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Shrimp Piccata is a seafood lovers riff on classic Chicken Piccata. Sweet, succulent shrimp are tossed in a buttery, lemony, caper studded sauce.
A deeply satisfying dish that you can serve in less than half an hour including prep time. Ideally with a hunk of crusty bread to mop up the sauce because you won’t want to miss a single drop.
Table of Contents
Ingredients you need to make Shrimp Piccata
- Shrimp: Look for shrimp with firm shells, not soft of slimy and, ideally, wild. Medium shrimp often have more flavor than large shrimp or jumbo shrimp, but go with what you like best. Never buy shrimp that smells of ammonia – a sure sign that it isn’t fresh.
- Lemon: You’ll need at least one large lemon for this recipe and a second if you want to garnish with thin lemon slices.
- Chicken Broth: Homemade broth or chicken stock ideally, or a good quality canned or boxed broth.
- Capers: Brined or salt cured work well here. If you use salt cured, be sure to rinse them well and reduce the kosher salt by half.
- Fresh Parsley: You’ll need a bunch of fresh, flat leaf (Italian Parsley). Look for bright green, perky leaves.
- Olive Oil: I used extra virgin olive oil for this, but feel free to use whatever olive oil you have on hand.
- Butter: If you use unsalted butter, be sure to taste the sauce to see if it needs a bit more kosher salt before serving.
- Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper: If you use fine salt, reduce the amount by half.
Piccata as an Italian dish that’s classically prepared with sliced chicken or veal that is dredged in flour and pan fried in a rich sauce of butter, fresh lemon juice and capers. This Shrimp Piccata recipe is a simplified version of the classic, made with shrimp. No slicing required. And, in this version, the shrimp has a light coating of cornstarch instead of flour which crisps up beautifully in a sizzling mixture of olive oil and butter.
Piccata can also be made with fish (as is this Salmon Piccata or Cod Piccata) or different cuts of meat (like Pork Piccata and Chicken Thigh Piccata) or vegetables (like Cauliflower Piccata).
To round out your meal…
- Crusty bread, Mashed Red Potatoes, Italian Roasted Potatoes or Fondant Potatoes
- Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower
- Romano Beans with Shallots and Bacon
- Broccoli Rabe with Raisins and Hazelnuts
How to make Shrimp Piccata
Dredge peeled and deveined shrimp in cornstarch, salt, and pepper mixture.
Heat olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet until sizzling. Add shrimp and cook 2 minutes per side until crisp and just cooked through. Transfer shrimp to plate.
Add broth, lemon juice and capers to skillet; bring to boil. Stir in remaining butter. Add shrimp and gently stir until heated through and coated in sauce. Transfer to platter and serve topped with parsley and lemon slices if desired.
Shrimp Piccata
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp peeled and deveined
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter divided
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 large lemon juiced, ~3 tablespoons
- 1/4 cup capers drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- thin slices of fresh lemon for garnish, optional
Instructions
- In a medium bowl (large enough to hold shrimp), whisk together cornstarch, salt and pepper. Add shrimp and gently toss with fingers to coat evenly.
- Heat olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot and foamy. Add shrimp in a single layer and cook without stirring until one side is crisp, about 2 minutes. With a thin spatula, flip each shrimp to crisp on the second side, about 2 minutes more. Transfer shrimp to clean plate.
- Add broth, lemon juice, and capers to skillet. Bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Add remaining tablespoon of butter and stir to melt. Return shrimp to skillet and stir gently until shrimp is coated with sauce and heated through, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and transfer to platter if desired. Top with parsley and lemon slices if using and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Loved it. Liked coating the shrimp in cornstarch as they came out golden brown but not overcooked. Served on a small bed of thin pasta to soak up the wonderful sauce. Would not change a thing!
I love to hear this, Kathy! Thank you for coming back to let me know.
This is a good recipe. The only thing I would add is to thicken up the sauce a little bit. Other than that, we enjoyed it.
Hi Valerie! So glad you enjoyed this and have thoughts on how to make it your own.
I’ve been making chicken piccata for years but am going to make shrimp piccata tonight. This looks delicious but why would you rinse the capers? Wouldn’t you want the briney-ness of the capers to enhance the dish?
I never rinse the capers when I make chicken piccata, in fact, I even crush some of the capers with a fork to impart even more flavor to the dish.
Thanks!
Hi Steve! I hope you’ll love this Shrimp Piccata – it’s one of our favorites. To your comment on capers, it’s completely up to you. There’s no harm in adding them without rinsing (which just removes some of the saltiness/vinegar). If the capers are stored in salt, I do recommend rinsing them because it’s typically a coarse salt that can throw off the seasoning of the whole dish.
This was really good & so easy to pull together!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Jennifer!
Can you make this ahead? If so, how would you reheat it? Can’t wait to make this!!
Thank you
Hi Sherry! Instead of making the complete dish and reheating, I recommend doing all the prep work ahead of time (10 to 15 minutes) and refrigerating the ingredients separately until you’re ready to make the dish. It comes together in 10 minutes once you start cooking and then you avoid the risk of overcooking the shrimp.
Absolutely yes! Just make more of it….
Delicious ❤️
aww..so glad you enjoyed this!
Wonderful, fast and vibrant lemony meal. I served this for a dinner party and everyone loved it!
I love to hear that, Tracy! Thank you for coming back to let me know.
I’m delighted with the results of this recipe. It was a winner with my family. I like how fast I can have a very tasty meal, the lemon juice makes it so vibrant to the tastebuds and the parsley adds a festive flair. Thank you for this recipe.
Fantastic to hear this, Monica! Thank you for coming back to let me know!
This recipe turned out great! Super easy to follow and absolutely delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Susan! Thank you for letting me know!
Great great yes
So glad you enjoyed it, Bonnie!
Making it tonight can’t wait
Quick easy and delicious! I made noodles and made a big more sauce using broth and lemon juice and it was amazing!!
So glad you enjoyed this, Debra! Thank you for your cooking notes.
This was so delicious! I doubled the sauce, made pasta, reserved a bit of pasta water, added it to the sauce and coated it all.
So glad you enjoyed this, AC!
OMG! Delicious, added some white wine and shallots. Exquisite! Family loved it.
This is wonderful to hear, Judith! So glad that you and your family are enjoying the recipe.
so good, so easy, ran out of cornstarch so used flour. served it with lime cilantro rice. delicious weekday dinner
Sounds like a great combination, Barbara! So glad you’re enjoying the recipe.