Copycat Olive Garden Shrimp Scampi Recipe

Olive Garden's version of shrimp scampi features juicy shrimp mixed with colorful asparagus and tomatoes. These ingredients are cooked in a rich garlic cream sauce and served over angel hair pasta. If you think you can only enjoy this delicious dish while dining out at a restaurant, we have good news for you. It's easy to make this dish at home and enjoy a flavorful, creamy, impressive meal — no reservations or dining out required.

Recipe developer Michelle Bottalico has created this copycat Olive Garden shrimp scampi recipe that comes together in only 30 minutes. Shrimp is briefly cooked in butter, onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes until tender and juicy and then removed from the pan. A cream sauce is made with more butter, white wine, and lemon juice, and the asparagus is cooked and flavored in the sauce until tender. Finally, the shrimp comes together in the sauce with al dente pasta, tomatoes, and fresh parsley for a result full of fresh flavor, decadent richness, and moist and tender texture.

The Olive Garden serves this dish with angel hair pasta, which is a bit fragile. We've chosen thin spaghetti, which has a little more body while remaining thin. You can sub angel hair or, if you like more body, use a thicker pasta like spaghetti or linguine. Either way, if you use high-quality ingredients and pay attention to the cooking methods, you can quickly have a scrumptious and restaurant-quality meal ready whenever you want impressive results without an impressive amount of work.

For this recipe, you will need angel hair pasta or thin spaghetti and large or jumbo shrimp. Peel and devein the shrimp if they aren't already, and if you use frozen shrimp, make sure they're defrosted before you begin. Grab some unsalted butter, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, black pepper, dry white wine, and lemon juice for the sauce. The vegetables this recipe calls for are thin asparagus, cherry tomatoes, and fresh parsley. Finally, grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese is an optional ingredient you can sprinkle on top of the pasta before serving, if desired.

Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil.

Once the water boils, cook the pasta per package instructions until al dente. Reserve ¼ cup of pasta water and set it aside.

Drain the pasta and set aside. Try to time this so the pasta and sauce will be ready at the same time and you can put the hot, drained pasta into the pan with the sauce right away.

Meanwhile, while the pasta water heats up, start making the sauce. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter on medium in a large saute pan or skillet.

Add the onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes and saute for 2 to 3 minutes, until softened.

Add the shrimp, season with ¼ teaspoon salt and a pinch of black pepper, and stir.

Cook the shrimp for about 2 minutes per side until just pink and starting to curl. Do not overcook. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside on a dish, leaving the aromatics in the pan.

Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan with the aromatics.

Pour the wine into the pan, bring the liquid to a boil, and then immediately reduce to a simmer.

Add the asparagus and lemon juice and cook until the liquid is slightly reduced and the asparagus is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in another ¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste) and pinch of pepper.

Place the tomatoes, parsley, cooked pasta, and shrimp into the pan. Toss with the sauce until evenly mixed, and adjust for salt. Add a little of the reserved pasta cooking water if needed to mix the pasta easily and make it creamier.

Serve immediately with optional grated cheese.

There are many way to customize this dish if you don't have the exact ingredients in the list or prefer to use alternatives. First of all, the recipe calls for white wine, but if you'd rather not use alcohol, you can sub shrimp, chicken, or vegetable broth instead. If you don't have broth, use water so the sauce won't be too dry. Just know that it won't contribute any flavor like wine or broth does. If shrimp broth is your thing, don't throw out the shells after peeling shrimp. You can use them to make a surprisingly simple and delicious shrimp broth that tastes better than store-bought versions.

If you don't want to use butter, you can sub olive oil and the dish will still be delicious. On the other hand, for an extra creamy version of shrimp scampi, follow the recipe as-is but add a couple tablespoons of heavy cream to the pan at the end right before you put the shrimp back in. For an extra lemony boost, add lemon zest to the sauce along with the lemon juice.

Other modifications include using shallot instead of onion, leaving the asparagus and tomatoes out for a vegetable-free version, or subbing other vegetables like bell peppers, sliced red onions, or zucchini. Go ahead and leave the red pepper flakes out if you don't want it to be spicy, or, since the dish is only mildly spicy, add more if you love heat.

Before discussing storing and reheating tips, we'd like to offer the following advice: Try to make the amount of pasta that will be eaten in a single meal. This is the kind of dish that tastes the best as soon as it's made. Anytime you reheat leftover shrimp, you run the risk of overcooking it. Overcooked shrimp has a tightly curled appearance (instead of loose C shape) and is rubbery and unappetizing.

If you do have leftovers, store them in tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to three days until you're ready to serve it again. We've tried different reheating methods, and we recommend that you reheat leftover shrimp gently for best results. A gradual and moderate heat will help you avoid ruining them. Using the oven is a good way to do this. Don't set the temperature higher than 350 F. Another option is to gently heat up leftovers in a saucepan until just hot. Don't set the heat higher than medium and add a little extra water or other liquid if the pasta seems too dry, because leftover pasta can absorb more sauce overnight.