coated with the sauce.
After the butter melts, add the garlic and cook until it is soft, about 2 minutes.
Add the lemon juice, white wine, dried parsley, salt and pepper to the pan and stir.
Let simmer for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. This will combine the flavors and reduce the liquid a bit.
Cook the shrimp
Add shrimp and cook until it turns pink, about 5 minutes.
Cooking shrimp doesn’t take long, so don’t leave it in the pan for too long. Otherwise, it will get tough.
How to serve
Serve immediately over rice. (Cauliflower rice works, too, if that’s what you prefer).
You could also toss it with rotini or angel hair pasta if you prefer. I combine the cooked pasta with the lemon butter sauce and shrimp in the pan after the shrimp is done cooking. Then top it with some grated parmesan cheese.
In either case, you can garnish with a few springs of parsley and lemon wedges.
This recipe can be used as a side dish for a larger meal. Then you can get 8 to 10 servings out of it since each person will get fewer shrimp.
What to serve with lemon garlic shrimp
Other shrimp recipes you might like
Lemon Garlic Butter Shrimp With White Wine
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ¼ cup white wine
- 2 teaspoons parsley
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 pounds shrimp
Equipment
- 1 Large skillet
- measuring cups and spoons
- spoon or spatula
Instructions
- Melt the butter in the skillet over medium heat.
- Saute the garlic in the melted butter until soft, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in the lemon juice, white wine, parsley, salt and pepper.
- Simmer for 3 minutes to reduce the liquid, stirring occasionally.
- Add shrimp and cook until it turns pink, about 5 minutes.
- Serve over rice or toss with pasta.
Notes
- Substitute 2 Tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley instead of the dried herbs. Or use use basil, oregano or Italian seasoning instead of the parsley if you prefer.
- For a bit of a kick, add ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes at the same time as the lemon juice and white wine.
- Cook the shrimp just until it turns pink. They will get tough if left on the heat for too long.
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
Have questions or comments about our lemon garlic butter shrimp recipe? Tell us in the section below.
This post was originally published on October 1, 2015 but was updated with new content on April 12, 2024.