Name: Spicy Shrimp Scampi
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 stick butter; 1/2 cup olive oil; 4 cloves garlic (chopped fine); 12 oz chili sauce (you choose the heat!); 3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 3 Tbsp lemon juice; 1 Tbsp chopped parsley; 2 tsp oregano; 1/2-1 tsp cayenne pepper

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Spicy Shrimp Scampi is buttery, full of flavor and tastes delicious over angel hair pasta. This buttery scampi sauce with shrimp is simple, impressive and only takes a few minutes to prep.

What is Shrimp Scampi?

Shrimp Scampi is a dish usually made with shrimp cooked in a buttery garlic sauce. Many versions also include wine, but this version calls for chili sauce to add a little more spice and flavor. You can choose a more mild chili sauce if you aren’t a huge fan of spice, but still want all the flavor!

We like to serve Spicy Shrimp Scampi over angel hair pasta, but you can eat it with zucchini noodles or even without noodles for a great low-carb meal option.

What kind of shrimp to use?

If you have access to completely fresh shrimp, that would be the best option. Most of us can only buy shrimp that has already been frozen and then is thawed to sell at the meat counter. You can buy thawed shrimp there, but sometimes it’s been sitting there for a couple days. To avoid this, you can just buy a bag of frozen shrimp and then thaw it completely right before preparing the shrimp scampi.

I usually use extra large shrimp…it’s not as big as it sounds! There are usually jumbo or colossal varieties that are much bigger, so extra large or sometimes even large are usually the perfect size. This recipe calls for a pound of shrimp, so you’ll want to choose a size that gives you about 20-30 shrimp per pound.

Ingredients in Spicy Shrimp Scampi

Butter: Make sure to use real butter, not margarine! It might seem like a lot of butter, but this makes the sauce so don’t skimp!

Olive oil: Combined with the butter, the olive oil creates the best flavor and consistency for the scampi sauce.

Garlic: You’ll need about 4 cloves of fresh garlic, finely chopped. I always keep a jar of minced garlic in the refrigerator to use for recipes like this – it saves a lot of time and effort! You’ll need about 2 tsp of minced garlic to replace the 4 fresh cloves. Sometimes I add a little bit of extra though so if you really like garlic, go ahead and add a little extra!

Chili sauce: This is where the spice comes from. You can make the scampi sauce as mild or hot as you want by choosing whatever variety of chili sauce you’d like.

Worcestershire sauce: Adds another splash of flavor to the sauce!

Lemon juice: You’ll need a few tablespoons, so you can use lemon juice from the fridge or you can squeeze one medium sized lemon and use fresh lemon juice.

Chopped parsley: If you use fresh, use 1 tablespoon. If you are using dried parsley, you’ll only need about a teaspoon.

Oregano: Classic Italian spice that adds flavor to the sauce.

Cayenne pepper: Adds more heat/spice to the scampi sauce. You can leave out completely for a milder flavor, but use up to 1 tsp if you can handle it!

How to make Spicy Shrimp Scampi

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large pan, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat until the butter is melted. Sauté the garlic in the butter and olive oil for about 3-4 minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients and stir together until heated.

Wash the shrimp and drain well.

Place the shrimp in a greased 9X13 pan. Cover with the sauce and bake for 30 minutes. Serve over angel hair.