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This easy shrimp and rice recipe has juicy shrimp sautéed in a rich garlic butter sauce and tossed with fluffy rice. I finish mine with parmesan, risotto-style! It’s a quick, tasty dish that’s ready in 20 minutes.
Looking for more delicious shrimp recipes? Try my creamy shrimp alfredo linguine and this lemon herb garlic butter shrimp, next. You might also love this hearty chicken rice recipe!
Sometimes, the best-tasting recipes are the easiest to make. Case in point: This creamy garlic shrimp and rice! This quick and easy dinner idea combines juicy jumbo shrimp with a rich garlic butter sauce and fluffy minute rice. It’s fast, simple to prepare, and especially delicious if you’re as obsessed with garlic butter as I am.
Why I Love This Shrimp and Rice Recipe
- Quick and easy. With simple ingredients and easy steps, this shrimp with rice comes together in no time.
- Rich, flavor-packed sauce. Um, is there any flavor better than garlic and butter? If you love seafood recipes like shrimp scampi and garlic butter seared scallops served over rice, this is the dinner idea for you.
- Creamy parmesan goodness. Stirring in parmesan cheese right at the end creates the creamiest, most luxurious rice texture. It’s like a shortcut to risotto, and it really ties the whole thing together.
- Perfect for any occasion. This shrimp and rice dish is an easy weeknight meal, and I’ve also cracked it out at dinner parties. It’s a real all-rounder!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Unlike shrimp fried rice, which is quick to make with leftover rice, this recipe speeds things up with minute rice. You need just a handful of easy ingredients, which I cover below. Scroll down to the recipe card after the post for a printable ingredients list with the full recipe amounts and instructions.
- Minute Rice – You can actually make this shrimp and rice recipe with any rice you’d like, since you’ll be cooking it before you combine it with the shrimp. I’ve also made the occasion batch of Instant Pot jasmine rice to use instead of minute rice.
- Unsalted Butter – For sautéeing the shrimp, and to make the garlic butter sauce. You can use salted butter if you prefer.
- Garlic – Please, please use fresh garlic cloves for the best possible flavor. It makes all the difference!
- Shrimp – Peeled and deveined, fresh or frozen shrimp both work in this recipe. If you’re using frozen, thaw the shrimp completely in the fridge before you start.
- Parmesan Cheese – Ideally, grated fresh. You can also use pecorino or Asiago cheese.
- Milk – You can use 2%, whole milk, or any dairy or non-dairy milk you’d like. For an even richer dish, use half-and-half or heavy cream.
- Garnishes – I finish this dish off with a sprinkle of fresh parsley and extra parmesan cheese. A squeeze of lemon also brightens everything up!
How To Make Shrimp and Rice
This garlic shrimp and rice is one of my go-to recipes when I have zero time to think and no time to prepare. It’s ready in about 20 minutes and there’s hardly any clean-up! Here’s how to make it:
- Cook the rice. First, prepare the minute rice (or your rice of choice) according to the package directions or following your preferred method.
- Make the garlic butter sauce. Meanwhile, melt butter in a skillet. Add the garlic, stirring often until it’s fragrant, about a minute.
- Add the shrimp and rice. Now, stir in the shrimp and sauté for a couple of minutes until it’s pink. Then, add the cooked rice.
- Make it creamy. Lastly, fold in the cheese, milk, parsley, salt, and pepper. Give everything a good stir until it’s creamy and heated through. Remove from heat and serve!
Tips and Variations
- Opt for good-quality, fresh shrimp. Fresh is always best in terms of flavor. For convenience, I buy shrimp that’s already peeled and deveined. If needed, you can ask your local fish counter for guidance.
- Avoid rubbery shrimp. Shrimp have a short cooking time (often only a few minutes). To avoid a rubbery texture, keep a close eye on the little guys while they cook. You’ll know shrimp are done when they turn pink and curl into a “C” shape.
- Don’t burn the garlic! Burnt garlic tastes bitter, so do your very best to avoid overcooking the garlic. Turn the heat down or take the pan off the heat entirely if you notice it browning too quickly.
- More seafood. Consider tossing in a few scallops or bites of white fish to sauté with the shrimp for a yummy seafood medley.
- Substitute the rice. If rice isn’t your go-to, feel free to pair your garlic butter shrimp with alternatives like quinoa, couscous, or even your favorite shrimp pasta.
- Give it some kick. For those of you who love a spicy kick, sprinkle in crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne. You might also like these Mexican-inspired camarones al ajillo made with three types of chili!
Serving Suggestions
This shrimp and rice is a dream on weeknights when all I need to add is a side of steamed broccoli or a green bean salad to round out the meal. It’s also great with fluffy homemade dinner rolls and a roasted vegetable salad or corn on the cob. For dessert, I’ve been baking batch after batch of these apple oatmeal cookies lately. They pair perfectly with a cozy latte after dinner!
How To Store Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Store this shrimp and rice within 2 hours of cooking. Keep everything in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
- Reheat. When you’re ready to enjoy leftovers, reheat the shrimp and rice gently on the stove or in the microwave until warmed through.
