Garlic butter shrimp is a quick and easy-to-make shrimp recipe with an amazing flavor combination of garlic, butter, and a hint of lemon (lime). This garlic prawn is ready in less than 25 minutes.
Don't miss to check out the best shrimp scampi pasta and lemon butter garlic chicken recipe.
About the recipe
Shrimp in garlic butter can be served as an appetizer, or side dish, or even used as a sauce to toss with pasta for a complete meal. In short, this can be served over anything and everything. A crowd-pleaser lunch or dinner recipe for a busy weeknight or family weekend.
Butter garlic shrimp is a great dish for football parties or game nights, potlucks and picnics, or Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas holiday dinner parties for all seafood lovers.
How do you make garlic butter from scratch?
In a pan on medium flame, melt the butter. Add garlic cloves and saute till it turns light golden and becomes fragrant. Next, add lime juice and its zest, cayenne powder, some fresh herbs like parsley, and stock (vegetable or meat of your choice) and simmer to let it reduce to half. You can now toss your favorite seafood, meat, pasta or use it in any salad or dip for slices of bread and flatbread.
How to cook shrimp perfectly?
After the butter or oil you have added is melted and heated, add the shrimp or prawns and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, flipping once midway. Depending on the size of the pan and the amount of shrimp you add to the recipe, this may take 5 to 6 minutes. This is on medium-high flame.
Shrimp cooks very quickly. So once you add shrimp to the pan, see that you don't take your eyes off it. Perfectly cooked shrimp will be pink in color, C-shaped, and tail red; the flesh is opaque. If the shrimp is bright white in color, forming a round shape means you have overcooked and the shrimp, in this case, will be rubbery. Undercooked shrimp will be straight in shape.
What is the best way to cook garlic without burning?
The highlight of this dish, garlic butter prawns, or my popular broccoli garlic pasta, is the flavor that comes out of garlic. It is very important that this step is done right. Since the garlic is chopped finely or minced, it can burn easily. The best tip is to cook slowly, that is, on medium to medium-low flame, be patient, and don't take off your eyes.
Just when it turns light golden in color, you turn off the heat always to prevent it from cooking further or immediately add the next ingredient that is called in the recipe. Heavy-bottomed pans or cast iron pans are the best. Depending on the pan size and the number of garlic cloves you add, the cooking time for garlic to turn light golden to a golden brown is approx 2 to 5 minutes.
Ingredients
Butter: For the rich flavor. Both salted and unsalted butter works well. If using unsalted butter, reduce the amount of salt you will be using in the recipe.
Seasoning: Pepper powder and cayenne are used for flavor and to spice up the dish. Adjust to your liking.
Shrimp: Any deveined shrimp of desired size, fresh or frozen, works well for this recipe.
Garlic: The highlight of the dish is the flavor and aroma that the garlic adds to the sauce. Fresh garlic gives the best results.
Lemon juice: a hint of lemon juice add freshness and complements the other ingredients very well.
Herbs: For flavor.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Step-by-step instructions
Cook shrimp
- In a cast iron skillet on medium heat, melt butter. Add salt and black pepper powder.
- Add the shrimp and cook on each side for about 1 or 2 minutes or until it curls up and turns pink. Set aside on a plate.
Making of garlic butter sauce
- In the same skillet on medium flame, melt butter.
- Then add chopped garlic, and saute until garlic turns light brown and fragrant. This should take 2 to 5 minutes in medium or medium-low flame.
- Next, add salt, cayenne, zest of lime, lime juice, parsley, and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and let it reduce to half.
- Add the cooked shrimp and mix until well coated in the garlic butter sauce.
- Serve with lime wedges and finely chopped parsley.
Storage suggestions
Leftovers: garlic butter shrimp tastes the best when served fresh. If there are leftovers, you can store them for 2 to 3 days in an airtight conatiner.
Freezer: Once the cooked shrimp cools completely, place it in freezer bags for three months. When ready to serve, take them directly from the freezer and add it to the pan for heating.
Serving suggestions
Today I have served garlic butter shrimp with avocado flatbread. You can serve garlic butter shrimp or garlic prawns with
- Crostini or dinner rolls to suck up that sauce.
- Nice homemade crusty French baguette.
- Garlic butter shrimp and rice is another popularly preferred combo for a complete meal. You can serve it with lemon rice Indian style or lime rice chipotle style, or with cauliflower rice for a healthy low-carb meal.
- Use it as a sauce to toss linguine or spaghetti to make garlic butter shrimp pasta.
- Serve it with steamed, sauteed, or grilled vegetables like broccoli.
