Garlic Shrimp

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This simple Garlic Shrimp recipe, inspired by the flavors of Spain takes just minutes to make and it’s so flavorful, a weeknight dinner win!

Garlic Shrimp
Garlic Shrimp

This recipe is inspired by one of my favorite dishes from Spain, Gambas al Ajillo or Spanish garlic shrimp. It’s typically swimming in olive oil, so I lightened up a bit but it’s still just as delicious!! It is bright, garlicky, and perfect with some crusty bread or served over rice! And the best part, it comes together in just 10 minutes. If garlic’s not your thing you can browse through all my shrimp recipes, like this Air Fryer Shrimp, Shrimp Ceviche these Shrimp Taquitos or these delicious Shrimp Eggrolls.

Garlic Shrimp over rice

One of my favorite proteins to keep on hand in my freezer is shrimp! For convenience, you can buy it peeled and deveined so all you have to do is let it thaw then whip up your favorite dish. Shrimp takes 3 to 4 minutes to cook so it’s perfect when you want a high protein meal without spending a lot of time. It’s also a great source of lean protein.

This dish is a staple in my house because we are all shrimp lovers! It is also naturally gluten-free and dairy free, so it works for many dietary restrictions. Try it with Cilantro Lime Scallion Rice on the side.

How To Make Garlic Shrimp

This simple shrimp recipe is made with just a few ingredients:

  • Shrimp
  • Garlic
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Mild Spanish paprika (the spice that makes chorizo red)
  • Crushed red pepper flakes, for heat
  • Chopped Parsley, for garnish

What kind of shrimp to use for this garlic shrimp recipe?

I prefer to use larger jumbo shrimp for garlic shrimp because they are meatier and tastier, but honestly the size won’t matter. If you use smaller shrimp, cook it less time so it doesn’t overcook and become tough.

Should you peel the shrimp?

I always use peeled and deveined shrimp because it’s easier to eat then shrimp you have to peel yourself.

Variations:

  • If you want to make this Garlic Butter Shrimp, swap the olive oil for butter!
  • If you want to give this more South American flavors, swap the parsley for cilantro and squeeze some lime juice at the end.

shrimp ingredientsshrimp with rice in a bowlGarlic Shrimp over rice

More Shrimp Recipes You’ll Love:

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Garlic Shrimp

4.95 from 20 votes
2
Cals:154
Protein:20
Carbs:3
Fat:6.5
This simple Garlic Shrimp recipe, inspired by the flavors of Spain takes just minutes to make and it's so flavorful, a weeknight dinner win!
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Spanish
Garlic Shrimp over rice
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 5 minutes
Total: 10 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Serving Size: 4 ounces cooked

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined (weight after you peel them)
  • 6 cloves garlic, sliced thin
  • 1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin Spanish olive oil, or any good quality olive oil
  • crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon sweet Spanish paprika, or more to taste
  • pinch kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup parsley, chopped

Instructions

  • In a large skillet, heat oil on medium heat and add the garlic and red pepper flakes.
    In a large skillet, heat oil on medium heat and add the garlic and red pepper flakes.
  • Sauté until golden, about 2 minutes being careful not to burn.
  • Add shrimp and season with a pinch of salt and paprika.
  • Cook 2-3 minutes until shrimp is cooked through. Do not overcook or it will become tough and chewy. Add chopped fresh parsley and divide equally in 4 plates.
    shrimp and parsley in skillet

Last Step:

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Nutrition

Serving: 4 ounces cooked, Calories: 154 kcal, Carbohydrates: 3 g, Protein: 20 g, Fat: 6.5 g, Saturated Fat: 1 g, Cholesterol: 178 mg

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100 comments on “Garlic Shrimp”

  1. This is so simple and yet so delicious. I was able to put this healthy dinner on the table in the time it took to make some rice.

  2. Absolutely delicious, very easy to make and it was very quick cooking I’ve ever done lol, I added a little bit of turmeric and it was sooo yummy.thank you very much for sharing this recipe.

  3. Hello yes I’m loving your recipes on shrimp egg rolls, shrimp 🍤 celery, cucumber 🥒 salad 🥗 shrimp 🍤 taquitos etc.

  4. This was perfect I made it with jasmine rice and it was amazing. My fiancé is lactose and it’s hard to find good recipes that agree with his stomach. Thank you 🫶🏼

    1. Parsley & cilantro can be substituted for each other. Taste fresh herbs of both, they are soooooo similar

  5. SO good. I served them with the Sautéed Zucchini and Plum Tomatoes and some bread. I think next time I’ll add some more zucchini to make it a touch more substantial but it tasted wonderful. 

