Fast and delicious, Sautéed Shrimp makes a tasty addition to your meals and is even great as a snack!
Want more seafood in your diet and less time spent shopping, prepping, and cleaning up? Then this is the dish for you. A careful choice of shortcut ingredients and a simple recipe really can give you that perfect trifecta of weeknight ease. And don’t worry. Sometimes calling a dish “simple” is code for dull or bland, but not here. The deep, buttery flavors in this sauté are memorable, and speedy cooking leaves shrimp sweet and plump. This dish looks, tastes, and smells special and lets you high-five yourself afterward for choosing a recipe that cooks in a single skillet.
The flavor workhorses here are pantry and fridge staples: If you’ve got shrimp in the freezer (always a good move), you’re likely to have everything else on hand, no shopping required. Butter is the cooking base, a fat that makes the rich flavor of shrimp even richer. That said, you can totally use olive oil instead, or—my personal favorite—a combination of half butter, half olive oil. And then there are the high-impact spices. Smoked paprika gives the dish deep flavor and an attractive reddish color, and its smoky flavor is bolstered by cumin and onion powder. Garlic powder is a shortcut for savory flavor, but if you prefer fresh garlic, you can mince or grate up a clove (or two, or three!) and use that instead. The result? A low-prep combo with irresistible flavor and mouthwatering aroma.
A squeeze of lemon and fresh parsley is the classic finishing touch here, but you can certainly omit one or the other if they’re not handy, or switch it up. Lime and cilantro are an excellent alternative, as are white wine and dill or even orange juice and basil. With shrimp as the base you’ve got a lot of latitude!
Why you want shrimp in your freezer
Shrimp is one of the most popular and affordable seafoods out there, and it thaws and cooks in minutes. It’s one of my favorite foods for meal planning and last-minute dinner plans. Virtually all shrimp sold in the United States and many other countries is either frozen or previously frozen. Unless you live near a shrimping area and buy directly from the boats or a market close to the docks, even shrimp marked “fresh” is likely to have been previously frozen and then thawed for display. This means you’re almost always better off buying bags of frozen shrimp and defrosting them as needed. And the thawing? It’s super quick. All you need to do is place your shrimp in a bowl, cover it by a few inches with cold water, and let it sit until the shrimp are soft and flexible, anywhere from 15 to about 30 minutes. Drain and pat dry.
How do I store leftovers?
Let your shrimp cool completely, place it in an airtight container, and refrigerate for up to 3 days. The shrimp are ideal served cold in sandwiches, salads, or grain bowls. You can also reheat them in the microwave or on the stovetop, but they’ll become a bit rubbery in the process. In a pinch, you can also freeze the shrimp in an airtight container for up to 3 months, but this too will affect the texture somewhat and can dull the flavor. If you do freeze them, thaw them overnight in the fridge.
Serving suggestions
Shrimp and rice is a favorite worldwide. Try serving the shrimp with this Baked Rice that keeps the stovetop free, or this Mediterranean Rice Salad you can make ahead. This Easy Kale Caesar Salad is fresh and creamy, a perfect side for shrimp, or just load the shrimp on top of the salad for a tasty, picture-perfect meal. And it’s hard to beat Perfect Grilled Asparagus served along with the shrimp; again, serve the shrimp on the side, or lay the spears across your serving plates and ladle shrimp across them.
Sautéed Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 pound medium or large shrimp shelled and deveined
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- Salt and pepper
- 4 tablespoons butter 1/2 stick
- 1/2 lemon seeds removed
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Instructions
- Use a few sheets of paper towel to pat the shrimp dry. Sprinkle them all over with the paprika, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix until all the shrimp are coated.
- Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp. Cook, stirring, until the shrimp are pink and just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Squeeze the lemon half over the shrimp and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.
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