Grilled Shrimp With Garlic Butter Dipping Sauce Recipe

By
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 12/29/22
Tested by Mary Jo Romano
Grilled Shrimp With Garlic Butter Dipping Sauce Recipe

The Spruce / Maxwell Cozzi

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 4 mins
Marinate Time: 2 hrs
Total: 2 hrs 19 mins
Servings: 6 servings

Grilled garlic shrimp are delicious when served with an easy butter dipping sauce. The marinade takes just a few minutes to put together, and it flavors the shrimp perfectly. The dip is a flavorful combination of butter, garlic, lemon, and a touch of hot sauce and Worcestershire.

Serve the shrimp on lettuce leaves or mixed fresh greens along with small containers of the butter dip. The shrimp goes well with rice and grilled summer squash or eggplant, too. You can also add the shrimp to a tossed salad.

“The marinade is the perfect volume to enhance and not overpower of the shrimp. The garlic butter is more dimensional than a simple typical lemon butter due to the added Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Who knew a few more ingredients would make a garlic butter so amazing.” —Mary Jo Romano 

Grilled Shrimp With Garlic Butter Dipping Sauce Recipe/Tester Image
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

For the Shrimp:

For the Garlic Butter:

  • 4 ounces (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

  • 1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco

  • 1 large clove garlic, crushed and minced

  • 1 dash kosher salt

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Grilled Shrimp With Garlic Butter Dipping Sauce ingredients

    The Spruce / Maxwell Cozzi

  2. Remove the shells from the shrimp, leaving the tails intact. Devein the shrimp, then rinse under cold running water.

    clean the shrimp

    The Spruce / Maxwell Cozzi

  3. In a non-reactive container, zip-top food storage bag, or bowl, combine the garlic, salt, lime juice, and olive oil.

    combine the crushed garlic, kosher salt, the juice of one lime, and the olive oil in a bowl

    The Spruce / Maxwell Cozzi

  4. Place the shrimp in the bowl and stir to coat well with the marinade.

    shrimp in the bowl and with the marinade

    The Spruce / Maxwell Cozzi

  5. Cover or seal and refrigerate the shrimp for 2 hours, turning occasionally to keep the shrimp coated.

    shrimp in a marinade in a bowl covered with plastic wrap

    The Spruce / Maxwell Cozzi

  6. Prepare a medium (350 F to 375 F) gas or charcoal grill fire. Thread the marinated shrimp onto skewers.

    shrimp on skewers

    The Spruce / Maxwell Cozzi

  7. Grill, turning frequently. The shrimp is done when it becomes opaque and turns a bright white and pink color, about 4 minutes total. 

    shrimp cooking on the grill

    The Spruce / Maxwell Cozzi

  8. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, hot pepper sauce, garlic, and salt. Heat for 1 minute. Serve the sauce with the grilled shrimp and lemon wedges.

    Garlic Butter Dipping Sauce in a saucepan

    The Spruce / Maxwell Cozzi

Tips

  • The vein running down its back is the shrimp's intestinal tract, and it could be clear or gray to black. There's no harm in eating the veins, but they can be unpleasantly gritty.
  • To remove the vein, run the tip of a small, sharp paring knife down the length of the back of the shrimp. Loosen the vein with the tip of the knife and then pull it out. 
  • If you use a stovetop grill, the skewers are optional. If you decide to broil the shrimp, remove the tails.
  • If using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them in water for at least 30 minutes prior to threading with the shrimp to prevent burning or fires.
  • The average lime yields just over 1 tablespoon of juice.
  • A lemon yields about 3 tablespoons, so the juice of about half a lemon should be the perfect amount for the butter dip. Taste it and add a little more if you like.

Recipe Variations

  • While the recipe calls for lime juice in the marinade, lemon juice is a fine substitute. Likewise, try lime juice in the butter dip.
  • Instead of hot sauce, add a bit of Asian-style chili paste such as sambal or Sriracha sauce. 
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
457 Calories
30g Fat
14g Carbs
36g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 457
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 30g 39%
Saturated Fat 12g 60%
Cholesterol 360mg 120%
Sodium 1580mg 69%
Total Carbohydrate 14g 5%
Dietary Fiber 3g 11%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 36g
Vitamin C 61mg 307%
Calcium 175mg 13%
Iron 1mg 7%
Potassium 435mg 9%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)