Sauteed Shrimp in Garlic Butter Sauce

Quick and easy but deliciously rich and garlicky, this sauteed shrimp recipe will become a favorite for weeknights and entertaining alike! Perfect over mashed potatoes, rice, or pasta, it’s a simple dinner that only takes about 15 minutes to make. One of our favorites!

🦐 What Makes This Recipe So Good

• This sauteed shrimp recipe comes together in no time! Shrimp cook super fast as-is, and the simple garlic butter sauce really takes just a few minutes to whip up. It’s a quick, easy, and delicious one-pan recipe that fits in to even the wildest schedules.
• Garlic butter shrimp is super versatile! Serve them over rice, angel hair pasta, or mashed potatoes. Pair them with fresh veggies or a leafy green salad. If you want to keep things really, really simple, you can enjoy them as-is or stick some toothpicks in them and pass them around as an app.
• One thing I really love about shrimp recipes is they’re easy to scale up or down based on the number of people you’re feeding at any given time. My whole family loves this dish, so sometimes I’ll double it and go a little lighter on the sides. On the other hand, if I just want something easy and high in protein to snack on, I’ll cut the recipe down and make just enough for myself.

👩🏼‍🍳 Chef’s Tips

• If you live near a coast and can get really, truly fresh shrimp, do it. Otherwise, you’re best off buying frozen shrimp. Whether you keep the tails on or not is up to you, but I recommend buying ones that are already peeled and deveined to save you some valuable prep time.
• Frozen shrimp will need to be defrosted before you sauté them. The easiest way to defrost shrimp is simple – just put the bag in the fridge the night before! If you forget, you can submerge them (in their bag) in cold water. Let them chill for 15-20 minutes and after that they should be good to use. Do NOT defrost them in warm or hot water, though. You’ll start the cooking process and can cause bacteria growth.
• Don’t overcook the shrimp! They cook super quickly, so keep a close eye on them. Once they turn white or barely pink, and just start to curl into a “J” shape, remove them from the heat. Leave them on the heat longer than that, you’ll end up with tough and chewy shrimp by the end of the dish.

More Delicious Seafood Recipes

• Seafood Soup
• Instant Pot Clam Chowder
• Teriyaki Sesame Salmon Hibachi
• The Best Lobster Bisque (Ruth’s Chris Copycat)
• Air Fryer Tuna Steak

Recipe By: Cheryl Malik

5 from 2 votes

Sauteed Shrimp in Garlic Butter Sauce

Prep 10 minutes minutes

Cook 10 minutes minutes

Total 20 minutes minutes

Easy but delicious shrimp sauteed in a garlic butter sauce are the perfect 15-minute entree you've been looking for!

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4 servings

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Equipment

• small mixing bowl
• whisk or fork
• Large skillet
• Tongs
• Plate

Ingredients

For the Garlic Butter

• ▢ ½ cup butter softened, not hot
• ▢ ½ tablespoon minced garlic
• ▢ ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon salt

For the Shrimp

• ▢ 2 tablespoons neutral oil avocado oil, extra-virgin olive oil, etc.
• ▢ 1 pound medium or large shrimp peeled, deveined
• ▢ salt to taste
• ▢ freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• ▢ ½ cup dry white wine or chicken broth, see Notes
• ▢ 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley optional

Serving Suggestions (All Optional)

• ▢ prepared angel hair pasta
• ▢ mashed potatoes
• ▢ steamed white rice

Instructions

• Add softened butter, minced garlic, garlic powder, and salt to small bowl. Mix with whisk or fork until ingredients are fully combined, then set bowl aside.
  
• Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. When pan is warm, add 2 tablespoons neutral oil. Continue warming skillet, swirling pan occasionally to coat bottom in oil, until oil is hot and shimmery.
• When oil is hot, place shrimp in skillet. Work quickly and be careful not to overlap shrimp or crowd pan, cooking shrimp in batches if needed.
  
• Sauté shrimp 1 minute undisturbed, then quickly flip shrimp over and sauté shrimp 30 seconds more. When shrimp are cooked through, transfer shrimp to plate and set aside. Note: shrimp are cooked when opaque white (or lightly pink) and slightly curled, forming "J" shape.
• Repeat with any remaining batches of shrimp until all shrimp is cooked through and transferred to plate.
• Reduce heat under skillet to medium-low. Pour white wine into skillet and deglaze pan, using spatula to scrape up any browned bits that may be stuck to bottom of skillet. Simmer wine 4 to 5 minutes or until liquid is reduced by 50%.
• Reduced heat under skillet to low. Add prepared garlic butter and chopped parsley (optional) to skillet. Gently stir ingredients until butter is melted and incorporated into wine.
• Remove skillet from heat. Return sauteed shrimp to skillet and spoon garlic butter sauce over shrimp to cover completely. Divide shrimp into preferred portions, plate with sides of choice, and serve immediately with additional garlic butter sauce if desired.

• Shrimp: This recipe works for any size or number of shrimp. For very small or very large shrimp, you may need to adjust the cook time slightly. If using frozen shrimp, defrost shrimp completely before cooking.
• White Wine: I recommend sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio in recipes like this. For a wine-free version, replace the wine with an equal amount of chicken broth. Do not substitute juice.
• Make it Whole30/Paleo: Replace the butter with ghee and the wine with chicken broth.

Click for Nutrition Info

Approximate Information for One Serving

Serving Size: 1servingCalories: 243calProtein: 23gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 213mgSodium: 664mgPotassium: 323mgTotal Carbs: 1gFiber: 0.1gSugar: 0.2gNet Carbs: 1gVitamin A: 439IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 80mgIron: 1mg

Nutrition Disclaimers

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

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