Buttered Garlic Lemon Shrimp (Printable Version)
Juicy shrimp sautéed in garlicky butter with lemon and parsley—ready in 20 minutes.
# What You Need:
→ Seafood
01 - 1 pound 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 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
07 - 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
→ Optional Accompaniments
08 - Lemon wedges, for serving
09 - Crusty bread or steamed rice, for serving
# How To Make It:
01 - Pat the shrimp thoroughly dry with paper towels. Season evenly with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
02 - In a large skillet set over medium heat, melt the butter completely. 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 even layer across the skillet. Cook undisturbed for 2 to 3 minutes on the first side until the shells turn pink, then flip each shrimp and continue cooking for another 1 to 2 minutes until fully opaque throughout.
04 - Remove the skillet from heat. Drizzle in the lemon juice and scatter the chopped parsley over the shrimp, tossing gently to coat everything evenly in the butter sauce. Serve immediately to prevent overcooking.
05 - Transfer the buttered shrimp to a warm serving platter. Garnish with fresh lemon wedges alongside crusty bread or steamed rice.
# Helpful Hints:
01 -
- It takes exactly twenty minutes from fridge to plate, which means you can make this on your most exhausted weeknight and still feel like you treated yourself.
- The butter and lemon sauce is so good you will want to drag crusty bread through every drop, and honestly you should.
02 -
- Overcooked shrimp curl into tight C shapes and feel bouncy in your mouth, so pull them off the heat when they form loose O shapes and they will finish cooking perfectly on the plate.
- Adding the lemon juice off the heat preserves its fresh brightness because heat cooks out the acidity and leaves a flat flavor behind.
03 -
- Let the butter foam and just begin to turn golden before adding the garlic, because that slight nuttiness in the butter adds a layer of flavor that plain melted butter cannot match.
- Never walk away from the pan once the garlic hits the butter, because thirty seconds of attention separates extraordinary from burnt and ruined.