Creamy Garlic Shrimp and White Sauce

An straightforward and satisfying one-pot creamy garlic shrimp recipe that’s done in under 30 minutes. Serve it over pasta or spaghetti squash for a low-carb dinner.

Plump shrimp are buried in a creamy parmesan cheese sauce.

What We Love About Shrimp in Garlic Cream Sauce

• Low Carb – If you prefer to eat low carb, this recipe leaves you with a flavorful packed meal. One serving is only 7g of carbohydrates. The full nutrition information (including saturated fat content) is listed on the recipe card.
• Straightforward recipe – Where it’s mostly adding things to the skillet, this recipe makes getting dinner on the table short-list.
• Gluten-free – If you’re sensitive to gluten, it fits the bill! All of the ingredients are naturally gluten-free. Be sure to double-check your individual ingredients.
• One-pot – We all love to have fewer dishes to do at the end of the night, right? This entire meal is ready in one skillet.

Creamy Garlic Shrimp Recipe Ingredients

• Avocado oil – we're not picky about brand, but usually buy Chosen Foods or HEB brand
• Shrimp – Peeled and deveined will make this even easier. If you buy frozen shrimp, be sure to thaw them first. Be sure to buy raw shrimp and not pre-cooked.
• Kosher salt & ground black pepper -The staples in all recipes! Be sure to hit the shrimp with salt and pepper.
• Butter – a little bit of butter helps add flavor to the sauce.
• Garlic – The recipe calls for minced garlic. You can buy the pre-minced kind or chop it yourself. If you buy the pre-minced, the flavor is usually not as strong as fresh so you can use extra.
• Chicken broth – You can make your own or use store-bought. We like to use lower sodium varieties if we're not making our own.
• Half & half or heavy whipping cream -You can use either of these in this recipe.
• Parmesan cheese – we like using freshly grated parmesan cheese, but for convenience pre-shredded parmesan works as well.
• Fresh herbs – Fresh parsley, basil, and oregano add extra flavor to the dish to finish it off.

What is Garlic White Sauce made of?

Garlic white sauce is a combination of butter, garlic, broth, half & half (or heavy cream), and parmesan cheese along with herbs.

How to cook creamy garlic shrimp

Detailed instructions and measurements to make creamy garlic shrimp are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this page.

1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once shimmering, add shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Cook the shrimp until pink (but not overdone), about 1-2 minutes per side. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
2. To make the cream sauce, melt butter in the skillet and add garlic. Saute until fragrant (about 30 seconds – 1 minute). Do not burn the garlic.
3. Add broth to the skillet and deglaze the pan. Let it simmer and reduce by about half.
4. Add the half & half (or heavy cream) and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently.
5. Add in parmesan and whisk until melted and sauce has thickened. Add in half of the parsley, half of the basil, and half of the oregano.
6. Add shrimp back to the sauce and sprinkle with remaining oregano, parsley, and basil along with extra grated parmesan. Serve over pasta. Our favorite is orzo!

Creamy Shrimp Tips, Tricks, and FAQs

Our favorite pan to use for this recipe is this skillet. It’s enamel, deep, and heavy coated.

It has even heating and isn’t fussy with cleaning. Since it’s enamel coated, you can wash it like any other pan. It doesn’t need to be seasoned or oiled.

We usually never use a wire whisk with our pans. When whisking inside the pan, we go for a silicone whisk.

Substitutions

• Avocado oil – you can substitute olive oil or any other oil you prefer. We like the taste and smoke point of avocado oil a house favorite.
• Butter – if you want to lower the calories, you can use a butter substitute.
• Chicken broth – you can actually substitute white wine in place
• Half & half – If you want to lower calories or weight watcher’s points, you can use fat-free half and half.

How to Serve Shrimp in Cream Sauce

• Pasta – you can serve this over your favorite pasta. It goes great over pappardelle or with Creamy lemon garlic pasta.
• Spaghetti squash – for a low carb and gluten-free option, you can serve this with Roasted spaghetti squash.
• Broccoli – another low-carb option would be to serve this over Roasted broccoli.
• Mashed Potatoes – The creamy sauce pairs so well with Mashed potatoes. The buttery flavor and creamy textures are like two peas in a pod.

How to keep Shrimp with White Sauce

Refrigerator – you can store this recipe in the refrigerator in an air tight container up to 2 days.

Freezer – we don’t recommend freezing this recipe. Often times the creamy sauce develops a different texture after freezing.

How to reheat creamy garlic shrimp

We recommend reheating this in a saucepan over low heat on the stove. You want to heat it through without overcooking the shrimp. You can also add it to hot pasta and let the heat from the pasta warm the shrimp and sauce.

What goes well with garlic shrimp?

Garlic shrimp goes well with:

• Parmesan Orzo
• Green Beans
• Rice
• Oven Baked Broccoli