Old Bay Shrimp with Garlic Butter Sauce

This Old Bay shrimp recipe has juicy shrimp sautéed in a buttery garlic sauce with lemon, shallots, and plenty of Old Bay flavor. It’s saucy, savory, and ready in about 20 minutes using one skillet.

These sautéed Old Bay shrimp cook completely on the stovetop, making them an easy option for a quick seafood dinner. Serve them over garlic butter rice with air fryer green beans, or keep the meal low-carb with cauliflower rice pilaf.

Why Make This Old Bay Shrimp Recipe

• Quick stovetop dinner: The shrimp cook in just a few minutes once the garlic butter sauce is ready.
• Saucy, not just seasoned: This is different from pan-seared shrimp, where the shrimp are simply seasoned and seared in a hot skillet. Here, the shrimp cook directly in an Old Bay garlic butter sauce with lemon and shallots, so you get plenty of sauce for spooning over the shrimp and your sides.
• Easy one-pan recipe: The sauce and shrimp cook in the same skillet, so the method stays simple from start to finish.

Ingredients Needed

• Raw shrimp: I use peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp with the tails on. Mine are usually about 13–15 or 16–20 shrimp per pound.
• Butter: Salted butter forms the base of the Old Bay butter sauce. You can use unsalted butter if that’s what you have.
• Shallots: These soften in the butter and add mild onion flavor without overpowering the shrimp.
• Garlic: Fresh minced garlic works well, or swap in air fryer roasted garlic for a softer, richer garlic flavor.
• Lemon juice: Adds brightness and balances the rich butter sauce. Fresh or bottled lemon juice works.
• Chicken bouillon paste: Adds concentrated savory flavor without requiring a large amount of broth.
• Water: Loosens the butter sauce as needed.
• Sweetener: Optional, but a small amount balances the lemon and spice.
• Red pepper flakes: Adds a little heat.
• Old Bay seasoning: This is the main seasoning for the shrimp and butter sauce. Use store-bought or my homemade Old Bay seasoning. I also use it on my Old Bay chicken wings.
• Smoked paprika: Adds smoky flavor and works especially well with the Old Bay.

Check the recipe card below for exact amounts.

How to Make Old Bay Shrimp in Old Bay Butter Sauce

Melt the butter

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat until it is completely melted and starting to sizzle.

Sauté the shallots and garlic

Add the shallots and garlic. Cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the shallots soften and become translucent and the garlic smells fragrant.

Make the Old Bay butter sauce

Stir in the lemon juice, chicken bouillon paste, sweetener, red pepper flakes, smoked paprika, and Old Bay seasoning. Mix until the seasonings are evenly incorporated into the butter. Add the water as needed to loosen the sauce.

Sauté the shrimp

Arrange the shrimp in a single layer in the skillet so they make contact with the pan and sauce. Cook for 1–2 minutes per side, turning once.

The shrimp are ready when they change from translucent to opaque and feel firm but still tender. Remove the skillet from the heat once they’re done so they don’t continue cooking in the hot pan.

Tips for the Best Sautéed Old Bay Shrimp

• Start with raw, thawed shrimp: Pat away excess moisture before adding the shrimp to the skillet so it doesn’t water down the Old Bay garlic butter. If you want to cook shrimp straight from frozen, my air fryer Cajun shrimpcooks frozen shrimp directly in garlic butter.
• Use similarly sized shrimp: They’ll cook more evenly and finish at about the same time. Smaller shrimp will cook more quickly than the jumbo shrimp I use.
• Keep the shrimp in one layer: This allows them to sauté evenly instead of steaming in a crowded pan.
• Watch the salt: Old Bay seasoning, bouillon paste, and salted butter all contain salt, so I don’t add extra salt to this recipe.
• Adjust the sauce: Add a little water if you want a looser Old Bay butter sauce. For more brightness, finish the shrimp with an extra squeeze of lemon.
• Don’t overcook the shrimp: They only need about 1–2 minutes per side. Take them off the heat once they’re opaque and tender.

What to Serve With Old Bay Shrimp

Since these shrimp make plenty of garlic butter sauce, I like sides that can catch some of it.

• Garlic butter dinner: Spoon the shrimp and sauce over garlic butter rice and add air fryer green beans on the side.
• Low-carb dinner: Serve the shrimp and Old Bay butter over cauliflower rice pilaf with your favorite vegetable.
• Saucy shrimp dinner: Add Hawaiian dinner rolls for soaking up the garlic butter left in the skillet.

Other Ways to Cook Shrimp

If you want the same saucy shrimp idea using the oven instead, try my lemon butter baked shrimp. The shrimp bake in lemon garlic butter and finish briefly under the broiler.

For the air fryer, my air fryer Cajun shrimp cooks shrimp in garlic butter and can be made straight from frozen.

You can also browse my shrimp recipes for more ways to make shrimp for dinner.

How to Store & Reheat Leftovers

• Store: Keep leftover shrimp with the Old Bay butter sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
• Reheat: Warm the shrimp and sauce gently in a skillet just until heated through. Avoid cooking them for too long since reheated shrimp can become rubbery.

FAQs

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