Quick, easy and delicious pan fried shrimp is perfect for weeknight dinners. Made with shrimp, butter, garlic, lemon and a bit of seasoning. Perfect served with Garlic Butter Pasta!
Ready in just 15 minutes!
Fast and easy
Talk about quick and delicious! This shrimp comes together so easily that dinner will be ready in no time at all.
Keep a package of shrimp in your freezer for busy weeknights (or weekends). Just pull out, do a quick thaw, and BOOM...dinner is ready!
Serve this butter and garlic shrimp over pasta, rice or add to a salad. You could also serve alongside a baked potato or a big pile of veggies.
Just because this shrimp is fast and easy, doesn't mean it's not elegant! Don't save for just busy nights. This shrimp is perfect served for guests, celebrations or romantic dinners for two!
No one needs to know how easy it is! They'll just rave at how delicious it is!
Another quick and easy shrimp dish is this shrimp scampi with white wine!
Key ingredients
- Shrimp - Raw, jumbo or extra large-sized shrimp. Mine were 26/30 size (which is the number in one pound of shrimp.) Make certain they are cleaned with shell removed. Tails can be on or off.
- Butter - I use salted butter
- Garlic - Finely minced
- Lemon - Use a fresh, whole lemon
- Red Pepper Flakes - Just a small little pinch is used, but if you don't like the touch of heat, just omit.
- Parsley - Fresh and chopped. The parsley serves as a garnish, but also adds a bit of freshness and brightness to the shrimp. You don't want to skip adding fresh parsley!
Step by step directions
- Thaw your shrimp and pat dry with a paper towel
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper
- Melt butter in a large pan over medium to medium-high heat
- Add shrimp and let cook for 3-4 minutes until you see some pink forming
- Flip shrimp. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and give the pan a swirl.
- Cook for another 3-4 minutes. Once shrimp is pink, it is done.
- Turn off heat and squeeze half a lemon over the top of shrimp
- Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley and serve with all the butter from the pan poured over the top of the shrimp
Recipe tips
- Make certain your shrimp is fully thawed
- Shrimp cooks quickly. Have everything ready to serve for dinner.
- Make certain you don't overcrowd your pan with shrimp. You want just a single layer with a bit of space between. If doubling this recipe, consider using two pans.
- I add the garlic and the red pepper flakes when I flip the shrimp. This helps make certain the garlic doesn't burn, but you still get all that great flavor.
- Swirl your pan around once you add the garlic to help distribute
- Don't overcook shrimp. Once it turns color, it's done!
- Serve with additional lemon wedges
Frequently asked questions
The numbers represent the range of shrimp per pound. 26/30 means you'll get between 26 and 30 shrimp in one pound of shrimp. The smaller the numbers, the larger the shrimp.
Yes, just make certain the shrimp has been cleaned and deveined.
How to thaw shrimp
If your shrimp is frozen, you'll want to fully thaw it before cooking.
- Place shrimp in refrigerator and allow shrimp to thaw overnight
- If you need the shrimp quickly, remove shrimp from packaging and place in a colander. Spray cold water over shrimp for a few minutes until shrimp is thawed.
- You can also place shrimp in a bowlful of cold water until shrimp is thawed.
- Make certain you use cold water, warm or hot water will begin to cook the shrimp and change the texture.
Serving suggestions
This shrimp can be eaten in so many different ways. Pick your favorite!
- Serve over angel hair pasta. I like to spoon the extra butter from the shrimp right over the pasta!
- Serve over a bed of rice
- Add to a salad
- Serve as an appetizer
- Eat the shrimp by itself along with the garlic butter
More easy dinner recipes
- Almond crusted baked fish
- Blackened shrimp
- Trout almondine
- Cast iron chicken thighs
- Chicken sheet pan dinner
- Honey lime grilled shrimp
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Be certain to check out all my delicious main dish recipes!
Pan Fried Shrimp
Equipment
- Saute Pan
Ingredients
- 1 pound shrimp (extra large 26/30) (peeled and deveined )
- pinch salt
- pinch pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
- ½ lemon
- 1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley (chopped)
Instructions
- Thaw your shrimp and pat dry with a paper towel1 pound shrimp (extra large 26/30)
- Sprinkle with salt and pepperpinch salt, pinch pepper
- Melt butter in a large pan over medium to medium high heat2 tablespoons butter
- Add shrimp and let cook for 3-4 minutes until you see some pink forming
- Flip shrimp. Add garlic and red pepper flakes.1 clove garlic, pinch red pepper flakes
- Cook for another 3-4 minutes. Once shrimp is pink, it is done.
- Turn off heat and squeeze half a lemon over the top of shrimp½ lemon
- Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley and serve1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley
Notes
- A pinch is about 1/16 of a teaspoon
- Make certain your shrimp is fully thawed
- Shrimp cooks quickly. Have everything ready to serve for dinner.
- Make certain you don't overcrowd your pan with shrimp. You want just a single layer with a bit of space between. If doubling this recipe, consider using two pans.
- I add the garlic and the red pepper flakes when I flip the shrimp. This helps make certain the garlic doesn't burn, but you still get all that great flavor.
- Swirl your pan around once you add the garlic to help distribute
- Don't overcook shrimp. Once it turns color, it's done!
- Serve with additional lemon wedges
- Place shrimp in refrigerator and allow shrimp to thaw overnight
- If you need the shrimp quickly, remove shrimp from packaging and place in a colander. Spray cold water over shrimp for a few minutes until shrimp is thawed.
- You can also place shrimp in a bowlful of cold water until shrimp is thawed.
- Make certain you use cold water, warm or hot water will begin to cook the shrimp and change the texture.
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
David @ Spiced says
You can't ever go wrong with lemon, garlic and shrimp! This pan-fried version sounds fantastic. Talk about an easy weeknight meal!!
Kathy says
Super easy and super delicious!