Cilantro Lime Butter Shrimp
- PREP 15min
- COOK 5min
- TOTAL 20min
I love this garlic shrimp cooked in a creamy cilantro lime butter sauce. Serve this as an appetizer, with pasta, over rice, or in tortillas for tacos. The recipe is easy to adapt. Swap lime for lemon and try other tender herbs like parsley, dill, basil, or tarragon instead of cilantro.
You Will Need
1 pound (450g) extra large shrimp, peeled with tails left on and deveined
1 lime plus a few extra wedges for serving
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 tablespoons minced garlic, about 6 cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander, optional
2 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, chopped
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
Cook Shrimp
Pat the shrimp dry, then season it with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and fresh ground black pepper.
Zest the lime using a microplane and set aside. Cut the zested lime in half, ready for the sauce later in the recipe.
Add one tablespoon of the butter to a wide skillet. Save the remaining two tablespoons for later.
Place the skillet with butter over medium heat, then add the garlic and coriander. Stir the garlic around the pan until the butter melts and bubbles for about 1 minute.
Add the shrimp, nestling them into the pan so they are in one layer. A few shrimp stacked on top of each other is okay. Cook until the shrimp starts turning opaque, about 1 minute.
Stir in the scallions and lime zest. Continue to cook, stirring, until the shrimp are firm and opaque, another 1 to 2 minutes. Slide the skillet off the heat.
Add the cilantro, lime juice, and the remaining two tablespoons of butter. Stir the butter around the pan to melt into the lime juice, making the creamy butter sauce.
Taste, then season as needed with salt and pepper. Serve with extra lime wedges on the side.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Lemon garlic butter shrimp: Swap lime for lemon and cilantro for parsley, then follow the recipe as written above. Add a splash of dry white wine at the end for extra flavor.
- How to make spicy cilantro lime shrimp: Add 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes to the pan while adding the garlic.
- Olive oil instead of butter: While the sauce is not creamy, you can substitute olive oil for the butter. You will need one tablespoon to cook the Shrimp and only a light drizzle at the end (about half a tablespoon).
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.