  6. Avatar photo
    Marie Militello

    Delicious dish….I made the mistake of using precooked shrimp..instead of raw. I will make again!

  7. This was one of the simplest and most delicious recipes I’ve ever tried! And I’m on the WW plan which made it even better! Bravo!!!

  8. Simple and good! I made this tonight, with jasmine rice and broccoli and I’m fairly confident that it’ll be added to the regular rotation. This recipe moves fast, so make sure you’ve got everything prepped and ready, including your rice and veggies! 

  9. Simple , yet fabulous ! I doubled the amount of garlic as our family loves garlic! Will make many more times in the future . 

  10. Hi Gina. You are my go to girl for healthy recipes! I just started WW, and love that you have the points figured out. I tried to click on the WW Personal Points, but it only works for the US WW 🙁 Any way to add other countries? Like Canada. 🙂

  11. Recipe looks delicious !!  Can you put the ( old) Blue. Green. Purple points back on your recipes just for those of us that are still relying on that information. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE !!!!

    1. So sorry but there’s no way for me to know those points moving forward since I use recipe builder and always have.

  12. If you’re pressed for time or just forgot to thaw the shrimp, you don’t have to.

    Just add them to the pan frozen & cook them for a couple of minutes longer. They turn out just fine. I frequently cook them this way even if I don’t have a time factor.

  13. Avatar photo
    Susan O'Brien

    Hi, quick question. All I can get right now are frozen shrimp that are already cooked and peeled. How can I , or can I use these in any of your recipes without overcooking and ruining the dish? Thank you for any help!

  14. Great recipe!
    I added snow peas and red pepper and I made roasted rice cauliflower scallion.  Tasty!

  15. Just made this for the first time. Absolutely excellent!! I want to make this a lunch regular station item with a veg and bit of rice. SO GOOD AND SIMPLE. 

  16. Avatar photo
    Caitlin Maureen

    Just had this for the first time, so easy and so yummy! I used regular olive oil (it's all I had) and omitted the paprika because I didn't have any. I also sprinkled a few dashes of lime juice right at the end instead of wedges because that's all I had. Seriously tasty! I loved the crispy garlic slivers! Yum! A new go-to shrimp recipe for me!
    Thanks Gina!

    1. Hi Gina, I don’t know what I did wrong, but I had fresh raw shrimp and so much water came out. They didn’t cook well because of the water and then the flavor wasn’t great but I feel like I must have did something wrong. Any thoughts?

      1. Perhaps your shrimp had been previously frozen? I used thawed shrimp which were water logged too but I squeezed out the water before I cooked them and they turned out great.

  17. This looks delicious. As a repeat offender w/ Weight Watchers over 30 years, it's the wonderful people like you that put these delicious recipes out there that make people like me that obviously love to eat successful in this program. What you do is amazing and know your continued success is also OUR continued success! Thanks!

  18. I love how simple this is! A great recipe that my family members who have less kitchen experience could recreate. Very yummy 🙂

  19. Alexis, my oldest daughter was my Skinnytaste cooking buddy & is now in college. I am happy to report that my 16 year old daughter, Kasey, is following in her footsteps…made this for dinner tonight & it was yummy! Thank you for making such delicious & easy recipes for busy mothers & daughters! Gina, You Rock!
    Warm regards,
    Susan Pena-Salisbury
    Meadows Place, Tx.

  20. Avatar photo
    Claire Connor

    I made this tonight with your Scallion Cilantro Rice as you suggested, and it was a wonderful combination!
    I prepared full servings for both recipes even though I only needed enough to feed myself and my dad. My thinking was that he could keep the leftovers for dinner one night after I leave, but he finished every last bite!
    Such a great recipe, Gina! Thank you so much!

  21. This was absolutely wonderful. I made it for dinner last night (I am on Weight Watcher), this is a meal anyone can enjoy.

  22. Making this as I type (mac is on counter, lol) w/quinoa :)…looking forward to it. So far we've made the tostones (my whole family LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it) & your turkey picadillo….deeelish! Love your site!! I learned about it through Michelle Marie Fit. She also has a site.

  23. I used a pinch of parsley and basil instead of cilantro. Cilantro just doesn't agree with my tongue. Still came out faboo. Served it over linguini with the garlic sauce tossed. FABULOUS!

  24. Made this recipe last night and paired it with the Cilantro Lime Rice. AMAZING! Coming from a non-cook, these recipes were quick and easy – fool proof! I'd highly recommend it and will definitely make again!

  25. I made this meal but I made the sauce up and marinated my shrimp all day and then cooked them on the grill….It was wonderful!

