Cajun Shrimp Scampi

Everybody loves their classic scampi, right? Fat, succulent shrimp sautéed in rich buttery, garlicky, lemony sauce with a splash of white wine, and topped with a sprinkling of parsley and parmesan. It’s perfect in itself! We cook it all the time.

Many scampi aficionados would scoff if you add or subtract anything to it. But at the Beisers’ we experiment with our classics all the time. A few years back, my husband tweaked it just a little by adding some extra Cajun flavors for one special dinner. It was AAAmazing! That was Valentines 2017… ❤ We want to share this recipe with you this year so you can try it this coming Friday!!

This Valentines do you want to ditch the restaurant and cook something for that most special someone? Let me tell ya, it’s a win win. You are going to save a ton of money, as restaurants charge you bomb on special days.

And what better way to woo your valentine than by cooking a fancy, elegant cracker of a meal. And the cherry on top? It’s extremely quick and easy, so no slaving in the kitchen. Just raise a glass and have a fun date night with this Cajun shrimp scampi.

For the most of the part, it’s your regular scampi. But this is elevated by the Cajun flavors and made creamier by a dash of cream. Mark my words, you are going to fall in love with this new way of scampi-ing!!

What is Cajun scampi?

Before doing Cajun, let’s talk about classic scampi. This fancy and elegant dish is an extremely popular dish in Italian and seafood restaurants. The shrimp comes either just coated or swimming in the most decadent, delicious sauce of butter (of course!), lots of garlic, a hint of lemon, some dry white wine, and topped with fresh of parsley.

Most of the time it comes on a bed of linguine or angel hair pasta as a hearty meal, but some restaurants do serve shrimp scampi with some crusty bread as an appetizer. I would rather have both, as it’s great with pasta and one needs to polish off that buttery divineness with a side of that crusty bread.

Now imagine all this and some added Cajun seasoning and enhanced with a touch of cream. The whole scampi experience is over the top beautiful, with your taste buds perking up to amazing Cajun scampi flavors.

Here is what you need when you shop for Cajun shrimp scampi:

• Shrimp – We personally love fresh, extra large or jumbo shrimps for our scampi. They are fat and juicy. You can buy frozen as well, just thaw them in cold water. Depending on whether they are peeled or unpeeled can to add a little time to the recipe. But the rest goes so fast that I don’t mind peeling some shrimp. Especially when I find a nice deal on wild caught shrimp. Yes they are little more expensive than farm raised, but the flavor of wild caught is unmatched. We are keeping the tails on, but that’s a personal preference.
• Olive oil – A nice quality olive oil for this dish.
• Butter – The most important part of that scampi sauce. The sauce is the hero here. It can elevate scampi from bland to oh-so-good-I-can’t-stop-eating.
• Garlic – Lots of it. Scampi without a nice chunk of garlic is unheard of.
• Salt and pepper – To taste.
• Lemon juice – Fresh please. A hint of lemon is so so important.
• White wine – It helps to combine all the flavors. We like some dry wine like sav blanc or chardonnay. Teetotalers can use a little chicken stock instead to build up flavors.
• Chopped fresh parsley – A nice little sprinkling of this fresh green herb is so inviting, and an excellent mild addition to end it all.
• Parmesan – For garnish.
• Cajun seasoning – Now comes the special part of this recipe to jump start the scampi flavors.
• Cream – Adds a creamy lusciousness to that scampi sauce.

How to make Cajun shrimp scampi

We suggest you get all the chopping (in this case just garlic and parsley… sounds easy already?) out of the way before you start cooking. It goes pretty fast, and you don’t want overcooked rubbery shrimp.

The rest is simple. Heat up the olive oil and 3 Tbsp butter together in a pan over medium heat. Sauté the chopped garlic for a quick 30 seconds to a minute, until fragrant. Add the white wine and cook for a few minutes.

Then in go the shrimp and Cajun seasoning.Stir so all ingredients are well combined. Let it cook until the shrimp are almost done, about 3-5 minutes depending on the size.

Stir in the lemon juice, cream and remaining 1 Tbsp of butter (yeah, we need plenty of butter. You have a good excuse, it’s Valentines after all).

Cook for an additional minute. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, and chopped parsley. One quick stir and this deliciousness is ready to be served to the love of your life with of your favorite pasta or zoodles. Don’t forget some crusty hot bread on the side to mop up that golden rich sauce, and some nice wine to sip alongside this beautiful meal.

Frequently asked questions

Can you make it low carb or keto?
Yup. Doesn’t it look keto already minus pasta or bread? Just serve it up with some steamed veggies, or how about those yummy green zoodles?

How long you can store this scampi?
Well, seafood is great when you eat it freshly cooked. At the most, we suggest you finish it off by next day if you made giant batch.

I hope all of my readers and followers have a lovely Valentines day. Keep on reading and showing support to GypsyPlate!! We love our followers, who are growing every day. All it needs is your LOVE ❤ !! HAPPY VALENTINES ❤ !!!

Cajun Shrimp Scampi on my Gypsy Plate… enjoy!

While you’re here, check out my roundup of the best shrimp recipes!

Cajun Shrimp Scampi

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

This Cajun shrimp scampi is so quick and easy you can make it any weeknight. But it is so fancy and tasty you just might want to save it for special occasions!

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Ingredients

• 1 lb shrimp
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning (see note 1)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• Salt to taste
• Fresh ground pepper to taste
• Parmesan cheese for garnishing

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil and 3 Tbsp butter in sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Add garlic, sauté 30-60 seconds.
3. Add white wine, reduce 2-3 minutes.
4. Stir in shrimp and Cajun seasoning. Cook 3-5 minutes, depending on size of shrimp. The shrimp should be almost fully cooked.
5. Add remaining butter, lemon juice and cream. Stir and cook an additional minute.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste, as well as parsley.
7. Serve hot over pasta or zoodles.

Notes

1. Be aware of the sodium content of your Cajun seasoning. If you are using store bought, this can vary dramatically, so additional salt may or may not be necessary.

Nutrition Information

Yield 4 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 415Total Fat 26gSaturated Fat 12gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 12gCholesterol 288mgSodium 2162mgCarbohydrates 7gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 27g

Nutrition information calculated by Nutritionix.

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Welcome to GypsyPlate! I'm Alpana, former wordwide tour manager and professional caterer, now full time blogger. I love exploring cuisines from around the world, and my recipes have been featured on sites such as MSN, Parade, Brit + Co, CNET and AOL. You can explore my entire collection of sortable recipes in my Recipe Index or learn more about me here.