20-Minute Shrimp Piccata

Lemony, garlicky, buttery shrimp piccata is on the table in 20 minutes. Serve over rice or as an appetizer straight from the skillet.

A simple and delicious classic.

Actually, Chicken Piccata is probably the more common version, but this recipe is pretty much the same except for the shrimp. Lemon, capers, garlic, wine, broth, butter and parsley come together in flavorful tangy sauce that coats the plump shrimp.

Some people – and you know who you are – would prefer to skip the extra butter in the final step. Try to restrain yourself. The butter creates a velvety smooth, slightly thickened sauce and adds a beautiful richness. If you are really wary of the butter, just add a bit less.

Here’s a good article from Epicurious on how to buy shrimp. Spoiler: it’s safest to buy frozen shrimp.

Tips on How To Make Shrimp Piccata

• Have everything ready to go before you start cooking as the process is quick.
• Use large shrimp so they don’t overcook.  I try to use 16-20 count which means 16-20 shrimp per pound.
• Pat the shrimp dry and toss with a light coating of flour to avoid them steaming in the pan instead of frying.
• Make sure the butter is cold when you whisk it into sauce at the end to avoid any greasiness.
• Add the parsley just before serving to keep its vibrant green color.
• You can vary the thickness of the sauce. For a thinner sauce, use less flour to dust the shrimp. For a thicker sauce mix 1 tsp of cornstarch into the broth before adding it.

Tailor To Your Taste

• You can replace the wine with broth if you prefer.
• Add more or less lemon, garlic, capers, salt.
• Replace the parsley with cilantro or chives or a combination of herbs.

Shortcut

• Buy pre-peeled and deveined shrimp

Serving Options

• Serving the shrimp over rice is pretty classic. I like to plate a bed of fresh baby spinach, then rice then the shrimp as you see in the pictures.
• If you’re looking to cut the calories, though (notwithstanding the butter!), a great option is our cauliflower rice stir fry.
• Other options include serving the shrimp with soft warmed dinner rolls to sop up the yummy juices or over pasta or quinoa.
• And don’t forget trying this dish as an appetizer served right out the pan. Guests inhale it and it’s fine to serve it at room temperature.

Make Ahead

• Shrimp Piccata is best made fresh.  You can, however, have all the ingredients prepped which will cut the time by half.  And, you can even get it down to just 5 minutes of cooking and assembly before serving by sautéing the shrimp ahead of time.

Quick and easy shrimp recipes you might like

• lemon pasta with shrimp in 30 minutes
• grilled shrimp tacos with coconut chili sauce
• shrimp lettuce wraps with mango slaw
• Thai shrimp curry
• shrimp cocktail recipe with homemade cocktail sauce
• butterflied shrimp (baked)
• simple paella recipe (this one takes 45 minutes)

Step by step

Other shrimp dishes you might like: