This Lemon-Tarragon Shrimp Scampi with Orzo is a fun twist on classic shrimp scampi. It mixes zesty lemon, the light licorice taste of tarragon, and the cozy texture of al dente orzo. Best of all, you can make it in just 30 minutes! It's perfect for busy weeknights or when you have guests over.
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🗝️ Recipe's key points
- Lemon juice, zest, and fresh tarragon add a bright, herby twist to classic shrimp scampi. This simple shrimp dish gets a tasty upgrade!
- This easy shrimp scampi is ready in just 30 minutes with minimal cleanup, making it perfect for weeknight dinners.
- Juicy shrimp and buttery orzo deliver restaurant-quality flavor with simple ingredients you likely already have on hand.
Treat yourself and your family to a colorful and tasty shrimp pasta. It's easy to make and looks great on the table!
🛒 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
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- Butter - Adds a richness of flavor to the sauce and for cooking the shrimp. I've used unsalted butter, but you could use salted butter instead.
- Extra-virgin olive oil - Always use high-quality olive oil.
- Garlic - Thinly sliced garlic cloves.
- Crushed red pepper - Offers a lovely subtle kick of heat which you can increase, if desired.
- Dry white wine - Adds complexity to the sauce and is perfect for seafood.
- Kosher salt - Omit if using salted butter in this tarragon shrimp recipe.
- Fresh lemons - You'll use the zest as well as the fresh juice.
- Jumbo raw shrimp - Peeled and deveined raw shrimp with the tail-on.
- Orzo pasta - Cooked to al dente
- Chicken stock - Vegetable stock could be used instead.
- Water
- Fresh parsley - For a herbaceous twist.
- Fresh tarragon - This herb brings a gentle licorice flavor. It’s like a mix of sweet, anise, and light vanilla notes.
🗒 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Heat the butter and 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the garlic and crushed red pepper. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in the wine, salt, and lemon zest. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the wine is slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.
- Add the shrimp in a single layer to the sauce in the skillet.
- Cook the shrimp for 1-2 minutes until they are opaque and just cooked through, flipping once halfway through the cook time. Transfer the shrimp mixture to a medium bowl and tent it with aluminum foil to keep it warm. Set it aside and wipe the skillet clean.
- Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the skillet over medium heat.
- Add the orzo and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly until lightly toasted.
- Add the chicken stock and 1 cup of water to the mixture and bring it to a simmer over high heat. Lower the heat to medium-low. Let it simmer uncovered and undisturbed. Cook until the orzo is al dente and most of the liquid is absorbed, which takes about 12 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add parsley, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon of tarragon.
- Stir the orzo mixture using a fork until evenly combined.
- Stir the remaining 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and remaining 2 teaspoons of tarragon into the reserved shrimp mixture.
- Spoon the shrimp mixture over the orzo.
- Cover the pan and let it stand, allowing residual heat from the orzo to warm the shrimp through for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Uncover the skillet and garnish the dish with additional chopped tarragon. Serve immediately!
🥫 Storage
Store lemon tarragon shrimp scampi in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat the orzo in a skillet. If it soaked up too much sauce, add some water, chicken stock, or milk.
You could also freeze this dish for up to 1 month, but I prefer to eat seafood soon after cooking.
📚 Variations
- Use gluten-free orzo for dietary needs.
- Other pasta types, like fettuccine, linguine, penne, rigatoni, or ziti, are great alternatives. They mix easily with the sauce.
- Use salmon or prawns instead of shrimp.
- Create a vegetarian dish by removing the shrimp and adding in vegetables such as mushrooms, zucchini, or eggplant.
- For a creamy sauce, use half and half, cream, or coconut milk.
- Make a vegan dish by omitting the shrimp, adding veggies, using vegetable stock, and vegan butter instead.
- Adjust the spice level of this dish by including some cayenne pepper, paprika, or increasing the crushed red pepper.
👩🏻🍳 Tips
- Just cook your orzo until it's al dente. It will keep cooking when you mix it in the skillet with the other ingredients.
- Be sure to clean and devein the shrimp before cooking. I've used jumbo shrimp in this shrimp orzo pasta recipe, but feel free to use regular-sized shrimp or small shrimp instead. , or even jumbo shrimp when making this dish. It’s also important to adjust your cooking time based on the size of shrimp used so that they don't overcook.
- If you’re using pre-cooked or leftover shrimp, add them to the orzo and sauce near the end. This way, they won’t get tough or rubbery.
🤔 FAQs
Got questions before you dive into the skillet? I've got you covered with a few quick answers to keep things easy-peasy lemon-squeezy.
Yes, but use less—about ⅓ the amount. Dried tarragon is more concentrated, so go easy!
Small pasta shapes, such as ditalini, pearl couscous, or even rice, can work well.
