This Olive Garden Shrimp Scampi is the best copycat! It's a quick, easy and healthier version of your favourite restaurant dish.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Butter – or your favourite butter substitute like margarine or olive oil.
- Shrimp – you can use fresh shrimp or defrosted frozen shrimp.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic is best, but jarred minced garlic can be used in a pinch.
- Dry white wine – you can swap out the wine for chicken stock if desired.
- Chicken broth – vegetable broth would be the best substitute here.
- Heavy cream – you can use half and half or a dairy-free substitute instead, but the sauce won't be as creamy.
- Parmesan cheese – nutritional yeast is the best substitute here.
- Angel hair pasta – use any shaped pasta of your choice like spaghetti or fettucine.
- Asparagus – use another vegetable of your choice like green beans or broccoli florets.
- Plum tomatoes – bell peppers would also be good if you're not a fan of tomatoes.
- Fresh parsley – dried parsley can be used in a pinch.
How to make shrimp scampi
Step 1: Cook the pasta and asparagus.
Cook the pasta in boiling water, then add in the asparagus.
Step 2: Cook the shrimp.
Cook the shrimp in a large skillet until no longer translucent.
Step 3: Sauté the garlic.
Add the garlic to the pan and sauté until fragrant. Add in the wine and cook until reduced.
Step 4: Make the sauce.
Pour in the chicken broth, heavy cream and parmesan cheese, then stir until the sauce thickens.
Step 5: Toss everything together.
Add the shrimp, cooked pasta, tomatoes and asparagus to the pan with the sauce. Toss well to combine.
Step 6: Garnish with parsley and serve!
What to serve with shrimp scampi
This Olive Garden shrimp scampi is an entire meal on its own! You've got the protein, vegetables and grains all in one dish. If you're looking for more side dish ideas, here are some options:
- Olive Garden breadsticks
- Side salad like this brussels sprouts salad
- Steamed vegetables
- Garlic parmesan asparagus
Frequently Asked Questions
The Olive Garden recipe for shrimp scampi is traditionally made with angel hair pasta – it's super light and thin, which lets the flavours of the pasta shine! That being said, you can serve this dish with any kind of pasta noodles you want, like fettucine or spaghetti. You could even try serving it over zucchini noodles or your favourite gluten-free pasta.
I'd recommend using any kind of dry white wine, like a sauvignon blanc or chardonnay.
Yes! If you need to make this recipe completely alcohol-free, just swap out the wine for equal amounts of chicken stock or vegetable stock.
No, you don't need to peel the shrimp before making this pasta. Just sauté the shrimp in the pan with some butter and mix everything together.
Storing and reheating
You can store any leftovers of this delicious Olive Garden shrimp scampi in the fridge for up to 3 days in airtight glass containers. When you're ready to enjoy, reheat the pasta in a skillet on the stovetop with a bit of butter or olive oil. You could also reheat it in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes, but I'd suggest sprinkling some water over top first so it doesn't dry out.
Freezing this recipe
I wouldn't recommend freezing this recipe, as cream-based sauces don't defrost well.
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Olive Garden Shrimp Scampi
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 lb shrimp
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/2 lb angel hair pasta
- 1/2 lb asparagus ends trimmed and chopped
- 2 plum tomatoes diced
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Heat a large pot of boiling water over high heat. Cook pasta for 3 minutes, adding asparagus after 1 minute. Drain both and set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook shrimp, seasoning with salt and pepper, for 1 minute per side until no longer translucent. Remove shrimp (leaving as much butter in the pan as possible) then add garlic, sauteeing for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add in wine, cooking for 1-2 minutes until reduced by half. Pour in chicken broth, heavy cream and parmesan cheese, stirring until thickened. Add shrimp back to pan, along with cooked pasta and asparagus.
- Add tomatoes, then toss to combine and remove from heat. Serve garnished with parsley if desired then enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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