This Instant Pot Shrimp Scampi is ready in 30 minutes! The frozen shrimp, pasta and creamy butter sauce cook together at the same time.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Butter – swap out for your favourite butter substitute or more olive oil.
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil like canola oil.
- Frozen shrimp – use another kind of frozen seafood like scallops or lobster.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic is best but jarred minced garlic can also be used.
- Lemon juice – freshly squeezed and bottled lemon juice would both work.
- Lemon zest – if you don’t have any lemon zest, use a bit more lemon juice.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Frozen peas – sliced mushrooms or diced red peppers would also be good in this dish.
- Rotini pasta – swap out for another medium-sized pasta like penne, fusilli or rigatoni.
- Chicken broth – vegetable broth would be the best substitute here.
- Parmesan cheese – leave this off or swap out for some nutritional yeast instead.
- Fresh parsley – leave this out altogether if you don’t have any on hand.
- Chili flakes – if you don’t want any spice, leave off the chili flakes.
How to make shrimp scampi in the Instant Pot
Step 1: Add everything to the Instant Pot.
Add butter and olive oil to the bottom of Instant Pot. Add frozen shrimp on top (ensure they are frozen!), followed by garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt & pepper, peas, pasta and broth, pushing pasta underneath the liquid as much as possible.
Step 2: Cook on high pressure.
Place lid on Instant Pot and make sure valve is set to seal. Press the pressure cook button and set to high, then cook for 3 minutes. Instant Pot will take about 5-10 minutes to come to pressure then pressure cook for 3 minutes.
Step 3: Stir in the parmesan and parsley.
Do a quick release of the pressure on the Instant Pot by flicking the switch at the top with a spoon. Open the lid when pressure gauge has dropped and the lid opens easily. Stir in parmesan cheese and parsley, then garnish with extra parsley and chili flakes (optional).
Step 4: Serve and enjoy!
What to serve with shrimp scampi
Because this Instant Pot shrimp scampi is very rich in flavour, keep your sides simple. A tossed green salad will add freshness to the plate.
Steamed or sautéed vegetables like broccoli or zucchini go well with any Instant Pot shrimp recipes. A little oil or butter and salt and pepper are all you need for seasoning.
And don’t forget the garlic bread! That always goes well with any pasta dish.
Frequently Asked Questions
This Instant Pot shrimp scampi is a simple dish made with butter, garlic and shrimp. It often includes pasta and is made with a light sauce that lets the flavours of the shrimp and garlic shine through. It’s so good and really easy to make!
The sauce for this Instant Pot shrimp recipe cooks alongside the rest of the ingredients and includes butter, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper and chicken broth.
If you want your Instant Pot shrimp scampi sauce to be thicker, add in a cornstarch slurry after the pasta has finished pressure cooking.
Storing and reheating
If you have a lot of leftovers of this Instant Pot shrimp scampi, good news! It can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days so you can enjoy it as your lunches or dinners throughout a week. Make sure to store the leftovers in airtight containers so everything stays as fresh as possible.
When it comes to reheating, I suggest reheating this dish on the stovetop. Warm a little bit of olive oil in a pan over medium heat or your Instant Pot on the sauté function and reheat the pasta.
You can also microwave this dish, but I recommend reheating the shrimp separately or it will get all tough and rubbery. Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes, then microwave the shrimp separately for about 20 second and add it back to the pasta.
Can you freeze shrimp scampi?
I don’t recommend freezing this shrimp scampi recipe. The pasta won’t thaw and reheat well – the pasta will be mushy and since you’re using frozen shrimp, it can’t be refrozen.
More Instant Pot pasta recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this shrimp scampi into your weekly lunches.
Instant Pot Shrimp Scampi
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb frozen shrimp
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 cups frozen peas
- 1 lb rotini pasta
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more to serve
- Chili flakes, to serve
Instructions
- Add butter and olive oil to the bottom of Instant Pot. Add frozen shrimp on top (ensure they are frozen!), followed by garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt & pepper, peas, pasta and broth, pushing pasta underneath the liquid as much as possible.
- Place lid on Instant Pot and make sure valve is set to seal. Press the pressure cook button and set to high, then cook for 3 minutes. Instant Pot will take about 5-10 minutes to come to pressure then pressure cook for 3 minutes.
- Do a quick release of the pressure on the Instant Pot by flicking the switch at the top with a spoon. Open the lid when pressure gauge has dropped and the lid opens easily.
- Stir in parmesan cheese and parsley, then garnish with extra parsley and chili flakes (optional). Serve and enjoy!