Not at all! You can substitute with chicken broth and a splash of lemon juice for that acidity.
It's best fresh, but leftovers reheat nicely for up to 2 days. Add a splash of broth when reheating.
Yes! Just skip the butter and use olive oil instead. Still delicious with that lemony herb kick.
Still curious about something? Leave me a comment below or send a message—I'm always happy to help you make dinner a breeze!
📗 Related Recipes
Shrimp can transform a simple meal into an impressive dish fit for entertaining. Try these other delicious shrimp recipes:
- Tuscan Shrimp in Creamy Garlic-Butter Sauce – Elevate your weeknight dinner with this rich and flavorful Italian shrimp dish, bursting with creamy garlic-butter goodness and Tuscan flair.
- Spicy Shrimp Creole with Rustic Italian Polenta – Succulent shrimp simmered in a bold, spicy tomato sauce, perfectly paired with hearty, rustic-style polenta.
- Shrimp Stir Fry – A Mediterranean twist on the classic stir fry, featuring garlic, lemon, oregano, chili flakes, tomatoes, and arugula tossed with your favorite pasta.
🍽 What to serve with lemon herb shrimp pasta
Serve this rich and flavorful summer shrimp pasta with a side serving of crisp cucumber salad, roasted asparagus, parmesan roasted broccoli, or garlic bread.
🔪 All Our Way recommends the following
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You’ll need the following items to make this recipe successfully
- Deep skillet–you'll make the entire recipe in one pan.
- Sharp knife–for cutting the herbs and garlic
- Cutting board–a sturdy surface is important for cutting
- Liquid measuring cup–measures liquids accurately
- Dry measuring spoons
- Dry measuring cups
- Microplane–for zesting the lemons
- A citrus juicer–needed for squeezing the lemons
📞 Chiacchierata (chat)
This Shrimp Scampi With Orzo Pasta version is like sunshine in a ciotola (bowl). It's a bit fancier than your usual weeknight dinner, but it's still really simple. And let's be honest, who doesn't love a buttery white wine sauce soaking into tender orzo and juicy shrimp?
The tarragon adds a subtle anise flavor that canta (sings) with the lemon. Together, they create a light, bright, and satisfying dish. Whether you're cooking for a dinner date or just treating yourself (because why not?), this dish feels like a warm hug on a plate.
Buon appetito, and don't forget the scarpetta (crusty bread) for scooping up every last drop of that sauce!
Tutti a tavolo, è pronto!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
What's new? Check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We'll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make cooking fun and easy.
📖 Recipe
Lemon-Tarragon Shrimp Scampi with Orzo: A Bright, Elegant Twist
Equipment Needed
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter unsalted
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 4 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ½ cup dry white wine 4 ounces such as Sauvignon Blanc
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest about 2 medium lemons, divided
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 pound jumbo raw shrimp 16/20 size peeled and deveined with tail-on
- 8 ounces orzo about 1 ⅓ cups
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup fresh parsley finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon divided, plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Heat butter and 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add garlic and crushed red pepper; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in wine, salt, and lemon zest; cook, stirring occasionally, until wine is slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.
- Add shrimp in a single layer to sauce in skillet; cook until shrimp are opaque and just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes, flipping once halfway through cook time.
- Transfer shrimp mixture to a medium bowl, and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm; set aside. Wipe skillet clean.
- Heat the remaining one tablespoon of oil in the skillet over medium heat.
- Add orzo, and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly toasted, about 1 minute.
- Add chicken stock and 1 cup water; bring to a simmer over high. .
- Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, uncovered and undisturbed, until orzo is al dente and liquid is mostly absorbed, about 12 minutes.
- Remove from heat, and add parsley, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon tarragon.
- Stir orzo mixture using a fork until evenly combined.
- Stir the remaining two tablespoons of lemon juice and the remaining two teaspoons of tarragon into the reserved shrimp mixture.
- Spoon shrimp mixture over orzo; cover and let stand, allowing residual heat from the orzo to warm the shrimp through, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Uncover and garnish with additional chopped tarragon; serve immediately.
Notes
- Use gluten-free orzo for those with dietary restrictions.
- Other pasta types, like fettuccine, linguine, penne, rigatoni, or ziti, are great alternatives. They mix easily with the sauce.
- Use salmon or prawns instead of shrimp.
- Create a vegetarian dish by removing the shrimp and adding in vegetables such as mushrooms, zucchini, or eggplant.
- For a creamy sauce, use half and half, cream, or coconut milk.
- Make a vegan dish by omitting the shrimp, adding veggies, using vegetable stock, and vegan butter instead.
- Adjust the spice level of this dish by including some cayenne pepper, paprika, or increasing the crushed red pepper.
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