This classic Olive Garden recipe for Shrimp Scampi comes together in 30 minutes and is loaded with good flavor and fresh ingredients. Serve this with pasta, rice, risotto or if you are living low carb use zucchini noodles or fresh vegetables such as fresh asparagus doused with the shrimp scampi sauce.
I absolutely love Olive Garden’s recipe for Shrimp Scampi. It’s one of my favorite dishes. So with a bit of tinkering and experimenting in the kitchen, I think I’ve come up with the best Copycat Recipe for Olive Garden’s Shrimp Scampi – but with a healthy twist! This whole dish is the real thing with robust ingredients along with the bright flavors of lemon and crushed red pepper flakes equals a boatload of flavor!
Seriously, this copycat Olive Garden Shrimp Scampi recipe is the absolute best version of this classic Italian dish. It’s also a great recipe that will get dinner on the table in about 30 minutes or so. So the best part is there’s no need for going through the drive thru for fast food. It’s such a delicious and light dinner – perfect for the warmer weather.
Way back in the late 1990’s (the very first time) I joined Weight Watchers, I was single and did not cook – at all. So every night (almost) my mom and I would go to a local Italian restaurant and have dinner. Every single night I would order Shrimp Scampi with a double order of vegetables. And I would allow myself 1 slice of Italian Bread (without butter) and use it to sop up all the Scampi Sauce.
After my first week, I was kinda nervous about getting weighed in at the WW meeting. I mean I ate out virtually every night that week and felt like I was cheating since I was eating such a decadent dinner every night. Once I hopped on the ancient doctor’s type of scale, the WW Leader asked me if I ate at all that week. I said, “Yes, why?” She said you lost 7.5 pounds! Needless to say, I was ecstatic and there began my obsession with Shrimp Scampi.
This Italian-American favorite meal is quite an ambiguous recipe. There are lots of Italian cooks that use olive oil or a couple tablespoons of butter or a combination of the two for sauteing the shrimp. The same is true for the Lemon Garlic Scampi Sauce – lots of cooks swear by using white wine, others use chicken broth and some use a combination of both. To keep this Italian pasta dish tasting as fantastic as Olive Garden’s – but healthier – I’m revealing my secret to you and it is that I use some of the pasta water (starchy), chicken broth and red pepper flakes to cut back on the hefty amounts of dry white wine and oil. Lastly, some cooks prefer the Shrimp to have a breading – such as Panko Crumbs or regular bread crumbs, while many just use deveined shrimp (like me).
Best Copycat Recipe for Olive Garden’s Shrimp Scampi – With A Healthy Twist!
1 16-oz. Box of Whole Wheat Pasta
2 Tablespoons of Light Unsalted Butter (I use Land O’Lakes Light Sticks)
2 Teaspoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½ of a Large Yellow Onion or White Onion, Diced
3-4 Cloves Garlic, Minced
Sea Salt and Black Pepper, to Taste
1.5 Pounds of Large Raw Shrimp, Peeled & Deveined
1/2 Cup of Fat Free Chicken Broth or Dry White Wine (Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc)
3 Tablespoons of Fresh Parsley, Chopped
2 Large Lemons, Wedged and Divided
1/3 Cup of Reduced Fat Parmesan Cheese or Romano Cheese, Finely Grated
Directions:
1.   Heat a large pot of salted water over medium-high heat. Add spaghetti/pasta and cook according to package instructions. Remember to reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water before you drain the pasta. Set drained pasta in a serving bowl and reserve the pasta cooking water.
2.   While the spaghetti is cooking, add butter and oil to a large saute pan set over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and continue to saute. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste, and stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and begins to develop some color, approximately 5 minutes.
3.  Place shrimp in the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until the shrimp changes color and the shrimp curls slightly, approximately 2-3 minutes. Do not overcook. Add in the chicken broth or wine, parsley and squeeze the lemon wedges to add fresh lemon juice. Add in the reserved pasta water too. Season with additional salt and black pepper, if desired, and stir to combine.
4.  Top spaghetti with the cooked shrimp mixture and Parmesan or Romano Cheese. Serve immediately. Top some freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, if desired. Enjoy!
5. On the WW Personal Points Plan, each serving is 4 Personal Points if you chose Fish and Whole Wheat Pasta as 0 Point Foods. If you did not choose Fish or Whole Wheat Pasta as 0 Point Foods, each serving is 8 PP.
RELATED: BEST COPYCAT APPLEBEE’S SPINACH ARTICHOKE DIP RECIPE – LIGHTENED UP WITH WW PERSONAL POINTS!
PIN FOR LATER
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- 1 16-oz. Box of Whole Wheat Pasta
- 2 Tablespoons of Light Unsalted Butter (I use Land O'Lakes Light Sticks)
- 2 Teaspoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ½ of a Large Yellow Onion or White Onion, Diced
- 3-4 Cloves Garlic, Minced
- Sea Salt and Black Pepper, to Taste
- 1.5 Pounds of Large Raw Shrimp, Peeled & Deveined
- ½ Cup of Fat Free Chicken Broth or Dry White Wine (Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc)
- 3 Tablespoons of Fresh Parsley, Chopped
- 2 Large Lemons, Wedged and Divided
- ⅓ Cup of Reduced Fat Parmesan Cheese or Romano Cheese, Finely Grated
- Heat a large pot of salted water over medium-high heat. Add spaghetti/pasta and cook according to package instructions. Remember to reserve ½ cup of the pasta water before you drain the pasta. Set drained pasta in a serving bowl and reserve the pasta cooking water.
- While the spaghetti is cooking, add butter and oil to a large saute pan set over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and continue to saute. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste, and stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and begins to develop some color, approximately 5 minutes.
- Place shrimp in the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until the shrimp changes color and the shrimp curls slightly, approximately 2-3 minutes. Do not overcook. Add in the chicken broth or wine, parsley and squeeze the lemon wedges to add fresh lemon juice. Add in the reserved pasta water too. Season with additional salt and black pepper, if desired, and stir to combine.
- Top spaghetti with the cooked shrimp mixture and Parmesan or Romano Cheese. Serve immediately. Top some freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, if desired. Enjoy!
- On the WW Personal Points Plan, each serving is 4 Personal Points if you chose Fish and Whole Wheat Pasta as 0 Point Foods. If you did not choose Fish or Whole Wheat Pasta as 0 Point Foods, each serving is 8 PP.
