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This Creamy Tuscan Butter Shrimp recipe is spicy and made with a light creamy sauce, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes. A restaurant-quality recipe that’s easy to make, low in carbs, and the whole family will enjoy. Ready in just 20 minutes and it’s so good!
You may also like my creamy Tuscan salmon or my creamy Tuscan Chicken pasta.
This Creamy Tuscan Shrimp recipe is perfect for those who are on a high-fat and high-calorie diet and may not work for everyone.
Tuscan butter shrimp recipe is made with fresh garlic cloves, heavy cream, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil, chili, cayenne pepper, Italian seasoning, and a few other simple ingredients. It is so easy to make and all it takes is just 20 minutes to put this together. I love shrimp because they are high in protein and low in fat but you may swap it with any other protein of your choice.
You will also love my Shrimp Risotto Recipe if you prefer a one-pot shrimp meal.
Recipe Summary
- Quick and easy: If all you have is 30 minutes on hand to put something together then this shrimp recipe will come to the rescue because it only takes 20 minutes to make.
- Versatile: You can serve this creamy butter shrimp with anything. whether you choose to serve it with rice, pasta, potatoes, or mashed potatoes, you can’t go wrong.
- So tasty: You will love how tasty and delicious this dish turns out. You have to try it and come back and say it yourself.
Ingredients needed
- Shrimp: peeled and deveined. I recommend you use raw shrimp instead of cooked shrimp. They can be frozen and thawed ahead
- Butter or Ghee
- Garlic Cloves: use fresh garlic cloves, and this ingredient is a must,. Using garlic powder instead is fine but won’t be as tasty.
- Heavy Cream: or you may use canned coconut milk
- Gluten-free Flour: or any flour of your choice.
- Lemon Zest: that zesty addition gives it a nice touch
- Italian Seasoning Mix
- Red Pepper Flakes, optional
- Cayenne pepper Powder: make it as spicy as you can handle. Start with 1/2 teaspoon.
- Sun-dried Tomatoes Chopped, there are two types, canned in oil or packets. The ones in oil will have a more intense color and flavor, but either works.
- A handful of freshly chopped basil leaves picked and chopped
- Sea salt and pepper, to taste
How to make Tuscan Shrimp
- Melt butter in a large skillet or nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
- Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk flour and heavy cream until well combined, then pour it into the pan.
- Stir in the lemon zest, Italian seasoning, chili/red pepper flakes, cayenne powder, and sun-dried tomatoes. Lower the heat and simmer for about 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce starts to thicken.
- Add the shrimp and cook until becomes pink and curly. About 4-5 minutes.
- Take off the heat and stir in the basil. Season with salt and pepper if needed and enjoy!
Notes and tips
- The creamy Tuscan sauce is going to be high in fat because of the heavy cream, but this can be swapped with canned coconut milk, a combination of milk and cream cheese, or Greek yogurt and cream cheese.
- Consider adding some other veggies like chopped kale, green beans, broccoli, or asparagus.
- Do not overcook the shrimp so it doesn’t come out chewy and rubbery. You will know when the shrimp is cooked through when it curls up and turns pinkish. Which usually doesn’t take more than 4-5 minutes
Storage and Reheating
- Storing: Store leftovers in a container in the fridge for up to 4 days. I do not recommend freezing leftovers because once thawed, it may curdle and not be appetizing.
- Reheating: Reheat the leftovers in the microwave for 60-90 seconds until heated through.
Frequently asked questions
A Tuscan cream sauce is generally a creamy garlic butter-based sauce made with the addition of some seasonings and sun-dried tomatoes. Other additions that can be added to the Tuscan-inspired sauce are fresh basil, fresh spinach, and fresh cherry tomatoes.
This will all depend on the ingredients used to make the Tuscan shrimp and the size of the serving. The calories per serving will range between 200-400 calories per serving. A single serving of our creamy Tuscan shrimp is 270 calories, with 18g of protein and 7g of carbs. The calories can be cut down by using healthier swaps like using coconut milk instead of heavy cream.
If you would like to use frozen shrimp for this Tuscan Shrimp Recipe, you can. Remove the frozen shrimp from the bag and place it in a colander. Run cold water over the frozen shrimp for a few minutes. This will thaw out the crystals on the shrimp. Alternatively, you can also just place it in a bowl of cold water and wait a few minutes. Shrimps do not need too much time to thaw out.
What to serve with Tuscan Shrimp
- Plain White Basmati Rice
- A more flavorful rice like Cilantro Lime Rice
- Keep it low-carb and serve with some spaghetti squash, Cilantro Cauliflower Rice, or some Cauliflower Mash, or add some zucchini noodles over the creamy shrimp skillet. Here is How to make zoodles.
- Serve with some roasted veggies like these Garlic roasted vegetables or these Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Try them with potatoes like these hot German Potatoes, or these Crispy Baked Greek Potatoes
- It will be great with this Cheesy Cauliflower Bake
- Serve with Garlic bread, crusty bread, or a simple homemade dinner roll
More shrimp recipes
- Citrus Garlic Butter Shrimps
- Easy Lemon Asparagus Shrimp Recipe
- Creamy Shrimp Pasta
- Shrimp Stir Fry Noodles
- Grilled Honey Lemon Shrimp
- Creamy Garlic Shrimp Skillet
- Healthy Shrimp Scampi
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Creamy Tuscan Butter Shrimp
Equipment
- cutting board
- Sharp Chef's knife
- non stick skillet
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds Shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 tablespoons Butter, or Ghee
- 4 Garlic Cloves, pressed
- 1 Cup Heavy Cream, or coconut cream/milk in can
- 1 teaspoon Gluten-free Flour, or any flour of choice
- ½ tablespoons Lemon Zest
- 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning Mix
- 1 teaspoon Red pepper flakes, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon Cayenne Powder, optional if you can't handle spice
- ¼ Cup Sun-dried Tomatoes, Chopped
- A handful of freshly chopped basil leaves picked and chopped
- Sea salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Melt 2 tablespoons Butter in a large skillet or nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the 4 Garlic Cloves (minced) and cook for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk 1 teaspoon Gluten-free Flour and 1 Cup Heavy Cream until well combined, then pour it into the pan.
