Italian Baked Shrimp {20 Minute Dinner!}

A simple 20-minute one-dish meal, this Italian baked shrimp is one of our favorite quick and easy ways to enjoy seafood! The sheet pan shrimp is tossed in a garlic and herb butter sauce, includes tomatoes and fresh lemon, making it perfect for serving over pasta, with rice, or alongside a loaf of crusty bread. This is one quick dinner that the entire family can agree on!

Oven Baked Shrimp

An oven baked shrimp recipe that doesn’t taste bland or boring! That’s right — you don’t need to spend time pan-searing the shellfish or turning them over on a hot grill in order to achieve great flavor. Instead, this easy dish comes together on one sheet pan for a simple, hands-off meal on your busiest nights. Best of all, there aren’t too many dishes to wash at the end!

Thanks to the butter, lemon, and Italian seasonings, this dish actually tastes a lot like baked shrimp scampi. We love to serve it over pasta, but it’s also great with rice, or with a loaf of bread or garlic breadsticks to soak up all of that extra buttery sauce.

Ingredients for Italian Baked Shrimp

This is a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for a pan of baked shrimp shrimp. As always, specific measurements and step-by-step instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.

• Butter: gives the sauce its rich flavor.
• Lemon: for a bright, acidic touch that balances the rich butter.
• Canned petite diced tomatoes: for even more flavor and color.
• Shrimp: I prefer the meaty texture of large or extra large shrimp, but you can use any size that you like. Smaller shrimp will cook faster, while the larger shrimp require a few extra minutes in the oven.
• Italian salad dressing mix: just the dry seasoning packet! Do not prepare the dressing. This blend includes sugar, salt, garlic, onion, red bell pepper, carrot, soy sauce, and other spices. It also has thickening agents that help to thicken the pan sauce a bit. Such a great shortcut for adding big flavor to your meal!

Use Fresh or Frozen Shrimp

Since I don’t exactly live near the coast (heck, my grocery store doesn’t even have a “seafood” section), I keep my freezer stocked with a few bags of raw, frozen, peeled, and deveined shrimp. Add some pantry staples, and I can whip up this meal whenever I please (with minimal effort)!

Thaw frozen shrimp in the refrigerator overnight. Alternatively, you can thaw the shellfish quickly by placing them in a colander and running them under cold water.

How to Bake Shrimp

This recipe comes together on one sheet pan in about 20 minutes. Can’t beat that for a weeknight dinner!

1. Spread diced butter evenly on the rimmed baking sheet.
2. Top with lemon slices and diced tomatoes.
3. Spread shrimp evenly on top of the other ingredients.
4. Sprinkle the dry Italian dressing mix over all.
5. Bake, uncovered, in a 375°F oven for 9-12 minutes, or until the shrimp are done. Stir halfway through the baking time.
6. Taste and season with kosher salt and black pepper, if necessary.

How to Know When Shrimp is Done

The shrimp is ready to come out of the oven as soon as it turns pink and opaque. The longer you cook them, the tighter and tougher they will get. If you’re using a meat thermometer, you’re looking for an internal temperature of 120°F.

What to Serve with Sheet Pan Shrimp

Serve the delicious shrimp with any of these easy sides:

• French Baguette, a loaf of crusty Dutch Oven Bread, Skillet Cornbread or Honey Cornbread to sop up that extra sauce in your bowl.
• Garlic Bread, Homemade Focaccia, or Breadsticks
• Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits, Aunt Bee’s 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits or Drop Biscuits
• 3-Ingredient Sour Cream Muffins
• Pasta
• Homemade Coleslaw or Vinegar Coleslaw
• Tomato Salad
• Cucumber Dill Salad
• Hush Puppies or Hoe Cakes
• Charleston Red Rice, or Rice Pilaf
• Sauteed Spinach with Garlic
• Southern Collard Greens
• Southern-Style Green Beans
• Okra and Tomatoes
• House Salad with Candied Pecans, Green Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette, or a Classic Caesar Salad

The shrimp also makes a great appetizer for cocktail hour when entertaining. Pair the warm shrimp with crostini or crusty bread and a glass of white wine!

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days. You can also freeze the cooked shrimp and sauce for up to 2 months.

Recipe Variations

• This recipe is very mild. If you prefer a spicier dish, garnish the shrimp with crushed red pepper flakes.
• If you don’t have a large rimmed baking sheet, you can prepare this recipe in a large baking dish (about 9 x 13 inches).
• Cooking for a larger family? Double all of the ingredients, cooking 2 lbs. of shrimp on two separate sheet pans.
• Add extra herbs and spices to the shrimp. Try fresh parsley, basil, thyme, oregano, chives, or rosemary.
• Toasted, buttered panko breadcrumbs would be a great garnish for added texture.

Tips for the Best Baked Shrimp Recipe

• Use fresh or frozen shrimp. If starting with frozen shrimp, you can quickly thaw them by placing them in a colander and rinsing under cold water for a few minutes. Just make sure that you’re starting with raw shrimp, and either peel and devein them yourself (or purchase them already peeled and deveined).
• Keep a close eye on the shrimp. The total cooking time will vary depending on the size of your shrimp, so remove them from the oven as soon as they are pink and opaque. If you overcook shrimp, they become rubbery and tough — not ideal!
• Look for the seasoning mix in the salad dressing aisle at just about any grocery store. Alternatively, you can add your own seasoning as desired!
• Spread the shrimp in a single layer on the baking sheet. This will ensure that they cook evenly.
• Garnish the finished dish with chopped fresh herbs, grated Parmesan cheese, a drizzle of olive oil, lemon wedges, lemon zest, or a squeeze of lemon juice.
• Nutrition information is based on shrimp and sauce. If you don’t eat all of the butter sauce, the nutritional stats will obviously be much lower.

More Shrimp Recipes to Try

• Garlic Butter Shrimp with Old Bay
• Easy Shrimp Creole
• New Orleans Style BBQ Shrimp
• Mexican Shrimp
• Cajun Shrimp Pasta
• Crispy Fried Shrimp
• Southern Shrimp and Grits
• Easy Shrimp Scampi

This recipe was originally published in July, 2013. The photos were updated in March, 2022.