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Sharing an easy…let’s make this weeknight feel special…dinner, Saucy Garlic Butter Shrimp with Coconut Milk and Rice Noodles. Spicy, garlicky, and gingery shrimp, pan seared and tossed with a touch of butter and coconut milk. This dish is creamy, saucy, a touch salty, and just a little spicy. It’s served over rice noodles and comes together in no time at all (about 30 minutes). Perfect for busy weeknights when you’re looking for something a little more special, but still quick, healthy-ish, and DELICIOUS.
Recipes like this saucy shrimp are my favorite. This shrimp has a mix of flavors, fusion food as some might say. It’s quick, it’s saucy, relatively healthy (there’s some sneaky greens in all that sauce), and just an all around delicious meal.
Traditionally garlic shrimp is more of an Italian dish, and is served simply with butter and lemons. But I wanted to put a twist on the classic and switch things up a bit.
So I threw in some Thai flavors by adding creamy coconut milk, a squeeze of fresh lime, and rice noodles. Yes, it’s different, and I will probably get criticized for this not being “authentic” over on Instagram (if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all, right?). But hey, my purpose here is to provide you guys with easy and delicious recipes, this shrimp is both, so all is good.
The shrimp is first tossed with a little olive oil, garlic, ginger, and spicy jalapeño. These are the main flavors, so if you don’t love garlic, this recipe might not be for you. And if you want to tame the spice level, just use one jalapeño.
Let the shrimp sit a few minutes and cook the rice noodles. I really love using vermicelli rice noodles, but any noodle works, so use your favorite.
Next, cook up some bacon. It adds a really deep flavor and a hint of saltiness that is delicious. Go with me on this. Now, pan sear the shrimp. The key is to remove the shrimp from the garlic marinade. If you cook the shrimp in the marinade, the shrimp with steam, and the garlic will burn. So first remove the shrimp, cook, add the butter, and then add all of that garlicky marinade. As the butter melts, the garlic caramelizes around the shrimp creating truly the most mouth-watering smell (and delicious sauce).
This is that moment you know the recipe is going to be good…so good.
At this point, I like to remove half of the shrimp and save it for topping. Honestly, you don’t have to do this step. You can instead leave the shrimp in the skillet and combine it with the coconut milk. I just like to remove some of the shrimp so that it stays crisp…and if being truly honest, for photo purposes.
Once the coconut milk has been added, the shrimp looses it’s crispness a bit. It’s also a little more visually appealing to have a few shrimp sitting atop the rice noodles. And we all know that I’m all about a visually good-looking dish…
You guys always ask if I do anything special to the food for photos, and the answer really is no. But I like to add garnishes or pull out tricks like this one…
If you have something extra saucy, or you’re making a soup and want to keep the dish both colorful and full of texture. To create a beautiful looking dish, remove a little bit of one of the main elements of the recipe. In today’s case the shrimp. But think along the lines of keeping out some of the chickpeas in a curry, or the noodles in a soup, things like that. Then reserve them for topping the dish just before serving. Again, this is not necessary for flavor purposes. But if you want to create that “Instagram worthy” food photo, this is one of my go-to tricks to really make food pop off the page, as seen in the cacio e pepe, lemon garlic chicken soup, and herb salad.
Okay, styling talk over. Moving along now.
Once I’ve removed half the shrimp from the skillet, I add the coconut milk. I know the coconut milk might seem like an odd ingredient to add, but as I mentioned, I wanted to put my own twist on a classic, and the coconut milk creates a creamy, flavorful sauce.
It’s beyond good. Especially with the rice noodles. It’s kind of like Italian meets Thai. A weird, but delicious mash-up that’s just a touch cozy, a touch on the healthy side, and all things good. And quick, which is always a very nice bonus!
