Every night, Ben and I try to spend few minutes reading for leisure. Most of the time, he reaches for the latest prize-winning nonfiction, and I opt for (surprise!) a cooking magazine. It suits us. He can count on me for an unending supply of fresh dinners like today’s Healthy Shrimp Scampi with Zucchini Noodles, and I can rest assured that he’ll always have an intelligent topic for us to discuss while we eat them.
Well, except for that one time he was reading about a shipwreck in the Arctic Ocean, and I kept changing the subject. As someone who is freezing when the temperature dips below 68 degrees, I can only handle so much information about surviving amongst ice caps.
Meanwhile, on my side of the bed, the reading material is much warmer. The most recent magazines to land on our doorstep have been filled with gorgeous, glossy photos of a food group that is hitting its peak: VEGETABLES.
Summer is produce primetime. If you’ve been looking to incorporate more veggies into your diet, there could not be a better time of year (or a better recipe!) to begin.
The Making of Healthy Shrimp Scampi
Although I’m conscious of making sure we have vegetables at every meal, with the exception of hearty, main dish salads, I typically serve them on the side versus as the true base of the dish.
After a solid hour of ogling magazine spreads depicting epic, veggie-centric, farm-to-table feasts (including one prepared by the author of my latest cookbook impulse buy), however, I decided that it was time to take my vegetable game one step farther: zucchini noodles.
{Side note: have you ever noticed how many different shapes of glassware and dishware are used in those farm table photo shoots? Does every barn have a bottomless supply of custom pottery and mason jars just waiting to be placed at the table on a casual Tuesday night? If so, I’m a little jealous…of the supply, not the clean up.}
Back to Healthy Shrimp Scampi!
This healthy shrimp recipe a lightened-up, veggie-fied twist on classic shrimp scampi, a dish traditionally made with pasta, butter, lemon, more butter, garlic, and extra butter. I kept the essentials—the garlic, lemon, Parm, and, yes, the butter—but modified the amounts of each to make the recipe more balanced. (Sidenote: My Baked Shrimp Scampi and Garlic Shrimp with Quinoa are two other healthy shrimp recipes inspired by shrimp scampi!)
The biggest, most obvious healthy shrimp scampi swap is that I’ve replaced the traditional pasta noodles with zucchini noodles (a.k.a. zoodles) I made using this spiralizer. I am a relative latecomer to the sprializer game, but I am oh so happy to be here at last.
Not only are the zoodles a healthy, low-calorie, and low-carb option to replace pasta, but their mild flavor can easily adapt to a wide range of flavors, including the heap of lemon and garlic you’ll find in this light shrimp scampi recipe. (Looking to use up more zucchini? Try this fast and easy Zucchini Stir Fry.) Looking to add another boost of veggies? Try serving Oven Roasted Asparagus alongside this recipe)
Recipe Adaptations
- To Add Pasta. If you aren’t ready to go all veg, you can also do a 50-50 blend of zucchini noodles and whole wheat pasta noodles. (Looking for another veg-heavy noodle dish? Garlic Shrimp Pasta or Healthy Shrimp Pad Thai might fit the bill!)
- Shrimp Scampi with Wine. To make the recipe as accessible as possible, I made this healthy shrimp scampi without wine, opting for chicken stock instead. Most shrimp scampi recipes do call for wine, so if you’d like to stick with tradition (or need another good reason to open a bottle), you can certainly add any dry white wine you’d also enjoy sipping alongside your serving.
- Switch the Protein. Want to switch up the shrimp? Try my Chicken Scampi recipe!
More Healthy Shrimp Recipes To Enjoy
- Garlic Shrimp with Quinoa
- Garlic Shrimp Pasta
- Garlic Butter Shrimp
- Lemon Shrimp Pasta with Orzo
- Shrimp Pasta with Roasted Red Peppers and Artichokes
- Healthy Shrimp Alfredo
Tools Used to Make This Recipe
- Spiralizer
- This enamel/cast iron braiser (this is another good, more affordable option)
Healthy Shrimp Scampi with Zucchini Noodles
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)
- 1 pound large raw shrimp peeled and deveined with tails on (fresh or frozen and thawed)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ cup low-sodium chicken broth or white wine
- Zest of 1/2 lemon
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 ½ pounds zucchini noodles from about 4 medium zucchini
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
Instructions
- Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the shallot and cook until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the shrimp, salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Sauté for 3 minutes, until the shrimp are beginning to cook but are still somewhat translucent.
