Shrimp scampi, which is basically shrimp cooked in a butter, garlic and lemon sauce, is one of my favourite meals! The other day I was enjoying some cilantro lime grilled shrimp and I could not help but think that the fabulous cilantro and lime flavour combo would be great in shrimp scampi! I mean if you take something that is already good, like butter and garlic, and combine it with something else that is great, like cilantro and lime, you can only get something even better! I was right! The buttery, garlicky, cilantro and lime sauce is absolutely amazing with shrimp; and it’s so quick and easy to make! You can serve this cilantro lime shrimp scampi all by itself, with crusty bread, on rice, on pasta, on quinoa, etc. or my current obsession, zucchini noodles to make for a complete, light summer meal!
Cilantro Lime Shrimp Scampi with Zucchini Noodles
Shrimp in a tasty butter, garlic and lime sauce with plenty of fresh cilantro/coriander served on zucchini noodles!
ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 pound jumbo shrimp (16-24), shelled and deveined
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1/4 cup white wine or chicken broth or shrimp broth or vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (~1 lime)
- 3 medium zucchini, cut into noodles
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
directions
- Melt the butter in a pan over medium-high heat until frothing, add the shrimp, cook for 2 minutes, flip, add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 more minute before setting the shrimp aside.
- Add the white wine and lime juice to the pan, deglaze it, simmer for 2 minutes, add the zucchini noodles and cook until just tender, about 2 minutes, before seasoning with salt and pepper, adding the shrimp, lime zest and cilantro, tossing everything and removing from the heat.
Looks like a great summer meal!
You know, Kevin, I was going to quit your site over all the "Cilantro" based recipes. You see, when it comes to cilantro there are two types of people…those that love it and those that can't stand it (to me it tastes like raw gasoline…and yes, after 20 years in an auto body shop I do know the taste of raw gasoline….tastes just like cilantro.) Then I found that Italian flat leaf parsley does a amazing job as a replacement. So, with that in mind, I have decided to stay with your site and just substitute the Italian flat leaf parsley for the cilantro…:-D
James. your aversion to cilantro is genetic. It tastes like soap to me, and even a little bit of it makes my brother violently ill. I’m glad to know that Italian flat leaf parsley can be used in its place. I scroll by almost every recipe with cilantro in the title, but I love shrimp and lime, so I thought that I would check this one out. I’m eager to try it with the parsley substitute. Thanks!
The trick using Cilantro is not to overkill , I don’t particularly like the taste either but less is best & just to taste a hint of it is refreshing especially with lime
Kevin, you post the BEST recipes! I'll be making this one soon! Thanks for all you do!
This looks wonderful! I love the cilantro and lime!
That shrimp looks too good. Love the idea of this dish, decadent but yet so good for you.
Oh man, this shrimp looks wonderful!!
I have to agree with James, to me it tastes like soap. I read that is a genetic trait, and my sibs also do not like its taste. I will also substitute parsley, or maybe basil.
In your instructions it says "Heat the oil and melt the butter…." What oil? Your recipe only mentions butter.
You say to add oil with the butter, but no oil is listed in the ingredient list. So…EVOO? And how much? 1 or 2 Tbsp?
How does one "cut zucchini into noodles"?
The flavor in this dish was absolutely amazing! Big, big hit for dinner. I was dying for a little piece of french bread to soak up the leftover sauce in the bottom.
I do have to disagree with the serving size.. I doubled the zoodles (I used 8 small-medium zucchini) and made a bit more sauce and two of us demolished this dish (we did have a few shrimp leftover). I can't imagine this serving four!
Kevin I have been on your site for a long time & to the hater or "Cilantro", well I used to hate it myself & now I love it..& it is definitely not a reason to stay away from your site. I hate goat cheese, but I would not stay away from something just because I did not like a certain element in the recipe. But that comes from maybe not being up on more refined recipes. I think you post the most amazing recipes I have seen. Just keep doing what you do…absolutely wonderful!!!
This is What's For Dinner tonight! I think I'll throw in some baby tomatoes, too!
As for cilantro, it used to taste like soap to me, too. Apparently, it's a genetic trait. For some strange reason that changed and now I love it!
I will definitely use this recipe,. I am very foodie 😛
Thanks for sharing
This was great I will add this recepi to my book for sure
Cilantro is definitely an acquired taste you either like it or you don't there is no middle ground, but this recipe looks amazing.
What is the serving size on your nutritional info?
I tried this tonight and it was so amazing!
Thank you Kevin. I can’t wait to try this one. I love your recipes, and find them very easy to incorporate into my WW points. Keep up the great work.
Nice light recipe. Had to spin the zoodles to remove most of the moisture. End result was fantastic. Zoodles were aldente and left enough moisture behind with flavors from wine, pepper flakes and garlic. Will make again. Thank you for this recipe.
Why do you leave the tails on the shrimp when the dish is not an appetizer or finger food? The shrimp look pretty, but the tails are inedible. How do you eat dishes like this without using your fingers to remove the tails? I suppose you could use a knife and fork to cut the tails off.
Leaving the shrimp tails on is more for presentation. If I am serving this to close friends and/or family I simply remove the tails before cooking. Enjoy!
Sounded good until the cilantro part was added (aka: the devil’s weed). Some of the human population have a genetic disposition against cilantro, which tastes like soap to us. It was a way to prevent food poisoning of people from poisonous plants. Those who did NOT have this taste reaction…well…many did not fare well. I’ll leave it at that. I would omit the cilantro, but the rest of the recipe sounds wonderful.
Dear Katherine,
Forget eating cilantro (coriander leaf). Just let the plant mature and save the seeds to pound and add ( a few) into a lovely rice for curry, etc. BTW, I love your name. My anonymous thoughts exactly.