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This delicious and quick shrimp and rice recipe is prepared with juicy shrimp sautéed in a rich garlic butter sauce and mixed with fluffy, perfectly cooked rice. It’s a quick, easy, and incredibly delicious meal!
Shrimp and Rice Recipe
Sometimes, the most straightforward recipes are the most extraordinary, and our garlic butter shrimp and rice is the perfect example. Combining the rich taste of melted butter and pungent garlic with perfectly cooked shrimp and fluffy minute rice, this dish is a testament to the power of well-balanced, straightforward flavors.
Unlike traditional shrimp fried rice, which uses leftover rice, this recipe uses minute rice for a quicker, fresher approach. The beauty of this rice recipe lies not just in its flavor but also in its speed and simplicity. It’s a meal that can be whipped up in about 20 minutes, making it perfect for busy weeknights when you want something quick and easy yet delicious and enjoyable.
Why You’ll Love This Shrimp Recipe
- Quick & Easy: With simple ingredients and easy instructions, you’ll have a delicious meal ready in no time.
- Flavorful Sauce: The combination of melted butter and lightly browned garlic offers a rich, aromatic base that pairs beautifully with shrimp.
- Creamy Parmesan Goodness: Adding parmesan cheese and milk creates a creamy texture, adding depth and richness to the dish.
- Perfect for Any Occasion: Elegant enough for a dinner party, yet simple enough for a weeknight meal.
Ingredients You’ll Need
To make this buttery and garlicky shrimp fried rice even more enticing, just take a look at the short list of the ingredients!
- Minute rice: Serves as the hearty base for the dish, absorbing flavors and adding substance.
- Unsalted butter: Creates a rich, silky base for the sauce and helps in sautéing the garlic and shrimp.
- Garlic: Infuses the dish with a fragrant and savory aroma, a key component of the garlic butter sauce.
- Shrimp: Juicy shrimp are delicious and their mild flavor pairs well with the garlic butter sauce.
- Parmesan cheese: Adds a creamy and slightly tangy flavor, enhancing the richness of the dish.
- Milk: Provides a touch of creaminess to the sauce, complementing the melted cheese. You can use skim milk, 2%, or whole milk.
- Garnish: To make this buttery and garlicky shrimp fried rice even more tasty, consider garnishing it with a sprinkle of fresh parsley or a squeeze of lemon juice. The fresh, vibrant flavors of these additions cut through the richness of the garlic butter and bring a welcome burst of freshness.
How To Make Shrimp and Rice
Garlic butter shrimp and rice is one of my go-to recipes when I have zero time to think and absolutely no time to prepare. THIS is that. It takes just twenty minutes if that, and there’s very little clean-up. Looking for an easy shrimp recipe without rice?
- Prepare the Minute Rice according to the package instructions.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet and stir in the garlic. Add the shrimp and cook for a couple of minutes or until pink.
- Stir in the rice, followed by the cheese, milk, parsley, salt, and pepper; mix and stir for a minute or two or until creamy and heated through.
- Remove from heat and serve!
Recipe Tips And Variations
- Opt for good-quality fresh shrimp to elevate the dish’s taste. For convenience, consider purchasing shrimp that’s already peeled and deveined. For those utilizing frozen shrimp, ensure they’re thoroughly thawed before you start cooking.
- Shrimp Cooking Tip: Shrimp have a short cooking time, often only a few minutes. To avoid a rubbery texture, monitor them closely. You’ll know they’re ready when they turn a pink hue and lose their translucency.
- Garlic Butter Preparation: Avoid over-browning the garlic, as it can introduce a displeasing bitter flavor to the overall dish.
- Seafood: Consider incorporating scallops or pieces of white fish for a diverse flavor and texture profile.
- Rice: If rice isn’t your go-to, feel free to pair the shrimp with alternatives like quinoa, couscous, or even your favorite shrimp pasta.
- Spice: For those who enjoy a spicy kick, introduce a sprinkle of red pepper flakes or a hint of cayenne into the garlic butter mix.
Serving Suggestions
By serving this garlic butter shrimp on a bed of rice allows the grains to soak up the delicious buttery sauce, but we can always use a side dish or three. Simple steamed or roasted vegetables like bok choy, broccolini, asparagus, or green beans can balance out the richness of the shrimp and rice.
A fresh salad with a light vinaigrette can provide a refreshing contrast to the warm, buttery shrimp and rice. Try this tangy Radish Cucumber Tomato Salad. This Grilled corn on the cob or my Air Fryer Corn on the Cob would add a sweet, smoky flavor that complements the shrimp wonderfully.
