This easy, flavorful, and healthy Shrimp Scampi recipe comes together in just 15 minutes! This Healthy Shrimp Scampi recipe with zucchini noodles is the easiest and most delicious healthy shrimp dinner you’ll ever try!
I am definitely a girl who likes her lemons. Whether it’s in my lemonade, squeezed over some grilled fish, in a honey lemon salad dressing or even in my glass of ice water, I will love it.
Dustin, however, isn’t usually a big fan of lemon (despite what he’d probably tell you). He likes lemon to play a minor role in a dish, as opposed to having a dish bursting with tart lemony goodness. Therefore, I usually wind up not making many dishes that involve lemon at our house. However, the urge has just been too strong lately. The floodgates have opened.
Fortunately, I have a go-to 15-minute healthy shrimp scampi recipe that never disappoints. Each time I make it, I’m shocked at how quickly it actually comes together.
Great for a weeknight dinner or even an amazing lunch, this healthy shrimp scampi recipe is perfect whenever you need to prep a fast meal for you and your family.
The best thing about this healthy shrimp scampi, besides the fact that’s a very easy to make clean dish, is that I get to enjoy the lemony flavor I love so much.
In restaurants, shrimp scampi often comes alongside a bunch of pasta. Pasta, sadly, isn’t the best option if you’re looking to eat healthier since it often contains high amounts of empty carbs and not a lot of protein, fiber, or nutrients. Fortunately, there are many options that are super tasty that we can still enjoy as sides for shrimp scampi. One of those delicious sides is zoodles.
So what you actually have here is a low-calorie shrimp recipe that will make a full healthy meal when paired with the homemade zoodles.
Is Shrimp Scampi Healthy?
The majority of shrimp scampi out there is, unfortunately not a very healthy meal. The shrimp is sautéed in quite a lot of butter and then it’s accompanied by a pasta. So the short answer to “is shrimp scampi healthy?” is, “No, not usually.” But that doesn’t mean we cant enjoy a healthy, lightened-up version of shrimp scampi. There are two major ways we transform your typical shrimp scampi into this healthy shrimp scampi recipe.
Here’s how to make shrimp scampi healthy:
- Replace the high amounts of butter with olive oil (and use less of it!)
- Replace the high carb, low fiber pasta with high fiber, low carb zucchini noodles
HOW TO DEVEIN SHRIMP
Did you avoid buying regular shrimp because you are too afraid to peel and devein them?
Don’t worry, I get it. The process seems intimidating. Until you do it for the first time. Then, everything seems easy and not at all complicated.
Learning how to devein shrimp at home comes with two major benefits…
- You’ll be able to buy fresh shrimp which is the best shrimp.
- You’ll save up money since regular shrimp is cheaper.
Since I want to make sure you find the process fast and easy, I have a video that explains how to devein shrimp in detail, too! Check it out if you’re new to this whole peel and devein your shrimp at home process.
How To Make Zucchini Noodles (With or Without a Spiralizer)
For the longest time, I didn’t own a spiralizer. After deciding to buy one, I must say they are pretty awesome and definitely make the best, most consistent, and uniform zucchini noodles out of all the options. I own this one and use it often. There are several ways to make zucchini noodles. Plus it was less than $30 which was awesome.
That being said, there are other ways to make zucchini noodles without a spiralizer.
You can…
- use a vegetable peeler and create long fettuccine-like noodles
- use a paring knife to cut the noodles into more rustic, thicker noodles
- use a kitchen grater to create short, rice-like zucchini noodles by shredding the zucchini lengthwise
SHRIMP SCAMPI – A MAKE AHEAD MEAL
While this healthy shrimp scampi recipe takes only 15 minutes from start to finish, it can also be made ahead of time, which is awesome.
We have had it as part of our meal prep during the week by storing them in these meal prep containers. If you know you’re going to be reheating this shrimp scampi later, try to not cook the zucchini noodles that much because they’ll for sure cook and get tender when reheated.
HOW TO MAKE SHRIMP SCAMPI WITHOUT WINE
Traditionally, shrimp scampi is made with wine. However, you can make shrimp scampi without wine very easily, if you want.
Here’s how to make shrimp scampi without wine:
- Substitute low sodium chicken broth for wine like I did. This will add extra flavor to the dish and it will deglaze the pan.
- Use water instead of wine or chicken broth, but keep in mind the dish will lack in flavor so maybe add another pinch of sea salt.
- Use shrimp stock. To make shrimp stock, all you have to do is simmer shrimp shells in water. Drain and discard the shells and voila, another flavorful way to make shrimp scampi without wine.
What to Serve Shrimp Scampi With
If you’re wondering what sides to serve shrimp scampi with, I have some tasty ideas for you. In restaurants, shrimp scampi often comes alongside a bunch of pasta. Pasta, sadly, isn’t the best option if you’re looking to eat healthier, since it often contains high amounts of empty carbs and not a lot of protein, fiber, or nutrients. Fortunately, there are many options that are super tasty that we can still enjoy as a side to shrimp scampi.
