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Sharing an easy…let’s make this weeknight feel special…dinner, Saucy Garlic Butter Shrimp with Coconut Milk and Rice Noodles. Spicy, garlicky, and gingery shrimp, pan seared and tossed with a touch of butter and coconut milk. This dish is creamy, saucy, a touch salty, and just a little spicy. It’s served over rice noodles and comes together in no time at all (about 30 minutes). Perfect for busy weeknights when you’re looking for something a little more special, but still quick, healthy-ish, and DELICIOUS.
Recipes like this saucy shrimp are my favorite. This shrimp has a mix of flavors, fusion food as some might say. It’s quick, it’s saucy, relatively healthy (there’s some sneaky greens in all that sauce), and just an all around delicious meal.
Traditionally garlic shrimp is more of an Italian dish, and is served simply with butter and lemons. But I wanted to put a twist on the classic and switch things up a bit.
So I threw in some Thai flavors by adding creamy coconut milk, a squeeze of fresh lime, and rice noodles. Yes, it’s different, and I will probably get criticized for this not being “authentic” over on Instagram (if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all, right?). But hey, my purpose here is to provide you guys with easy and delicious recipes, this shrimp is both, so all is good.
The shrimp is first tossed with a little olive oil, garlic, ginger, and spicy jalapeño. These are the main flavors, so if you don’t love garlic, this recipe might not be for you. And if you want to tame the spice level, just use one jalapeño.
Let the shrimp sit a few minutes and cook the rice noodles. I really love using vermicelli rice noodles, but any noodle works, so use your favorite.
Next, cook up some bacon. It adds a really deep flavor and a hint of saltiness that is delicious. Go with me on this. Now, pan sear the shrimp. The key is to remove the shrimp from the garlic marinade. If you cook the shrimp in the marinade, the shrimp with steam, and the garlic will burn. So first remove the shrimp, cook, add the butter, and then add all of that garlicky marinade. As the butter melts, the garlic caramelizes around the shrimp creating truly the most mouth-watering smell (and delicious sauce).
This is that moment you know the recipe is going to be good…so good.
At this point, I like to remove half of the shrimp and save it for topping. Honestly, you don’t have to do this step. You can instead leave the shrimp in the skillet and combine it with the coconut milk. I just like to remove some of the shrimp so that it stays crisp…and if being truly honest, for photo purposes.
Once the coconut milk has been added, the shrimp looses it’s crispness a bit. It’s also a little more visually appealing to have a few shrimp sitting atop the rice noodles. And we all know that I’m all about a visually good-looking dish…
You guys always ask if I do anything special to the food for photos, and the answer really is no. But I like to add garnishes or pull out tricks like this one…
If you have something extra saucy, or you’re making a soup and want to keep the dish both colorful and full of texture. To create a beautiful looking dish, remove a little bit of one of the main elements of the recipe. In today’s case the shrimp. But think along the lines of keeping out some of the chickpeas in a curry, or the noodles in a soup, things like that. Then reserve them for topping the dish just before serving. Again, this is not necessary for flavor purposes. But if you want to create that “Instagram worthy” food photo, this is one of my go-to tricks to really make food pop off the page, as seen in the cacio e pepe, lemon garlic chicken soup, and herb salad.
Okay, styling talk over. Moving along now.
Once I’ve removed half the shrimp from the skillet, I add the coconut milk. I know the coconut milk might seem like an odd ingredient to add, but as I mentioned, I wanted to put my own twist on a classic, and the coconut milk creates a creamy, flavorful sauce.
It’s beyond good. Especially with the rice noodles. It’s kind of like Italian meets Thai. A weird, but delicious mash-up that’s just a touch cozy, a touch on the healthy side, and all things good. And quick, which is always a very nice bonus!
If you make this saucy garlic shrimp, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch the How To Video:
Saucy Garlic Butter Shrimp with Coconut Milk and Rice Noodles
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 970 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces rice noodles
- 3 strips thick cut slices bacon, chopped
- 1 1/2 pounds raw jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1/4 cup extra olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 4-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 2 jalapeños, seeded and chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro OR basil, roughly chopped (use you personal favorite)
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 can (14 ounce) coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 cups baby spinach or kale, roughly chopped
- juice and zest from 1/2 a lime
- sliced jalapeño pepper and green onions, for serving
Instructions
- 1. In a medium size bowl, toss together the shrimp, olive oil, honey, garlic, ginger, and jalapeños. Toss well to combine. 2. Cook rice noodles according to packaged directions.3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp and the fat has rendered, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pot and drain on a paper towel lined plate.4. Working with the same skillet, use a slotted spoon to scoop the shrimp out of the marinade, reserving the marinade, and into the hot skillet, season with salt and pepper. Cook the shrimp until pink, about 2-3 minutes per side. Add the reserved marinade, the butter and a large pinch of pepper. Continue to cook the shrimp in the butter until the garlic begins to caramelize and turn light golden brown, about another 1 to 2 minutes. Remove half the shrimp and reserve for topping. 5. To the skillet, add the coconut milk, 1/3-1/2 cup water, spinach, and the fish sauce. Stir to combine, bring the mixture to a boil, cook 3-5 minutes, until warmed through. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice and zest, and the cilantro, or basil.6. To serve, divide the noodles among bowls. Spoon the sauce and reserved shrimp and bacon over the noodles. Top with peppers and green onions. Enjoy!
Already my 2nd time making this!! ?♥️ Absolutely LOVE
Thanks so much Melinda! xTieghan
Delicious! The key to this dish for me was the butter & lime zest. Another successful dinner. Thank you Tieghan !!
Hey Donna,
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks a lot for giving it a try and happy Sunday! xTieghan
This dish was amazing, My husband lived it so quick easy to make and delicious. Felt like we had been out to dinner rather than home cooked
Hey there,
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks a lot for giving it a try and happy Sunday! xTieghan
Wow! This was deceptively easy to make and full of flavor! I’m a new Mom & midwife and get one maybe two nights a week where I have the energy to try a new recipe. This one did not disappoint although, none of Tieghan’s recipes do! I used frozen shrimp that I had on hand that weren’t all the way thawed so I skipped adding the cup of water and it worked out fine. The shrimp weren’t seared and coated as well in the marinade but I don’t feel that changed the flavor of things. We just got snow in Vegas yesterday and this dish was the perfect ending to a long, cold day. 10/10!!
Hey Emily,
Thanks for making the recipe, I am so delighted that it was enjoyed! Have a great week:) xTieghan
I LOVE this noodle bowl. Can you share where I can find them? And I can’t wait to make this dish! Thank you!
Hi Poppy,
So sorry I do not have a link for these bowls. I hope you love the recipe. Let me know if I can help in anyway! xTieghan
This was an all around favorite in my household tonight! So delicious and filling, yet light. It was like a combination of Vietnamese Pho and Thai Tom Kha. Loved it and will be making it again!
Hey Sevara,
Thanks for making the recipe, I am so delighted that it was enjoyed! Have a great week:) xTieghan
I am making this recipe tonight and am looking forward to it! One question though- we are fans of both basil and cilantro in this household… would you say cilantro works better for this recipe? Or could I use a little bit of each? Thanks!
I am making this tonight and I’m looking forward to it! One question- we’re fans of both basil and cilantro in this household… would you say cilantro works slightly better for this dish? Or could I maybe do a little bit of each? Thanks!
Hey Liz,
I think a little of each would be fantastic! I hope you enjoy the dish! Let me know how it turns out. xTieghan
So freaking good!!!! First recipe I tried from HBH and it did not disappoint. Will be trying lots more recipes from Here 🙂 thank you so much!
Hey Amy,
I am so thrilled that you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for trying it out!! xTieghan
Another amazing recipe from you! When the kids asked as to why it was so good, I explained to them that it’s because it was a recipe from your site. My 9 year old son responds with….”Ah, is this girl famous? She should be because this would be Gordon Ramsey approved!”. So cute! (I also made your fruit rollups over the last two days and they turned out really well. I’m using frozen fruit so next time I might let that thaw as it’s hard to level it when it’s the texture of a smoothie!! Would I be correct in doing that? Tomorrow I will try your buffalo wrap with my unbun tortilla’s that just arrived! Can’t wait!
Hey Jess,
I am so thrilled that you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for trying it out!! xTieghan
Perfect! So delicious to say the least. Will make it again for sure.
I did add a bit more coconut milk = probably so we could have bigger helpings.
Thanks for ALLl your fabulous recipes & inspirations.
Hey Molly,
I am so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have the best week. xTieghan
Hi! This looks so good, but I am allergic to shrimp (and scallops). I eat all other fish/seafood and meat- would you recommend something else or do you not suggest a substitution in this case? Thanks 🙂
Hey Lisa,
Chicken would be great here. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Made this for dinner last night and it was so delicious! So nice to have some restaurant quality recipes to make while I’m not eating out!
Hey Kristen,
I am so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have the best week. xTieghan
Do you think this world work with chicken? My son is allergic to shellfish?
Hey Nicole,
Yes, I think chicken would be great! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Please help – whenever I cook rice noodles they become a gloppy mess. What’s the best way to prepare them? Thanks
Hey Lori,
So rice noodles really do not need to be cooked for all that long, I like to follow the package instructions. I think it is helpful to cook them and then spoon into individual bowls and then pour the soup over. I hope this helps! xTieghan