- Serve it as a side with broccoli garlic pasta, mashed potatoes, risotto, zucchini noodles, or our healthy quinoa salad.
Recipe FAQs
To make garlic sauce for shrimp, you will need freshly chopped garlic, butter, herbs, seasoning, lemon juice, and vegetable stock.
Definitely yes. Shrimp or prawns are a good source of protein, vitamins, and minerals. The calories and fat in seafood are also less than in meat like chicken, pork, lamb, and beef.
A lot of people ask me this question every time I visit India. What we call prawns in India is called shrimp in the United States. The one from freshwater is called prawns. The shrimp in the United States is meatier and sweet and also bigger than the prawns we get or what I eat in my hometown in India.
You can use this on top of steak or any other meat, toss it with pasta, or serve it with flatbreads like avocado flatbread or use it in stir fry vegetables. Some of my other favorite recipes with garlic butter are Mushroom in garlic cream sauce, Mushroom in garlic butter, Roasted acorn squash in garlic cream sauce
Paneer in butter garlic cream sauce
Remove the shrimp from the package. Place it in a bowl of cold water for about 15 minutes. Drain them and use them in the recipe.
I have not tried using one. But yes, you can use it, but skip the first step and just toss it with the garlic butter sauce at the end and cook for 1 minute until it is warmed through.
This dish tastes the best when prepared and served fresh, and shrimp loses its texture when reheated. You can make the garlic sauce and store it in advance. Cook the shrimp just before serving and toss it with sauce.
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Recipe card
Easy Garlic Butter Shrimp Recipe | Garlic Prawns
Equipment
- Cast-iron pan
Ingredients
- 12 oz Shrimp or Prawns, peeled, deveined, tail on
- 2 tablespoon Butter
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper powder (optional)
Garlic butter Sauce
- 8 to 10 cloves Garlic finely chopped
- 4 tablespoon Butter
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne powder or Red chile powder
- 1 Lime juice or lemon
- Zest of 1 lime or lemon
- 2 tablespoon Parsley or Cilantro/Coriander leaves, finely chopped
- ¼ cup Chicken stock or any stock of your choice, check tips
Instructions
Cook shrimp
- In a cast iron skillet on medium heat, melt butter. Add salt and black pepper powder.2 tablespoon Butter, ¼ teaspoon Salt, ¼ teaspoon Black pepper powder
- Add the shrimp and cook on each side for about 1 or 2 minutes or until it curls up and turns pink. Set aside on a plate.12 oz Shrimp
Making of garlic butter sauce
- In the same skillet on medium flame, melt butter.4 tablespoon Butter
- Then add chopped garlic, and saute until garlic turns light brown and fragrant. This should take 2 to 5 minutes in medium or medium-low flame.8 to 10 cloves Garlic
- Next, add salt, cayenne, zest of lime, lime juice, parsley, and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and let it reduce to half.¼ teaspoon Salt, ¼ teaspoon Cayenne powder, 1 Lime juice, Zest of 1 lime or lemon, 2 tablespoon Parsley, ¼ cup Chicken stock
- Add the cooked shrimp and mix until well coated in the garlic butter sauce.
Notes
- Feel free to substitute cayenne with chili powder.
- You can use a chicken bouillon with ¼ cup of water instead of chicken stock.
What to serve with garlic butter shrimp?
Today I have served garlic butter shrimp with avocado flatbread. You can serve garlic butter shrimp or garlic prawns with-
- Crostini or dinner rolls to suck up that sauce.
- Nice homemade crusty French baguette.
- Garlic butter shrimp and rice is another popularly preferred combo for a complete meal. You can serve it with lemon rice Indian style or lime rice chipotle style, or with cauliflower rice for a healthy low-carb meal.
- Use it as a sauce to toss linguine or spaghetti to make garlic butter shrimp pasta.
- Serve it with steamed, sauteed, or grilled vegetables like broccoli.
- Serve it as a side with broccoli garlic pasta, mashed potatoes, risotto, zucchini noodles, or our healthy quinoa salad.
Storage suggestions
Leftovers: garlic butter shrimp tastes the best when served fresh. If there are leftovers, you can store them for 2 to 3 days in an airtight conatiner. Freezer: Once the cooked shrimp cools completely, place it in freezer bags for three months. When ready to serve, take them directly from the freezer and add it to the pan for heating.Nutrition
Note: We originally posted this recipe in Sept 2020. It has now been modified in Aug 2023 with Expert Chef Tips, FAQs, Storage Instructions, etc.
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