Baked shrimp scampi
Shrimp baked in garlicky lemon butter under a crisp, buttery panko topping, with bread for mopping up every drop.
- 25 min total
- 10 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $3.42 a serving
- 400 calories
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 25 minutes.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on, thawed if frozen
- ¼ cup butter, melted, divided
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lemon, zested, then half juiced and half cut into wedges
- ¼ cup vegetable broth
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped, divided
- ½ French bread, sliced
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 400 calories, 29 g protein, 34 g carbs and 17 g fat, and costs about $3.42 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No raw shrimp? Frozen raw shrimp works.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
- No French bread? Sourdough bread works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 425°F.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
3 tablespoons of the butter with the oil, garlic, lemon and juice, broth, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper in a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Zest. Zest is the thin, colored outer layer of citrus peel, rubbed off on the smallest holes of a grater. It holds the fruit’s fragrant oils, so it adds bright flavor without the sourness of juice.
How you’ll know: You see bright flecks and smell citrus right away; stop when you reach the white layer, which is bitter.
the shrimp dry, add them to the dish and to coat, then spread them in a single layer.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
the panko with the rest of the butter and half the parsley and scatter it over the shrimp.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
10 to 12 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and opaque and the crumbs are .
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 11 min
Dolly’s tip: If the crumbs aren’t golden when the shrimp are done, turn on the broiler for 1 minute and watch it closely.Food safety: Shrimp are done when they turn pink and opaque all the way through and curl into a loose C. A tight O means overcooked, not unsafe.
Scatter the rest of the parsley over and serve with the bread for dipping into the garlic butter.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
