Creamy garlic shrimp is a one-skillet dinner of quickly seared shrimp in a rich garlic and Parmesan cream sauce. The shrimp cook in about 3 minutes, the sauce is built in the same pan with butter, garlic, white wine and heavy cream, and the whole thing is on the table in 25 minutes. It tastes like a restaurant dish and takes less effort than most weeknight meals. Spoon it over pasta, rice or mashed potatoes.
How to make creamy garlic shrimp: Season shrimp and sear them in a hot skillet for 1 to 2 minutes per side, then set them aside. Melt butter in the same pan and cook garlic for 30 seconds. Add white wine and reduce it by half. Stir in heavy cream, simmer gently, then stir in Parmesan off the heat. Return the shrimp to the sauce, add parsley and serve.
Why You’ll Love It
- Fast. Twenty-five minutes from start to finish.
- One skillet. The sauce is made in the pan the shrimp cooked in.
- A silky sauce. Cream and real Parmesan, with plenty of garlic.
- Tender shrimp. They are cooked first and added back at the end, so they do not turn rubbery.
- Goes with anything. Pasta, rice, mashed potatoes or crusty bread.
Ingredient Notes
Shrimp. One pound of medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined. Tails on or off is up to you.
Neutral oil and butter. One tablespoon of oil to sear the shrimp and 2 tablespoons of butter to start the sauce.
Garlic. Four cloves, minced.
Dry white wine. Half a cup. Shrimp, seafood, chicken or vegetable stock can be used in its place.
Heavy cream. One cup, at room temperature.
Parmesan cheese. Three-quarters of a cup, freshly grated and at room temperature.
Salt, black pepper and parsley. For seasoning the shrimp, the sauce and the finished dish.
Ingredients
- 1 pound medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
- Salt, to taste, for the shrimp
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste, for the shrimp
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, for the sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, for the sauce
- 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, at room temperature
- Fresh parsley, finely chopped, to taste
How to Make Creamy Garlic Shrimp
1. Season the shrimp. Arrange the shrimp in one layer and season both sides with salt and black pepper to taste.
2. Cook the shrimp. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot and shimmery. Add the shrimp in one layer. Cook undisturbed for 1 to 2 minutes, flip, and cook about 1 minute more. Check that the shrimp reach 145°F with a food thermometer. Transfer to a medium bowl.
3. Cook the garlic. Reduce the heat to medium and let the skillet cool slightly. Melt the butter, add the minced garlic, and stir until fragrant, approximately 30 seconds.
4. Reduce the wine. Pour in the wine, scraping up the browned bits, and stir until the liquid is reduced by half.
5. Add the cream and cheese. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the skillet cool slightly. Remove it from the heat, stir in the cream, then return it to medium-low heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir in the measured salt and pepper and remove the skillet from the heat. Gently stir in the Parmesan, return the skillet to the heat, and simmer until the cheese melts and the sauce thickens slightly, approximately 1 minute.
6. Coat and serve. Add parsley to taste. Return the cooked shrimp to the skillet and spoon the sauce over them. Serve immediately.
How Do You Keep the Parmesan Cream Sauce From Turning Grainy?
Grainy cream sauce almost always comes from cheese meeting too much heat too fast. Parmesan clumps and turns gritty when it hits a boiling liquid. The answer is in the cheese you buy and in when the pan is on the burner.
| What to do | Why |
|---|---|
| Grate the Parmesan yourself | Prepackaged grated cheese can make the sauce grainy |
| Bring the cream and cheese to room temperature | Cold dairy in a hot pan is a shock |
| Take the pan off the heat before the cream goes in | The cream warms gently and does not break |
| Take the pan off the heat again for the Parmesan | The cheese melts into warm, not boiling, sauce |
| Finish with a gentle simmer of about 1 minute | Just long enough to melt the cheese and thicken slightly |
Notice how often the skillet comes off the burner. It feels fussy the first time, but each pause takes only a few seconds, and it is what keeps the sauce smooth.
