Everybody loves their classic scampi, right? Fat, succulent shrimp sautéed in rich buttery, garlicky, lemony sauce with a splash of white wine, and topped with a sprinkling of parsley and parmesan. It’s perfect in itself! We cook it all the time.
Many scampi aficionados would scoff if you add or subtract anything to it. But at the Beisers’ we experiment with our classics all the time. A few years back, my husband tweaked it just a little by adding some extra Cajun flavors for one special dinner. It was amazing! That was Valentine’s 2017… 
We want to share this recipe with you this year so you can try it this coming Friday!!
This Valentine’s do you want to ditch the restaurant and cook something for that most special someone? Let me tell ya, it’s a win-win. You are going to save a ton of money, as restaurants charge you bomb on special days.
And what better way to woo your valentine than by cooking a fancy, elegant cracker of a meal? And the cherry on top? It’s extremely quick and easy, so no slaving in the kitchen. Just raise a glass and have a fun date night with this Cajun shrimp scampi.
For the most of part, it’s your regular scampi. But this is elevated by the Cajun flavors and made creamier by a dash of cream. Mark my words, you are going to fall in love with this new way of scamping!!
What is Cajun scampi?
Before doing Cajun, let’s talk about classic scampi. This fancy and elegant dish is an extremely popular dish in Italian and seafood restaurants. The shrimp comes either just coated or swimming in the most decadent, delicious sauce of butter (of course!), lots of garlic, a hint of lemon, some dry white wine, and topped with fresh of parsley.
Most of the time it comes on a bed of linguine or angel hair pasta as a hearty meal, but some restaurants do serve shrimp scampi with some crusty bread as an appetizer. I would rather have both, as it’s great with pasta and one needs to polish off that buttery divineness with a side of that crusty bread.
Now imagine all this and some added Cajun seasoning and enhanced with a touch of cream. The whole scampi experience is over-the-top beautiful, with your taste buds perking up to amazing Cajun scampi flavors.
Here is what you need when you shop for Cajun shrimp scampi:
- Shrimp – We personally love fresh, extra-large, or jumbo shrimp for our scampi. They are fat and juicy. You can buy frozen as well, just thaw them in cold water. Depending on whether they are peeled or unpeeled can add a little time to the recipe. But the rest goes so fast that I don’t mind peeling some shrimp. Especially when I find a nice deal on wild-caught shrimp. Yes, they are a little more expensive than farm-raised, but the flavor of wild-caught is unmatched. We are keeping the tails on, but that’s a personal preference.
- Olive oil – A nice quality olive oil for this dish.
- Butter – The most important part of that scampi sauce. The sauce is the hero here. It can elevate scampi from bland to oh-so-good-I-can’t-stop-eating.
- Garlic – Lots of it. Scampi without a nice chunk of garlic is unheard of.
- Salt and pepper – To taste.
- Lemon juice – Fresh, please. A hint of lemon is so so important.
- White wine – It helps to combine all the flavors. We like some dry wine like sav blanc or Chardonnay. Teetotalers can use a little chicken stock instead to build up flavors.
- Chopped fresh parsley – A nice little sprinkling of this fresh green herb is so inviting, and an excellent mild addition to end it all.
- Parmesan – For garnish.
- Cajun seasoning – Now comes the special part of this recipe to jump-start the scampi flavors.
- Cream – Adds a creamy lusciousness to that scampi sauce.
How to make Cajun shrimp scampi
We suggest you get all the chopping (in this case just garlic and parsley… sounds easy already?) out of the way before you start cooking. It goes pretty fast, and you don’t want overcooked rubbery shrimp.
The rest is simple. Heat up the olive oil and 3 Tbsp butter together in a pan over medium heat. Sauté the chopped garlic for a quick 30 seconds to a minute, until fragrant. Add the white wine and cook for a few minutes.
Then go for the shrimp and Cajun seasoning. Stir so all ingredients are well combined. Let it cook until the shrimp are almost done, about 3-5 minutes depending on the size.
Stir in the lemon juice, cream, and remaining 1 Tbsp of butter (yeah, we need plenty of butter. You have a good excuse, it’s Valentine’s after all).
Cook for an additional minute. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, and chopped parsley. One quick stir and this deliciousness is ready to be served to the love of your life with your favorite pasta or zoodles. Don’t forget some crusty hot bread on the side to mop up that golden rich sauce, and some nice wine to sip alongside this beautiful meal.
Frequently asked questions
Can you make it low-carb or keto?
Yup. Doesn’t it look like keto already minus pasta or bread? Just serve it up with some steamed veggies, or how about those yummy green zoodles?
How long you can store this scampi?
Well, seafood is great when you eat it freshly cooked. At the most, we suggest you finish it off by the next day if you made a giant batch.
