Easy Mediterranean Shrimp Recipe

Name: Easy Mediterranean Shrimp Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients: 1 Lebanese Rice recipe (or make rice according to package), optional; 1 1/4 lb large shrimp (or prawns), peeled and deveined (if frozen, be sure to thaw first); 1 tbsp all-purpose flour; 2 tsp smoked Spanish paprika; 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper; 1/2 tsp ground coriander; 1/4 tsp cayenne; 1/4 tsp sugar; 1 tbsp butter (I prefer to use ghee clarified butter); 3 tbsp Private Reserve extra virgin olive oil; 3 shallots (about 3 1/2 ounces), thinly sliced; 4 garlic cloves, chopped; 1/2 green bell pepper and 1/2 yellow bell pepper (about 6 ounces in total), sliced; 1 cup canned diced tomato; 1/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth; 2 tbsp dry white wine; 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice; 1/3 cup chopped parsley leaves

May 8, 2019 | Updated July 17, 2019 | By Suzy Karadsheh | 99 Comments

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This Easy shrimp recipe is your ticket to a delicious and quick dinner (ready in just 25 minutes!) Here, shrimp are coated in Mediterranean spices, then quickly cooked in a light white wine-olive oil sauce with shallots, bell peppers, and tomatoes. So much flavor! Serve over rice, pasta or your favorite grain! Be sure to read through for my tips, step-by-step tutorial and video toward the bottom of the post.

If you liked this one, check out: Easy Seafood Paella; Grilled Cod Gyros; Italian Skillet Chicken; Greek Baked Cod with Lemon and Garlic; Shrimp Zucchini Panzanella Salad

Lately, I’ve taken to buying bags of already peeled and deveined shrimp from the freezer section. It makes life so much easier! In a pinch, which happens a lot more often than you think, I know I can reach for my skillet and go after an easy shrimp dinner.

This might explains why I don’t tire of creating easy shrimp recipes over here on the blog. To name a few: grilled shrimp with garlic cilantro sauce; Mediterranean shrimp skewers; shrimp orzo soup; spicy shrimp and Chorizo couscous.

Why this Easy Shrimp Recipe Works?

In this easy shrimp recipe, shrimp derive flavor from a quick coating of smoked Spanish paprika, coriander, and a pinch of cayenne. I add a little flour to help thicken the sauce later (you can totally omit the flour for the gluten free version.) Then, the shrimp are tossed in the skillet with shallots, tomato, garlic and bell peppers. Pulling everything together is a tasty, light sauce with a simple combination of extra virgin olive oil, white wine and citrus. That’s it!

This is super easy to make, the only thing to make sure of is that you don’t overcook the shrimp. I have a couple tips on that for you…

Tips for Perfectly Cooked Shrimp

It’s really hard to mess up an easy shrimp recipe like this one. The only thing here is to avoid over-cooking the shrimp. No one likes chewy, rubbery shrimp, right? Shrimp cook so very quickly, so don’t take your eyes off the skillet. How do you know when they’re ready?

It’s really not hard to figure out when shrimp are done, their color turns from grey to orange with bright red tails. When you see that one side is starting to turn pink, you are so close. At that point, you might use your wooden spoon to toss the shrimp quick so that it turns color on the other side.

A trick I learned from Bon Appetit is to keep my eyes locked onto the thickest part of the shrimp (the opposite end as the tail), and when the flesh at the base of the crevice where the vein was turns from translucent to opaque, the shrimp is done and you should take it off the heat.

Remember your skillet is still hot even if you’ve turned the heat off. Shrimp will continue to cook a little bit longer.

In terms of texture, perfectly cooked shrimp should be plump and juicy, but firm to the bite.

Step-by-Step for How to Make This Easy Shrimp Recipe

1. Pat peeled, deviened shrimp dry and place in a bowl. Add a little flour, spices, salt and pepper. Toss to coat.

2. Garb a large skillet (I like to use cast iron), melt ghee and olive oil over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook for a little bit, 2 to 3 minutes or so until fragrant (be sure not to burn the garlic.)

3. Now add bell peppers and cook, tossing occasionally, for 4 minutes or so.

4. Now add the shrimp. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, tossing

5. Now we add the liquid, diced tomatoes, broth, white wine and lemon juice. Cook for 5 minutes or so, submerging the shrimp in with your wooden spoon. Watch for shrimp to turn bright orange in color (remember, watch the thickets part of the shrimp, when that turns color, shrimp is ready.) Turn heat off and add a sprinkle of fresh parsley.

What to Serve Along?

This shrimp recipe is meant to be a quick weeknight dinner, but will totally impress company. To turn in into dinner, I typically add a side of rice (or grain of choice) and a quick salad to start things off. Salad options are endless. If you want to start with hearty salad, try Balela or this Mediterranean Chickpea Salad with Eggplant. Otherwise, this quick 3-ingredient Mediterranean salad always does the trick for me.

If you have the time and want to add another something to start, this easy baba ganoush or this smoky loaded baba ganoush have been my go-tos lately!

Watch My video for How I Make this Easy Shrimp Recipe:

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