Shrimp scampi is an ideal weeknight recipe: It comes together quickly with just a handful of ingredients, many of which you might already have in the house. The key here is, unsurprisingly, good shrimp. Unless you have access to a fishmonger, frozen wild-caught or frozen sustainably farmed shrimp are likely to be fresher than the frozen-then-thawed shrimp sitting on ice at your local supermarket.
We urge you: Don’t skip the marinade step—it really amps up the flavor and sets this recipe apart. Use the time to make a big green salad or enjoy a glass of wine that you can also use in the recipe (we like a Pinot Grigio or Fiano here). Before you add the shrimp to the pan, be sure everything else for your meal is set up. The dish cooks in less than 10 minutes and shrimp can easily overcook and turn rubbery. Serve this with bread for dipping so none of the lemony garlic-butter sauce goes to waste. Plates are optional.
If you’re looking for a shrimp scampi recipe with pasta, this one keeps it classic but adds fettuccine (linguine works too) and a toasted panko topping for crunch, while this one uses spaghetti and an extra punch of heat from fresh jalapeño and canned roasted green chiles.
Editor’s note: This recipe was originally published in February 2017. The introduction has since been updated.
