This One Pan Shrimp and Asparagus is a fabulously easy meal that comes together in less than 30 minutes and is so full of garlicky, buttery goodness you’ll definitely be back for seconds…and thirds!
If you love one pan dishes, then you should also try my One Pan Greek Sun Dried Tomato Chicken and Lentils, my One Pan Creamy Cilantro Lime Chicken and Rice, or my One Pan Brown Sugar Pork and Apples.
It’s pretty obvious that I love quick, tasty meals, but this one is superfast, even by my quickest standards. Shrimp — that cooks up in a jiffy. And asparagus — well, that does too. And both of these ingredients call for a quick cook because if you cook them too long, one will be rubbery and gross and the other will be mushy and gross. So you are basically forced into make a fast meal with this One Pan Shrimp and Asparagus dish. Boom. bang. done.
This dish also pairs easily with a lot of sides — rice, noodles, veggie noodles, quinoa, bread — you name the carb, it can take on shrimp and asparagus. Or, it’s a great meal to make if you are watching your carb intake. Add a side salad, or other roasted veggie dish, such as Best Easy Italian Green Salad, or Roasted Honey Garlic Glazed Carrots and you’ve got yourself one heck of a vitamin-rich, nutritious, veggie-and-protein-laden dish.
If you want to cut the calories in this recipe, you can also cut back on the butter and instead use only olive oil or half both the olive oil and the butter. Use a little water when cooking the asparagus and shrimp if it needs to steam more to cook without burning.
HOW DO YOU BUY & STORE ASPARAGUS?
It’s one of the most frequent questions I get about vegetables — how do you buy them at the store and how do you keep them fresh at your house before cooking them?
When I buy asparagus, I first look at the buds. Are they firm and bright or are they brown and mushy? You can guess which I prefer. The buds are the best part (kind of like broccoli crowns) and you want those to be firm, not wilted, not slimy, and not falling off the stem.
It doesn’t matter if they are purple, green, or white, just as long as they aren’t brown or yellow. They are typically stored bundled together and standing upright in some ice or ice water to keep them hydrated and crisp and fresh. They are more likely to go bad if they are stored any other way at the grocery.
I tend to like my stalks on the small- to medium-size side. They get too big and they get tough and chewy. Of course, asparagus is always best in season (like all produce).
As for storage, you really can’t store asparagus for too long or those beautiful buds you spent time choosing will start to wilt and mush on their own. Don’t leave it in the plastic bag in our veggie drawer either; this will only exacerbate the moisture and mushy stems and buds.
Instead, store asparagus as though it is a bouquet of flowers. Cut the bottoms off and store in a tall jar or glass with about an inch of water in the bottom. Cover the top loosely with a plastic bag or plastic wrap.
If your fridge doesn’t allow for the asparagus to stand upright, instead wrap your trimmed ends in a wet paper towel and then put in a plastic bag with the buds toward the top of the bag. Leave the bag unsealed so that air can circulate.
No matter how you store the stalks, be sure to eat them within 2-3 days (max) of purchasing them for best results.
DO YOU HAVE TO WASH ASPARAGUS BEFORE COOKING IT?
You don’t have to, but I always do. And, like many fruits and veggies, you want to wait to wash it (and pat it dry) until right before you’re ready to eat it. If you wash it and then put it back in the fridge, that will speed up the break-down process. You don’t want that.
Rinsing the stalks removes any dirt or grit leftover from when it was picked or shipped as well. When you dry it, do so carefully. Rolling it between two towels will do the trick.
HOW DO YOU TRIM ASPARAGUS?
There are two ways to cut asparagus:
- Line up all the stalks and give them all the same cut, about 2-3 inches from the bottom, depending how long they are to begin with.
- Take each stalk individually and bend it. It will snap in half at the tough part. Discard the tough part.
You can combine these two techniques by first snapping one asparagus stalk, then lining it up with the others and cutting the stalks in the same spot that one snapped.
Whatever way you cut it, it’s bound to be delicious — especially with that mouth-watering shrimp to accompany it!
One Pan Shrimp and Asparagus
Ingredients
- 1 pound large shrimp - peeled and de-veined, tails removed if desired
- 1 pound asparagus - ends trimmed, once trimmed, asparagus can be left whole or chopped into thirds to fit more easily in the pan
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb blend - or Herbs de Provence, see notes for DIY blend
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, drizzle oil and add butter.
