May 27, 2021

Perfect Shrimp Scampi

Shrimp Scampi is a classic Italian dish that relies on fresh, simple ingredients. The balance of flavors in this Perfect Shrimp Scampi recipe is spot on…just the right amount of butter, garlic, spice, and lemon. It’s an extremely easy, totally delicious gluten free recipe that can be on the table in less than 10 minutes once you start cooking. High five to that!

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Perfect Shrimp Scampi Ingredients

Ingredients for Perfect Shrimp Scampi: Shrimp, Wine, Lemon Zest and Juice, Garlic, Parsley, Butter, Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, and Red Pepper Flakes

Ingredients for Perfect Shrimp Scampi: raw shrimp (peeled), white wine/broth, lemon zest and juice, garlic, parsley, butter, olive oil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

Making the Scampi Sauce

Heat olive oil and butter in a pan over medium-high heat.

Then add garlic to the pan and sauté for 1 minute.

Then add wine/broth, lemon zest and juice, and seasoning spices

In a large skillet, melt butter with olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine or broth, salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper and bring to a simmer. Let wine/broth reduce by half, about 2 minutes.

Cooking the Shrimp

Add raw shrimp to the pan and cook until bottom side turns pink, approx 2 mins

using tongs, flip shrimp over and cook for an additional 2 mins or until both sides are pink. Don't over cook!

Shrimp with lemon juice, lemon zest, and parsley added

Add shrimp and sauté until they just turn pink, 2 to 4 minutes depending upon the size shrimp you use. I cooked mine for almost 2 minutes/side and used U-12 shrimp. Then add parsley, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

Perfect Shrimp Scampi

Serve straight from the skillet or over gluten free pasta*, if desired.

Print Recipe

Perfect Shrimp Scampi

Prep Time15

Cook Time7

Total Time22

Course: dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: butter, garlic, gluten free, olive oil, Parsley, red pepper flakes, shrimp, white wine

Servings: 4 people

Author: GFchow @ gfchow.com

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves minced
½ cup dry white wine or broth
¾ teaspoon kosher salt more or less to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes more or less to taste
1 ¾ pounds large or extra-large raw shrimp, peeled I used U-12 size
2 tablespoons or more chopped parsley
1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
Cooked gluten free pasta if desired (See NOTES section below.)

Instructions

In a large skillet, melt butter with olive oil over medium-high heat.
Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine or broth, salt, red pepper flakes and black pepper and bring to a simmer. Let wine/broth reduce by half, about 2 minutes.
Add shrimp and sauté until they just turn pink, 1 to 2 minutes per side depending upon the size shrimp you use. Top with parsley, lemon zest and juice, and serve over pasta*, if desired.

Notes

*Gluten Free pasta doesn’t contain the gluten necessary to have the sauce “cling” to the pasta. But use this little trick to create a sauce that will adhere to gluten free pasta. Combine 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt with 1 cup of water. Heat in the microwave for 3 minutes. Mix thoroughly and add 1/4-1/2 cup to the sauce after adding the wine. Give a good stir. Sauce should thicken slightly. Taste the sauce and add a little more butter and/or olive oil to even out the sauce, if needed.

If serving with Regular, Non-Gluten Free pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water and add 1/4-1/2 cup of the liquid to the pan after adding the wine. This will help the sauce cling to the pasta. Add a little more butter and/or olive oil to the sauce in this version too.

This dish would also be delicious over rice.

There are many Scampi recipes out there. Maybe you’ve tried a lot of them? If so you’ll find this recipe is SO SIMPLE and TOTALLY FABULOUS. It’s the epitome of minimalist Italian cooking.

To add another layer of flavor to this recipe, simmer the shrimp shells in the wine (add a little bit extra wine since some will evaporate as it simmers) for approximately 10 minutes, strain, then discard the shells, and then use the enriched wine in the recipe.

Recipe from the NYTimes Cooking.

If you like this recipe, you may also like these other GFchow recipes. Sautéed Shrimp Cocktail, Grilled Shrimp with Turmeric Citrus Sauce, and Crispy Trout with Lemon and Capers.

GLUTEN FREE DISCLAIMER

The recipes you find here are considered by me to be gluten free. However, it is up to you to make sure the ingredients you use are gluten free. Whenever possible, I will list specific brands of ingredients that I use, but always be sure to check the labels yourself to verify the item is gluten free.