Shrimp Scampi with Linguine
Shrimp quickly brined and seared, then tossed back into linguine with a silky sauce of olive oil, a lot of garlic, chile, dry vermouth, butter and lemon, finished with parsley.
"Shrimp scampi" is a menu name that says shrimp twice. Scampi is the plural of scampo, the Italian word for the langoustine, a small, slender lobster also called the Norway lobster, and Wikipedia says langoustines were the original shellfish in the dish. In the United States langoustines are rare, so cooks used shrimp and kept the name, turning "scampi" into a style of cooking: shrimp in garlic butter and dry white wine, served with bread, rice or pasta. Today, Wikipedia notes, you can even find "chicken scampi." In Britain the word means breaded and fried langoustine tails eaten with chips.
Daniel Gritzer's Serious Eats version for pasta started as his appetizer scampi, scaled up. He brines the shrimp briefly with salt and baking soda so they stay plump and snappy, cuts them in half so they tangle with the noodles, and swaps the usual white wine for dry vermouth, which he says brings more flavor and keeps longer once opened.
📖 Origin story: The History of Fettuccine Alfredo: From Rome to American Cream → 📖 What's wrong with this picture?: Fettuccine Alfredo in Rome: No Cream, No Chicken, No Garlic →
Why it works the kitchen science
Salt and baking soda
The quick brine seasons the shrimp and raises their pH, which Serious Eats uses to keep shrimp plump with a snappy bite.
Shrimp out, then back in
Searing them first over high heat builds flavor, and holding them on a plate while the sauce and pasta finish keeps them from overcooking.
Step by step
- Step 1
Cut each shrimp in half crosswise. In a bowl, toss with the salt and baking soda and let stand at least 10 minutes and up to 1 hour.
- Step 2
Heat 3 tbsp oil in a 12-inch stainless steel skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add the shrimp in one layer and cook, turning now and then, about 2 minutes, until pink, opaque and just turning golden in spots. Move them to a plate.
- Step 3
Add 3 tbsp oil, the garlic and pepper flakes to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, about 1 minute, until the garlic is just starting to turn golden.
- Step 4
Add the vermouth and boil over high heat, scraping up the browned bits, about 4 minutes, until reduced by about half and the raw alcohol smell is gone.
- Step 5
Add the butter and swirl the pan quickly until it melts into a silky sauce. Take the pan off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and season with salt. Meanwhile, cook the linguine in salted boiling water until 2 minutes short of the package time.
- Step 6
Move the pasta into the skillet with 1/4 cup pasta water and cook over high heat, tossing quickly, 2 to 3 minutes, until al dente and glazed, adding water 1/4 cup at a time as needed.
- Step 7
Return the shrimp and their juices with the lemon zest, parsley and last 2 tbsp oil. Toss and serve right away.
Shrimp Scampi with Linguine
Serves 4 · 4 plates · 45 min total
Shrimp
- 1 lb large shrimp, peeled, split down the back and deveined
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
Sauce
- 8 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 10 medium garlic cloves, finely minced (about 2 tbsp plus 2 tsp)
- Large pinch red pepper flakes
- 3/4 cup dry vermouth
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice and 1 tsp grated zest (from 1 lemon), divided
Pasta
- Salt, for the water
- 1 lb dried linguine (or spaghetti)
- 1 loosely packed cup fresh parsley leaves and tender stems, finely minced
Method
- Cut each shrimp in half crosswise. In a bowl, toss with the salt and baking soda and let stand at least 10 minutes and up to 1 hour.
- Heat 3 tbsp oil in a 12-inch stainless steel skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add the shrimp in one layer and cook, turning now and then, about 2 minutes, until pink, opaque and just turning golden in spots. Move them to a plate.
- Add 3 tbsp oil, the garlic and pepper flakes to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, about 1 minute, until the garlic is just starting to turn golden.
- Add the vermouth and boil over high heat, scraping up the browned bits, about 4 minutes, until reduced by about half and the raw alcohol smell is gone.
- Add the butter and swirl the pan quickly until it melts into a silky sauce. Take the pan off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and season with salt. Meanwhile, cook the linguine in salted boiling water until 2 minutes short of the package time.
- Move the pasta into the skillet with 1/4 cup pasta water and cook over high heat, tossing quickly, 2 to 3 minutes, until al dente and glazed, adding water 1/4 cup at a time as needed.
- Return the shrimp and their juices with the lemon zest, parsley and last 2 tbsp oil. Toss and serve right away.
Adapted from Daniel Gritzer, "Shrimp Scampi With Pasta," Serious Eats (published February 22, 2021, updated September 19, 2025), serves 4. We follow it as written: 1 lb large shrimp halved and tossed with 3/4 tsp kosher salt and 1/4 tsp baking soda for 10 to 60 minutes; 8 tbsp olive oil in three parts; shrimp seared about 2 minutes; 10 garlic cloves and pepper flakes about 1 minute; 3/4 cup dry vermouth reduced by half, about 4 minutes; 6 tbsp butter; 2 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tsp zest; 1 lb linguine cooked 2 minutes short and finished 2 to 3 minutes with pasta water; 1 cup parsley. Serious Eats. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- Shrimp are done when the flesh turns pearly and opaque (145°F, per the FDA).
- Mince the garlic by hand and watch it; it goes from golden to burnt fast.
- Gritzer says rigatoni or paccheri work well too.
- Dry white wine works instead of vermouth; Gritzer prefers vermouth for flavor and shelf life.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Scampi means shrimp. Folklore: Wikipedia says scampi are langoustines and that the Italian word for shrimp is gamberi.
