Here’s an incredible way to cook shrimp in the oven – baked in a lemon garlic butter white wine sauce, finished with a golden crunchy parmesan breadcrumb topping. People call it Magic Baked Shrimp – because it’s so simple to make, yet it tastes like a million bucks. It’s basically an oven baked Shrimp Scampi!
Baked Shrimp (Prawns)
When you bake shrimp in the oven, you simply can’t achieve that same caramelisation that you get from searing prawns on the stove or grill, which means less flavour.
And frankly, shrimp is pricey compared to other day-to-day proteins. So when I cook it, I’m not going to compromise!
So here are the two things in this recipe that adds an extra edge to compensation for loss of flavour because we can’t caramelise shrimp in the oven:
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White wine reduction flavour base – white wine is the “secret ingredient” that gives many sauces a flavour edge to take them from fine to soooo tasty!! It’s used in the classic recipe for Garlic Prawns/Shrimp and it’s essential to include for Baked Shrimp to make a seriously amazing sauce!!
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That crunchy parmesan breadcrumb topping – Texture! Flavour!
This is an effortless, utterly incredible way to cook shrimp in the oven that’s worthy of company!
What you need to make GREAT baked shrimp
There’s not that many ingredients required – part of the Magic of this recipe!!
For convenience, I use store bought grated parmesan and frozen prawns/shrimp.
Note: The prawns/shrimp shown below ARE raw! They are from Costco and they’re a particular type that are pink when raw.
How to cook prawns / shrimp in the oven (and make them really tasty!)
So here is how I cook prawns / shrimp in the oven:
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Start with a white wine reduction in an empty pan in a hot oven. This creates an exceptional flavour base that’s usually missing from baked shrimp recipes!!
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Toss shrimp (prawns) with lemon, garlic, butter, salt and pepper;
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Top with parmesan panko breadcrumb topping;
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Bake just 12 minutes.
Yep, it’s that easy. No stirring, no stove splatters, all done in one pan!
And here’s what you end up with:
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Juicy, tender shrimp that are perfectly cooked;
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A pool of incredible lemon-butter-garlic-white wine sauce with an extra flavour boost from the shrimp juices; and
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The crowning glory – a golden crunchy parmesan topping. It just doesn’t get any better than this!!
The sauce that comes with this Baked Shrimp really is amazing. Even if it was just lemon and butter, it would be delicious. But with the white wine reduction, it’s INCREDIBLE!!!
Simple, effortless yet amazing
Recipes like this Baked Shrimp are my jam. It’s incredibly simple, yet utterly delectable.
It’s got it all! Flavour, juiciness, texture, depth of flavour, tang from lemon, savoury from parmesan.
So few ingredients, so effortless.
It’s like…. MAGIC!!! – Nagi x
PS I presume you figured it out from the outset, but just to clarify: prawns = shrimp. 🙂 I’m in Australia, and we call them prawns here. So most of my recipes are titled “prawns (shrimp)” but from time to time, depending on the recipe and given I have a large proportion of US readers, I will title a recipe “shrimp” rather than prawns. 😇
Watch how to make it
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Crispy Baked Shrimp in Lemon Butter Sauce (Prawns)
Ingredients
- 500g/ 1 lb jumbo prawns/shrimp , peeled and deveined (Note 1)
- 3/4 cup dry white wine (sub chicken broth)
- 75g/ 5 tbsp unsalted butter , melted
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Crunchy Topping:
- 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs (Note 2)
- 1/4 cup parmesan , finely shredded
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil
Garnish:
- Finely chopped parsley
- Lemon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220°C/430°F (all oven types).
- Pour wine and half the butter into 9 x 13" / 22 x 33cm baking pan (see Note 3 if using glass). Place in oven for 10 minutes to reduce.
- Toss prawns with remaining butter, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Butter may harden - that's ok.
- Mix Crunchy Topping ingredients.
- Remove pan from oven. Add prawns - spread out in single layer, but snug.
- Top with Crunchy Topping. Bake 12 minutes.
- Flick to broiler/grill on high, broil for 1 - 2 minutes (max) to brown top a bit more.
- Sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately with lemon wedges and crusty bread to mop up the incredible sauce!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published August 2019. Tidied up for some housekeeping matters July 2020 – no change to recipe!
