This delightful recipe for cilantro lime shrimp can be prepared in under 20 minutes and has quickly become a beloved dish in my family’s repertoire of shrimp recipes!
This cilantro lime shrimp ranks high among my preferred shrimp dishes. While I adore the classic shrimp scampi with lemon, garlic, and butter, I have recently developed a fondness for this shrimp recipe featuring a butter sauce infused with fresh cilantro and lime.
This recipe is both quick and simple, making it perfect for a weeknight meal. It takes less than 20 minutes to prepare and calls for just a few basic ingredients.
Key Ingredients
- Shrimp: Opt for fresh, high-quality jumbo or large shrimp. You can choose to leave the tails on or remove them, depending on your preference.
- Butter: Butter plays a dual role in this cilantro lime shrimp recipe. Initially used for cooking the shrimp, it is then added later on to create a creamy sauce. A similar technique is employed when preparing seared scallops.
- Garlic: I incorporate 6 garlic cloves in this recipe for a robust flavor profile.
- Lime: The juice and zest of 1 lime are used in this recipe.
- Cilantro: I include a generous amount of cilantro in this dish. For those who are not fans of cilantro, feel free to substitute with a tender fresh herb like parsley or basil.
- Coriander: While optional, coriander adds a delightful citrusy note to the shrimp. Coriander seeds are actually the seeds of cilantro.
- Green Onion: Another optional ingredient, green onion contributes both color and flavor to the dish.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Prepare the Best Cilantro Lime Shrimp
Tip 1: Embrace the garlic. For a truly garlicky shrimp dish, don’t be shy with the garlic. I use a generous amount of 6 garlic cloves (sometimes more) for every pound of shrimp.
Tip 2: Highlight the lime. Utilize both the juice and zest of a whole lime. To extract the zest, I recommend using a Microplane for quick and easy zesting.
Tip 3: Craft a buttery sauce. For optimal flavor, cook the shrimp in a bit of butter, then off the heat, add more butter to create a creamy sauce as it melts into the lime juice.
Serving Suggestions
This cilantro lime shrimp is ideal for serving family-style. While the shrimp may be a bit messy, it adds to the charm of the dish. Enjoy them on their own, with pasta (such as garlic cilantro shrimp pasta), over cilantro lime rice, coconut rice, Mexican rice, atop homemade grits, or wrapped in fresh tortillas. They also pair wonderfully with an avocado and cucumber salad.
Recipe Variations
Our recipe is versatile. While we showcase garlic, cilantro, and lime in the sauce, you have the freedom to experiment with different flavors. Feel free to swap lime for lemon and cilantro for parsley, creating a lemon parsley version reminiscent of traditional shrimp scampi. Alternatively, try incorporating fresh basil, dill, and tarragon. We also highly recommend exploring our cajun butter shrimp!
Cilantro Lime Butter Shrimp
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PREP
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COOK
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TOTAL
This garlic shrimp cooked in a creamy cilantro lime butter sauce is a favorite of mine. Whether served as an appetizer, with pasta, over rice, or in tacos, this recipe is easily adaptable. Try swapping lime for lemon and experimenting with herbs like parsley, dill, basil, or tarragon in place of cilantro.
Makes 4 servings
You Will Need
1 pound (450g) extra large shrimp, peeled with tails left on and deveined
1 lime plus a few extra wedges for serving
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 tablespoons minced garlic, about 6 cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander, optional
2 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, chopped
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
- Cook Shrimp
1Pat the shrimp dry, then season it with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and fresh ground black pepper.
2Zest the lime using a microplane and set aside. Cut the zested lime in half, ready for the sauce later in the recipe.
3Add one tablespoon of the butter to a wide skillet. Save the remaining two tablespoons for later.
4Place the skillet with butter over medium heat, then add the garlic and coriander. Stir the garlic around the pan until the butter melts and bubbles for about 1 minute.
5Add the shrimp, nestling them into the pan so they are in one layer. A few shrimp stacked on top of each other is okay. Cook until the shrimp starts turning opaque, about 1 minute.
6Stir in the scallions and lime zest. Continue to cook, stirring, until the shrimp are firm and opaque, another 1 to 2 minutes. Slide the skillet off the heat.
7Add the cilantro, lime juice, and the remaining two tablespoons of butter. Stir the butter around the pan to melt into the lime juice, making the creamy butter sauce.
8Taste, then season as needed with salt and pepper. Serve with extra lime wedges on the side.
Adam and Joanne’s Tips
- Lemon garlic butter shrimp: Swap lime for lemon and cilantro for parsley, then follow the recipe as written above. Add a splash of dry white wine at the end for extra flavor.
- How to make spicy cilantro lime shrimp: Add 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes to the pan while adding the garlic.
- Olive oil instead of butter: While the sauce is not creamy, you can substitute olive oil for the butter. You will need one tablespoon to cook the Shrimp and only a light drizzle at the end (about half a tablespoon).
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Nutrition Per Serving
Serving Size
1/4 pound
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Calories
193
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Protein
23.6 g
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Carbohydrate
5.2 g
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Dietary Fiber
1.2 g
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Total Sugars
1.4 g
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Total Fat
9.4 g
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Saturated Fat
5.5 g
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Cholesterol
205.4mg
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Sodium
284.9 mg
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