This easy shrimp and broccoli recipe with citrusy Greek Ladolemono sauce is a delicious, nutritious, and well-balanced weeknight meal. It’s easy and requires just a few basic ingredients. Have everything prepped and ready to go because it comes together quickly!
For this one-pan shrimp and broccoli recipe, I wanted to create a simple but satisfying dish with big Mediterranean flavor that could accompany a simple starch like rice or pasta.
I cook the broccoli first, just until its bright green and tender, followed by the shrimp just until they curl and turn pink. To tie all the ingredients together, I finish the dish with Greek Ladolemono, a velvety, lemon-olive oil Greek dressing that adds freshness and pleasant acidity to everything it touches.
I like to marinate the shrimp while the broccoli cooks to add an extra pop of flavor, but really the whole dish comes together with very little hands on time, which makes it perfect for busy weeknight dinners.
Table of Contents
Ingredients for Shrimp and Broccoli with Ladolemono Sauce
As it is the case for simple recipes with short lists of ingredients, the quality is very important: good quality shrimp and fresh broccoli or broccolini, will make all the difference.
- Ladolemono Sauce is a classic Greek lemon-olive oil dressing seasoned with oregano. In Greece, people use it as an all-purpose drizzle to add citrusy richness to grilled or sautéed seafood, like this Greek-style roasted Branzino, or as a flavorful sauce to toss with warm, roasted vegetables, as in this Roasted Vegetable Salad with Halloumi. You likely won’t use the entire batch for this recipe. Use any leftovers to dress Mediterranean Brown Rice Tuna Bowls.
- Shrimp: Peeled and deveined shrimp require minimal preparation, which makes them perfect for weeknight skillet dinners. If you prefer to buy unpeeled shrimp, make sure to defrost it overnight, so you have plenty of time to peel it yourself the next day.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: The fruity flavor of good quality of olive oil is essential for both the shrimp marinade and the Ladolemono sauce. For the best flavor always use extra virgin olive oil.
- READ MORE: Olive oil is a healthy fat rich in antioxidants. Read more on cooking with olive oil.
- TRY IT: Single estate Greek olive oils made from Koroneiki olives add authentic Greek flavor to Ladolemono sauce.
- Shallot and Garlic, finely chopped, cook at the same time with the shrimp. If you are a garlic lover, feel free to add more garlic to this dish. Both the shrimp and the broccoli pair extremely well with the assertive flavor of garlic!
- Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper are the backbone of seasoning in this skillet meal. If you con’t have sea salt, Kosher salt will work.
- Aleppo Pepper or Crushed Red Pepper Flakes add great depth of flavor to the dish, but if you do not like the heat, you can omit it.
- Broccoli florets are perfect for quick cooking. Make sure not to overcook them to achieve the perfect, tender texture that still has some bite. We don’t want mushy broccoli.
- Water helps the broccoli steam to a crisp-tender texture.
How to Make this Shrimp and Broccoli Recipe
Just a few easy steps to make this delicious skillet shrimp and broccoli, but the order in which you do it matters to ensure that both are warm and neither are over or under cooked. Here’s the whole process, step by step:
- Make the Ladolemono Sauce
- Marinate the shrimp: Thaw and pat dry 1 1/4 pounds extra large, peeled and deveined shrimp (21 to 25 per pound). In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1 finely chopped medium shallot, 3 finely chopped garlic cloves, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon Aleppo pepper or crushed red pepper flakes, if using. Add the shrimp to the bowl and toss well to coat. Cover the bowl and set aside to marinate at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Cook the broccoli: Meanwhile, in a large skillet set over medium high heat, add the 3 cups broccoli florets and 1/4 cup water. Cook for 5 minutes, turning the broccoli frequently. It’s ready when it’s fork tender, but still crisp and bright green. Transfer the broccoli to the plate, and empty the skillet.
- Cook the shrimp: Return the skillet to the stove and set over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the shrimp to the skillet along with all of the marinade. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side, turning the shrimp over halfway through, and shaking the pan every now and then to make sure that the shallots and the garlic cook evenly and do not burn. The shrimp are ready when they turn pink and start to curl.
