Buttered Garlic Shrimp (Printable)

Juicy shrimp in a rich garlicky butter sauce with lemon and parsley, ready in 20 minutes.

# What You'll Need:

→ Seafood

01 - 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined

→ Dairy

02 - 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

→ Vegetables & Aromatics

03 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
04 - 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
05 - 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

→ Seasonings

06 - ½ teaspoon kosher salt
07 - ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

→ Optional Accompaniments

08 - Lemon wedges, for serving
09 - Crusty bread or steamed rice, for serving

# How-To Steps:

01 - Pat the shrimp thoroughly dry with paper towels. Season evenly with salt and freshly ground black pepper on both sides.
02 - Set a large skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Add the minced garlic and sauté for approximately 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until fragrant but not browned.
03 - Arrange the seasoned shrimp in a single layer across the skillet. Cook undisturbed for 2 to 3 minutes until the bottoms turn pink. Flip each shrimp and continue cooking for 1 to 2 minutes until fully opaque and curled.
04 - Remove the skillet from heat. Drizzle in the lemon juice and scatter the chopped parsley over the shrimp, tossing gently to coat evenly in the butter sauce.
05 - Transfer the buttered shrimp to a warm serving platter. Accompany with lemon wedges and crusty bread or steamed rice as desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It goes from raw shrimp to a restaurant quality plate in under twenty minutes flat.
  • The butter garlic lemon combo is so universally loved that even picky eaters come back for seconds.
  • Cleanup is basically one pan and a cutting board, which is a weeknight miracle in itself.
02 -
  • Shrimp overcook in seconds, so pull them from the heat the moment they turn fully opaque because carryover heat will finish the job.
  • Garlic burns fast in hot butter, so keep the heat at medium and never walk away once the garlic hits the pan.
  • A pinch of chili flakes tossed in with the garlic takes this from comforting to genuinely exciting with almost zero extra effort.
03 -
  • Let the skillet get hot before adding butter so the shrimp sear instead of steaming in their own moisture.
  • If your pan is small cook the shrimp in two batches because overcrowding is the fastest way to rubbery shrimp.

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