Our Stuffed Shrimp Scampi Is Baked To Perfection

Shrimp scampi is a beloved buttery, garlicky seafood dish often associated with pasta, but one that doesn't necessarily need a carby side to be delicious. Of course, you could also take recipe developer Patterson Watkins' cue and instead choose to stuff carbs into the scampi itself, as she does in her baked stuffed shrimp scampi recipe — not with pasta, but instead with ever-popular focaccia bread. As Watkins tells us, "This is a super satisfying twist on the sauteed scampi version," but instead of sauteing the shrimp in butter, lemon juice, garlic, and all those typical suspects, you'll bake them all together instead.

Of course, we can't overlook perhaps the most unique aspect of this recipe, which comes in the form of a focaccia stuffing. "The lemon zest-spiked focaccia stuffing (which also includes oodles of butter) pairs nicely with the wine and garlic marinated shrimp," Watkins says. Naturally, all of this shrimpy, buttery goodness goes well with pasta, though the stuffed nature of the shrimp also makes this a very appropriate appetizer or standalone entree, and one that will impress at that. As Watkins aptly says, "It bridges that divide between super easy to make and an impressive meal."

The star of this recipe, similar to just about any good shrimp scampi recipe, is, of course, the shrimp itself. And, as Watkins tells us, bigger is better in that regard. She advises looking for colossal or jumbo shrimp for this scampi recipe (10/15 count or 16/20 count would work best), as smaller shrimp won't hold up well against the wear and tear that is slicing, stuffing, and baking. Make sure your shrimp are raw as well, as precooked shrimp won't butterfly easily and will become rubbery if they overcook. Frozen shrimp would work fine, just make sure to fully defrost the shrimp before proceeding with the recipe.

Once you've got your shrimp sourced, you'll also need ingredients to make it taste good: olive oil, white wine, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Meanwhile, you'll also need a handful of ingredients to make the stuffing, the most important one being the focaccia. Any savory focaccia will do the trick, and you don't need to worry about toasting or drying out the bread beforehand — just torn pieces of bread will work. Finally, to round out the filling, you'll need softened salted butter, more garlic cloves, a shallot, fresh parsley, grated Parmesan, lemon zest, an egg, salt, and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Spritz a casserole dish with cooking spray.

Remove the shells from the shrimp and devein if necessary.

Butterfly the shrimp by slicing a lengthwise incision along the curve of the shrimp, making sure not to slice all the way through.

Place the butterflied shrimp in a large bowl.

Add the olive oil, white wine, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes to the bowl, stir to combine.

Set the bowl aside to marinate while you make the stuffing.

Place softened butter, focaccia, garlic, shallot, parsley, Parmesan, lemon zest, egg, salt, and pepper.

Using a fork, stir and mash the stuffing together until combined.

Arrange the shrimp in the prepared casserole dish, cut side down, and fanned out. Reserve any marinade remaining in the bowl.

Using a small scoop or tablespoon measure, portion the stuffing, and place it on top of the shrimp. Secure the stuffing in place using the tails of the shrimp. Drizzle with the remaining marinade.

Place the casserole dish in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the shrimp have turned pink and the butter is bubbly.

Increase the oven temperature to broil on low and continue to bake for 3 to 5 minutes or until the stuffing is golden brown.

Remove from the oven and serve hot.

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While this recipe does no doubt put a unique spin on classic shrimp scampi, Watkins still made an effort to ensure that those staple scampi flavors remained intact. "I kept the stuffing pretty close to the flavor profile of the classic sauteed shrimp scampi," she says, namely the garlic, parsley, Parmesan, lemon zest, and shallot — all ingredients you might expect to find in classic shrimp scampi. The real star of the stuffing is, of course, the focaccia, and while Watkins specifically used a rosemary focaccia for her rendition, you could get creative with your flavor approach. "I wouldn't mind a super garlicky or onion-studded focaccia either," she suggests, and she just notes to steer clear of any sweet focaccias. 

An easy way to add a bit of a kick to the filling would be to include a dash of red pepper flakes, an ingredient you'll already have on hand from the shrimp marinade. Otherwise, you can really get creative with the filling approach and take a cue from another popular appetizer, spinach artichoke dip. "For a more veggie-full stuffing version, you could add artichoke hearts, roasted red bell peppers, or chopped spinach," Watkins suggests. If you go this route, just be sure to thoroughly drain all the ingredients before adding them to the stuffing.

We've already touched on the fact that classic sauteed shrimp scampi is very often paired with pasta, and for good reason. Shrimp and pasta work well together to begin with, but all of the buttery, garlicky, saucy goodness that comes with scampi almost begs for a starchy side to slurp it all up. "Any pasta will do as a lovely side, you can use those flavorful pan drippings to dress the noodles and serve with a hearty sprinkle of Parmesan," Watkins recommends. For a classic take on shrimp scampi with pasta, opt for a long noodle like linguine or fettuccine. 

While pasta would no doubt taste good with this stuffed shrimp scampi, it's not your only option here. "Rice, potatoes, or sauteed greens/veggies (thinking spinach, green beans, or asparagus) would be absolutely lovely," Watkins recommends. And, if you're planning to serve this stuffed shrimp scampi as part of a more elevated or special meal, go all-out and transform it into an unexpected surf and turf pairing for maximum decadence (the shrimp would be the surf, naturally, so something like a perfectly-grilled steak would make for an excellent turf option). 

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