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Garlic Butter Shrimp Scampi with Couscous

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I think you’ll love this garlic butter shrimp scampi over couscous for the same reasons I do. It’s easy (it’s a 15-minute, activity night dinner), it’s made with just 6 basic ingredients, and most importantly, it’s got major flavor! Created especially for busy weeknights for the weeknight dinner club meal plan. 🙂

Shrimp is a protein that we rely on a lot at our house – not only do (most of us) love it, but it also cooks in a matter of minutes, making it ideal for quick meals. Be sure to try my shrimp teriyaki, shrimp quesadilla, shrimp linguine, or moo shu shrimp next time.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Plate with garlic shrimp and spinach over couscous

What You’ll Love About Garlic Butter Shrimp

  • 15 minute dinner
  • Balanced and nutritious
  • Tons of garlic butter flavor
  • Made with 6 simple ingredients

Ingredients

You’ll need just 6 basic ingredients to make this butter garlic shrimp scampi:

  • Shrimp – Use peeled raw shrimp for best flavor. You can use tail-on for a better presentation or tail-off for easier eating. The larger (jumbo shrimp) the better!
  • Garlic – Use fresh garlic for best flavor. Since this is a main component of the dish, I do recommend using fresh instead of shortcuts like frozen or jarred garlic. Add some extra cloves garlic if you’re a garlic lover!
  • Lemon – Use fresh lemon juice for best flavor.
  • Butter – Use high quality butter.
  • Couscous – Look for packaged couscous that cooks in 5 minutes. Moroccan couscous is the smaller grains that cook very quick. Near East is a popular brand that can be found at most grocery stores. This easy shrimp recipe would also be delicious served over white rice, quinoa, or even pasta.
  • Spinach – Use fresh baby spinach. You could also use other quick-cooking vegetables like baby bok choy, kale, or swiss chard.
  • Sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, red pepper flakes (optional), Parmesan cheese (optional)
Ingredients to make shrimp scampi with spinach and couscous

How to Make Garlic Butter Scampi

This garlic shrimp recipe is SO easy to make:

  • Prep ingredients. Thaw shrimp, slice garlic, chop spinach.
  • Cook couscous. Start boiling water for couscous and according to package instructions.
Cooked couscous in pot
  • Saute garlic shrimp. Melt butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet and add garlic to skillet. Cook until fragrant, about 30-60 seconds and then add in shrimp to the garlic butter sauce. Cook shrimp until opaque and then stir in spinach and season with sea salt.
Garlic shrimp scampi and spinach in a large skillet
  • Finish dish. Squeeze lemon juice over shrimp mixture and serve shrimp and spinach over couscous. Drizzle with olive oil and add some heat with red pepper flakes if desired.
Garlic shrimp over couscous on a plate.

Storage Instructions

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

How to reheat

Reheat couscous in the microwave just until warm, or serve at room temperature. Heat shrimp gently in a skillet, just until warm, careful to not overcook or it will become rubbery.

Can you freeze garlic shrimp?

I would not freeze the shrimp mixture after cooking as it will get rubbery in the freezing/thawing process.

How to Serve Garlic Shrimp over Couscous to the Whole Family

I get it, feeding kids can be tough! But following the Division of Responsibility and knowing your job and your child’s job makes it SO much more enjoyable. You’ll be able to feed your kids any meal, which will help ensure that they are eating a variety of nutritious foods – with plenty of play food sprinkled in. 😉

As with any meal, I would recommend serving this alongside a few items you know your kids will eat (at our house it’s milk, fruit, and bread and butter). If this is a new food, try serving a tiny portion in pinch bowls “taster bowl” so they can sample it.

All of my articles on feeding kids can be found here and if you want a FULL list of all of the videos I have with hacks, tips, scripts, and ideas for feeding kids, check out my instagram or tiktok page.

What to Serve with Shrimp Scampi Couscous

This is a full meal on its own, but if you want to stretch it or you have a family with large appetites, add one of these sides:

More Shrimp Recipes

If you like this spicy garlic butter shrimp, you might also like these other shrimp dinner recipes:

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Plate with garlic shrimp and spinach over couscous

Garlic Butter Shrimp Scampi with Couscous

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Description

You’ll love this garlic butter shrimp scampi over couscous – it’s a 15-minute dinner, made with just 6 ingredients, and has major flavor!


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 16 oz. raw shrimp (as large as possible)
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 lemon (~ 1 tablespoon lemon juice)
  • 3 Tbsp. butter
  • 12 oz. couscous (2 boxes)
  • 6 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
  • 1 tsp. sea salt
  • 1/41/2 tsp. red pepper flakes*

Instructions

  1. Prepare ingredients:
    Thaw shrimp if necessary.
    Slice garlic.
    Cut lemon in half.
    Chop spinach.
  2. Start boiling water for couscous. Cook according to package instructions.
  3. Melt butter in large nonstick skillet and when it sizzles, add garlic and cook for 30-60 seconds, or until fragrant. Add shrimp and cook for about 2-3 minutes, until shrimp is cooked through and opaque. Stir in spinach, season with sea salt, and stir. Once it wilts, remove from heat.
  4. Serve shrimp over couscous and squeeze with fresh lemon juice. Season with flaky salt, freshly cracked pepper, and red pepper flakes if desired.


Notes

  • See post above for ingredient substitutions and shrimp recommendations.

Keywords: garlic butter shrimp scampi

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  1. […] delicious. You’ll love making this classic takeout dish at home. My shrimp teriyaki stir fry, garlic butter shrimp with couscous, and shrimp quesadillas are some other quick shrimp recipes to try! It’s a fantastic […]

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