How To Store Leftovers
Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for 2 days. When you’re ready to enjoy the shrimp and rice again, reheat 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
- Prepare the rice according to the directions on the box.
- 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.
- 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.
- Add the parmesan cheese, milk, parsley, salt, and pepper; mix and stir for 1 to 2 minutes, or until creamy and heated through.
- 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.
Question for you. If using long grain rice would that be 1 cup uncooked rice making 2 cups cooked rice then proceeding with the recipe? Thanks!
Hi!
Yep, you’ll want to use about 2 cups cooked rice.
Rice triples in size when cooked. So, you would need to cook 2/3cup of dry rice to yield 2 cups of cooked rice. 🙂
Love, love, live this & it’s spoil easy. I used my microwave rice cooker, put in 3\4 C & only ended up with 1 C cooked. It was great anyway. Thank you
That’s great! I’m very happy you loved it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Love this! It’s so easy, and quick. Next time, I want to add green onions and peas.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
So, I had to make a few changes but I’m sure I would still love this if I didn’t have to make adjustments. I didn’t realize my Parmesan was bad until I started cooking so I substituted with mozzarella. I used wild rice and whole milk. I had two pounds of shrimp so I used a whole stick of butter and doubled the garlic, cheese and milk. My husband told me several times while eating that “this is really good!” Thanks for a delicious recipe!
That’s great! I am very happy you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Forgiveness is the key to happiness!
Now I’m going out to make this lovely-sounding shrimp and rice recipe!
Thank you for all your comments!
Shu
Hot day, packing for a move. Had frozen raw, shell -on shrimp that I really wanted. Googled “rice and shrimp” and this was on the first page that came up. Read through recipe twice and went off to the kitchen. Put water on for basmati rice and stuck shrimp in cold water to thaw. Took out the rest of the ingredients, put the rice in to simmer, fed the cats, fed the chickens. Peeled the shrimp, heated pan, melted butter, added garlic, added shrimp, added rice, added milk and cheese. Forgot the parsley. Easy peasy. And YUMMY. Thank you!!
I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
This was so delish! I will be making it again and again and again. I did add asparagus, broccoli and spinach and I also used almond milk. Thanks for sharing this!
That’s great! I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
The funniest part about snarks is that their remarks live on FOREVER. I mean really. letting off steam on a recipe comment board LOL. gonna make this tonight
Made this tonight. I used Jasmine rice. It was delicious!! Will definitely make it again.
Thank you for the recipe.
That’s great! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Can you use garlic butter rice instead of white rice?
Hi!
Is this about a packaged garlic butter rice? The already flavored rice sold at grocery stores? If that’s what you’re referring to, and as long as it’s “minute rice”, yes, you can use it.
Are you out of your mind trying to claim this is a “diet” recipe? What idiot tells you to use six tablespoons of butter for a pound of shrimp! 19 grams of fat per serving is “diet”!?!? It’s amazing the amount of morons out here!!
Whoa, girrrrl.. is this how you talk to people you don’t know? Must be so awesome for hate-filled people to hide behind a computer monitor and throw out nasty words. 🙄
AND, where do I claim that this is a diet-friendly dish? This is something that we, my family and I, enjoy once in a while, so I shared it with my readers. Hope you get to try it and see just how delicious it is.
Let the Haters Hate! It’s an awesome recipe, thanks for sharing!!
Thank YOU! I’m very glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Yes haters gonna hate, 😜 I’m cooking this for my husband tonight thank you so much for sharing this awesome recipe with us!
Wow…was all that really necessary….if you don’t feel its diet worthy then make your own variation…
So at the end of the day who’s the moron…..hmmmm!!
Let’s not be mean, it’s a recipe, if you don’t want to make it , don’t . It’s not right to chastise your neighbor for sharing what she loves to do.
I could say ice cream is diet food, just depends on what diet I choose that day. lol People are so quick to state there opinion and that’s what wrong with this country. Don’t be so sensitive, it just is not important.
I used quinoa instead of rice. It was pretty good! I oversalted it and my husband found it to be too buttery. Will hopefully try it again!
Thank YOU! I’m glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
We all loved this–even my picky 8 year old! I used slightly less than 5 tbsp. of butter, because that’s what I had left of a stick of butter. Confession: I used heavy cream instead of milk because I bought a container for a recipe and I’m trying to use what’s left…take that, Linda Thompson! Thank you for such a delicious, easy recipe.
That’s great to hear! I am very happy everyone enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