  26. I am interested but I don't like cilantro or parsley so can you suggest another herb to use? Thanks everyone.

  27. This was sooooo good. I actually served with pasta, and decided to make a couple of adjustments to make a little sauce for the pasta. I reserved tree tbs of the pasta water to deglaze the pan, then added about a tbs of butter and a splash of lemon juice to freshen it up. Could not have been happier with the outcome

  28. Hi Gina-
    Do you have the rest of the nutritional information so I can calculate the new points plus value? Thanks is you do!

  29. Looks SO good!! How many points + is this, and how many shrimp is one serving?
    BTW… First time looking at your website and I am hooked! Everything sounds and looks delicious. I will be using your recipes from now on.

  30. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    Hmm, I'm on a mac, and I use Firefox. Firefox prints fine. Want to try downloading it and see, it's free.

  31. I have asked this question numerous times…Why can't I print a recipe without getting 9 (or so) pages of comments? I AM using the latest version of Internet Explorer (version 8). I am using Windows XP and I understand that the latest version of IE cannot be used with XP but one needs to use Microsoft VISTA instead of XP. True? Any other suggestions?

  32. Avatar photo
    Stormy Monday

    Gina, I made this recipie two days ago. My mom and I just started WW and we were concerned about healthy as well as tasty recipies. I stumbled upon your site and decided to try this recipie. WELL, IT WAS A HIT! Even my finicky daughter liked them. She liked the pepper that gave it a "kick!" These recipies sure beat the ones we had to prepare in the military! Thank you!

  33. @Biju- Hi there from Romania! Isn't it amazing you can cook with almost no oil! You save so many calories and fat grams by reducing the oil you cook with. Glad you liked the stuffed zucchinis. Cant wait for my zucchinis to grow!

  34. Hi Gina! I have been following your recipes for some time now! I have also made several recipes and I am amazed I can cook with less or no oil when frying. I had a Tefal pan laying around in my kitchen, but now it's "working" almost daily!
    I love shrimps! The best meat in the world! I can't wait to make this recipe with garlic!
    I want to congratulate you and hope you will keep posting delicious recipes! (my favorite so far are the stuffed zucchinis).
    Kisses from Romania!

  35. I made this yesterday with the scallion cilantro rice!!! It was sooooo good!! The only change I made was substituting chipotle powder for the paprika…YUM!!

  36. Just tried this over the weekend with the scallion cilantro rice! I am in love! Refeshingly tasty and so easy to make! I am so glad I found your blog! It combines my three loves: cooking, blogging and photography! I'm already spreading the word about your gem on this corner of cyberspace!

  37. What an amazing meal. I have made this recipe twice already and the entire family loves it! Thanks for sharing such great food. I'm so glad I found your website. You're cooking up skinny and DELICIOUS recipes.

  38. Thanks Aileen! Honestly no. Started taking pictures of food a year ago. Just playing around with camera angles and settings and read a lot of helpful articles on other blogs. Good luck with your site!

  39. Hi Gina. Your meals look GREAT ! And your photography is just beautiful. I just started my own good blog recently (400 Calories or Less) and I too love posting all the meals I make and taking pictures. I am sensing you have some professional photography skills? Again, your pics are just awesome !!!

  40. Darn! I knew it was wishful thinking!!! So…how many points should I add for the rice?

    Thanks Gina…I just love your recipes!!!

    Kim

  41. I've been doing WW on and off forever and it's the one system that always works for me.

    This is the first time I've used a food journal and it definately works the guilt. I'm going to link this site on my next blog post.

    Thank you for the recipies.

  42. @ Susannah, where are the points? I'm not sure I follow. It's 4.5 points per serving.

    @Kim – no, the rice is extra!

    @Amy Kate, thank you! It's good to post again!

    Not sure how many cups of shrimp that equals to, I think I'll measure that next time.

    Canola spray is 0 if you use it lightly. Skim milk in my coffee I'm not sure, I use 2% in my coffee which is not 0.

  43. Avatar photo
    Holy Cannoli Recipes

    This looks delicious and I like that there isn't a ton of ingredients that you have to go out and buy to make this dish.

  44. This sounds delish! I was browsing your blog for something to make for dinner tonight and this may just have won!

  45. Do you count coffee with skim milk as a point?

    What about canola SPRAY??

    Just wondering.

    Good recipe, looks yummy!! Do you know how many cups of shrimp that equals out too?

  46. Wow, Gina, that looks amazing! I can't tell you how excited I am to get your posts again~hope all is well with your new baby! =)

  47. @Shel – Sure, use extra virgin oil. I like a good olive oil, it really makes a difference in the flavor of your food.

  48. Ok, I'm a total amateur when it comes to cooking. Is there a difference between Spanish olive oil and regular olive oil? Can I use regular? Sounds scrumptious!