This flavor-packed shrimp saganaki comes together in 30 minutes or less! Shrimp simmer in a fragrant tomato sauce with garlic, spices, fresh herbs, and a generous sprinkle of creamy feta cheese.
In Greece, shrimp saganaki is a beloved summer dish. It’s usually served as a mezze with ouzo, an anise-flavored Greek liquor. I love it just as much for a weeknight family dinner any time of year! It’s quick, healthy, comforting, and made with simple pantry staples–what’s not to love?
The Greek word saganaki refers to any dish cooked in a small, two-handled frying pan—like the famous feta saganaki—though a regular skillet works just as well for this Greek shrimp recipe.
You simply marinate the shrimp with Greek-style seasonings while you make the rustic tomato sauce. The shrimp cooks in in just about 5 minutes! Serve with pita, plain orzo, or Greek lemon rice to catch the sauce.
What is in Shrimp Saganaki?
Shrimp saganaki traditionally includes ouzo. I didn’t have any on hand, and the recipe was delicious. That said, feel free to add 1/4 cup to the skillet along with the tomatoes. Here’s what you’ll need to make this extra easy take on shrimp saganaki:
- Shrimp: Shrimp saganaki is best made with larger shrimp because you want them to stay plump and juicy as they cook, which can be difficult when they are too small. So look for shrimp that’s either labeled “31/35” or “21/25”. Frozen shrimp works great, just be sure to thaw it first.
- READ MORE: See our Guide to Buying and Cooking Shrimp for tips on buying, thawing, peeling, and deveining, and more.
- Seasonings: Dried Greek oregano, dried dill, red pepper flakes (optional), salt, pepper, and garlic.
- Extra virgin olive oil: A Greek EVOO like our Early Harvest is a good option here, because it has a robust, peppery flavor that will enhance the dish.
- Red onion: You can use a yellow onion instead, if you don’t have red onions.
- Tomatoes: I used a can of diced tomato with a bit of the liquid drained. If you would prefer, you can use about 10 fresh Roma tomatoes.
- Fresh lemon juice: Substitute with fresh lime.
- Fresh herbs: I used fresh mint and Italian parsley, but you can use dill or cilantro, too!
- Feta cheese (Optional): I like to crumble 2 to 3 ounces of feta cheese, straight from the block in the brine. The pre-crumbled stuff is always too dry.
- Kalamata olives (optional): Don’t like olives? No problem! Leave them out.
How to Make Shrimp Saganaki
Because shrimp cooks so quickly, this saganaki dish comes together in 30 minutes or less. And, if you use peeled and deveined shrimp, prep is minimal! Here’s how to make it:
- Prep your flavor-makers. Mince 6 garlic cloves. Chop 1 large red onion. Chop a generous handful of both mint and parsley. Optionally, chop 6 pitted Kalamata olives.
- Season the shrimp. Pat 1 1/2 pounds jumbo shrimp dry and place in a large bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano, dried dill, and minced garlic. Season with a big pinch of salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to combine.
- Make the sauce. In a large heavy skillet, heat about 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium. When the oil shimmers, add the onion and remaining minced garlic. Stir briefly until fragrant. Drain off about half of the liquid from a (28-ounce) can of diced tomatoes and add, along with the juice of 1/2 lemon. Season with pinch of salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon oregano and dill. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium-low and let simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the marinated shrimp. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp turn pink, 5 to 7 minutes. Take care not to overcook shrimp.
- Finish and serve. Stir in the mint and parsley. Finish with a sprinkle of feta and Kalamata olives (if using). Season with more lemon juice, salt, and/or red pepper flakes to your taste. Enjoy!
What to Serve with Shrimp Saganaki
I love to serve this Greek shrimp in tomato sauce over a bed of plain orzo pasta or couscous. If you’re gluten-free, try it with Greek lemon rice. If nothing else, grab your favorite crusty bread to sop up all the delicious sauce, perhaps with a traditional Greek salad on the side!
More Greek-Style Shrimp Recipes
Fish and Seafood
Easy Mediterranean Shrimp Kabobs
Fish and Seafood
Shrimp and Broccoli Skillet with Ladolemono Sauce
Fish and Seafood
Shrimp and Orzo in a Garlic Tomato Sauce
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Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined (21/25, thawed if frozen)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano (divided)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried dill (divided)
- Red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- 6 garlic cloves, minced (divided)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large red onion, chopped
- 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomato, drain only some of the liquid
- 1/2 lemon, juiced, plus more to taste
- Generous handful chopped fresh mint
- Generous handful chopped fresh parsley
- 2 ounces Greek feta, plus more to taste
- 6 pitted Kalamata olives, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Season the shrimp. Pat the shrimp dry and place in a large bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon each oregano, dill, and minced garlic. Season with a big pinch of salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to combine.
