Description

30-minute dinners that taste like you spent hours cooking. This Garlic Paprika Shrimp Skillet is about to become your new obsession! Swipe for the recipe.

Ingredients

For the Shrimp:

1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (21-25 count works best for texture)
1 tsp sea salt, divided (don’t use table salt – sea salt makes a difference)
¾ tsp cracked black pepper, divided (freshly cracked beats pre-ground)
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (good quality olive oil really shows here)

For the Sauce:

1 large shallot, finely chopped (about ½ cup – they’re sweeter than onions)
½ cup red bell pepper, finely chopped (yellow or orange work too)
4 cloves garlic, minced (never use the pre-minced stuff in jars)
2 Tbsp tomato paste (this is your secret weapon for depth)
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes (adjust to your heat preference)
¾ cup lower-sodium chicken or vegetable broth (I prefer chicken for richness)
2 tsp paprika (sweet or smoked – both work beautifully)
2 handfuls fresh baby spinach (don’t use mature spinach, it gets tough)
½ cup heavy cream (this makes the sauce silky and luxurious)
1-2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (always fresh, never bottled)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (for color and fresh flavor)

For Serving:

Rice, orzo, or crusty bread for dipping (personally love crusty sourdough)

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Step 1: Prep the Shrimp

This part is stupid important. Dry those shrimp like crazy or they’ll be gray and sad. Wet shrimp steam instead of getting golden. I pat each one individually with paper towels – takes forever but worth it.

Season with half the salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil until it moves around the pan easily – about 2-3 minutes. Don’t rush this.

Put shrimp in single layer without crowding. If your pan’s too small, do batches. I know it’s annoying but crowded shrimp suck. Cook 3 minutes without touching them – set a timer because I used to flip too early. Flip once, cook 1 more minute until golden. Take them out immediately.

Step 2: Build the Flavor Base

Turn heat to medium, add remaining oil to same pan. Don’t clean it – those brown bits are flavor gold.

Add shallots and bell pepper. Cook 3-4 minutes until soft and smelling good. The shallots should look see-through.

Now add garlic, tomato paste, and red pepper flakes. Stir constantly for 2-3 minutes until amazing smells happen and the tomato paste gets darker. Don’t rush this – I burned garlic once trying to hurry and it was nasty.

Step 3: Create the Sauce

Pour in broth and scrape up all the brown stuff with your spoon. Let it bubble hard for 5 minutes until it’s half the amount. You’ll know it’s ready when you can drag your spoon through it and it takes a second to fill back.

Stir in paprika – kitchen smells incredible now. Add spinach and watch it disappear. Don’t overcook or it gets slimy.

Step 4: Make it Creamy

Take pan off heat before adding cream so it doesn’t get chunky. Learned that the hard way. Stir in cream and lemon juice, then rest of salt and pepper. Taste it – fix whatever seems wrong.

Step 5: Bring it Together

Put shrimp back in and warm everything for 1-2 minutes. Don’t cook longer or shrimp get rubbery. Sprinkle parsley on top and eat immediately.

Notes

Medium-big shrimp work best – tiny overcook, huge get tough

Fresh lemon only – bottled tastes fake

Don’t pile shrimp up

Cream goes last

Don’t rush the tomato paste part

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Category: Main Dish
Method: Skillet/Stovetop
Cuisine: Mediterranean-inspired