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Life of Dozer
Too much garlic in this Baked Shrimp for Dozer. So I offered him something else to taste test instead (this Bacon and Egg Muffin – with a whole egg baked inside!) – and he seemed totally ok with it. 😂
I just made this served over fettuccine -sadly no crusty bread in the house. Amazing flavor in such an easy to make recipe – so much better than any stovetop recipe. Another new favorite from Nagi! Delicious!
This was delicious! I used a smaller pan, 7×10, but the topping still dropped into the sauce a bit and there was no left over sauce, the topping soaked it up. This wasn’t a bad thing. I put it over pasta and broccoli and the buttery topping was so yummy mixed with it. I think I may try it with zucchini noodles next time. There will definitely be a next time.
Wow! 5 star restaurant meal! Easy! Quick! Delicious!! I didn’t put the topping on. Instead mopping up the delicious sauce with sourdough. Thankyou Nagi for yet another delicious meal in minutes. xxx
Made this , at times I would add scallops to the dish and keep cook time the same. Love all your recipes
I didn’t turn the shrimp into rubber! And it was tasty…
Back in the 1960s there was this little place in Lafayette, CA where the cook told us he was trying to create a baked shrimp entre, rather than fried. After he perfected it, people came from all over the Bay Area just to eat it. Over years I tried to make it, but never could.
Then I saw your recipe and gave it a try.
I have to say yours is the closest recipe I’ve ever found that tastes so much like his. Delicious!
great! my bad was using italian flavored panko breadcrumbs. too much extra spice…also, don’t blow off getting crunchy bread…and, if you double it, maybe cook a little longer…
What else other than pasts would you serve with this?
Thanks for that feedback Tim! N x
So, so delish ! We mixed with scallopes and baked with shrimp !
Yum, and so easy to make !
Hi! This looks amazing! I do not have jumbo shrimp but I have large. Would I use 2lbs of large shrimp to make up for it?
No. A pound is a pound. No matter what size the shrimp is. So any size works.
I write this review with the caveat that I hate shrimp. Well, seafood makes me violently ill, so I despise being anywhere near it. Hubby, son, daughter love shrimp, and thought I’d shock them and made this last night!!! They all LOVED it!! I followed the recipe and was just a tad more generous with wine & butter in the pan, extra splashes of both. Used about 1-1/2 lbs Costco 21-25 raw shrimp to cover the whole pyrex 9×13 glass pan. Visiting college niece devoured it too. Definitely had 4 healthy servings. Had about 5 shrimp left, daughter just heated them up as a snack! Served with spaghetti. I only had a bowl of plain spaghetti and ate away from the shrimp eaters, but was glad my first “fancy” shrimp dish went so lovely (though was not surprised!!)!!
Great recipe, as usual with recipetineats! I added thinly sliced fennel and cherry tomatoes with both baking steps (got my vegetables into the dish plus some color). Definitely a guest worthy dish!
Oops pasta
OOOH! That sounds so good Barbara! N x
Definitely 5 stars!
Sorry, I meant to check off the 5 stars!
So easy and so tasty! I can’t wait for the recipe book to be published.
I made this tonight and it was so tasty. However it wasn’t very saucy/liquid. Its almost like the sauce dried up too much though I did use the right amount of wine /butter. Any tips?
Hi Rita – it could be the pan was to too large or your oven runs hot – that would affect how fast it reduced the sauce. N x
Thanks so much, Nagi. Will remember for next time!
Love your recipes. Thank you!! Rx
This is the second time I made it and the breadcrumbs turn out to be soup. I think the better option is to sprinkle on the breadcrumbs at the end
Nagi did mention in the fine print that you need to fit the prawns snugly. And put breadcrumbs on top to avoid them falling into the sauce. Worth trying again. So delicious. Good luck
This was a big hit! Delicious but easy to prepare: we will definitely be making this again.
Love love love this. Made with shrimp and scallops. May use a little more butter and garlic…..don’t judge me…turns out beautifully every time!!!!!
Yum, yum, yum.
Hi Nagi!
Fabulous recipe! Made it twice within the past month. No leftovers the first time but doubled it the second, which was a bit too much! Which method do you recommend to reheat for leftovers? skillet or oven? for how long?
Thnaks
Hi Nagi,
Fabulous recipe! I made it twice within the past month. No leftovers the first, but made too much for the second go round. My question- what is the best way to reheat the baked shrimp? skillet or oven and for how long?
Thanks!
I love everything about your recipes. They are right to the point for directions. No guess work unless we want to change something; which isnt often. Thanks for your hardwork. Cant wait for more.