- Once butter is melted, add shrimp and asparagus. Season generously with salt and pepper and dried herbs and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until asparagus is fork-tender.
- Stir in garlic for 1 minute or so until fragrant. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over everything and serve immediately.
Simply delicious and quick.
Excellent – on WW so reduced butter and parmesan to 1 tbsp each, also added about a tbsp of white wine. Very tasty, will make again! Also appreciated the kitchen hints – thank you.
This is a delicious recipe. I added a squeeze of lemon before the cheese which really lifted it!
This was good. We are on the gulf in Mississippi for a couple of months with limited spices. We had gone to the farmers market and bought asparagus there and some shrimp from a seafood market-I looked for a recipe that would include my limited items. Very good and it went together quickly.
Really good and super quick. I had really thin asparagus and #16-18 size shrimp which I cut in half. I added 1/4 tsp Old Bay seasoning, some garlic salt, and a slash of Tamari sauce in addition to Italian seasoning, and finished with fresh squeezed lemon juice. My husband loved it and I’ll make it again.
This was great! Just added some pepper flakes for some spice. I ate 3 1/2 servings by myself. I think next time I need to pair it with some kind of carb.
This recipe is a staple for a quick delicious meal. I have used shrimp and scallops I also use some Pinot Grigio in the pan to finish the dish! Served over white, brown or homemade fried rice or pasta. Flavors are excellent and the dish is quick.
Tasted DELICIOUS and was so Easy to make! Will DEFINITELY make again!
so glad you enjoyed this recipe! thanks for your feedback!
Insanely good and so easy! don’t hesitate! you are looking at a great recipe!
Thanks for your positive feedback, John!
Great recipe! I did make an ADJUSTMENT, I subbed nutritional yeast for the parmesan…yum. next time I will cut the butter and oil by about one third. My husband Proclaimed it a keeper though!
Thanks for sharing, Mary!
This recipe is delicious!
I honestly figured it would be Meh, since its so simple but i am pleasantly surprised. Did not make any changes. Used super fresh asparagus and the frozen 31-40 raw shrimp from costco. Delighted! Thank you!
Awesome!!! Sounds fantastic!
I maDe this tonight and it was so so good! My husband and I left no leftovers. The only thing i changed was thar i omitted the parmesean cheese (because i didnt have any) and i added freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Fantastic job, Christine! Way to work with what you had on hand. Thanks for your feedback!
hI THERE! i HAD FUN CRUISING AROUND YOUR WEBSITE/BLOG. yOUR RECIPE FOR oNE pAN SHRIMP & aSPARAGUS CAUGHT MY EYE. i HOTFOOTED IT OVER TO OUR FRIENDLY GROCERY STORE TWO BLOCKS FROM HOME. tHE BUTCHER WAS GREAT AND SHELLED AND DEVEINED THE SHRIMP FOR ME. tHE DISH TURNED OUT VERY YUMMY. tHANKS FOR SHARING!!!
You’re so kind, Nancy! Glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! That’s a nice butcher you’ve got at your grocery store 😉
Tiffany, I know this defies conventional wisdom, but as someone who had an asparagus bed for 30 yrs in my garden, the first spears up in the spring are the biggest and most tender. With subsequent cutting they get thinner & tougher. In my local store all we see are thin little waifs, because the thicker, best were sold at a premium to an upscale restaurant. Ask a grower.
I find that most “one Pan” meals that promise to be done in 30 minutes or less are a joke, in that you can’t just throw everything in at once – you have to cook everything separately and then reassemble at the end, and with all the prep, everything takes WAAAAY longer than 30 minutes. This one was a nice change – closer to 45 minutes though – mincing garlic grating cheese, removing shrimp shells, etc, all takes timE and 6-7 minutes wasn’t quite enough cooking time for the asparagus.(I always wonder why recipes are afraid to be honest about time. Because people will be scared off?) Anyway,,. this recipe was great (I used 16/20 count Argentinian shrimp, which came out very tender and not rubbery- which I was afraid might happen with the extra cooking time required for the asparagus) and I will definitely make this again.. Just don’t oversalt it – I made the mistake of using coarse-ground salt which doesn’t distribute well but otherwise both my boyfriend and I were shocked by how good it was! I’ve never had success with throwing everything in a pan at once, due to varying cooking times required for each item, but this was great!
Thanks for your feedback! Glad to hear that you had such a great outcome with this recipe 🙂
Looks so delicious !!!
Thanks, Helen!