Look at that lemony goodness! 🍋 Idea for a spring/summer situation when you want something quick and tasty! Seafood and summer go hand in hand, don’t they? But also, I’ll sometimes bust out fresh lemon juice, a few capers, and shrimp and make this in the winter on a gloomy day when I’m craving sunshine and warm weather and all of a sudden, I’m transported to Positano with these flavors. But I digress… This is for my fellow last minute dinner comrades who like me, sometimes end up scrambling on weeknights looking for a quick meal to get on the table with just a wittle bit of work but lots of flavor and a hint of spice, from-scratch, quick-cooking, and semi-healthy-ish meal. There are way too many reasons to list why a simple recipe with simple ingredients is a go to on weeknights, but still, I’ll share a few:
GARLICBUTTERLEMONY ZINGShrimp scampi-ish situation but elevated with capers
Now all of that goodness served over a pile of steaming hot white or brown rice, or maybe you’re more of a pasta kinda guy/gal and want a little fork twirling action with a little linguine or angel hair pasta. Maybe you’re the kind of person who prefers a big healthful bowl of zucchini noodles, cauliflower rice, or protein-packed quinoa. You might as well grab a pound of shrimp on your way home today. You are so making this!
Ingredients for Shrimp in Lemon Butter Sauce
Olive Oil: Use a good extra virgin olive oil here as the ingredient list is quite small!Deveined Shrimp: You’ll want deveined shrimp of this recipe. I like to peel most of the peel off, keeping the tail in tact for a prettier presentation. Feel free to ditch the tail – my husband always wishes I would! I prefer to use fresh shrimp – we get some great straight from the Gulf of Mexico. But you could also use frozen shrimp – thawing is essential though. Pat the shrimp dry and get out as much water as possible! Otherwise, the addition water will dilute the sauce.Red Pepper Flakes: Adds just the right amount of kick to the lemon garlic butter sauce.Fresh Garlic Cloves: Adds that garlicky goodness you expect from a garlic butter shrimp recipe.Fresh Lemon Juice: I use just the juice in this recipe, but if you’d like to amp up the lemon flavor, I highly suggest zesting the lemon before you juice it. Save the lemon zest and sprinkle it on the shrimp right before serving for an extra lemon scent!Caper Brine: Adds a punch of sodium and much needed acid to the dish alongside the lemon juice.Fresh Parsley:fresh herbs are my favorite way to add a bit of color and fresh flavor to any dish.Butter: helps create the garlic lemon butter pan sauce. Adding the butter in towards the end helps thicken the sauce in the skillet.Kosher Salt and Black Pepper: Pretty standard ingredients for most recipes!
Making Lemon Garlic Shrimp Recipe
If you like this recipe, try:
Garlicky Orzo Shrimp Scampi with AsparagusCreamy Lemon Garlic Pasta (Pasta al Limone)Soul-Warming Lemon Garlic Braised ChickenOne Skillet Chicken in Lemon Garlic Cream SauceEasy Lemon Rosemary Chicken
Original recipe published July 2016, updated April 2024.SaveSave
It’s best to use fresh garlic for this recipe. I’m a big fan of minced garlic in a jar for most, but fresh does definitely taste better in this recipe!Caper brine is the liquid stuff capers come packed in. The caper brine addition was a little tip I picked up from All Recipes.