What Sides For Shrimp Scampi
- zucchini noodles (included in this recipe)
- brown rice pilaf
- mixed greens
- roasted asparagus
- parmesan green beans
- roasted broccoli
- quinoa and lentil salad
FREEZING AND REHEATING SHRIMP SCAMPI
One easy way to reheat shrimp scampi is to pop the entire meal right into the microwave and reheat them for a couple minutes until heated through. You can also toss together in a hot skillet until heated through. The idea is to heat everything through as quickly as possible without overcooking the shrimp and making the zucchini noodles too mushy.
If you want to learn how to freeze shrimp scampi, I recommend freezing just the shrimp and prepping the zucchini noodles separately when it’s time to make your meal. Unfortunately, zucchini noodles become very mushy when thawed after freezing, but shrimp freeze great. To make meal prep easier, I spiralize the zucchini ahead of time when I know I have a moment and then store it in an air-tight container for up to 5 days in the fridge.
3 HEALTHY SHRIMP DISHES
Shrimp is healthy and good for you if you cook it right and serve it with a healthy side dish. If you need some shrimpsiration (shrimp + inspiration = shrimpsiration in case you were wondering), I have 3 healthy shrimp recipes I think you’ll like just as much as you like this healthy shrimp scampi recipe.
CREAMY GARLIC TUSCAN SHRIMP
Tuscan shrimp is not typically a very healthy recipe, but if you swap cream for almond milk and regular pasta for sweet potato noodles you will make Creamy Garlic Tuscan Shrimp healthy and low carb.
It only takes 30 minutes to make delicious Creamy Garlic Tuscan Shrimp for dinner and I can guarantee the sweet potato noodles will make you forget about pasta sides for a while. Get the recipe.
SPICY SHRIMP TACOS
Every now and then I like to spice up my meals. By that I mean I like to indulge in spicy food that is healthy and incredibly delicious. Just like these Spicy Shrimp Tacos are.
The spicy shrimps are topped with fresh pico de gallo and a creamy avocado cilantro lime sauce and wrapped in homemade tortillas. For your information, these shrimp tacos don’t make a great lunch or dinner. They make a perfect lunch or dinner. Get the recipe.
CRISPY BACON-WRAPPED SHRIMP JALAPENO POPPERS
I’m tellin’ ya – try this Crispy Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp Jalapeno Poppers recipe with the creamy cilantro lime dipping sauce and watch them disappear as fast as you made them.
They are the perfect high-protein appetizer, and have the perfect delicious combination of crispy, crunchy, chewy, salty, and limey goodness flavors. Get the recipe!
This easy, flavorful, and healthy Shrimp Scampi recipe comes together in just 15 minutes! This Healthy Shrimp Scampi recipe with zucchini noodles is the easiest and most delicious healthy shrimp dinner you’ll ever try!
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 lemon, zested
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 lb. zucchini noodles,* spiralized (approx. 2 large zucchinis)
- 1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp. freshly grated parmesan
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Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat.
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Add the shrimp, sea salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes, and sauté for 4-6 minutes, until the shrimp begin to brown and are no longer translucent.
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Add the garlic to the pan and cook for one minute, stirring frequently.
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Add the chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, and zucchini noodles.
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Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute, just until the shrimp are completely opaque and cooked through and the noodles are softened, coated with the garlic-lemon sauce, and warmed through.
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Sprinkle with parmesan and parsley and serve.
Recipe Video
* I use a spiralizer to make my zucchini noodles but there are other ways to make zucchini noodles without a spiralizer, including the following:
- use a vegetable peeler and create long fettuccine-like noodles
- use a paring knife to cut the noodles into more rustic, thicker noodles
- use a kitchen grater to create short, rice-like zucchini noodles by shredding the zucchini lengthwise
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I am really interested in this recipe but why is there so much sodium in this recipe? Im looking for a recipe low in sodium but when i saw the nutritional facts it says 2746mg.
Good catch! There was an error in the calculation, which has been fixed. You can always remove or limit the salt added to the recipe further to reduce in recipes, too 🙂
I don’t know but it came out terrible for me. The zuchinnis I had were pure mush and water. And all I could taste was lemon.
You likely overcooked the zucchini – it cooks very, very fast as noodles and doesn’t require much time at all.
This recipe was delish testy and juicy i am loving it thanks for sharing
This was so tasty, especially for how simple the ingredients are and how quick it took to make. Such a good go-to recipe to make when you’re busy but want something very flavorful, fresh and healthy.
It seemed like quite a lot to me the amount of zucchini and shrimp so I made less, but it does cook down smaller so I would go with the recommended amount next time.
Definitely will be making this more!
Shrimp scampi sounds super good.
Right? So delicious and in just 15 minutes!!!
What constitutes “good” olive oil?
Very good question, Lisa! I recommend checking out this article for further information on that issue. If you have a chance to visit a store to do some olive oil tasting (like I talked about in this post) to pick out your own oils and to get more educated about olive oil, I highly recommend it. Let me know if you have any further questions. 🙂
Very nice. I’m going to give it a try. Wish me luck!
Good luck, Marisol! I bet it’ll turn out great!