Cooking for One

Sheet-Pan Shrimp Scampi for One

by:
October 31, 2018
4.6
20 Ratings
Sheet-Pan Shrimp Scampi for One
Photo by Ty Mecham
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 10 minutes
  • Serves 1
Author Notes

This weeknight dinner for one is inspired by an incredible garlic shrimp I had at a Chinese restaurant in Hawaii. When roasted at high heat in a quarter sheet pan like this, marinated shrimp cooks up gorgeously and begins to caramelize in its own juices, creating a sauce that's made even saucier thanks to a last-minute pat of butter and spritz of lemon juice. Though the usual scampi players are present (garlic, lemon, and red pepper flakes), I went with mirin instead of white wine and soy sauce instead of salt, lending it some of that Waikiki palate. I anticipate that many will wish to skip the optional pinch of sugar, but I implore you not to; for me, anyway, this dish didn't fully come together until that one pinch. But to each their own: That is the point of cooking for yourself, isn't it? You can tailor a recipe to your predilections. As for my predilections, I like to eat this straight out of the pan with a bowl of white rice and an ice-cold beer, just as I had it in Hawaii. —Eric Kim

Test Kitchen Notes

Featured in: A Sheet-Pan Shrimp Scampi for When You're Alone & Happy Alone. —The Editors

What You'll Need
Watch This Recipe
Sheet-Pan Shrimp Scampi for One
Ingredients
  • 1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 2 cloves garlic, grated
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon mirin
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 pinch sugar, optional
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 bowl white rice, for serving
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
  2. In a small bowl, stir together the shrimp, garlic, soy sauce, mirin, olive oil, sugar, red pepper flakes, and lemon zest. Marinate for 10 minutes.
  3. Lay shrimp on a quarter sheet pan in a single layer and roast for 8 to 10 minutes, or until cooked through. Out of the oven, add butter and toss the shrimp until coated and butter is melted, then spritz with lemon half. Serve with white rice.
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  • Eric Kim
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Eric Kim
Eric Kim was the Table for One columnist at Food52. He is currently working on his first cookbook, KOREAN AMERICAN, to be published by Clarkson Potter in 2022. His favorite writers are William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, and Ernest Hemingway, but his hero is Nigella Lawson. You can find his bylines at The New York Times, where he works now as a writer. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @ericjoonho.

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16 Reviews

elizabethvd
elizabethvd October 11, 2021
This was great! Doubled for my boyfriend and I. Very simple, quick and delicious especially for a weeknight meal. Will be adding to our rotation!
 
شهيوات ب.
شهيوات ب. March 21, 2021
very nice and seem delecious :)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-DSqNYX0Og3CJ_8m7aX5g
 
Pamela T.
Pamela T. January 18, 2021
Update with an unplanned substitution tonight... I was sadly out of lemons and had to use lime zest and juice (key limes, no less). It worked beautifully and lime notes were more noticeable , yet still nuanced in the sauce on the rice than on the shrimp itself. Really liked it this way, too!
 
Pamela T.
Pamela T. December 11, 2019
Delicious! I doubled the recipe for my husband and myself. I veered slightly in the prep steps, putting the marinade together in advance (~an hour before roasting the shrimp). I loved the speed that this came together, and especially since the resulting product was so fabulous. The sauce is so sumptuously velvety and there were a couple of tablespoons left over as well as a bit of rice. Thinking (my 😉) lunch tomorrow will be a bit of sautéed broccoli lurking in the fridge along with the remaining sauce and rice. Also sautéed some sugar snap peas, drizzled with sesame oil and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds alongside. We’ll definitely be making this again.
 
BarnOwlBaker
BarnOwlBaker May 13, 2019
Delicious!! I made this tonight, exactly as the recipe though I doubled it for 2 of us. The flavors were wonderful, spicy, tangy, and perfect. I used extra large wild caught shrimp. My inspiration was our first harvest of asparagus so while the shrimp baked, I roasted the just picked asparagus. I served the shrimp, with all of the marinade, over capellini with roasted asparagus, fresh basil, and a dusting of fresh grated Parmesan-all in the same bowl! I know it can drive people crazy when you vary the recipe, but the point is this shrimp is so good it can be the predominant flavor for additional ingredients as well! Thank you for a recipe I’ll use again and again!
 
Food L.
Food L. January 10, 2019
Tried this last night, and the flavor was delish!
However, I was hoping the edges of the shrimp would be a bit more crisp like it looks in the picture (almost looks broiled), but the shrimp cooked as if I would've just cooked on a pan. Maybe I need to up the oven temperature? Maybe too much of the marinade on the pan? (although even in the video it looks like the pan has lots of marinade..)
 
Irene C.
Irene C. March 23, 2019
i hd the same experience you did--the flavor was great but couldnt get those cripsy edges w/o overcooking under the broiler. Nonetheless, next time i will save the marinade and just pour it over the rice/shrimp!
 
MissChristina
MissChristina December 7, 2018
Thank you thank you thank you, for this great recipe. I've only used it twice, but both times, it was the perfect answer to the eternal question: What am I making for dinner tonight?! And when you're a mom trying to feed a kid at the end of a hectic day, at the end of a tiring week, the answer to that question can be tough. This recipe is so easy, so quick, and so convenient, I'm just in awe. On top of the fact that my kid loves all things shrimp, this is the absolute perfect recipe for my family. It is now my go-to.
 
Stacey A.
Stacey A. December 5, 2018
Oh thank you for this recipe! So easy and quick, it has become my favorite weekday dinner. I use lime instead of lemon and serve over rice with peas, avocado, green onion and cilantro if I have it around. Killer!
 
Eric K.
Eric K. December 5, 2018
Oh my goodness, that sounds so much better than this one, i.e. something I'd eat. (But my favorite color is green.)
 
Roy C.
Roy C. November 19, 2018
Simple, fast and great flavors! Adding to my Favorites.
 
Eric K.
Eric K. November 19, 2018
Oh yay! Thanks for reporting back.
 
D Y.
D Y. November 13, 2018
Yowza! Have to try this soon...and I happen to have a big bag of shrimp in the freezer!
 
Eric K.
Eric K. November 13, 2018
Nice!
 
piggledy
piggledy November 9, 2018
This sounds fabulous. Should the marinade include the juice of the first lemon half, or should we include the juice with the butter? We cannot wait to try this!!
 
Eric K.
Eric K. November 9, 2018
Thank you! Definitely spritz the juice at the end with the butter, but the zest should go with the marinade and into the oven.