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Ready in a matter of minutes, this effortless Old Bay shrimp recipe highlights the bold flavors of the most iconic seafood seasoning, balanced by fresh lemon juice, Worcestershire and a kick of heat from Tabasco, all finished with the earthy notes of fresh thyme. With its delicious buttery pan juices, you can serve it over rice, or our favorite, mashed potatoes.
Notes from the MGC Kitchen
Shrimp are one of our favorite proteins (you can tell because we have lots of shrimp recipes on the site) and we always keep a bag in the freezer. They’re perfect for last-minute meals because they defrost very quickly in cool water, cook in even less time, and are extremely versatile, taking on a wide variety of flavor profiles. This recipe, with its few simple ingredients and quick turnaround time, is one we make quite often, and it’s become a real favorite with our readers, as well. We hope you enjoy it!
Key Ingredients
Here’s an overview of the essential ingredients for this recipe, along with shopping tips, and possible substitutions. The complete ingredient list is in the recipe card below.
- SHRIMP: We use large peeled and deveined shrimp (21 to 30 per pound), but we do keep the tails on the shrimp during the cooking process because they impart some additional shrimp flavor to the sauce.
- LEMON JUICE: Fresh lemon juice complements shrimp and helps to balance out the richness of the butter and the more intense flavors of the Old Bay, Tabasco and Worcestershire in the pan sauce.
- TABASCO: You can adjust the heat of this dish to your taste with the Tabasco sauce.
- WORCESTERSHIRE: Worcestershire sauce adds an umami note to this sauce, as well as a hint of sweetness from the molasses and tamarind in its ingredients.
- BUTTER: We use butter instead of olive oil to sauté the shrimp because it emulsifies with the other ingredients to make a luscious pan sauce to spoon over the shrimp.
- OLD BAY: Old Bay is the most well-known seafood seasoning on the market (more about it below), and it adds some smoky notes from the paprika, some heat from the black pepper and red pepper flakes, and the unique vegetal flavor of celery salt.
- THYME: Thyme is one of the 18 spices and herbs in Old Bay, so adding fresh thyme just enhances that flavor even more.
How to Make Old Bay Shrimp
Here’s a basic overview of how this dish is prepared. For detailed, step-by-step instructions and a complete ingredient list, please refer to the printable recipe card below.
SAUTÉ THE SHRIMP: Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the shrimp and sprinkle with Old Bay Seasoning. Sauté for about three minutes.
MAKE THE PAN SAUCE: Drizzle with fresh-squeezed lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and a dash of Tabasco. Sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves.
FINISH THE DISH: Toss the shrimp in the sauce until coated, season with a little black pepper and serve.
What to Serve with Shrimp with Old Bay Seasoning
Steamed rice might be the first thing you think of to serve with these shrimp, and that is undoubtedly a great choice. To serve, plate some white or brown rice, top with shrimp, and spoon all those delicious pan juices over the top.
We also love these flavorful shrimp served over mashed potatoes! Add a salad or a simple vegetable like green beans or peas to round out the meal.
What is Old Bay Seasoning?
Originally developed by the Baltimore Spice Company for flavoring crab and shrimp, Old Bay Seasoning is a blend of salt, celery seed, black pepper, red pepper, paprika, and other spices.
It’s named after the Old Bay line of passenger ships that sailed the Chesapeake Bay from Baltimore to Norfolk, Virginia in the early 1900s.
The brand was sold to McCormick & Company in 1990, but the flavor has remained the same. McCormick now makes some other Old Bay products including a reduced-sodium version, prepared cocktail sauce, and a crab cake mix.
If you like the flavor profile of Old Bay, give our baked or pan-fried crab cakes a try, too.
Discover More Easy Shrimp Recipes
Shrimp is our go-to protein for a speedy weeknight meal. If you’re looking for a light dinner, our shrimp cocktail salad and shrimp and avocado salad are refreshing choices. Or, you can try these bang bang shrimp lettuce wraps.
For something a little heartier than a salad, yet still fresh and flavorful, try our shrimp with orzo or pasta primavera.
If you enjoy the flavors of this dish, you may also want to try our Louisiana Style Shrimp and Rice.
Old Bay Shrimp Sauté
Ingredients
- 1-1/4 lbs large shrimp (21 to 30 per pound), peeled (tails on) and deveined
- 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 1-1/2 lemons
- 4 dashes of Tabasco, or more to taste
- 3/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, or more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Combine the lemon juice, Tabasco, and Worcestershire in a small bowl and set aside.
- Heat 4 tablespoons of the butter in a large pan over medium-high heat until foamy.
- Add the shrimp, sprinkle with the Old Bay Seasoning and sauté until pink and opaque, about 3 minutes total.
- Add the lemon juice mixture, thyme leaves, and the remaining tablespoon of butter and toss until the shrimp are well coated.
- Season with freshly ground black pepper and remove from the heat.
- Serve immediately, spooning the pan juices over the shrimp.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What can I use instead of butter???
Hi there,
Aside from adding flavor, butter is what helps to emulsify the pan sauce, but you do have a couple of options if you don’t want to use it. If you’re simply looking to go dairy-free, you can use your favorite plant-based butter. (We happen to like Country Crock Plant Butter with Avocado Oil.)
However, if your goal is to cut fat, we recommend the following: Whisk 1-1/2 tablespoons of low-sodium chicken broth together with 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch and set aside. Briefly sauté the shrimp in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then deglaze with an additional 1/4 cup of the broth. Add the lemon juice mixture and thyme leaves, then stir in the reserved broth-cornstarch mix and cook until the sauce thickens slightly and coats the shrimp. You can add more broth in small increments if needed, just be careful not to leave the shrimp in the pan too long. You don’t want them to get tough and dry.
I was excited to try this but it came out very lemony. I followed the recipe. Is the lemon flavor supposed to overpower all the other flavors?
Hi there,
Our concept for this dish is essentially a lemon-butter sauce for shrimp that uses Old Bay seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, and fresh thyme as flavor enhancers. It should have a noticeable lemon flavor and the quantity of lemon juice we call for is what we found to be appropriate in order to balance the assertive flavors of the Old Bay seasoning and Worcestershire sauce. That being said, we’re sorry it wasn’t to your liking and should you want to try it again, simply reduce the amount of lemon juice. It shouldn’t affect the overall success of the dish.
This recipe is delicious! We made tacos with homemade coleslaw, Mexican 4 cheese and sour cream.
Best ever!! Thank you so much.
Glad you liked the shrimp, Maureen! Thanks!
This was yummy. The only thing I did differently was half butter, half olive oil and didn’t measure the old bay, just seasoned the shrimp to our liking. The sauce addition was great. Thanks!
Hi Alicia,
I’m happy to hear you liked the shrimp. Thanks for taking the time to let us know!
This was one of the best shrimp dishes I’ve ever tasted!!! Definitely a keeper. I cooked it in my cast iron skillet.
This is really delicious. I like the kicky flavor pared with the shrimp. I would like to know how many calories are in it, however.
Hi Vivian,
We’ve been steadily updating all of our recipes to include nutrition info. I’ve just done this one for you!
Delicious!! Nice light calorie meal
Hi Tresha,
So glad you liked the shrimp. Thanks for letting us know!
Made it and loved it!! Thx for the recipe!!
Hi Alex,
Glad to hear you enjoyed the shrimp – thanks for taking the time to let us know.
Nice and easy recipe and the white rice with bacon and onion is a great accompaniment to the main flavors of old bay and shrimp..
Hi Betty,
The Old Bay seasoning really does have a unique flavor – just perfect for shrimp. Glad you enjoyed both the shrimp and the rice.