Easy Smoky Garlic Shrimp Scampi (video)
The most delicious, restaurant-quality shrimp scampi recipe with smoky garlic butter! This easy and aromatic seafood pasta dish comes together in 15 to 20 minutes! It’s made with juicy shrimp, smoked paprika, butter and loads of garlic, tossed with angel hair pasta! Serve this shrimp pasta any day of the week and even for company! It’s impressive and easy!
Watch My Pasta Video!
Watch my YouTube video recipe for step-by-step instructions and see how I make this pasta dish at home! Want to stay up to date on new recipes? Make sure to subscribe to my website emailing list and subscribe to my YouTube channel and turn on notifications!
Ingredients for Shrimp Pasta
I love how quick and easy this shrimp pasta is to make! And, it requires just a few ingredients! For the garlic butter, you’ll need salted or unsalted butter, avocado oil, garlic and smoked paprika. I used 2 pounds of jumbo, wild caught shrimp and cooked them with white wine and a squeeze of lemon juice. I garnished the shrimp with fresh parsley and used angel hair pasta.
How to Make Shrimp Scampi
This smoky garlic shrimp scampi is super easy to make! Here’s how to put this seafood dinner together:
- Cook the pasta first! Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package instructions to al dente. I recommend draining the pasta partially, leaving a little bit of pasta water, and keep the pasta warm.
- Next up, make the smoky garlic butter! I love to use high-quality salted butter for this recipe. Melt the butter with a drizzle of cooking oil (I used avocado oil) and add the minced garlic. Let the garlic cook for about a minute.
- Add the shrimp! I love the flavor of wild caught shrimp! Add cleaned and peeled shrimp to the garlic butter. Cook the shrimp for a couple minutes.
- Add the white wine and lemon juice next! The lemon juice and wine will add so much fantastic flavor and acidity to the recipe. Don’t want to use wine? Use some seafood or veggie broth instead.
- Cook the shrimp for about 4 to 5 minutes, until it’s no longer translucent. When the shrimp is almost done, I season it with smoked paprika, salt, pepper and parsley.
- Add the pasta! Toss the shrimp with the prepared pasta and serve! I like to have some extra lemon wedges on the side, too!
Making Smoky Garlic Butter
You’re going to love the smoky garlic butter I use for my shrimp scampi recipe! The smoky flavor comes from smoked paprika. It pairs so well with the garlic, the shrimp and the white wine. To make this garlic butter, I recommend using a good quality salted butter, although regular unsalted butter will also work well. I combine melted butter with a bit of avocado oil, add about 8 to 10 minced garlic cloves and cook for about a minute. Sprinkle in the smoked paprika at the end for the smoky flavor!
Common Recipe Questions
What Type of Pasta Should I use?
This shrimp scampi pasta recipe will work great with just about any type of pasta! I used thin angel hair pasta for my video recipe but you can also use fettuccine, spaghetti, or even penne pasta! Just cook the pasta according to package instructions to al dente, then drain and keep warm. When cooking angel hair pasta, I like to leave a bit of pasta water in the pot to keep the pasta from sticking together.
How Can I Reheat Shrimp Scampi?
Reheating this pasta dish is super easy! I recommend reheating the pasta in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add about ½ cup veggie or seafood broth and close the pan with a lid. Toss the pasta every minute, until it’s hot. I also like to add fresh parsley on top before serving.
More Recipes!
Enjoying this easy seafood pasta? Check out some of my other recipes you’re sure to enjoy!
- King Crab Rolls – the best crab rolls ever, with brioche bread and smoky garlic butter!
- Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo – you’ll love this ‘skinnier’ version of classic alfredo sauce, with juicy shrimp and fettuccine pasta!
- Chimichurri Shrimp Pasta – penne pasta dressed with zesty and creamy chimichurri sauce, topped with juicy and flavorful shrimp!
- Clams Linguine – another fantastic, restaurant-quality seafood pasta, with clams cooked in white wine!
- Creamy Crab Pasta – one of my favorites, made with a creamy crab pasta, mushrooms, pasta, tomatoes and more!
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Supplies/Tools
Need some supplies or tools to make this recipe at home? You can get them online on Amazon (Amazon affiliate links):
- Avocado Oil – I use only avocado oil for frying and cooking since it has a very high smoking point!
- Copper Frying Pans – my favorite pans! These copper pans heat super quickly and cook evenly!
- Smoked Paprika – one of my favorite seasonings! I use this spice for many of my recipes!
- Epicurean Cutting Boards – these cutting boards are so nice and they’re dishwasher safe!
- Wusthof Santoku Knife – my favorite chef’s knife!
Smoky Garlic Butter Shrimp Scampi
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb pasta, angel hair, fettuccine, or penne
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 8 to 10 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 2 lb jumbo shrimp, peeled and cleaned
- 1 tsp salt
- ground black pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/3 cup white wine, or seafood broth
- 1 lemon, for juice
- 2 to 3 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
- extra lemon, for serving
Instructions
- Prepare the pasta first. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta of your choice according to package instructions to al dente. Drain the pasta, leaving a bit of the water to prevent the pasta from sticking together. Keep warm.
- Preheat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the butter and the cooking oil and let the butter melt. To the melted butter, add the minced garlic. Cook for about a minute.
- Add the cleaned and peeled shrimp next. Toss it with the garlic butter and cook for a few minutes.
- Add the white wine (or broth) and squeeze in the juice from 1 lemon (use 2 lemons if not adding wine). Season the shrimp with salt, pepper and smoked paprika.
- Cook the shrimp for about 5 minutes total, until the shrimp is no longer translucent. The cooking time is based on jumbo shrimp. Smaller shrimp may cook faster.
- Remove the garlic shrimp from the heat and sprinkle in the chopped parsley. Add the cooked pasta to the pan and use tongs to toss the pasta with the shrimp.
- Serve the pasta with lemon wedges on the side, adding a squeeze of lemon juice right before serving.
- Enjoyed this recipe? Please leave a comment or recipe rating below!
I fixed this for dinner tonight it was excellent. I will definitely fix this again. The next time I fix this, I plan on adding some langostinos along with the shrimp. I will let you know how well that works. Paula
Hi Paula! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed the recipe! Langoustines sound so delicious for this recipe! Enjoy! 🙂
Made this for my family that normally hates shrimp. They absolutely loved it! From a fellow natural red haired cook
That’s awesome!! I’m so glad the recipe was a hit with your family!
YUM! Absolutely delicious, will be making this again for my family!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂 It’s one of my favorites, too. Thank you for leaving a review!
I just finished making this dish and getting ready to sit down an enjoy. Really easy to make.
Wonderful! I hope you loved the dish! One of our favorites 🙂
So good! I substituted chicken for the shrimp. Only change I made was adding about half a chopped shallot.
Wonderful! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for leaving a review!
My girlfriend and I made this as a mini cooking date along with your blueberry lemon bread today.
Super easy to make and packed with flavour! I can see us making this a lot 🙂
Can’t wait to try some other recipes
That’s so wonderful to hear! What a great date idea! I’m so glad you enjoyed the dish and the blueberry bread!