Lemon Garlic Shrimp

Weeknight cooking can be exhausting. There’s so much thinking that needs to happen. Mainly, is there enough time to make this? 🤔But this garlic butter shrimp recipe requires almost no planning—all you need to do is pick up shrimp. Meaning, it’s perfect for dinner TONIGHT. It sounds too good to be true, but it’s not. The whole thing can be yours in 15 minutes or less. And it’s absolutely delicious. Like, mind-bogglingly so.

What kind of shrimp should I buy?

We recommend using medium shrimp for this recipe. You should also buy the shrimp peeled and deveined if you can. It helps ensure that dinner is as quick and easy as possible. This may seem obvious but make sure you’re buying the shrimp raw instead of pre-cooked. Cooking pre-cooked shrimp can lead to a very rubbery result.

How should I prepare it?

This will depend on what’s available in your grocery store. If you have access to fresh shrimp, make that your first choice to save time. Frozen is a great alternative if you can allow time for it to thaw. Frozen shrimp will thaw quickly under cold running water. If you aren’t able to find peeled, deveined shrimp, you’ll need to tackle that step as well. While it will add a few minutes to your dinner prep, this step is super easy. Deveining is best done with a paring knife and a small bowl of water to keep your knife clean. Run the paring knife down the back of the shrimp, making a shallow cut that exposes the vein. Use the paring knife to lift the vein out, rinse, and repeat. Leaving the tail on makes for beautiful presentation and an easy way to grab the shrimp; however, peeling that last bit before cooking means there will be nothing to stop you from shoveling 2-3 shrimp in your mouth at once.

How long do I cook the shrimp?

Shrimp cooks very quickly. It only needs a few minutes. Once it turns pink and opaque, it’s ready to eat. If you cook it for too long, it’ll become rubbery. Don’t second guess yourself on this one–shrimp go from perfectly cooked to over cooked fast.

How hot should the skillet be?

For this recipe, we’re not looking for a char. A large skillet over medium heat is the way to go. If you’re not able to fit the shrimp in a single layer, work in batches.

Do I need to use wine?

If you have a leftover bottle of Chardonnay in your fridge, this is the perfect way to use it up. If you don’t have any around, use water, chicken broth, or seafood stock instead. The main goal here is to get some liquid into the pan. Along with the butter and residual heat from the pan, the added liquid will create a luscious, flavorful sauce.

Is it spicy?

There’s a little kick from the red pepper flakes, but it’s a spice level that most people can handle. If you prefer everything super-mild, just season it with salt and pepper instead.

You can definitely eat these directly out of the pan but they’re also delicious with buttery noodles, simple mashed potatoes, or a big loaf of crusty bread.

On the off chance that you do have leftovers, they will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Have you made this yet? Let us know how it went in the comments below!