Quick and easy weeknight GARLIC BUTTER SHRIMP dish loaded with flavors from fresh herbs, paprika, garlic, lemon, and Creole Seasoning. Serve this over pasta, rice, or crusty bread. Juicy, buttery, garlicky, and lemony main dish all ready in just 15 minutes from start to finish!
Happy Monday, y’all! Ok, let me kickstart this week with one of our go-to main dishes year-round. This Garlic Butter Shrimp recipe can be made any day of the week, especially on a busy and crazy day.
All you need is just 15 minutes of your time, frozen or fresh shrimp, and just a handful of pantry staple ingredients to make an impression at the dinner table. They’re packed with tons of flavors and perfect as is or over pasta or rice.
Let’s dig in!
Cooking Shrimp
I don’t know what I would do without shrimp. They make those “What’s for dinner?” question a little less annoying. They are, in fact, a lifesaver for busy moms like me who also needs to deal with picky eaters.
Cooking shrimp is actually easy, yet a little bit tricky coz there is just a less of a margin of error when cooking them. Once you overcook them, they become rubbery and unpleasant to eat. But I’ll be sharing with you today some key notes to remember when dealing with this popular seafood.
- I usually have some bags of frozen shrimp in my freezer for quick meals. Make sure that they’re already peeled and deveined. (Although I prefer leaving those tails on for aesthetic purposes.)
- Most fresh shrimp you see at seafood counters are frozen and thawed. There’s nothing wrong with buying them, but you need to cook them within the day and not to re-freeze them.
- Make sure all of your shrimp are of the same sizes – no mix jumbo or medium shrimp.
- Searing or sautéing shrimp on medium heat gives the best result – juicy, tender, without being chewy.
- Shrimps do cook faster, even the larger ones. You’ll know when they’re done when they turn opaque with a pearly pink and orangey on the outside with bright red tails.
- Make sure that the shrimp are evenly spread out in the pan in one layer, so all of them are exposed to the same heat.
- Remove them from the heat immediately.
Garlic Butter Shrimp Ingredients
This is we love this lemon garlic butter shrimp – it uses just a handful of pantry staple ingredients. All you need…
- shrimp
- Creole seasoning (see my Homemade HERE) or go with this Italian Seasoning or any of your preferred seasonings.
- unsalted butter
- minced garlic
- paprika
- fresh thyme, oregano, and parsley
- lemon juice
- chicken stock
How to Make Garlic Butter Sauce for Shrimp
The sauce in this sauteed shrimp recipe takes this dish up a notch. It starts off with sauteed garlic, then fortified with paprika, thyme, oregano, lemon juice, and chicken stock. It looks and sounds simple, but its medley of flavors is comparable to those you order at restaurants.
Want more sauce to coat every bit of your pasta? Just double the ingredients above.
Storing and Reheating Instructions
The best way to store any leftover garlic butter shrimp is to keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days. And when you’re ready to serve them again, just reheat them in the microwave for 1-2 minutes!
What to Serve with Garlic Butter Shrimp?
This easy garlic shrimp recipe can be served as a main dish with angel hair pasta (zoodles for those health-conscious) or with warm rice. It even goes well with bread like this Homemade Garlic Bread or these Homemade Breadsticks to sop up every last bit of the sauce!
Can’t get enough of tacos? You can top these shrimp on tacos or with your favorite salads, too.
Easy Shrimp Recipes
Love recipes like this? You can also check these out.
How To Make Garlic Butter Shrimp
Lightly season shrimp with salt and Creole seasoning. Heat butter over medium heat in a medium skillet. Add the shrimp and sauté for about 3 -5 minutes each shrimp per side. Throw in minced garlic, stir for about a minute or until fragrant. Then add paprika, thyme, oregano, lemon juice, and chicken stock. Bring it to a boil then simmer for about 2-3 minutes. Add parsley and adjust for salt and pepper. Serve over pasta, rice, or vegetables.
Watch How To Make It
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This blog post was first published in September 2016 and has been updated with new photos, additional write up and a video.
Garlic Butter Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 pound (453.59g) large shrimp , peeled and deveined
- 1 teaspoon (4g) Creole seasoning
- 4 tablespoons (56g) unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon (8g) minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon (1g) paprika
- 1 teaspoon (0.80g) fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon (0.80g) fresh oregano
- Juice of ½ lemon or more to taste
- ½ cup (120ml) chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons (8g) chopped parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste.
Instructions
- Lightly season shrimp with salt and Creole seasoning.
- Heat butter over medium heat in a medium skillet. Add the shrimp and sauté for about 3 -5 minutes each shrimp per side.
- Throw in minced garlic, stir for about a minute or until fragrant.
- Then add paprika, thyme, oregano, lemon juice, and chicken stock.
- Bring it to a boil then simmer for about 2-3 minutes.
- Add parsley and adjust for salt and pepper. Serve over pasta, rice, or vegetables.
Tips & Notes:
- If you don't have Creole seasoning, you can use Italian seasoning (you can check my homemade version HERE) or any of your preferred seasoning. Or simply go with salt.
- If using cooked shrimp for this recipe, try adding it at the last minute or two of cooking.
- I used frozen and deveined shrimps for this recipe. But if you can get those fresh-off-the-seas ones, then you're pretty lucky.
- Defrost first when using frozen shrimps.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information:
Cletus Fotibu says
Looks delicious
Jack B. says
Imma, I can’t tell you how many of your wonderful recipes I have made. You are my go to source for anything seafood or Creole. I have made this recipe numerous times and it always comes out wonderfully! This is what we are having tonight. Thank you!!!!
imma africanbites says
Yaaay! This just made my night. I’m glad you like it and thank you for trying out my recipes.
Allison Bungard says
My whole family loved this recipe and said they wanted to eat it again. We ate it on brown rice. I ended up using 20 ounces of shrimp because I needed to use the whole package, but there was plenty of sauce. Super flavorful, super easy, super quick! Thanks for posting.
Amina says
Hi Bungard,
Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience. Stay tuned for more amazing recipes.
Patti Burd says
This is so good! I only cooked for 2 people so I cut the recipe in half. I thickened the sauce with corn starch and water and it gave it a nice creamy texture to put on spaghetti noodles. Definitely will make again!
Amina says
Hi Burd,
Seems good you adjust as per your need. Sure you can try some other recipes as well. I am sure you would fall in love with them as well. Thank you!
Stacia says
Pretty good
Norma says
We both really loved this recipe. I went a little shy on the creole seasoning (I always keep yours on hand now) as we tend to like our shrimp not too spicy and it was perfect. Served over some great noodles which paired perfectly with that yummy butter. Great recipe!