More Shrimp Recipes
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Garlic Butter Shrimp and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 cup Minute rice, you can use dry rice, as well, just cook it according to the package directions
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 12 to 16 ounces extra large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on or off
- ¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 3 tablespoons skim milk
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus a little more for garnish
- salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
- shredded parmesan cheese, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Cook the rice. Prepare the rice according to the directions on the box.
- Make the garlic butter. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring very frequently. Do not burn the garlic. Lower the heat if the garlic starts to brown too fast.
- Add shrimp and rice. Stir in the shrimp and cook for 2 minutes, or until they turn pink, stirring frequently. Add the prepared rice to the skillet; stir and mix until well combined.
- Make it creamy. Add the parmesan cheese, milk, parsley, salt, and pepper; mix and stir for 1 to 2 minutes, or until creamy and heated through.
- Garnish and serve. Remove from heat. Garnish with parmesan cheese and fresh parsley, and serve.
Notes
- Use fresh, good-quality shrimp for the best flavor. If possible, buy them already peeled and deveined to save time. If you’re using frozen shrimp, thaw them properly before cooking.
- Cooking the shrimp: Shrimp cook quickly, usually in just a few minutes. Overcooking can make them rubbery, so keep a close eye on them. They’re done when they turn pink and opaque.
- Making the garlic butter: Be careful not to burn the garlic when making the garlic butter. Burned garlic has a bitter taste that can overpower the dish.
- You can add scallops or chunks of white fish to the dish for more variety.
- If you prefer, you could serve the shrimp over quinoa, couscous, or even pasta instead of rice.
- If you like heat, add a pinch of red pepper flakes or a dash of cayenne pepper to the garlic butter.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
I used regular cooked rice and added some lemon juice (3 tbsp) to give it a bit of a zest. Yummy
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I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
this was delicious. I wanted something diffwrent to eat and a little healthier than chilli dogs and found this recipe. I used I can’t believe its not butter light, small shrimp and 2%milk and it taste amazing. Im new to the page and I know I’ll be back. Quick and easy
I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
I tossed in some carrots I had that needed cooking. This dish is wonderful! It’s great as-is, or it can be a canvas for allllll kinds of other things. I don’t know what the deal was with the ads…I had no issue. Maybe the problem has been fixed. Anyhow, thanks for a great & quick recipe!
I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
We really liked this! I used more garlic than the recipe called for but that’s just our personal taste. I will definitely make this again!
I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Good base recipe, it was kind of bland so we added cream of mushroom and it turned out amazing!
Could we get rid of that annoying video taking up 1/4 of my screen. And the ads. And you’re weird little bloggy intro thing. People don’t care, they just want to know how to make it and a couple pics.
Uhmmmm, no. Again, no. And finally, no.
You must be SO fun to be around. 🙄
I understand the necessity of ads on recipe sites. Or there’d be no incentive to create them. Something which may have been more helpful to post instead. Yes, the video takes up 1/3 of my screen and I can’t close it. The site does some does some strange scrolling too, when trying to read the comments. I’ve given up. But the recipe sounds great.
LMBO at the response to Really Annoyed from Katerina. Cute 😍
Annoyed, not everyone will enjoy another’s recipe. With that being said, you think coming at her that way online is appropriate? Just chalk it up to you not having the same taste as her. But also, the way it was recorded (with commercials, ???), are you digging at the recipe or the camera shot? Maybe you just don’t know how to fast forward and simply projecting onto her.
I didn’t have all the ingredients, yet I figured it out because I’m an adult.
Now, leave the cooking to the mature adults and just pop in a toaster strudel lil one.
The recipe sounds good, but I have to defend the Flowbee. I have used one on mine and my children’s and my husband’s hair 25 years. I get lots of compliments on my hair believe it or not LOL I’m sure you won’t believe it but I do.
I ran this recipe through the WW recipe builder and it came out as 15 points per serving. But when I calculated the nutrition info it came out as 9 points as listed. Is the nutrition info for 1/4 of the recipe? I haven’t made it yet but it sure sounds delicious!
Hi!
Thank you for chiming in! I posted this recipe years before nutritional calculators were added to our recipe boxes, and the software itself must have calculated the results that you are seeing. I’ll run it through my calculator and update it, asap. Again, thank you for alerting me to this.
Rice can be so boring and bland, but this looks full of flavor! Great weeknight dinner idea, but also gorgeous enough for entertaining.
Wow perfection!!!! Sooo yummy 😋
Love this recipe! I eliminated the rice and used a bag of riced cauliflower in its place. I also make it with less butter and milk. Otherwise it has too much liquid. Even my husband likes it! Have made it several times.
Thank you! This was exactly the kind of recipe I was looking for. On a side-note-I keep my rice in baggies. I buy in 20-pound bags because rice keeps a loooong time. Then I measure it out in four cup amounts because that’s always how much I make at a time (I use two cups cooked for my recipes and freeze the rest of the cooked rice in two cup batches. It’s just me and I love leftovers. They mean I don’t have to cook that day)). I can unfreeze a baggie of rice and it’s better than the par-boiled quick rice you get in boxes, always there and no bugs because you know, baggies 🙂
(I always wanted a thigh master, lol)