Lemon Garlic Butter Shrimp (Printable)

Succulent shrimp in lemon garlic butter sauce atop tender linguine, perfect for quick flavorful meals.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Seafood

01 - 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails optional

→ Pasta

02 - 12 oz linguine

→ Sauce

03 - 4 tbsp unsalted butter
04 - 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
05 - 5 cloves garlic, finely minced
06 - ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
07 - Zest of 1 lemon
08 - Juice of 1 large lemon (about 3 tbsp)
09 - ⅓ cup dry white wine or seafood/chicken broth
10 - ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
11 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

→ Garnish

12 - Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
13 - Lemon wedges

# How to Prepare:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook linguine until al dente according to package instructions. Reserve ½ cup pasta water, drain pasta, and set aside.
02 - Pat shrimp dry with paper towels and season lightly with salt and black pepper.
03 - In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 2 tbsp butter with 2 tbsp olive oil. Add shrimp in a single layer and sauté 1-2 minutes per side until pink and opaque. Remove shrimp and set aside.
04 - Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining olive oil and butter to skillet. Sauté garlic and red pepper flakes for 1 minute until fragrant, avoiding browning.
05 - Pour in white wine or broth, scraping browned bits from the pan. Simmer for 2 minutes to slightly reduce.
06 - Stir in lemon juice and zest. Return shrimp and any juices to skillet, tossing gently to coat and warm through for 1 minute.
07 - Add cooked linguine and half the parsley to skillet. Toss to combine, adding reserved pasta water as needed to create a silky sauce.
08 - Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately garnished with remaining parsley, Parmesan cheese, and lemon wedges.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It comes together in thirty minutes, which means weeknight dinners can taste like you planned them days ago.
  • The sauce is silky without being heavy, and it clings to every strand of pasta in the most satisfying way.
  • Shrimp cooks so quickly that you can't mess it up if you pay attention, and that's genuinely liberating.
02 -
  • Overcooked shrimp becomes rubbery and sad, so pull them out at the first sign of pink and set them aside; they'll finish cooking when they go back in the sauce.
  • Reserve that pasta water before you drain—it's liquid gold for loosening the sauce and helping it coat every strand of pasta.
  • Don't skip patting the shrimp dry; it's the difference between a sear and a sad, steamed pile.
03 -
  • Use a microplane zester for the lemon instead of a box grater—you get finer zest that distributes more evenly throughout the sauce.
  • If your sauce looks too thin at the end, it's probably because you didn't add enough pasta water; if it's too thick, a splash more works wonders, and you can always plate individual portions and add a drizzle more at the table.

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