This cilantro lime shrimp is one of my favorite shrimp recipes. I love classic shrimp scampi with lemon, garlic, and butter, but lately, I’ve fallen for this shrimp with a butter sauce made with fresh cilantro and lime. This recipe is quick and simple, so you can absolutely make it tonight. It takes less than 20 minutes and requires only a handful of ingredients.
Key Ingredients
Shrimp: Use fresh, high-quality jumbo or large shrimp. You can keep the tails on or remove them, whichever you prefer. Butter: I use butter in two ways in this cilantro lime shrimp recipe. First, I cook the shrimp in it, and then, as it finishes cooking, I swirl in more for a creamy sauce. I do the same when making these seared scallops. Garlic: I use 6 garlic cloves for this recipe and love it!Lime: I use the juice and zest of 1 lime for this recipe. Cilantro: I use a lot of cilantro! I know not everyone loves it, and if that’s you, don’t worry. You can swap the cilantro for any tender fresh herb like parsley or basil. Coriander: It’s optional, but it adds a delicious citrusy flavor to the shrimp. Coriander seeds are the seeds of cilantro. Green Onion: It’s also optional, but I love the extra green and flavor it adds.
What to Serve with Cilantro Lime Shrimp
These cilantro lime shrimp are perfect served family-style. The shrimp are a bit messy, but that’s a good thing in this case. Serve these by themselves, with pasta (hello garlic cilantro shrimp pasta), over cilantro lime rice, coconut rice, Mexican rice, on top of homemade grits, or wrapped in homemade tortillas. I also love them next to this avocado and cucumber salad.
Recipe Variations
Our recipe is flexible. Although we use garlic, cilantro, and lime in our photos to make the sauce, you don’t need to. You can always take our method and swap the flavors around a bit. Swap lime for lemon and cilantro for parsley. This lemon parsley version is similar to more traditional garlic butter shrimp. Or try fresh basil, dill, and tarragon. I also highly recommend our cajun butter shrimp! 1 lime plus a few extra wedges for serving 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided 2 tablespoons minced garlic, about 6 cloves 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander, optional 2 scallions, chopped 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, chopped Salt and fresh ground black pepper 2Zest the lime using a microplane and set aside. Cut the zested lime in half, ready for the sauce later in the recipe. 3Add one tablespoon of the butter to a wide skillet. Save the remaining two tablespoons for later. 4Place the skillet with butter over medium heat, then add the garlic and coriander. Stir the garlic around the pan until the butter melts and bubbles for about 1 minute. 5Add the shrimp, nestling them into the pan so they are in one layer. A few shrimp stacked on top of each other is okay. Cook until the shrimp starts turning opaque, about 1 minute. 6Stir in the scallions and lime zest. Continue to cook, stirring, until the shrimp are firm and opaque, another 1 to 2 minutes. Slide the skillet off the heat. 7Add the cilantro, lime juice, and the remaining two tablespoons of butter. Stir the butter around the pan to melt into the lime juice, making the creamy butter sauce. 8Taste, then season as needed with salt and pepper. Serve with extra lime wedges on the side.
