Little, foil packets of shrimp and vegetables and flavors go on the grill and dinner comes off! Grilled shrimp scampi is a super quick and super easy dinner, packed full of vegetables, and which everyone in the family can customize to their liking. Serve it over pasta, or your favorite whole grains, or any base of your choosing to soak up the sauce and dinner will be on the table before you know it.
One of my favorite go-to recipes around here is shrimp scampi. It’s quick, full of garlic (without which it’s not dinner), and is both perfect in its classic form and and a great base for all sorts of fun improvisation.
Today we’re all about improvisation!
Improvisation, while also staying true to the flavors you would expect in a shrimp scampi. So we have the garlic and parsley and butter and wine, but we also have mixed vegetables to make this scampi recipe a complete meal and we’re firing up the grill. I love to grill all sorts of foods, like peaches and chicken wings and I decided it was time to try out shrimp scampi. One option was to buy jumbo shrimp and put them right on the grill, but then I’m in the kitchen making a sauce in a skillet, so I passed on that one. A second option was to make foil packets which would have ALL the ingredients (other than the pasta) in the packet.
Spoiler alert:
That’s the one I picked. 🙂
Yep, this grilled shrimp scampi has all the fun of opening a present at the table and reduces the amount of kitchen cleanup you’ll have to do once dinner is over.
Win-win!
To make the scampi, you fill a rectangle of foil with all the yummy, goodness in the recipe and then seal it up. Have picky family members who want it their own way? No problem! Give them a piece of foil and point them to the filling ingredients. Once their packets are sealed, mark their initials on the top with a marker and you’re all set.
On my grill these packets took all of 5 minutes to cook. I used mid-sized shrimp and my grill does tend to run hot, so keep that in mind. If you are using extra-large or jumbo shrimp or your grill is on the cooler side, check for doneness the first time you make this since you will need at least a few more minutes.
Also, keep the cooking time in mind when you cut the vegetables! I cut everything fairly thin, 1/2 inch for the squash which tends to cook quickly and 1/4 inch for the carrots which take longer. At 5 minutes, both vegetables still had a decent bite to them. If you want softer vegetables, you’ll want everything cut even thinner.
– Happy Eating, Annemarie
Tip: Try different vegetables in the packets. Broccoli, cauliflower are green beans all great choices.
- 1 lb medium shrimp, 31-35 shrimp per pound
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 4 cups mixed vegetables: carrots, summer squash, broccoli, green beans, bell peppers, cauliflower, cut into 1/4 inch wide pieces
- 4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 tbsp vermouth, or white wine
- 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more for the pasta water
- 10 oz capellini, or other thin spaghetti
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Preheat grill. Begin heating the water for the pasta.
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Set out a shallow bowl, like a pasta bowl. For each packet, cut off a length of aluminum foil about 18 inches long and then cut off a second one. Place one on top of the other (so the foil is doubled up) and put them over the bowl to create a well for the liquid ingredients. Take one quarter of the ingredients listed, from shrimp to kosher salt, and layer them in the foil in the order shown above. Start with the shrimp, then the garlic, vegetables, and so on until you sprinkle the salt over. Once everything is in, bring the two long sides of the foil together and fold them together to make a tight seal. Then do the same for the short sides, bringing each short side up and folded over towards the middle. Continue until you have made all four packets.
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Reduce the heat of the grill to medium-low. Put the packets on the grill and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the shrimp is just cooked through.
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While the shrimp packets are cooking, add the capellini to the water along with 1 tbsp of kosher salt. Cook according to package directions and drain.
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Portion the pasta into four bowls or plates and give everyone a shrimp scampi packet to open and pour over the pasta. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.
If people want individualized packets, give everyone some foil and let them choose their ingredients. Then use a marker to put people's names/initials on the top of the packet.
Cooking time will depend on the heat of your grill and what size shrimp you use. Check for doneness the first time you make this.
GiGi Eats says
Oh man – now I want shrimp. LOTS AND LOTS of shrimp!!!!!
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thanks! I guess it’s time to fire up the grill then. 🙂