Weeknight Lightened-Up Shrimp Scampi
Jun 04, 2020, Updated Dec 22, 2024
All the buttery, garlicky and lemony flavor with a sprinkling of fresh herbs in a lighter sauce you can make in minutes!
What’s Different About This Recipe?
The sauce has been “lightened-up” ~ which means ALL OF THE FLAVOR with less calories and fat; less butter.
How Did I Accomplish This?
The quick answer is I have added a cornstarch slurry (equal amounts cornstarch and water) to the sauce to thicken – then swirled in a moderate amount, not too much of butter in the last step.
Ok – Let’s Break the Method Down:
- Shrimp (I used wild caught) is sprinkled with pepper, sautéed in a small amount of extra virgin olive oil and butter until nicely browned and almost cooked through. They are now removed from the pan, sprinkled with a pinch of salt.
- Lots of thin sliced garlic and shallots and a small amount of minced jalapeño are added to the pan and cooked one minute.
- White wine, broth (chicken or vegetable) and fresh lemon juice (do not think of using that bottles stuff!) are added to the pan and brought to a boil. then simmered a few minutes.
- The cornstarch slurry – just 1 /1/2 teaspoons is added and combined with a wire whisk – will thicken immediately!
- Lastly; 3 tablespoons of cold butter is swirled in until the sauce is emulsified. The sauce comes off the heat now… if cooked longer, the sauce will “break.”
- Lots of chopped fresh herbs are added to the hot sauce. I’m loving fresh thyme, fresh parsley, fresh oregano and thinly sliced scallions. In summer they are growing in my garden.
- The shrimp is added to the sauce and combined to heat them through.
- Enough sauce… (I love lots of sauce!) to toss with pasta or zucchini noodles!
- 25 minutes from start to finish!
Delicious with zucchini noodles as a change from pasta
Delicious with zucchini noodles as a change from pastaDID YOU KNOW?
Shrimp Scampi…even the name sounds Italian. Well, it is Italian, but Scampi is actually the name of a European crustacean closely resembling a lobster.
Who knew ~ it’s not classically a shrimp! Originally, the dish referred to the Scampi cooked in its own juices which graduated to being prepared in garlic and olive oil. From there however, you have to hop back over to the United States when Italian immigrants adapted the dish as we know it today. Instead of Scampi, they used shrimp and created variations on the sauce with the base remaining very close to its original form.
Choose the best quality shrimp – I shop for US shrimp, fresh not frozen if available.
Here 10/12 size
Simple sauté with a grating of fresh cracked black pepper 
The beginning of the sauce 
Add just 3 tablespoons of cold butter to finish and emulsify the sauce
ALSO SEE:
Karen’s Skewered Shrimp Scampi Appetizer
Enjoy!
Karen
Karen’s Weeknight Lightened-Up Shrimp Scampi
Ingredients
- 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tail left on
- 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter, I use Kerrygold brand*
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons shallots, peeled – small dice
- 1/2 teaspoon jalapeño, minced (can use a pinch of cayenne)
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 1/2 cups broth, chicken or vegetable see note
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 1 1/2 teaspoon water
- 3 tablespoons COLD unsalted butter, I use Kerrygold brand*
Garnishes & Herbs
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
- 2 tablespoon scallions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Heat a 12″ skillet, add 1 1/2 tablespoons evoo and 1/2 tablespoon butter, set to medium-high heat.
- Sprinkle shrimp with black pepper and add to the hot pan. Leave to brown nicely, do not move. Turn over with tongs, after about two minutes. Turn heat down to medium and cook on the second side, about two minutes. Remove to a clean plate – sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon sea salt.
- Reduce heat to low – add garlic, shallots and jalapeño; stir one minute (with any brown bits in the pan.) Add lemon juice, wine and broth – bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 3 minutes (to reduce slightly.) Bring back to a boil.
- Add cornstarch slurry (cornstarch mixed with water) and QUICKLY stir up with a wire whisk – will thicken quickly. Turn heat off and immediately swirl in a chunk of 3 tablespoons of butter with the wire whisk; and swirl in to incorporate and emulsify.
- Add shrimp back to the pan with the three herbs and scallions. Taste for salt. Serve as is, or over pasta or zucchini noodles. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Beyond delicious!! I absolutely love the simplicity and expert precision of the directions.
The photography is so pleasing to the eye.
Thank you!
Thank you Ilana! One of my favorite weeknight meals.
Great recipe and easy. Now I know you don’t need to finish with tons of butter for scampi to be delish! Sometimes I make this with chili flakes instead of jalapeño. My family loves this! All these herbs add a special touch you don’t see in other scampi recipes.
Thanks Marissa for your review! So happy to hear your family loves this scampi recipe, and yep, don’t need a ton of butter for flavor. 😀Karen