- Make the sauce. In a large heavy skillet, heat about 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium. When the oil shimmers, add the onion and remaining minced garlic. Stir briefly until fragrant. Drain off about half of the liquid from the canned tomatoes and add, along with the lemon juice. Season with pinch of salt, pepper, and remaining 1 teaspoon oregano and dill. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium-low and let simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the marinated shrimp. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp turn pink, 5 to 7 minutes. Take care not to overcook shrimp.
- Finish and serve. Stir in the mint and parsley. Finish with a sprinkle of feta and Kalamata olives (if using). Season with more lemon juice, salt, and/or red pepper flakes to your taste. Enjoy!
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Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including the olive oil and spices used in this recipe.
- How to store and reheat leftovers: Store leftover shrimp saganaki in the fridge in an airtight container. It will keep well for 2 to 3 days. It tastes good even at room temperature, but if you need to heat it, use medium heat just to warm through (avoid heating for too long or shrimp will turn rubbery).
- Tip for juicy shrimp: The most important thing here is not to overcook the shrimp. Shrimp will start off translucent, gray, and a bit flimsy. They are done when they turn completely opaque and pink in color with bright-red tails.
Nutrition
Try Our Greek Oregano!
This dried herb straight from Greece is lemony, fragrant, and perfect for everyday use.
*This post has recently been updated with new information for the readers’ benefit.
WOW, made this for the first time tonight and my taste buds are ding their happy dance. Thank you, Suzy!!
My pleasure! So glad you enjoyed it!
Made this tonight and loved it! Easy and great flavors. I served it over orzo as suggested. Will definitely make this again Thanks for another great recipe!
I made this recipe last night and while it was delicious it was a tomato overload. My husband and I recently figured out that recipes heavy on nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant) cause problems after eating. I was wondering if the sauce for this recipe could be changed to something not so predominantly tomato. Is there a way to lighten it up?
Hi, Mern! Maybe try something with a more lemon/white wine-based sauce. Here’s a good one that we have: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/lemon-garlic-shrimp-recipe/
I made this and my mom and I couldn’t stop eating it. It was soooooo delicious. I did add roasted red peppers and some lemon zest, and dried basil since I didn’t have mint. Honestly, it was so ridiculously simple. I’ve made extremely complicated shrimp dishes before that cannot even compete with this. Thank you so much for posting this recipe. This one is a real winner…can’t wait to try more of them.
Thanks for sharing, Yessie!
Hi Suzy, this turned out great! Such an easy to follow recipe, yet the flavour was just fabulous. Will definitely make this often. Thank you:)
Yay! Thanks, Lee!
This is a very delicious shrimp recipe! We had leftovers and it was even better the next day. The flavors had time to blend and the red pepper flakes had just spread their kick around to the right amount. We skipped the mint though. We were just fine with the parsley as fresh herbs. Definitely the Kalamata olives were not to be optional for us!
So glad you enjoyed it, Jean! Thanks for sharing!
I’ve made this dish three times already – absolutely delicious and wonderfully light. Served it with Couscous!
Awesome! So glad
Wow! I was going to make my usual Lemon Garlic Shrimp over pasta with white wine sauce for dinner tonight but wanted to try something new. I Googled “Greek shrimp recipes” and found your site! I made the Greek Shrimp with Tomato & Feta and served it over couscous with pita wedges and tzatziki. My whole family LOVED IT! It’s their new favorite dinner and Suzy your site is my new Go-To site for great healthy Mediterranean dishes!
Rich, thank you so much for the kind feedback! So glad this recipe worked out for you. And welcome to The Mediterranean Dish!
Thank you so much, Rich!
Scrumtious
So glad!
Excellent so flavorful
Glad you enjoyed it, Chela!
Wanted a new idea to cook some white fish, so tried this recipe, just substituting the fish for the shrimp. It was WONDERFUL! Husband (who is not a lover of fish usually) demands that we have this regularly in future. Thanks.
That’s great! Thanks, Carol!
Made this dish last night leaving out the olives, OMG, delicious! The only thing missing was a glass of ouzo! Thank you for sharing.
My pleasure! So glad you enjoyed it!
Now this one really surprised me. I knew it ould be good because everything I try from this site is amazing. But I was not prepared for how good it was going to be as it was so simple, with very few spices. But i could eat this over and over again, It is officially a favorite in our house and on the rotation. I did add one thing, a well diced red bell pepper. I would keep doing that for us. So fabulous. I would make this for company anytime!
I’m so glad you loved it, Kim! Thank you!
Can I use one can of diced tomatoes and a can of crushed tomatoes?
Sure!
This was yummy and quick! Wondering if it can be frozen. Have you tried freezing leftovers?
I made last night, very easy and delicious!!!