This Summer Shrimp Scampi with tomatoes, corn, and fresh basil is an incredibly fast, company-worthy meal. Gorgeous, delicious, and ready to serve in under 30 minutes!
When you need an impressive meal but are short on time, quick cooking shrimp recipes like this one are an excellent choice. You’ll also love my Shrimp and Spinach Pasta and Shrimp Pasta in Vodka Sauce.
The first time I threw this Summer Shrimp Scampi together, I was honestly stunned. It is just so pretty and has such a fresh, summery vibe on the table. Impressive but easy – the best combination possible for summer cooking.
It has that classic garlicky, butter, lemon, and wine-infused flavor you’d expect from shrimp scampi. But, in addition, I’ve added vibrant cherry tomatoes, corn, and basil for a seasonal twist.
Summer meals are not just about grilling. In fact, when the weather makes you feel like you’re walking into an oven when you step outside, firing up the grill is no fun. It’s those days when quick and simple stovetop meals like this are in order.
Even on a busy weekday, you could walk in the door and have this meal ready to serve in under 30 minutes.
Table of contents
Ingredient Notes
- Shrimp: You’ll need a little over a pound of extra large uncooked shrimp for this recipe. To save yourself some time and effort, be sure they are peeled and deveined. If they still have tails, remove them.
- Seasoning: Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes.
- Fat: Extra-virgin olive oil and butter.
- Fresh produce: Garlic cloves, cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes in assorted colors, fresh corn cut from the cob or frozen corn that has been thawed, fresh lemon juice, and fresh basil leaves.
- Wine: A dry white wine like Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc are the best choice.
- Pasta: You can cook up any dry pasta you love to go with this scampi. I used penne pasta.
- Optional for serving: I like to garnish the scampi with some shaved Parmesan and extra lemon wedges. I know some people feel you shouldn’t mix seafood and cheese, but it works with this dish!
How to Make Summer Shrimp Scampi
- Season the shrimp with salt and pepper, to taste. Heat olive oil in a skillet and cook the shrimp until lightly seared and nearly cooked through about 1 minute per side. Remove from the heat and use a slotted spoon to transfer the shrimp to a plate.
- Return the skillet to the heat and add the tomatoes and corn kernels, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the start to blister in spots and the corn is tender. Reduce the heat and add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, about 1 minute.
- Add the wine and lemon juice, scraping, to deglaze the bottom of the pan. Cook briefly, just until the wine is slightly reduced, then add the butter and stir until melted.
- Add the shrimp and any accumulated juices and stir to combine it with the sauce. At this point, you can add a small amount of pasta water to help bind the sauce. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the basil. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed.
Pro Tip
Shrimp cooks quickly and can take on a rubbery texture if cooked too long. It’s important to transfer it out of the skillet just as soon as it becomes opaque and pink.
FAQ and Valerie’s Tips
If you want a booze-free scampi, you can substitute chicken broth or stock for the wine. I have to warn you though, wine is one of the main components in this recipe so it will definitely be lacking in flavor. If you just don’t want to open a bottle of wine but happen to have dry sherry or madiera on hand, you can sub those for the wine in a pinch.
Adding a little of the water that you used to cook your pasta to the finished sauce is optional but recommended. Butter sauces have a tendency to separate and a little of the starchy pasta water can help with this. It also helps add a little body to the sauce. Just be careful not to add too much to avoid watering down the flavor – 2 to 3 tablespoons should do the trick.
If the shrimp was previously frozen, I don’t recommend cooking it and freezing it a second time. Although it’s safe to do so, it can change the texture. Instead, store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use them within 3 to 4 days.
Serving Suggestions
The Best Pasta for Scampi: Scampi pairs perfectly with short pasta like penne or long pasta like linquine or angel hair. If you’d like, you can stir the cooked pasta right into the skillet with the cooked scampi to make sure it’s coated with that wonderful sauce. Or, serve it over your favorite cooked pasta with lemon wedges and Parmesan on the side.
Salad: Toss a simple Arugula Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette or Lemon Parmesan Salad. See my category of salad recipes for more ideas.
Vegetables: More vegetables are always a good thing in my book! Sautéed Green Beans or Pesto Green Beans are excellent choices to round out this summery meal.
Bread: Warm a loaf of French bread or cook up a batch of my easy Cheater Garlic Bread.
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Summer Shrimp Scampi
Ingredients
- 12 ounces dry penne pasta
- 1¼ pounds extra large shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 heaping cup grape or cherry tomatoes, assorted colors, halved
- 1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen (if frozen, thaw and drain well)
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
- ¼ cup dry white wine, like Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon), plus lemon wedges for serving (optional)
- 4 tablespoons butter, sliced into pats
- 3 tablespoons fresh basil, sliced or torn
- Parmesan cheese, shaved or grated, optional for garnish
Instructions
- Boil the penne in salted water according to the package directions for al dente. (If cooking in advance, reserve about ¼ cup of the pasta water for later).
- Meanwhile, pat the shrimp dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper, to taste. In a 12-inch skillet or saute pan, heat the olive oil over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. Add the shrimp and cook until lightly seared and nearly cooked through about 1 minute per side. Remove from the heat and use kitchen tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the shrimp to a plate and set it aside.
- Return the skillet to MEDIUM-HIGH heat and add the tomatoes and corn, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes start to blister in spots and the corn is tender, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Reduce heat to MEDIUM and add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, about 1 minute.
- Add the wine and lemon juice, scraping, to deglaze the bottom of the pan. Cook until the wine is slightly reduced (just slightly, not completely – you want sauce), about 2 minutes, then add the butter and stir until melted. Add the shrimp and any accumulated juices and stir to combine it with the sauce. Add a small amount of pasta water (2 to 3 tablespoons) to help bind the sauce, if neeeded.
- Remove from heat and stir in the basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Drain the cooked penne. Serve over penne with Parmesan and lemon wedges on the side.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
More Shrimp Recipes
This post was originally published on June 19, 2017. It has been updated with new text and images.
You can count me in for seconds! This looks so good!
This sounds so good! I love trying new pasta dishes!
This is EXACTLY what I want to be eating all summer long!
I love a quick and easy recipe! I really love them when they are as tasty as this one!
My husband loves shrimp scampi, so I’ll definitely be trying this soon!