- Scampi has Parmesan on it. Disputed: Wikipedia's description includes Parmesan; Gritzer's has none.
- White wine, never vermouth. Folklore: Wikipedia lists white wine; Gritzer uses vermouth by choice.
- Shrimp scampi is an Italian dish. Disputed: Wikipedia calls the American menu dish Italian-American and says Italians cook langoustines this way.
Every other pasta
Roman Spaghetti alla Carbonara (Guanciale, Egg Yolks, Pecorino, No Cream)
Spaghetti tossed with crisp guanciale and its fat, then stirred over a pot of boiling pasta water with egg yolks, Pecorino Romano, Parmigiano-Reggiano and coarse black pepper until the eggs thicken into a glossy sauce, with no cream at all.
Spaghetti all'Amatriciana, the Amatrice Way (No Onion, No Garlic)
The recipe the town of Amatrice publishes: guanciale browned in an iron pan with a piece of chile and a splash of white wine, peeled tomatoes simmered briefly, and spaghetti tossed first with a heap of grated pecorino, then with the sauce.
Cacio e Pepe (Pecorino and Black Pepper, the Never-Clumps Method)
Spaghetti in a smooth, sharp sauce of nothing but Pecorino Romano, toasted black pepper and pasta water, held together by a teaspoon of cooked cornstarch so it cannot seize into clumps.
Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
A 20-minute pantry sauce: garlic and anchovies sizzled slowly in plenty of olive oil, then capers, black olives and hand-crushed San Marzano tomatoes, with the spaghetti finished in the pan.
Spaghetti alle Vongole in Bianco (Spaghetti with Fresh Clams)
Live clams steamed open in olive oil, garlic, chile and white wine, the meat pulled from most of the shells, and spaghetti finished in the briny juices with parsley and a fresh drizzle of oil.
Trenette al Pesto with Potatoes and Green Beans (Genoa)
Genoese basil pesto pounded in a mortar from garlic, pine nuts, basil, Parmigiano, sheep's cheese and mild olive oil, tossed with trenette boiled in the same pot as cubes of potato and short lengths of green bean.
American Fettuccine Carbonara with Bacon, Cream and Peas
Fettuccine in a creamy sauce of half-and-half and tempered eggs cooked to 160°F, with crisp bacon, onion, garlic, Romano and sweet green peas: the carbonara most Americans grew up with, made on purpose.
Penne alla Vodka
A smooth, blush-orange sauce of slowly softened onion, a whole tube of tomato paste, canned tomatoes and heavy cream, blended silky, spiked with a quarter cup of vodka and finished with Parmigiano on penne or rigatoni.
Baked Ziti (No-Boil, with Ricotta and Mozzarella)
Ziti soaked in hot salted water instead of boiled, stirred into red sauce with ricotta, Parmigiano, eggs, cream, herbs and cubes of mozzarella, then baked covered and uncovered at 400°F until bubbling and browned.
Chicken Parmesan over Spaghetti
Thin chicken cutlets soaked in garlicky buttermilk, coated in crumbs of dried Italian bread and Parmesan, shallow-fried crisp, then baked at 425°F under red sauce and fresh mozzarella and served on a bed of spaghetti.
Linguine with White Clam Sauce (Canned Clams)
The pantry clam sauce: canned clams and bottled clam juice simmered with butter, celery, shallots, garlic, parsley and a splash of soy sauce, with linguine finished in the broth and lemon wedges on the side.
Pasta Primavera (Spring Vegetables, Pine Nuts and Creme Fraiche)
Fresh egg pasta with blanched fava beans, peas, asparagus, snap peas and broccolini, tossed with butter, garlic-scented pine nuts, creme fraiche, lemon, basil, parsley and Parmigiano: a lighter, greener take on Le Cirque's famous 1970s dish.
Weeknight Blistered Cherry Tomato Pasta
Two pints of cherry tomatoes cooked in garlicky olive oil until they burst into a sweet, creamy sauce, tossed with pasta, fresh basil and Parmesan while the pasta boils in a skillet: about 25 minutes, start to finish.
Copycat Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara, Inspired by Olive Garden
Inspired by, not official: crispy Parmesan-panko chicken and shrimp tossed with spaghetti or bucatini in a reduced cream, bacon and Parmesan sauce with roasted red peppers, a "carbonara" made with no eggs at all.
Meatballs of the World
Italian-American Meatballs
Big, tender meatballs braised for an hour in red sauce over spaghetti. The one most Americans grew up with.
Pallottine (Abruzzo Meatballs)
Tiny meatballs, smaller than a marble, tossed right through square spaghetti alla chitarra. No bread at all.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
Danish Frikadeller
Pork meatballs shaped with a spoon and fried slowly in butter, crusty outside and soft in the middle.
Königsberger Klopse
German meatballs that are never fried: poached, then served in a creamy white sauce with capers.
Spanish Albóndigas in Almond Saffron Sauce
The tapas bar classic: small meatballs in a golden sauce thickened with fried almonds and bread.
Mexican Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
Soft meatballs with rice and fresh mint inside, simmered in a smoky tomato and chipotle broth.
Izgara Köfte (Turkish Grilled Meatballs)
Small, flat meatballs kneaded hard, rested cold, and charred on a hot grill pan.
Lion's Head Meatballs
Big, soft pork meatballs, stirred into a sticky paste, fried to set, then braised in a savory sauce.
Chicken Tsukune
Japan's chicken meatball: kneaded sticky, grilled on skewers, glazed with sweet soy tare, dipped in egg yolk.