Lemon Garlic Shrimp is light and fresh, with a lemony white wine sauce with shallots and garlic. It’s easy to make, uses just a handful of basic ingredients and is ready in less than 15 minutes!
I’ve been on a shrimp kick recently, and I have no plans of stopping.
Recently I shared with you garlic butter shrimp, a quick and simple shrimp recipe that’s a great go-to.
We also love honey garlic shrimp, which is just 5 ingredients and 10 minutes to make and the sauce is addictively delicious!
Mediterranean shrimp skillet is full of fresh colors and flavors, while easy shrimp creole has a rich tomato sauce.
I also love making spicy roasted shrimp for a quick appetizer or to use for rice bowls, wraps and more.
Today’s recipe for lemon garlic shrimp is so light and fresh and flavorful and perfect for spring and summer.
It’s also so easy to make, uses just a handful of basic ingredients you probably have right now and it’s ready in less than 15 minutes!
Can’t beat that for a hectic weeknight when you need to throw something together. Been there.
The light lemony white wine sauce with shallots and garlic is just divine with those plump shrimp and it all goes so well with some hot, cooked pasta and a side veggie.
Dinner dilemmas solved!
OK, let’s get cooking.
Now, I’ve got some notes, tips and substitutions coming up below on how to make lemon garlic shrimp. Just tryin’ to be helpful.
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Ingredient Notes:
- Shrimp: I used a pound of extra large shrimp, which come 21-30 a pound. You can substitute another size shrimp, but you’ll need to adjust your cooking time.
- Shrimp prep: The shrimp need to be completely thawed (more on that in a minute) as well as peeled and deveined for this recipe. Please plan accordingly. (You can ask your seafood counter to prep these for you if needed. Or buy the peeled and deveined frozen shrimp that are ready to go for you.)
- Shrimp tails: You can leave the tails on the shrimp if you prefer. It adds some extra flavor while cooking, but can be a bit more fussy for eating. Up to you.
- Shallot: I prefer this over a regular onion because of the milder flavor to pair with the shrimp.
- White wine: This adds great flavor but if you don’t have any or don’t want to open a bottle, you could substitute vegetable broth instead.
- Lemon: You need the zest AND the juice for the sauce, so be sure to zest the lemon before you slice it to squeeze the juice. I adore a lemon squeezer for getting all of the juice out.
And like I said, this is super easy to make.
Just sauté the shallot and garlic, add the wine then add the shrimp and season it right in the pan. Finish cooking the shrimp, add the lemon zest and juice and you are done!
Now, I’ve got a few notes and tips for you on the shrimp. I know seafood can be intimidating, but shrimp is actually really easy to work with.
Tips on buying shrimp:
– I buy frozen shrimp, which is actually fresher than “fresh” shrimp in the grocery store case. Wait, what?! Yup. The shrimp they have on display in the seafood case is almost always frozen shrimp that they’ve recently thawed. So buying it still frozen is a better move. Unless you can get it from a boat!
– I love, love getting my shrimp already peeled and deveined – saves so much time. Highly recommend if you can find it that way.
– I prefer the 21-30 size shrimp, but you can use your favorite size. Just adjust the cooking time to ensure they are just cooked through and not overcooked.
– Cooking shrimp with the tail on helps give it more flavor. But I usually remove mine after that so it’s easier to serve and eat, especially for my kids.
And if your shrimp are frozen when you want to cook this, no problem.
How to thaw frozen shrimp:
- You can place frozen shrimp in the refrigerator (in a well sealed container) overnight to thaw.
- You can thaw frozen shrimp quickly by placing them, frozen, in a colander and rinsing them in the sink with cold water for 2-3 minutes, until they are completely defrosted.
Since the first option takes a little more planning and foresight, I’m often in camp option number two. And it works great every time.
OK, let’s get ready to eat!
Serving Ideas:
- Lemon garlic shrimp is great served with pasta to help soak up that delicious sauce. We love orzo as well as spaghetti or another thin noodle.
- You could also pair it with some crusty bread for mopping up the sauce.
- A steamed or sautéed veggie like green beans, asparagus or peas would be a good pairing. Or just a big green salad.
Last thing, what to do with leftovers.
Leftover seafood doesn’t keep or reheat that great, so this is really best served as soon as it’s made.
That said, you can store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days and reheat over medium low heat on the stove until warmed through.
Make sure to keep some sauce to reheat and serve with it. And just be careful not to overcook the shrimp when reheating or they’ll get rubbery.
There you go! A 15-minute shrimp dinner that you’ll be turning to again and again.
Happy cooking and enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
P.S. You might also love this baked bang bang shrimp recipe for a fun appetizer or main meal.
Lemon Garlic Shrimp
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium shallot, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup dry white wine (see notes)
- 1 lb. large shrimp (such as size 21-30), peeled and deveined
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 large lemon, zested and juiced
For serving (optional):
- Chopped fresh parsley, hot cooked pasta
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallot and garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes, until tender.
- Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the shrimp to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook on both sides until cooked through, about 4-5 minutes total.
- Add the lemon zest and juice and stir to combine.
- Serve shrimp immediately, over pasta if desired, with extra sauce drizzled over it.
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