Looking for an easy seafood dish? This simple shrimp recipe is a keeper. Cooking shrimp has never been easier or more delicious than with this lemon garlic butter shrimp skillet. Succulent shrimp are sautéed in a rich and zesty lemon garlic butter sauce. And, when we say these pan seared lemon garlic shrimp cook up FAST, it's no joke. Keep an eye on them!
Serve this easy shrimp recipe with vegetables, rice or pasta, for an easy, healthy weeknight meal. Don't forget to make our easy cheesy garlic rolls or copycat Lion House rolls so you can soak up every last drop of that mouth-watering lemon garlic butter sauce.
❤️ WHY YOU'LL LOVE THIS SHRIMP RECIPE
✔️ From start to finish these take 20 minutes to cook.
✔️ 32 grams of protein per serving (4 servings total).
✔️ Easy cleanup! No dirtying lots of dishes.
✔️ Fresh mild taste for those who love lemon.
LEMON GARLIC BUTTER SHRIMP INGREDIENTS
You may have all of the ingredients for lemon garlic butter shrimp in your refrigerator or pantry and not need to make a trip to the grocery store. See recipe card below for ingredient amounts.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter.
- Minced garlic: You can mince it yourself or use minced garlic in the jar.
- Shrimp: Fresh is best but you can use frozen raw deveined shrimp with stems. Just thaw completely and pat dry.
- Lemon: Fresh lemon juice and lemon zest are a must for this dish.
- Salt & pepper: Fresh-ground black pepper and kosher salt to taste. You can also add red pepper flakes if you like a little heat.
- Parsley: We use chopped fresh parsley, but dried parsley is ok in a pinch.
- Lemon zest
- Water
Here are 50 sweet lemon recipes to help you keep things zesty.
INSTRUCTIONS
If you'd like to print this recipe, scroll down to the recipe card where you can print the recipe or have it scaled to double or triple. You'll also find nutrition information.
PREP: Mince garlic and parsley. Zest the lemon, squeeze it and measure your salt, pepper and butter.
🔴 TIP: When zesting a lemon, only remove the yellow rind. Removing the white pith will contribute a bitter flavor.
COOK: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and garlic for 1 minute. Add shrimp, salt, pepper, parsley, lemon zest. Cook 2 minutes on each side until just beginning to turn pink. Add 2 tablespoons of butter, lemon juice and water. Stir frequently until butter is melted and shrimp are fully cooked. These shrimp will cook up fast so keep an eye on them. Remove from heat.
GARNISH & SERVE: Serve with fresh parsley and lemon wedges.
TIPS FOR THE BEST GARLIC BUTTER SHRIMP
Follow these tips to make the best shrimp in a skillet.
✔️ Prep your ingredients before cooking. Shrimp cook very quickly so get all your ingredients prepped before you begin cooking.
✔️ Don't skimp on the lemon zest. Lemon zest (just the yellow peel, not the white part) is an important part of the recipe. If you have access to a lemon, definitely don't omit the zest!
✔️ Watch the shrimp closely. Shrimp cook quickly so don't walk away from the skillet. Shrimp are done when they're pink and curled. Overcooking shrimp can make them tough.
STORAGE TIPS
Refrigerate: Store shrimp in an air-tight container for 3-4 days.
Freeze: Freeze shrimp in airtight containers, heavy-duty freezer bags, or wrapped tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil for 10-12 months. We do not recommend refreezing cooked shrimp that was previously frozen raw.
Defrosting: Thaw cooked shrimp in the refrigerator overnight.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH SHRIMP
We recommend serving a couple vegetables and a starch with your shrimp. Consider a crusty Garlic Bread or Garlic Knots, Easy cheesy garlic rolls or noodles or Instant Pot Jasmine Rice.
MORE LEMON GARLIC RECIPES
Love garlic butter?? Try these other delicious recipes:
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT SHRIMP
If you want to marinate your shrimp in lemon before cooking, don't allow them to sit for more than 15 minutes or the acid will start to cook the shrimp and make them mushy.
Cooking shrimp in a skillet or pan is one of the easiest ways to do it. Once your butter has melted and the garlic has softened in the pan, simply add your shrimp and they will cook in 5-10 minutes (depending on size and number of shrimp you cook at once).
Similar to chicken, shrimp can take on the flavor of almost any seasoning you throw at it. Our lemon garlic butter sauce is an easy and delicious classic seasoning for sauteed shrimp.
A perfectly cooked shrimp has an opaque pink color with a sheen and is firm enough to curl into a nice C shape.
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter - divided
- 6 cloves garlic - minced
- 2 lbs uncooked shrimp - peeled, deveined
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice - fresh squeezed
- ½ tspn salt
- ½ tspn pepper
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley - chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoon water
Instructions
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add 2 tablespoons of butter and garlic for 1 minute.
Add shrimp, salt, pepper, parsley, lemon zest. Cook 2 minutes on each side until just beginning to turn pink.
Add 2 tablespoons of butter, lemon juice and water. Stir frequently until butter is melted and shrimp are fully cooked. Remove from heat.
Serve with fresh parsley and lemon wedges.
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