- Stir in the l½ tablespoons Lemon Zest, 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning Mix, 1 teaspoon Red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon Cayenne Powder (optional), and ¼ Cup Sun-dried Tomatoes (chopped). Lower the heat and simmer for about 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce starts to thicken.
- Add the 1 ½ pounds Shrimp and cook until it becomes pink and curly. About 4-5 minutes.
- Take off the heat and stir in A handful of freshly chopped basil leaves picked and chopped. Season with Sea salt and pepper, to taste if needed, and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- you can use avocado oil in place of butter
- I recommend you use raw shrimp and not pre-cooked. You can find frozen raw shrimp at most grocery stores. Just thaw and drain.
- There are two types of sundried tomatoes. The ones in the packet will work fine but won’t give that intense taste and orange color sauce. The sun-dried tomatoes in oil is what I used in my video. It will give a slightly different color and taste.
- Fresh basil works best, but if you can’t find any, use dried basil.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this with a few changes. Substituted the cayenne & red pepper flakes for creole seasoning that I use in my jambalaya dish. Also I was out of flour so I used cornstarch and just 1/2 & 1/2 in place of heavy cream. After zesting the lemon I squeezed in 1/2 for extra lemon flavor. It was delicious! I thank you for the recipe.
Great substitutes. Glad you liked it.
Served it with zoodle by simply mixing it with the sauce after the heat was off – so simple and delicious!
So glad you liked it! Zoodles is indeed a perfect combo.
Made this tonight abd served it over red lentil pasta with a side of asparagus. Overall it was very good. The sauce was WAY too thick. I ended up adding a lot of extra cream. But, that being said, tge flavor was delicious. Perfect amount of heat. Really really good! Next time I’ll just use 50% half & half and 50% heavy cream to thin it out a bit.
We’re very impressed. I rarely comment on recipes I try from the internet because I end up making a whole lot of subs abd changes.. but this one is a keeper. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for the feedback! so glad you liked it
This dish was delicious and easy. Instead of chili flakes I added crushed red peppers I also substituted salt and pepper with lemon pepper. My husband loved it.
Glad you guys loved it
Hello, this recipe is one I am going to try. One question, do you use sun-dried tomatoes in oil or just the dry ones? Thank you.
Either one you use will be fine. In the images, I used the dry ones which didn’t make the sauce look too orange. If you look at the video I used the ones in oil. It makes it gives it more color and flavor. But either one would be fine.
Omg I am awful at cooking but this was amazing and I didn’t mess it up! My husband said it taste like an entree from an expensive restaurant!! Yea!! Thank you for a wonderful dinner recipe!
Thanks, Shannon. So glad you liked it.
The video said milk..will it taste different if I decided to use heavy cream?
That was a typo actually. You can use heavy cream and it will taste much better than milk and great keto-option.
Do you have to use gluten free flour?
No. Any flour will work
Loved this recipe and so did my family and friends! So easy to make and honestly so rich and creamy!
Thanks, Ruby. Glad you guys loved it.
Hi, I’m new to keto and I’m wondering with the nutrition facts listed, is this for the entire recipe or how it broken down Into servings? Thanks
Hi. It’s per serving.
Made this tonight and it was so yummy!! My daughter and her husband loved it. This is a keeper for sure! Served with fettuccini, salad and Italian bread.
So glad you loved it.
this was wonderful! Thank you for sharing all these tips and recipes..
Hello! I stumbled across your blog some time ago and enjoy all the recipes! The Spaghetti Squash Bake looks yummy! Several in our family are on the GAPS diet right now and we are always looking for new recipe ideas! Thanks for sharing!
I doubled this recipe.
The Italian seasoning was too powerful for my liking. Sauce thicken up to me had to loosen it up some by adding more heavy cream & splash of whole milk. Added more butter.
I’m a fan of parmesan cheese added that as well to try to kill the Italian seasoning taste. I added too much crush pepper & cayenne tad on the spicy side. I personally like spicy food.
Good easy recipe. I’d cut back on the Italian seasoning
Thanks for the feedback
Made this last night used whole milk added 1tsp minced ginger used julienned baby spinach . Served it over riced cauliflower thought I made enough for leftovers but my husband ate it all in one night. Very easy have all ingredients prepped comes together in 5 to 10 mins.
Thanks, Kate. Glad hubby loved it.
His recipe is easy and delicious! used half and half instead of heavy cream. Will definitely make again. My family loved it. Next time will try making with Almond Milk.
Thank You and glad you liked it!
Excited to try this one day
Thank you! I hope you like it.
Hi, I’m planning on making this recipe this week! I’m just wondering wether I’m supposed to use the thick canned coconut milk or the thinner stuff from the carton? If someone could help me out I’d be really grateful, thank you!
Hi, The recipe calls for heavy cream. You can use canned coconut milk.