This Garlic Butter Shrimp is the easiest 15-minute dinner! It’s made with just a few ingredients and the end result is perfectly cooked plump shrimp in the most divine, fragrant buttery sauce. Enjoy over rice or pasta to soak it up!
A slice of homemade garlic bread on the side would also be a great choice.
Easy Lemon Garlic Butter Shrimp
This garlic butter shrimp is such a quick and easy weeknight dinner. With just a few ingredients, this recipe is ready and on the table in under 15 minutes!
And, even better – the shrimp with the pan sauce alone is gluten-free, low carb, and keto
friendly. If that’s not a concern, we highly recommend serving it with cooked white rice to soak up some of that delicious pan sauce. It’s also good over pasta or on rolls, sort of like a lobster roll.
Ingredients Needed
This lemon garlic shrimp is made with just a few ingredients – butter, shrimp, garlic, lemon juice, and a few seasonings.
(Scroll to the bottom for our easy printable recipe with the complete directions.)
- Shrimp – Medium shrimp, peeled and deveined before cooking.
- Unsalted butter – For sautéing the shrimp. We prefer unsalted butter to control the overall saltiness of the dish.
- Garlic – Being one of the main ingredients, we use 5 cloves of garlic.
- Lemon juice – Freshly squeezed is a must for this sauce.
- Seasonings – Paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper are the only things needed to season this easy buttered shrimp.
- Fresh parsley – For a pop of color and flavor as the garnish.
- White rice – For serving, to soak up the wonderful pan sauce.
Fresh vs Frozen Shrimp
Both fresh and frozen shrimp can be used but for most of us, it’s easiest to find frozen shrimp. If you choose to buy fresh shrimp, make sure you choose ones that don’t have any sort of smell to them and the shells are not soft or sticky.
In most cases, frozen shrimp is actually the best option as it’s flash-frozen immediately after being caught. When using frozen shrimp, allow it to thaw completely then dry it with a paper towel before making your lemon butter shrimp.
How to Make Garlic Butter Shrimp
Making this garlic buttered shrimp is beyond easy. In fact, this may be one of the easiest shrimp recipes out there.
(Scroll to the bottom for our easy printable recipe with the complete directions.)
- Cook the shrimp. Stir the paprika and red pepper flakes into melted butter. Add the shrimp and cook until pink and opaque.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Stir in the garlic until fragrant and a bit softened. Add the remaining ingredients.
- Serve. Remove from heat and serve immediately.
Tips & Variations
Make sure the shrimp is cooked perfectly and make it your own with these tips.
- Switch up the seasonings. I love the warmth given by the paprika and red pepper flakes. However, you can swap those out for any seasonings of choice. Italian seasoning is a good option.
- Use fresh garlic. Fresh garlic is essential. The pre-minced garlic in containers will not give the garlic flavor you want and need in this recipe.
- Don’t overcook the shrimp. As soon as the shrimp are pink and opaque, you can add the remaining ingredients. They should be removed from the heat as soon as they’re cooked through, otherwise they can get a rubbery texture.
What To Serve with Garlic Butter Shrimp
As I mentioned, I highly recommend serving this lemon garlic butter shrimp over some white rice. If you want to stick low-carb, cauliflower rice is a great alternative and quinoa would work too.
Garlic butter shrimp is also great over pasta (it takes garlic butter pasta to a whole new level!) or on rolls, like a lobster roll.
I like to add a bright side salad or some broasted broccoli or roasted asparagus to pull it all together as a meal.
How to Store & Reheat Leftovers
Shrimp is always best when enjoyed fresh so I don’t necessarily recommend having leftovers. However, if you do, leftover buttered shrimp will last for 3 days in the fridge. Reheat quickly on the stovetop for best results.
More Shrimp Recipes:
- Shrimp Alfredo
- Honey Walnut Shrimp
- Shrimp Wedge Salad
- Shrimp Po Boy
- Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp
- Shrimp Boil Foil Packets
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Garlic Butter Shrimp
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 pound medium shrimp , peeled and deveined, thawed if frozen and patted dry
- 5 cloves garlic , minced
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 cranks freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- cooked white rice , for serving
Instructions
- In a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the paprika and red pepper flakes.
- Add in the shrimp; cook until pink and opaque, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic; sauté until fragrant and a bit softened, about 30-45 seconds.
- Stir in the lemon juice, salt, pepper, and parsley.
- Remove from the heat.
- Serve right away over cooked white rice with some spoonfuls of the pan sauce and enjoy.
