Succulent shrimp and tender crisp asparagus in a garlic lemon butter? Yes please! This sheet pan meal is a fast, easy and flavor packed. Best part – the whole thing is ready to eat in just 20 minutes!
Nothing like a trusty sheet pan to get a quick and healthy dinner on the table any night of the week. Sheet pans really are the true workhorses in any kitchen. If you love sheet pan meals as much as I do, you should check out a few of my other favorites:
Sheet Pan Teriyaki Salmon with Baby Bok Choy
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How to make Sheet Pan Shrimp and Asparagus in Garlic Lemon Butter
I love cooking shrimp. It’s a healthy, lean protein that takes just a few minutes to cook and tastes amazing in so many dishes with all kinds of flavors. I always keep them on hand in my freezer for quick and easy meals. All you need is a few other simple ingredients and this can be on your table in no time.
Ingredients Needed
Shrimp – you can use fresh or frozen. Peel and devein and make sure they are defrosted before cooking. You definitely want to use big shrimp for this recipe. I used 16-20 count. Shrimp sizes can be confusing but the numbers mean that is how many you get per pound.
Asparagus – Spring is the best time to find fresh asparagus and you will definitely want fresh for this recipe. Selecting the best asparagus is easy to do. Look for long smooth stalks that stand up straight with a rich green color. Any floppiness or wrinkling means they are past their prime. In terms of thickness, for this recipe I recommend going on the thinner, medium side. To trim asparagus, you can either use a knife to slice off the bottom few woody inches or just gently bend the stalk and it will just snap off in the right place. That’s what I do.
Fresh Garlic – a MUST. Is there really any other way?
Lemon – both the zest and the juice!
Butter – if you need to make this dairy free, you can surely use just a bit more olive oil and it will be delicious. However, butter is always best.
Olive Oil – use good olive oil. This dish is super simple and all of the flavors matter. It’s The Furies Olive Oil for me always!
Salt, Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes – I like to go with simple seasonings. The flavors are simple but wildly delicious. You can play around with what you like.
How to make sheet pan shrimp and asparagus. So easy!
- Step One: Mince garlic and zest a whole lemon. If you need both lemon juice and lemon zest in a recipe, always remember to zest it first! Sometimes I forget. If necessary, peel and devein the shrimp and pat dry with paper towels. Trim the asparagus.
- Step Two: Make the garlic lemon butter. Whisk together melted butter, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, some of the fresh minced garlic and salt and pepper in a large bowl and toss with shrimp. Let the shrimp marinate while we get started with the asparagus. The asparagus cooks a bit longer so we’ll get that started on the pan, take it out and then add the shrimp for the last half of the cooking. Shrimp only take a few minutes to cook!
- Step Three: Arrange the asparagus on one half of the sheet pan in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Sprinkle the top of the asparagus with the remaining fresh minced garlic. Bake at 400 degrees for exactly 4 minutes.
- Step Four: Remove asparagus from the oven and add the shrimp to the other half of the pan. Use a spatula to scrape out all of the lemon garlic butter so it all gets onto the pan. Make sure the shrimp are in a single layer. Return the sheet pan to the oven and bake for an additional 7-9 minutes until shrimp are opaque and cooked through. You can toss it around on the pan a little bit to make sure everything is coated thoroughly in all of the lemon garlic butter. Serve immediately!
What should I serve with Shrimp and Asparagus?
In my opinion, this garlicky, buttery deliciousness is perfect for a light dinner all on it’s own. If you want to bulk it up a bit, serve it with some low carb cauliflower rice, quinoa, brown rice or simple potatoes. You could even do a fresh green salad. Nothing wrong with a little bit more veg.
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! If you make this recipe, let me know what you think! I love to hear from you on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook!
Sheet Pan Shrimp and Asparagus in Garlic Lemon Butter
Ingredients
- 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 bunch asparagus trimmed
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lemon zest and juice
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Black pepper to taste
- Red pepper flakes or other seasonings of choice optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel and devein shrimp and trim asparagus. Mince garlic and zest one whole lemon.
- In a large microwave safe bowl, melt butter. Add lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, about ⅔ of the minced garlic, ⅔ of the lemon zest, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Whisk together until combined. Add shrimp and set aside.
- Add trimmed asparagus to half of a sheet pan. Toss with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and arrange in a single layer. Sprinkle the remaining minced garlic and lemon zest on top of the asparagus. Bake for exactly 4 minutes and remove sheet pan from oven.
- Carefully add shrimp to the other half of the sheet pan and arrange in a single layer. Make sure to scrape out all of the lemon garlic butter.
- Return sheet pan to the oven and bake for an additional 7-9 minutes until shrimp are opaque and cooked through. Remove sheet pan from oven and toss everything to thoroughly coat in sauce. Serve immediately.
Adriana Ramirez-Byrnes
Loved this! Quick and easy! I’ve made it twice since you posted this week! This one is going into our rotation!
Sydney Kronfle
Easy, healthy, delicious and stress-free meal with an easy clean-up!
Britney
We made this for dinner last night And it was the perfect weeknight meal! Soo garlicky and delicious!
Leah
5 stars! Best recipe! Made for dinner last night and was a hit!
Chenée
This sheet pan meal was so easy and delicious! Perfect for a light springtime dinner!
Jazz
This was such a simple and spring-y meal. Made it for dinner last night and enjoying the leftovers for lunch today!
Lilly
I love a good sheet pan meal, especially during my busy weeks. I found this sheet pan meal right on time! I love how quick and easy it was to make and how juicy and flavorful the shrimp was! Definitely going to be making this again!
Kaluhi
Fresh! Filling! Delicious!!i totally loved this effortless recipe and i cannot wait to make this again!
Robin
This dish was such a beautiful Spring dinner! I will keep making it as long as I can find fresh asparagus.
Barry J.
I was looking for a super easy-to-make recipe and am so glad I came across this. The shrimp didn’t take long to thaw and I have less dishes to wash tonight. Thanks for the recipe and I’ll def be making again soon.
Jen
I’m in love with this sheet pan recipe because I LOVE shrimp and asparagus! It was super easy to prepare and tasted delicious.
Marta
The flavor was excellent and it was quick from start to finish. I love that I used so little dishes to get dinner on the table.
Thanks for sharing!
Mykalee
What a simple and delicious dinner idea! Saving this one for later!
Tamara
I’m so happy I came across your recipe! It was perfect for a last-minute dinner. Full of flavor, easy, and an absolute hit with the family. Thanks for sharing!
Nicole
Is there anything better than a sheet pan dinner? This recipe is so simple and the end result is beautiful! Thank you for this!