How to Make Quick and Easy Shrimp Scampi For Dinner Tonight

As someone who is not really a fan of shrimp, this dish may have changed my mind. At least partially. Over the weekend I decided to try my hand at making Shrimp Scampi with pasta.

I was blown away at how simple, yet flavorful this meal was and I cannot wait to make it again. If you love Italian food or seafood, you are going to want to make this dish. I followed Steve Custao's recipe from Not Another Cooking Show on YouTube.

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Shrimp Scampi Ingredients

This reflects a serving for two. You can add or subtract depending on the size of portions you would like to make.

• 8 oz. Rigatoni pasta
• 1 lb.  large unpeeled, raw shrimp
• 2-4 cloves of garlic - sliced thin
• 4 tablespoons butter, unsalted
• 1 cup white wine
• 1/4 parsley - finely chopped
• 1/2 lemon
• Red pepper flakes - to taste

Cooking the Shrimp

First thing you are going to do it prepare the shrimp by peeling them. Don't throw away the shells as you are going to use them for a greater flavor profile. After peeling the shrimp, cut them into smaller, bite-size pieces. I opted for three pieces per shrimp tail.  Set the cut shrimp tails aside and heat a saute pan to medium-high heat. This is when you will also want to start heating your pot of water to boil the pasta.

When the pan reaches the desired heat, add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and add the reserved shrimp tail shells. You will toast the shells for a few minutes to pull the shrimp flavor into the oil. Be sure to only toast the shells and not burn them.

Now that the shrimp shells are toasted, add the white wine to the saute pan and bring the heat down to a simmer. After simmering the shells for about five minutes, strain and discard the shells from the sauce and set them aside. This is the point where the water in the pot should be boiling. Add your pasta of choice and cook to al dente per the instructions on the package.

When there are about six minutes remaining on the pasta, melt approximately one tablespoon of butter on the heated saute pan, add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook until the garlic has browned a bit. This should take a couple of minutes. At this point, you will add the lemon juice, the wine and shrimp shell sauce, and shrimp.

Cooking the shrimp on medium-high heat will cook in only a few minutes. When the pasta is al dente, you will then add the pasta into your cooking shrimp. a couple of tablespoons of the pasta water will assist in thickening the sauce while stirring the scampi.

You're just a few steps away from eating your scampi. This is where you will want to add the finely chopped parsley and incorporate two pats of cold butter. Toss the scampi in the pan until the butter is melted and plate the Shrimp Scampi.

All you have to do is enjoy your meal.

Are you more of a visual person and want to see how this Shrimp Scampi is made? Check out the full video from Not Another Cooking Show on YouTube: