Skillet Shrimp and Asparagus

Skillet Shrimp and Asparagus, only use one pan! Quick, easy, and delicious, perfect for a midweek meal.

Hello friends! I know many of you come here looking for something you can quickly and easily make, and tastes great. Something perhaps for a weeknight dinner when you have maybe only 30 minutes to cook, and even less to clean up afterwards?

Here’s a shrimp and asparagus skillet recipe that scores high on all points. It only takes half an hour start to finish, and only uses one pan. And the taste? Wow! I was really surprised by this one. 

First you sauté onions and garlic, then add diced new potatoes with a little water, cover and let cook for a few minutes until the potatoes are almost cooked through. Then you add asparagus, cook a minute more, then shrimp with some lemon juice and zest.

The juices from everything cooking create the most lovely glaze. You have protein from the shrimp, green vegetable from the asparagus, and starch from the potatoes making a complete one pot meal.

If you wanted to, you could skip the potatoes and toss the shrimp and asparagus sauté in with pasta. You could also spice it up a bit with some chili pepper flakes. Enjoy!

Skillet Shrimp and Asparagus Recipe

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 medium onion, quartered, thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced (about 4 teaspoons)
  • 1/2 pound small red skinned new potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices or small dice
  • Salt (to taste)
  • Pinch of black pepper
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 3/4 pound of asparagus, woody ends discarded, spears thinly sliced on the diagonal
  • 1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp (can leave tails on for presentation if you want), 16-20 count
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons minced chives or green onion greens

Method

1 Sauté onions and garlic:  Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add the sliced onions and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic, cook a minute more.

2 Add potatoes, water, cover and cook: Add the potatoes and 1/2 cup water. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, until the potatoes are almost cooked through.

3 Add asparagus: Add the thinly sliced asparagus, toss with the potato mixture, cover and cook for one minute.

4 Add the shrimp, lemon juice, lemon zest, chives: Add the shrimp, lemon juice, lemon zest, and chives. Toss and cover and cook until shrimp is just cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add more salt or pepper to taste.