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I’ve been experimenting with shrimp a little more lately. Why? It’s super fast and easy to cook, and you can add it to so many different things! So it’s a great à la carte protein that you can cook on the side and then add to any recipe. This is super helpful for families that need to feed both vegetarians and omnivores. This Garlic Butter Shrimp is super tasty, takes only minutes to make, can be paired with a variety of different flavored dishes, and tastes similar to a classic shrimp scampi. It’s one of my favorites!
“This was REALLY good on top of the “lighter spinach alfredo” recipe. The creamy sauce and bright lemon were amazing.”
Meredith
Budget-Saving Tips
Shrimp is not usually thought of as a budget item. But there are ways that you can make it a little more affordable. And you may still only be able to splurge on something like this once per year, depending on your budget, but I want to make sure you know how to cook it when you do. 😊 So here are some tips for making shrimp work on a budget:
- Compare prices of peeled and shell-on shrimp. Sometimes, you pay more for shrimp that is already peeled, but it only takes minutes to remove the shells by hand.
- Purchasing frozen shrimp is usually less expensive than fresh, and you can keep it on hand without worries about it going bad, so head to your freezer section when shopping for shrimp. And as always, keep an eye out for sales!
- Buy the right size shrimp for the recipe. Because smaller shrimp have more pieces per pound, it often feels like you’re getting more even when you’re using less. Reserve jumbo shrimp for appetizers or dishes where you’ll be eating one piece at a time. Use smaller shrimp for salads, stir-fries, pasta, and other recipes where the shrimp will be mixed in with other ingredients.
- Pair your shrimp with less expensive ingredients, like pasta, rice, or vegetables, to keep the overall cost of the recipe down.
Garlic Butter Shrimp
Servings 2 ¼ lb. shrimp eachIngredients
- ½ lb. frozen shrimp (or fresh, $3.35*)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.08)
- 1 lemon ($0.64**)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.20)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.22)
- ⅛ tsp salt ($0.01)
- ⅛ tsp black pepper (freshly cracked, $0.01)
- 1 tsp fresh parsley (chopped, (optional) $0.05)
Instructions
- If your shrimp is frozen, place it in a colander and run cool water over the shrimp for a couple of minutes, or until thawed. If your shrimp is shell-on or tail-on, remove the shell and tail (if desired). Pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel.
- Squeeze two tablespoons of juice from the lemon. Mince the garlic.
- Add the butter and olive oil to a large skillet. Heat the butter and olive oil over medium until the butter is melted and is beginning to foam.
- Add the prepared shrimp to the skillet and cook the shrimp on each side just until pink and opaque. Be very careful not to overcook the shrimp. It should only take 1-3 minutes on each side, depending on the size of the shrimp.
- Finally, add the garlic and about 1 Tbsp of lemon juice to the skillet. Continue to sauté the shrimp in the garlic butter for about one minute more, or just until the raw edge is cooked out of the garlic.
- Season the shrimp with a little salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and chopped parsley. Toss to combine, then serve.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Stainless Steel Pots and Pans
- Garlic Press
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Garlic Butter Shrimp Step-by-Step Photos
This is the shrimp I used: frozen, 41-60 size, shell and tail on. You can make garlic butter shrimp with fresh or frozen shrimp, shell and tail on or off, and any size. Just keep in mind that larger shrimp will take slightly longer to cook than smaller shrimp. Whichever size you get, shrimp, in general, cooks VERY fast, and the most important thing to watch out for is that it is not overcooked. Overcooking shrimp makes it tough and rubbery. I used ½ lb. for this recipe, but you can easily double the recipe if needed.
Thaw the shrimp: If your shrimp is frozen, you’ll want to thaw it before cooking. Luckily, shrimp thaws very quickly! Place the frozen shrimp in a colander and run cool water over it for just a couple of minutes, or until thawed.
Peel the shrimp: If your shrimp comes peel-on, go ahead and peel it before cooking. The peel removes very quickly by hand. You can leave the tails on or take them off (see tips above the recipe for when you might want to leave them on vs. off). Pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel.
Prep the garlic and lemon: Mince two cloves of garlic. Juice one lemon. You’ll need about 2 Tbsp of juice, so if you only need to juice half to get that, you can slice the other half to use as a garnish. If you don’t have a lemon, you can substitute white wine or chicken broth for the lemon juice.
Cook: Add 1 Tbsp olive oil and 2 Tbsp butter to a large skillet. Heat over medium until the butter is melted and beginning to foam.