If you make this saucy garlic shrimp, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch the How To Video:
Saucy Garlic Butter Shrimp with Coconut Milk and Rice Noodles
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 970 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces rice noodles
- 3 strips thick cut slices bacon, chopped
- 1 1/2 pounds raw jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1/4 cup extra olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 4-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 2 jalapeños, seeded and chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro OR basil, roughly chopped (use you personal favorite)
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 can (14 ounce) coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 cups baby spinach or kale, roughly chopped
- juice and zest from 1/2 a lime
- sliced jalapeño pepper and green onions, for serving
Instructions
- 1. In a medium size bowl, toss together the shrimp, olive oil, honey, garlic, ginger, and jalapeños. Toss well to combine. 2. Cook rice noodles according to packaged directions.3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp and the fat has rendered, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pot and drain on a paper towel lined plate.4. Working with the same skillet, use a slotted spoon to scoop the shrimp out of the marinade, reserving the marinade, and into the hot skillet, season with salt and pepper. Cook the shrimp until pink, about 2-3 minutes per side. Add the reserved marinade, the butter and a large pinch of pepper. Continue to cook the shrimp in the butter until the garlic begins to caramelize and turn light golden brown, about another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove half the shrimp and reserve for topping. 5. To the skillet, add the coconut milk, 1/3-1/2 cup water, spinach, and the fish sauce. Stir to combine, bring the mixture to a boil, cook 3-5 minutes, until warmed through. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice and zest, and the cilantro, or basil.6. To serve, divide the noodles among bowls. Spoon the sauce and reserved shrimp and bacon over the noodles. Top with peppers and green onions. Enjoy!
This post was originally published on February 13, 2019
Made this tonight, FANTASTIC! The whole family loved it!
Hey Christe,
I am so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! Have a great weekend! xTieghan
My family and I really enjoyed this dish! I omitted one of the jalapenos to make it kid friendly without too much spice, otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. There were no leftovers and my oldest daughter even commented I should make it again – the biggest compliment ever! This recipe made enough for my husband and I to each have large bowls, and my daughters to each have small bowls. Therefore if you are making for a larger family (and kids older than 5 & 8) you may consider doubling this recipe as I don’t know how 6 servings per the instructions are possible following it as is.
Hey Breanna,
Thanks so much for trying out this recipe, I am thrilled that you liked it! I hope you have a great week:) xTieghan
I only have arugula for greens, could I use that instead of spinach or kale?
Hey Alison,
Yes, I think that arugula would work well here. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I wonder if could use prosciutto instead of bacon?
Thanks!
Hey Kathy,
Prosciutto would be great! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy New Year! xTieghan
Do you drain the bacon grease out of pan before adding the shrimp or leave it? Trying this tonight!! My shrimp is marinading!!!!
Hey Kathy,
If you have a lot of bacon grease I would drain it! I hope you love the recipe. Please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy New Year! xTieghan
My husband and I enjoyed this for dinner tonight. I mostly followed the recipe but did cut back on the amount of water added to the coconut milk. Also, I didn’t have any bacon (unfortunately) but this was still tasty without. Finally, I am a big one for veggies, so I added carrots, green beans, and mushrooms. This made the dish a little heartier and maybe a smidgen healthier. Oh yes, one last thing, I only had one pound of shrimp. One and a half pounds, as called for, definitely would have made this dish more filling.
Hey Tina,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a go, I am thrilled it was enjoyed! Happy New Year! xTieghan
A favorite of ours! I’ve made it several times for my family. The flavor combination is delicious. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you Lyn! xTieghan
This is sooo delicious! In the summertime I made it two or three times every week.
Thank you so much Steph! xTieghan
Delicious!
Thank you Sarah! xTieghan
Hi I want to make tomorrow, but only have cooked shrimp. Can I quickly, and lightly sear?
Hey Gabrielle,
Yes totally fine, just be sure not to overcook them! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Absolutely delicious! And a one pot meal. ❤️
Thank you Sandy! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Tiegan – we made this tonight. We had large shrimp from Costco and used basil, jalapeños, bell peppers, Anaheim chilies from the garden and slivered snow peas. The recipe was fabulous and had so many layers of flavors, which came through with each bite. My husband could not STOP! Keep up the good work. We loved this dish.
Wow I am so happy to hear that! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! xTieghan
Hey Tieghan,
What are your thoughts about adding scallops? Would green peas work in this dish as well? Thanks 😀
Hey Jessica,
I think both scallops and green peas would work well in this recipe! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Needed a comfort food meal tonight… this was IT! Happy family’s only complaint is that I did’nt make more! Thanks for another winner.
Wow that is so great! I am really glad this turned out so well for you, Acey! xTieghan
Hey Tieghan,
What do you think about adding scallops to this? I have few shrimp left over which I can use, but I have a number of scallops to use as well. Think it would work?
Thanks!
Hey Jessica,
I think scallops would be great here! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan