Shrimp in garlic bread sauce!
No, but GARLIC BREAD SAUCE. 🎯🎯🎯
What the WHAT. This blog has reached new levels of delicious insanity. I’m going to start this post by convincing you that, in fact, garlic bread sauce is not as weird as it sounds. More like it’s one of the most delicious ways you could ever eat shrimp.
We start with the bread that’s fried in a little bit of olive oil until golden brown, and then pulsed into a garlic bread paste of sorts with fresh parsley, almonds, and garlic. Fried bread –> into a paste? It’s the truth of this recipe. Can you handle it? Your hungry self will give you big thanks for your bravery with this one.
The rest of this recipe just involves adding said garlic bread paste to the olive-oil-and-broth sauce base to thicken it into something resembling Magic with a capital M (more specifically, almost like a light cream sauce) – and then adding the shrimp to the pan to simmer up into something that is weeknight-level easy but company-level fancy. And most importantly, something that is 💯 for your mouth.
Even though it sounds really crazy and garlic-bread-obsessive, this shrimp and garlic bread sauce concept has to be somewhat of a good idea because it comes from the experts at Saveur. It’s a recipe from my favorite cookbook of all time (as of January 2015 when I started using it) – Saveur’s The New Classics cookbook. I got it for Christmas from Bjork last year and I think we are both pretty happy that this book is in my possession. It has 70 5-star reviews on Amazon. And honestly, I wish I could rate it 10 stars.
There are very few cookbooks in my life that I have cooked from more than a handful of times, and this is one of them. It’s obsessively earmarked, written in, and oil-splattered like only the best kinds of cookbooks can be.
Other Pinch of Yum recipes inspired from this cookbook:
- Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Rice Noodles
- Chopped Chicken Sesame Noodle Bowls
- Skillet Chicken with Bacon and White Wine
- Yellow Curry Paste / Thai Yellow Curry with Beef and Potatoes
- Toasted Bread and Parmesan Kale Salad
- Moist Chocolate Layer Cake which has yet to see the light of the blog – but maybe soon, friends…
- And now this: Spanish Shrimp with Garlic Bread Sauce
All the fooooods. Cannot handle.
Food processor = a dream come true. YOU NEED ONE. I love mine so much that I wrote a full post showing off 12 magical ways that I use my food processor. Must must must. Go now.
I don’t want to be bossy, but plz plz plz serve this with the lightly fried garlic bread that I described in the notes of the recipe. It is officially THE BEST THING YOU COULD EVER DO with this recipe.
I love all caps.
And I love you guys. And I really love this shrimp.
Spanish Shrimp with Garlic Bread Sauce awaits! You must, you must, you must.
Spanish Shrimp with Garlic Bread Sauce
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Description
Spanish Shrimp with Garlic Bread Sauce – made with just 7 familiar, easy to find ingredients and fancy enough for company!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 slice crusty white bread, about 1 inch thick, crust removed
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 1 cup almonds
- 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth (or ideally fish stock – but I couldn’t find any)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 lbs. large shrimp (16-20)
- additional bread for serving
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bread to the oil in the pan. Fry for a few minutes on each side until golden brown and crispy. Place on a paper towel lined plate to cool. Turn the heat off on the oil.
- Place the fried bread in a food processor and pulse until crumbs form. Add the 3 cloves garlic, parsley, almonds, and a few tablespoons of the broth into a food processor and pulse until a paste forms.
- Pour the broth and bay leaf into the pan with the oil (if it’s too hot, the oil will splatter, so be careful) and simmer for 10 minutes or so. Stir in the bread paste and mix well – the sauce should start to thicken into a consistency almost like a light gravy or cream sauce. Add the shrimp and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and firm.
- Serve with extra bread for soaking up the sauce.
Notes
For the best garlic bread: heat a thin layer of olive oil in a skillet. Add a smashed clove of garlic and let it saute for a few minutes to infuse the oil with the garlic flavor. Remove the garlic and fry each piece of bread in the oil until golden brown and crispy. Remove and place on paper towel lined plate. This bread is EVERYTHING. It’s so simple and perfect for serving with this recipe! Our dinner guests raved.
Variation: I also made another version of this that was equally as delicious – I added a 28 ounce can of San Marzano tomatoes with the oil and broth in step three and let it simmer till the tomatoes broke down a bit. I added the bread paste to the sauce as directed and let it cook down into a rich tomato sauce. It was REALLY good – even just the sauce plain was good served on bread.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Spanish-Inspired
Keywords: spanish shrimp, shrimp recipe, garlic bread sauce
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links for The New Classics cookbook bcuz I love this cookbook so much. You can find it on Amazon or in any mainstream bookstores. We actually even found it at Costco around Christmas time last year!
I found this recipe and it looks delicious, however I just received some stone ground grits so I’m wanting more of a shrimp and grits recipe. Do you think this could be modified into something that could go on grits? Thickened a bit somehow? Or would the flavors not meld well. Maybe Parmesan grits?
I think this shrimp would go well on grits!
I’m not sure which variation to try first. I always buy shrimp shell on. I’ve only a couple of recipes which actually cook them intact but I do always have a bag full of shells in the freezer when I need a quick fish stock.
If you can’t find fish stock you could make a cheater version by buying your shrimp shell-on and, instead of composting the shells, simmer the shells with the broth and bay leaf. Then remove and compost them before adding the bread paste.
You said you used chicken stock because you couldn’t find any fish stock. Wouldn’t making a shrimp stock from the shells work as well?
Great recipe! I eat similar on my culinary tour with Delectable Destinations in Spain.
But if you buy shrimp that have their shells and/or tails on, you can make your own delicious shrimp stock by sautéing shells in a little oil, then adding water (even a little white wine) or even a little veggie stock diluted with water.
I love your recipes-thank you for sharing! I’d like to give this recipe a try, but we have a nut allergy in the house. Can you suggest an alternaive to the cup of almonds please? Thanks!
Hi JoAnn! Almonds are a pretty essential part of this sauce, so without them you’d get a different taste and texture. We did suggest to another reader to maybe try a seed (e.g. pepitas) to see if that worked as a substitution. Hope something works out for you!
Smart combination. Your dish blows me away. Love it
My husband made this the other night and sadly the garlic bread paste was very watery even though he followed the instructions to a T. Any suggestions of what he did incorrectly?
The paste should be very thick and dense as pictured in the food processor here. Was the paste too watery or was it the finished sauce itself that was too watery? If the sauce itself was too watery, my guess is that you need to add less liquid (this could be a result of differing types of breads used in the paste) OR just let it cook a bit longer to let it thicken up. But the paste itself should be about as thick as a natural peanut butter, and you should be able to add the liquid, watching as you go, until it reaches a desired thickness. Kind of like making a roux, if you’ve ever done that. Hope that helps KimSon!
Sorry to hear that! I’ll pass your question along to Lindsay.
Hi and wow….I am heading out to the fish market tomorrow so that we can have this for dinner. I tried to real all comments to make sure this wasn’t answered…then I gave up! lol
I am betting that the bread makes this recipe. Would you suggest a good white bread..as in a loaf? Like Pepperidge Farms? or a country artisan white? Oh..pinch me some YUM! lol thanks
Hi, Gayle! Lindsay used a loaf of french bread for this recipe. If you prefer, you could probably use a sturdy white loaf. Enjoy!
DANG!!! I have a nut allergy!!! Have you ever tried it without Almonds??? I would LOVE to make this…. Any thoughts or ideas on it????
–Shannon
Hi, Shannon! Are you allergic to ALL nuts? Almonds are a pretty essential part of this sauce… I did suggest to another reader to maybe try a seed (e.g. pepitas) to see if that worked as a substitution. I think if you leave the almonds out completely you’ll end up with a totally different taste and texture. Hope something works out for you!
Hi Lindsay and pinch of Yum peeps,
I’m relatively new to your food blog, and I hardly ever comment on any blog, but I just wanted to tell you that this recipe sounds so delicious and also presents an amazing use for “old” garlic bread (although making it fresh is totally doable). But for a lazy girl like me, what a perfect use for leftovers since I really shouldn’t finish an entire baguette of garlic bread myself. In one sitting. Now I have an “excuse” to save some. Thank you and can’t wait to try some!
Great, Marisa! Hope you enjoy it. 🙂 (and welcome to POY!)
Oh Wow! I shouldn’t be reading your blog just before dinner time. Mouth watering big time! There is nothing better on this earth than prawns (that’s what we call them here is Aus) and garlic. The BEST!
Agreed! Prawns are my favorite protein!
This rocks, thank you! Just made it. I had scallops and added some seasoned salt, but it was delicious.
So glad to hear that, Liz! Thanks for the comment!
I can’t wait to try this recipe! I’m going to sub the white bread for gluten free bread. Looks so yummy!
Hope you like it, Lindsey! 🙂
woahhhh. this might make me a shrimp convert! looks amazing as always!
Any suggestions as to what I could substitute for almonds? My friend is allergic to them.
Hi, Kathy! Is your friend allergic to all tree nuts? If not, you could substitute in another nut that you enjoy (I think cashews or walnuts could be good!). Otherwise, possibly try a seed like pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds if she is allergic to all tree nuts. Good luck!
This sounds absolutely delicious, I’ll have to try this one soon, we love shrimp! This reminds me of garlic shrimp we used to get at Tio Pepe’s in Baltimore a long time ago, and was one of our family favorites. Thanks.
Great, Barb! Hope you enjoy it. 🙂
Have you tried charbroiled oysters at Drago’s in New Orleans? It’s one of my favorite foods ever and this looks like it might taste that!
I don’t think they visited that restaurant, but that sounds delicious!
Hi Lindsay! I know that you have spent time in the Philippines working to make a difference in the lives of the people living there. You probably only buy wild caught shrimp to avoid contributing to Southeast Asia’s slave labor from the shrimp industry. I think it would be awesome if you made that specification in your recipe!
Thanks for the thoughtful comment and suggestion, Allyson!
Looks delicious! Just to confirm – did you use uncooked frozen shrimp?
Hi, Noa! Fresh shrimp is best in this recipe if you can get it, but frozen uncooked shrimp could certainly work as well!
Looks delicious and can’t wait to try! how many servings is the nutritional information based on?
I think it was 6? I’m sorry – I can’t remember for sure.
Good question, Kate! I’ll have Lindsay get back to you. 🙂
You had me at garlic bread sauce. Oh Lindsay, you genius in an apron, you.
Ha! Sarah. You are too kind. More like Saveur’s genius and me making my way through their awesome cookbook.
I love, love, LOVE shrimp and I am blown away over how flavorful and simple this recipe looks. I can’t wait to try it, sipping on some white wine, and just enjoying the evening on our patio. Thanks 🙂
Yep! Right on!
Holy this is incredible! Super easy and nearly all ingredients in the pantry. I found seafood broth and holy cow!!! Best ever!
Awesome! Love hearing that Karen! 🙂