Add the prepared shrimp to the skillet and cook on each side just until it’s opaque and pink (this should only take 1-3 minutes, depending on the size of your shrimp). Flip the shrimp and cook on the other side. Do not overcook the shrimp. If anything, err on the side of undercooked because they will cook for about one minute more in the next step. In the photo above, you can see the pink shrimp that have been flipped and the grey shrimp that are still raw side facing up.
When the shrimp are cooked, add the minced garlic and lemon juice. Continue to sauté for about one minute more, or until the raw edge is off the garlic.
Season the shrimp with a little salt, freshly cracked pepper, and chopped parsley (optional). Toss to combine.
Serve immediately, as-is, or on top of your favorite salad, pasta, rice dish, or stir fry!
Recipe Success Tips!
- This recipe can be made with any size shrimp. However, cooking time will be slightly longer for larger shrimp and slightly less for smaller shrimp. Because I usually add this shrimp to salads, pasta, or rice pilafs, I used a slightly smaller shrimp (41-60 per lb) so I would get more pieces per serving. You can also use pre-cooked shrimp and warm them in the butter sauce just before serving.
- You can also use tail-on or tail-off shrimp. Leaving the tail on adds to the visual appeal and may add a little extra flavor to the pan sauce, but it can make for extra work while eating the shrimp. If you’re adding the shrimp to something like a saucy pasta, I’d remove the tail before cooking the shrimp to make it easier to eat.
- Don’t overcook the shrimp. Raw shrimp looks grey and slightly translucent—once it turns pink and opaque, it’s done. It should curl into a loose “C” shape. If it’s tightly curled into an “O,” it’s probably overcooked.
- Want more butter sauce? I’d just double the butter, garlic, and lemon! 🤤
How to Serve Garlic Butter Shrimp
As I mentioned in the intro, I love this garlic butter shrimp because it’s a super fast protein that can be added on top of just about any recipe, like salads, pastas, stir fries, and more.
I’ll toss it into bruschetta pasta for a fresh and summery dinner or use it to upgrade instant ramen during the week. I also really like adding this shrimp to our street corn salad. The buttery shrimp with the creamy-tangy corn is just perfect for summer lunches or cookouts. For a date night twist, I’ll serve it over traditional fettuccine alfredo for something that feels fancy but takes less than 30 minutes to make. And I also really like adding this garlic butter shrimp to pasta salads, like our tortellini salad, for a quick and easy lunch.
Super easy recipe! I use frozen cooked shrimp, so once they are thawed I just lightly warm them in the lemon garlic sauce in the skillet and serve it with rice. Ready in just minutes! In a pinch, I also use a true lemon powder packet if I don’t have a lemon, and garlic powder if I don’t have minced/fresh. Thanks for the great, simple recipe.
I’m adding cilantro lime flavored rice and corn on the cob with my butter garlic shrimp
What’s something good to serve with this?
Hi Jann, there’s a long list of dishes to serve this with in the blog post! :)
Thank you, it turned out really good!
Looking forward to your information
Super delicious and easy!
Hello I just finished making this recipe totally easy affordable and delicious thanks budgetbytes
Hello Beth, I love your website and the way it flows. I’m trying build my own website for candle making. I was hoping you could tell me which website builder, themes and plug-ins you use??? Very much appreciate any advise .
Hi Kim, we have a custom designed WordPress theme. :)
Not my favorite, but I love all the other recipes.
I’ve been pairing this with your Cheese Grits, and it’s my new go-to easy dinner. It’s lemon season here in sunny SoCal, so I just pop out to the back yard to pick one right off the tree. I take two shortcuts: garlic powder instead of minced garlic, and packaged shredded cheddar in the Cheese Grits. Still fabulous!
This was REALLY good on top of the “lighter spinach alfredo” recipe. The creamy sauce and bright lemon were amazing.
I love all your recipes! What can I do to make more sauce so the pasta isn’t dry? The pasta really absorbs it. More wine? More butter? Suggestions?
you could use a little extra butter and some pasta water!
Nice Recipe…. it seems so yummy
My oldest kid eats endless quantities of plain shrimp and rice like some weird bougie peasant. I’m gonna try this recipe on them and will gladly eat whatever’s left over myself. I’ve made like half a dozen recipes from your site and have yet to be disappointed. Thanks for all of the good ideas!
Got some pretty big (21-30 per lb size) shrimp for buy one, get two free today! Thinking of starting some experimentation myself 😁. Nothing like $100+ lbs of shrimp for $35!