The shrimp wait in a bowl during all of this and go back in at the very end. They are already cooked, so they only need to be coated and warmed.
Tips for Success
What is the best way to cook garlic shrimp?
Hot and fast, in a single layer. Give the shrimp 1 to 2 minutes without moving them, flip, and cook about 1 minute more. Crowding the pan steams them.
How do I know the shrimp are cooked?
USDA FSIS gives 145°F for shellfish. Check a few of the thickest shrimp with a food thermometer. Color by itself is not the test.
How do I keep the garlic from burning?
Lower the heat to medium and let the pan cool for a moment before the butter and garlic go in. Garlic needs only about 30 seconds.
Can I leave out the wine?
Yes. Use the same amount of shrimp, seafood, chicken or vegetable stock.
What are the browned bits for?
They are flavor. Scrape them up as the wine goes in, and they dissolve into the sauce.
How Long Does It Take?
About 25 minutes: 10 minutes of prep and 15 minutes at the stove. Have everything measured before you start, because the cooking moves quickly.
What Is Creamy Garlic Sauce Made Of?
Butter, garlic, white wine, heavy cream and freshly grated Parmesan, seasoned with salt and pepper. The wine is cooked down by half before the cream goes in.
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours, in shallow, covered containers, and use them within 3 to 4 days. Reheat gently on the stove over low heat so the shrimp do not toughen. Cream sauces do not freeze well, so this dish is best kept in the refrigerator.
What to Serve With It
Serve the shrimp and sauce over pasta, rice or mashed potatoes. Garlic broccoli pasta with olive oil makes a good base. For more shrimp dinners, try garlic Parmesan roasted shrimp, 20-minute honey garlic shrimp or Cajun shrimp in foil. If you love a creamy skillet sauce, make creamy garlic chicken or creamy spinach and mushroom gnocchi.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I keep the Parmesan cream sauce from turning grainy?
Use freshly grated Parmesan at room temperature, and stir it in with the skillet off the heat.
What is creamy garlic sauce made of?
Butter, garlic, white wine, heavy cream and Parmesan.
What’s the best way to cook garlic shrimp?
Sear them in a hot skillet in one layer for a couple of minutes, then finish them in the sauce.
What cream sauce goes with shrimp?
A garlic and Parmesan cream sauce, like this one.
Final Notes
I grate the Parmesan and measure the cream first, and leave both on the counter while I peel the shrimp, so they have lost their chill by the time the sauce starts. If you make it, leave a comment to tell me how it turned out or ask a question.
Creamy Garlic Shrimp
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Ingredients
- 1 pound shrimp medium, raw, peeled and deveined; tails on or off
- salt to taste, for the shrimp
- black pepper freshly ground, to taste, for the shrimp
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil for the skillet
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine or shrimp, seafood, chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 cup heavy cream at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon salt for the sauce; adjust to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground, for the sauce; adjust to taste
- 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated and at room temperature
- fresh parsley finely chopped, to taste
Instructions
- Arrange the shrimp in one layer and season both sides with salt and black pepper to taste.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot and shimmery. Add the shrimp in one layer. Cook undisturbed for 1 to 2 minutes, flip, and cook about 1 minute more. Check that the shrimp reach 145°F with a food thermometer. Transfer to a medium bowl.
- Reduce the heat to medium and let the skillet cool slightly. Melt the butter, add the minced garlic, and stir until fragrant, approximately 30 seconds.
- Pour in the wine, scraping up the browned bits, and stir until the liquid is reduced by half.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the skillet cool slightly. Remove it from the heat, stir in the cream, then return it to medium-low heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir in the measured salt and pepper and remove the skillet from the heat. Gently stir in the Parmesan, return the skillet to the heat, and simmer until the cheese melts and the sauce thickens slightly, approximately 1 minute.
- Add parsley to taste. Return the cooked shrimp to the skillet and spoon the sauce over them. Serve immediately.