- Bring everything together: Return the broccoli to the skillet, season with salt and pepper and toss gently to coat. Cook everything together for another minute or so, just to warm the broccoli. Remove the skillet from the heat.
- Sauce and serve. Whisk the Ladolemono Lauce to recombine and pour some over the shrimp and broccoli. Toss gently, taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve immediately with the remaining sauce on the side.
Tips for the Best Sautéed Shrimp
If you are not sure what kind of shrimp to use, here are a few useful tips to help you choose the right shrimp for this dish. Check out our Guide to Buying and Cooking Shrimp for more information on defrosting and prepping shrimp for this recipe.
- Buy it frozen: I prefer to use frozen shrimp (instead of shrimp that is already thawed at the fish counter) because shrimp is a highly perishable protein. Frozen shrimp retains its freshness because it is flash-frozen immediately after being caught
- Tails on or off? For ease of eating, I like to remove the tails of the shrimp. For visual reasons, however, some people prefer to leave the tails on. Do whatever suits you.
- Pat them dry: After peeling and deveining, place the shrimp on a large tray lined with paper towels. Place another paper towel on top and pat the shrimp dry thoroughly. This step is important to ensure that the shrimp will get a nice color as it cooks.
Swaps and Substitutions
The great thing about this simple dish is that it is versatile and allows for easy ingredient substitutions. Here are a few suggestions:
- Instead of shrimp, you can choose other kinds of seafood that require similar cooking times and techniques. A white, mild fish (such as halibut, snapper, or tilapia) would be great. Use the same seasoning and cooking technique to sear the fish fillets quickly in a skillet, but remove them from the skillet before you add the steamed broccoli or broccolini. Serve them next to each other instead of tossed together.
- For a splurge: Scallops would be great to use instead of shrimp for a special occasion!
- Instead of broccoli you can use greens beans, sugar snap peas, haricots verts, or asparagus.
What to Serve with this Shrimp and Broccoli Recipe
This is a gluten-free and paleo-friendly dish that is delicious on its own. To make it even more substantial, you can serve it with Greek Lemon Rice, or basmati rice. For a Mediterranean diet-friendly whole grain option, brown rice. It also pairs very well with polenta, couscous, or orzo, either plain or with Garlic, Parmesan, and Blistered Tomatoes.
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Shrimp and Broccoli Skillet with Ladolemono Sauce
- 1 batch Ladolemono Sauce
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon Aleppo pepper or crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 1/4 pounds extra large (21 to 25 per pound) peeled and deveined shrimp, thawed, rinsed, and patted dry
- 3 packed cups broccoli florets
- 1/4 cup water
- Make the Ladolemono Sauce
- Marinate the shrimp. In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons olive oil, shallot, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes, if using. Add the shrimp to the bowl and toss well to coat. Cover the bowl and set aside to marinate at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Cook the broccoli. Meanwhile, in a large skillet set over medium high heat, add the broccoli and about. Cook for 5 minutes, turning the broccoli frequently. It’s ready when it’s fork tender, but still crisp and bright green. Transfer the broccoli to the plate, and empty the skillet.
- Cook the shrimp. Return the skillet to the stove and set over medium high heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the shrimp to the skillet along with all of the marinade. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side, turning the shrimp over halfway through, and shaking the pan every now and then to make sure that the shallots and the garlic cook evenly and do not burn. The shrimp are ready when they turn pink and start to curl.
- Bring everything together. Return the broccoli to the skillet, season with salt and pepper and toss gently to coat. Cook everything together for another minute or so, just to warm the broccoli. Remove the skillet from the heat.
- Sauce and serve. Whisk the ladolemono sauce to recombine and pour some over the shrimp and broccoli. Toss gently, taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve immediately with the remaining ladolemono sauce on the side.
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including the olive oil and Aleppo pepper used in this recipe.
- How to prep the shrimp: After defrosting, peeling and deveining the shrimp, transfer them to a large tray lined with paper towels. Place another paper towel on top and pat the shrimp dry. This step is important to ensure that the shrimp will get a nice color as it cooks.
- As the Ladolemono sauce sits, the lemon juice and olive oil will separate. Whisk it well just before using.
- The Nutrition Information for this recipe does not include the Ladolemono Sauce.
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