I've got a fabulous, one pan wonder for you in the form of one pan creamy garlic shrimp. This dish can be whipped up in under 30 minutes and is wonderful for the whole family. It is gluten free, paleo, low carb, high protein, and Whole30 compliant, too!
Can I make creamy garlic shrimp in the Instant Pot?
You sure can! If you have access to an Instant Pot and would like to save some time, you can make this recipe in there.
It's so quick and easy to make it on the stovetop though, I wouldn't even go in that direction unless you needed the room on your stove.
I prefer to eat creamy garlic shrimp on a big bed of cauliflower rice or broccoli rice- it's delicious. However, if you are not on a Whole30 and eat white rice, rice noodles, or even potatoes. You can serve it on whole grain pasta and turn this dish into a creamy garlic shrimp pasta.
You could alternatively add extra chicken broth to the dish and turn it into more of a soup instead.
You are going to love it regardless of what direction you go in though! 😉
Can I use dairy instead of coconut milk?
You can absolutely use whole milk or half & half instead of the coconut milk in the creamy garlic shrimp. You can also use coconut cream or heavy cream instead of milk for a thicker sauce. If you aren't into coconut, can't have it or don't want this dish to be dairy free, half & half would be the best substitute.
Note: You can't really taste much coconut in this dish, so I wouldn't worry about using coconut milk based on taste.
You can also use grass-fed butter, ghee or coconut oil as the fat in this recipe.
This dish reminds me something I've had before in an Italian restaurant but because of the coconut cream, it is almost reminiscent of Thai cuisine as well.
I think that's why I love it so much. I cannot think of anything better than a marriage between Italian and Thai food!
I originally made this recipe back in 2019, and it was an instant hit for my family. The first time I made it, it was basically an accident of the best kind. I just made this again last night and it was still amazing.
How to make creamy garlic shrimp in a skillet
In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the ghee / butter / oil and sauté garlic for about 1 minute. Make sure you stir frequently so it does not burn. Add shrimp (pat dry first) to pan and cook on about 2 minutes each side until just opaque throughout & transfer to a bowl.
Increase heat to medium-high heat. Add the diced onion to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes until soft. Add broth to the pan, scraping the brown bits from the bottom and stirring frequently. Cook until broth has reduced down by at least 50%.
Add 1 tablespoon of oil from the sun-dried tomatoes jar and all of the drained, julienned sun-dried tomatoes. Sautee with the onions for 2-3 minutes until fragrant and well combined.
Add coconut milk and nutritional yeast to the pan. Once the coconut milk has reached a boil, turn the heat down to a medium-low simmer. Add spinach to the pan and stir until slightly wilted, about 2 minutes.
Add cooked shrimp back into the pan and sprinkle with seasoning. Stir frequently for another 5-7 minutes, letting all of the flavors marinade. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve with cauliflower rice, rice, or pasta. Serve with sliced lemon wedges on the side for aesthetics, and to allow those who like lemon juice on shrimp to add it.
Garnish with the minced fresh parsley, and optionally top with parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes.
One Pan Creamy Garlic Shrimp Ingredients Options
Part of the fun when cooking and testing recipes is to make it your own. Below are some notes and things to consider when shopping for ingredients or cooking your creamy garlic shrimp.
Shrimp
Depending on where you live, getting fresh shrimp from your meat counter may not be realistic. If you must use frozen shrimp, make sure to thaw before cooking.
It is important to completely dry your shrimp before adding to the pan. Otherwise, your cream sauce may end up a little watery.
Spinach
This recipe is best when using 8 lightly packed cups of spinach. Sounds like a lot, but the spinach cooks down so much that it'll be the perfect amount. 8 cups is about equal to one 5 ounce container that you'd buy from the grocery store. This makes it easy.
If you are cooking for someone who might be greens-averse (a picky eater), you can half the spinach and still be a winner.
Nutritional Yeast
I wanted to give it a little bit of "cheesy" flavor without the addition of any type of real cheese. That's exactly what the nutritional yeast adds to this dish - a cheesy flavor without the dairy. I think the flavors from the yeast pair and compliment the creamy and subtle but sweet coconut milk favor so well.
You'll have to tell me what type of variation you make on this dish (if any at all!) 🙂
Tips & Variations
If you'd like to use chicken instead, be sure to cut it into bite size pieces, season with salt and pepper and cook through. It will take about 5-7 minutes.
If you are going to use half & half, you may want to make an arrowroot slurry to thicken it up a bit at the end of cooking. Simply mix equal parts arrowroot flour with water (about 1 tablespoon of each) and slowly mix into the dish at the end until it has reached out desired thickness.
Instead of using cauliflower rice, you could serve this with broccoli rice, white rice or rice noodles. It would taste absolutely fabulous with all three!
Top with shredded parmesan and red pepper flakes, assuming you are not going for dairy-free here. If your whole family likes a little heat, feel free to add the red pepper flakes in when you add the spinach rather than topping at the end.
Well, what are you waiting for?
This creamy garlic shrimp needs to be made in your kitchen yesterday. Seriously.
It has already become a staple at my house, and the family is already asking when we can have it again.
It will last for 4-5 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container if you'd like to eat it as leftovers later on. I imagine the sauce would freeze well, too if you can't get enough and want to freeze some for later.
Yum! 🙂
If you like this recipe, some other recipes you'll love are:
One Pan Creamy Garlic Shrimp (Paleo, Whole30, Low Carb)
Ingredients
- 2 ½ tablespoons grass-fed butter or ghee
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 ½ pounds large shrimp deveined, with tails on
- ½ yellow onion diced
- ½ cup bone broth chicken
- 8 ounces sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, SEE NOTES
- 15 ounces canned coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 8 cups spinach lightly packed
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the ghee / butter / oil and sauté garlic for about 1 minute. Make sure you stir frequently so it does not burn. Add shrimp to pan (pat dry first) and cook on about 2 minutes each side until just opaque throughout & transfer to a bowl.
- Increase heat to medium-high. Add the diced onion to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes until soft. Add broth to the pan, scraping the brown bits from the bottom and stirring frequently. Cook until broth has reduced down by at least 50%.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil from the sun-dried tomatoes jar and all of the drained, julienned sun-dried tomatoes. Sautee with the onions for 2-3 minutes until fragrant and well combined.
- Add coconut milk and nutritional yeast to the pan. Once the coconut milk has reached a boil, turn the heat down to medium-low. Add spinach to the pan and stir until slightly wilted, about 2 minutes.
- Add shrimp back into the pan and sprinkle with seasoning. Stir frequently for another 5-7 minutes, letting all of the flavors marinade. Season with salt and pepper and serve with cauliflower rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition: This recipe makes six servings.
- Calories: 459
- Carbohydrates: 19g
- Protein: 28g
- Fat: 32g
- Saturated Fat: 17g
- Cholesterol: 108mg
- Sodium: 992mg
- Potassium: 1198mg
- Fiber: 5g
- Sugar: 3g
- Calcium: 82mg
Kaylynne says
My husband and I made this together (and it was really fun!). We both felt like if we would make this recipe again that we would a non sweetened cream instead of the coconut cream to make this more of a savory meal. If I were to use the coconut cream again, I am thinking about adding some peanut powder to create more of a peanut sauce! Thanks Monica for creating some inspiration in the kitchen for hubby and I!
Terri Lewis says
Easy and fast meal. The whole family loved it
Hi Terri - I'm happy to hear that! Thanks for sharing.