- Add the chicken broth, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute, just until the shrimp are completely opaque and cooked through. Stir in the zucchini noodles and parsley. Toss the noodles with the shrimp so that they are coated with the garlic-lemon sauce and heat just until warmed through. (Do not overcook or the zucchini noodles will become mushy.) Sprinkle with parsley and Parmesan. Serve warm.
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Nutrition
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This recipe was great! I will definitely put it in my meal rotation. I did not have lemon zest so I just used bottled lemon juice. I’m sure it would be even better with fresh lemon juice. I definitely recommend using the white wine. It was absolutely delicious! Thank you for the recipe. I’m looking forward to trying your other recipes. :)
Hi Sophia! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
This recipe is a monthly staple in my house. My fiance requests that I make it all the time. Sometimes if I don’t have time to make the zoodles I’ll just do some sort of veggie or supergreens pasta.
Hi Brooke! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
It was bland. I was sad to have spent 2 pounds of good shrimp on this.
I’m sorry to hear the recipe wasn’t to your taste, Lindsay. I know it’s disappointing to try a new recipe and not enjoy it. I (and many other readers) have enjoyed it, so I really wish they would’ve been a hit for you too!
Why didn’t you just add seasoning? _
This recipe is AWESOME. I’ve been trying to cook more meals for myself and this recipe was so simple but delicious! I couldn’t get some of the ingredients and I didn’t have a spiralizer but it was still so so good even though I screwed up some of the zoodles.
Hi Lily! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Made this today and will definitely make in the future. My husband loved it and he is rather hard to please with vegetables. This plate was a home run. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Pes! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
This recipe is great! We sautéed our zoodles at high heat so they have a little brown on them (we make them ourselves, so they are pretty wide compared to the ones you buy at the store).
Great to hear Deb!
Made it, too lemony and just nasty.
I’m sorry to hear the recipe wasn’t to your taste, Cindy. I know it’s disappointing to try a new recipe and not enjoy it. I (and many other readers) have enjoyed it, so I really wish they would’ve been a hit for you too!
fabulous recipe for clean eating! So much better than the scampi in the restaurants made with so much butter and oil. Will make again :)
Hooray, I am so glad to hear it. Thanks for taking time to share this review!
This met all my expectations when I read the recipe. Perfect for a healthy meal. We loved it!! I used wine instead of chicken broth. Perfect!
So happy to hear this, thank you Robyn!
We love this recipe! I add spinach, mushrooms, petite tomatoes and artichoke hearts. So delicious!
Yum! Thanks Tonya!
This was delicious. Even my 11y old daughter asked that I make this regularly.
Yay! Thank you Rebecca!
This was very good and very healthy. I planned to make shrimp with whole wheat pasta but the pasta was not available so I found this recipe instead which we enjoyed.
Glad to hear! Thank you!
What a strange way to cook shrimp. Basically boiling them. So bland!!! And the dish was sooooo watery. It was like soup. Honestly I regret peeling and deveining a pound of good shrimp for this dish. I followed recipe to a T.
Do you self a favor, cook the shrimp separately to get a nice char and flavor. Cook the “sauce” separately and add something that will thicken the sauce. And toss everything together at the end.
I’m sorry to hear you had trouble with the recipe, Kiki. The first step is actually sautéing the shrimp in the butter, garlic, and shallots which is has a big flavor profile along with the seasonings, but you could bump them up to fit your preferences. In order to make sure it isn’t watery from the shrimp they need to be completely thawed and from the zoodles it needs to be cooked a little less. Hope this helps!
My husband, my grandfather and I absolutely loved it! Keeping recipe. Definitely gonna be a regular item on our dinner menu.
Yay! Thank you Rebecca!
Delicious! This is a keeper! I used wine instead of broth and doubled the recipe (not the shrimp) to have more sauce to put over quinoa. Will definitely be making this again. Thank you Erin for another great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it, Linda! Thank you!
Made it with frozen zuchinni spirals that wer nuked first then drained and added to the shrimp scampi mixture – delish!
Great to hear, thank you Kathi!
I added a few sliced mushrooms, omitted the salt and parmesan and used only olive oil (no butter) for dietary needs. This was my first time making zucchini noodles and it was DELICIOUS! Husband loved it as well. We were both pleasantly surprised, lol. Definitely will make again. YUM
So happy to hear, thank you Jennifer! Looks great!
I added sliced fresh mushrooms, 1 cup half and half thickened with cornstarch, and a pack of Costco spinach ravioli cooked first. Added more cheese…… restaurant quality and unbelievably good!
Glad it worked well for you, Diana! Looks tasty!
So easy and delicious. Added some whole wheat pasta too.
So glad to hear, thank you Glynis!