One Pan Spanish Garlic Shrimp

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This One Pan Spanish Garlic Shrimp is packed with rich, garlicky goodness that you can whip up in just 20 minutes! All you have to do is just toss everything into one pan, let it sizzle, and enjoy shrimp soaked in a flavorful garlic sauce. This Spanish shrimp dish is perfect with crusty bread, fresh pasta, or even a scoop of warm rice.

A bowl of cooked shrimps in garlic sauce, sprinkled with parsley on top and with a plate crusty bread on the side.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients
Substitutions and Variations
How to Make Spanish Garlic Shrimp in One Pan
Expert Tips
Recipe FAQs
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One Pan Spanish Garlic Shrimp

You know that I love making one pot/pan dinners or using as little of dishes as possible. The dish is inspired by the famous Spanish tapa called Gambas Al Ajillo that translates to spanish style garlic shrimp. There’s so much flavor and a little bit of spice, you’re going to be scraping the sauce with your bread when you’re done (that’s what we did!). For the ultimate meal combo, try serving this with a creamy Miso Carbonara Pasta or Creamy Corn Udon —both are totally crave-worthy!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Quick and easy – This gambas (shrimp in Spanish) recipe requires minimal ingredients, and prep.
One pan meal – You add your ingredients all in one pan (not at the same time to prevent overcooked shrimp 😉) and there’s minimal dishes involved!
Quick cooking time – the dish should take you less than 20 minutes to prep the ingredients and cook.

Ingredients

These are the ingredients I used for the Spanish garlic shrimp. I made some notes if you were to make slight substitutions to the ingredients in the recipe.

Paprika – adds flavor to the shrimp and gives a nice red color to the dish.
Minced garlic – variation of cooked garlic and raw garlic is added to have a sharp and flavorful taste.
Olive oil – using high quality olive oil will enhance the flavors of this dish. Especially if you’re going to dip your bread into the garlic infused oil. Personally, I used a ‘light olive oil’ because I don’t like when the olive overpowers the shrimp and garlic flavors (personal preference).
Shrimp – Peel and de-vein your shrimp. I leave the shrimp tail for a little extra flavor.
Dried chili peppers or dried red pepper flakes – adds heat and spice to your shrimp and garlic sauce. If you don’t like spicy, feel free to omit.
White wine (optional) – makes the shrimp less ‘fishy’ tasting and gives the sauce a deeper flavor. Feel free to sub with dry sherry. If you can’t have alcohol, then omit this ingredient.
Salt and pepper – season your shrimp and let it marinate while you chop up the garlic. Adjust the salt according to your personal preference.

Substitutions and Variations

If you don’t have white wine, use dry sherry or Japanese sake – Right after the garlic sizzles, pour in a bit of dry white wine to deglaze the pan and add a subtle acidity that balances the oil.
Make it buttery-garlicky – Half olive oil, half butter = extra luscious sauce. Perfect for soaking up with bread or spooning over pasta.
Add a fresh squeeze of lemon for an extra pack of flavor. The acidity can break down the fatty flavor and make this dish extra scrumptious!

How to Make Spanish Garlic Shrimp in One Pan

Raw shrimps with salt, pepper, and paprika.

Step 1: Add peeled and de-veined shrimp in a bowl with ½ teaspoon salt, pepper and paprika. Mix well.

Step 2: Add ½ cup olive oil and minced garlic to a cold pan. Then, turn the heat to low medium. This ensures that the garlic cooks gently in the oil and doesn’t burn too quickly.

Shrimps with chopped garlic in olive oil.

Step 3: Add all the shrimp in the pan and then add 1 tablespoon white wine in the pan. Flip over the shrimp once the bottom turns orange (takes less than 30 seconds).

A piece of bread with cooked shrimp in hand, and with a bowl of Spanish garlic shrimp in the background.

Step 4: Flip the shrimp over to cook and turn off the heat. Add chopped parsley and grated raw garlic. Mix everything together and serve with freshly toasted bread.

A bowl of cooked shrimps with garlic sauce and sprinkled Parsley on top.

Expert Tips

Use high quality olive oil for this dish. Since there’s not too many spices added to this dish, it’s important that we use high quality ingredients for the flavors to stand out!
Do not turn the heat too high. Use medium low heat so the garlic doesn’t burn too quickly. Make sure to constantly stir to also prevent the burning. Once the garlic is burnt, the dish will taste bitter and you will need to start again.
Cook the shrimp in less than 1 minute. When the shrimp has been cooked for too long, the texture is rubbery instead of crisp and tender. If you love shrimp, you can also try my shrimp and egg stir fry or Chinese shrimp toast!

Recipe FAQs

What can I serve this with?

Traditionally in Spain, they eat this garlic shrimp dish with freshly toasted bread to soak up the delicious garlic infused sauce. You can also toss the garlic shrimp sauce with some linguine or your pasta of choice. Serve with Honey Chilean Sea Bass, Japanese Mentaiko Udon, Tofu Fries w. Thai Seasoning and Salad with Homemade Sesame Dressing. If you want a bread dipping party, you can also serve it with jammy Turkish Eggs.

How do I store the leftovers?

Place the shrimp and sauce together in an air tight closed container. Make sure it’s closed tightly or your fridge might start smelling like garlic. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

How do I reheat leftovers?

Heat up the oil in a pan on low medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the shrimp back in for less than 30 seconds. This ensures that you don’t overcook the shrimp.

Can I add in vegetables in the dish?

No, I don’t recommend adding any vegetables. When you add in vegetables, it will dilute the garlic and shrimp flavor. You may steam or roast vegetables on the side, then pour the garlic sauce on top of your veggies.