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Spicy Garlic Lemon Butter Shrimp with Parmesan Corn Polenta…a delicious bowl of late summer comfort food. This simple brown butter corn and parmesan polenta is creamy, perfectly buttery, and swirled with sweet corn. The shrimp is cooked in butter with spices and garlic, then finished with lemon…so flavorful and delicious! Especially when spooned over bowls of creamy polenta. A great under 30 minutes dinner.
Sometimes recipes are just a little more special. They might be more delicious, simpler to prepare, or just prettier. And while I know this shrimp might not seem oh so special or better than any other shrimp, I promise you it’s delicious.
Extra special as I love to say.
The only reason this recipe came to be is simple. My brother Red and his girlfriend, Hailey, are in town for the week. Whenever I have brothers in town I usually try to make something they love. But Red and Hails are even more fun because they’re down to try pretty much anything, and they love seafood.
I love cooking for others, so I used these two as a good excuse to make something they’d love. Since Hailey is really into shrimp I started with that, then built this quick recipe.
It’s spicy shrimp in a crazy delicious lemon butter sauce with creamy polenta.
Here are the details – start with the polenta
You need lots of corn, butter, and quick cooking polenta.
Start by cooking the butter and corn together until the butter browns and the corn begins to pop. Stir in a little milk and then the polenta.
The key here is to stir the polenta for five minutes until it gets creamy, then cover, and let it sit while you make the shrimp.
Once the polenta has been sitting for a bit, stir in lots and lots of parmesan cheese.
Now make the shrimp
It’s pan seared in butter with cajun seasonings until both sides are browned. I love to make my own homemade cajun spice mix, but if you’re in a pinch, store bought works too.
When the shrimp has crisped, add the garlic and fresh thyme. Then remove the shrimp from the heat and add the lemon juice. It takes maybe five or ten minutes from start to finish – tops.
Simple, but so much flavor from all the spices, garlic, and lemony butter pan sauce.
Finish it up
Spoon the creamy polenta into bowls, then spoon the shrimp and sauce overtop. I top with lots of fresh basil, and serve with crusty bread and a big arugula salad from the garden.
So quick and simple – so delicious.
The shrimp is definitely the star here, but it really can’t be the star without it’s supporting actor, the polenta. So be sure to make them both. Trust me, you’re going to love it!
Looking for other shrimp recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Honey Garlic Shrimp, Corn, and Avocado Bacon Salad
Spicy Southern Style Shrimp with Lemon Basil Orzo
Sheet Pan Jalapeño Pineapple Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro Garlic Sauce
Lastly, if you make this Spicy Garlic Lemon Butter Shrimp with Parmesan Corn Polenta, 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 tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Spicy Garlic Lemon Butter Shrimp with Parmesan Corn Polenta
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 434 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Parmesan Corn Polenta
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 3 ears corn – kernels removed from the cob
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup dry polenta
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- kosher salt and black pepper
Shrimp
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 1/2 pounds raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 tablespoon cajun seasoning
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- juice from 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
Instructions
- 1. To make the polenta. In a medium pot, melt together the butter and corn. Cook 5-8 minutes, until the butter browns around the corn. Add 2 cups water and the milk. Bring to a low boil, then whisk in the polenta, stirring until the polenta is soft and thick, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in the parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat off, cover the pot, and let the polenta sit 5 minutes.2. Meanwhile, make the shrimp. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the butter, shrimp, cajun seasonings, and a big pinch of pepper. Cook on both sides until seared, about 2-3 minutes per side. Stir in the garlic and thyme and continue to cook until the garlic is fragrant. Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice and basil. 3. Spoon the polenta into bowls, then spoon the shrimp and sauce over the polenta. Eat and enjoy!
Notes
Homemade Cajun Seasoning: mix 2 1/2 tablespoons smoked paprika, 2 tablespoons garlic powder, 1 tablespoon onion powder, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, 1 tablespoon dried thyme, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper, 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt, and 1 tablespoon black pepper. Makes 3/4 cup.
Beautiful recipe! Made it last night and it was SO GOOD! I only had 1 cup of milk so I used half and half for the extra cup of milk and ???oh boy YUM! Shrimp was so flavorful and that polenta with the bites of sweet corn heavenly. I’ll make this quite often!
Hi Amber,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for trying it out! xTieghan
My family loved this. To stretch it to feed 5 (twice hopefully). I used smaller sized shrimp, a diced onion and a diced red pepper and green pepper.
I added a dash of flour to the buttered veggies and shrimp and poured in about 3/4 cup liquid plus lemon juice. It made a gravy with veggies and shrimp that we spooned over the polenta.
I made double the recipe of polenta. Delicious!
Hey Tara,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for trying it out! xTieghan
What do you think about adding bacon to this?
Hi Joanna,
Sure, that would work well! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Everyone loved it! Thanks for another great Dinner!!
Hi Margaret,
Fantastic! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for trying it out! xx
One of my fav HBH recipes!! It’s definitely underrated, but I’ve now made it twice and am blown each time. Can’t wait to make it for a small dinner party paired with a salad. Thank you Tieghan!
Hey Meg,
Wonderful! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for trying it out! Have a great weekend:)
Super delicious. It’s definitely going to be one of my go-to recipes.
Hey!
Happy Friday! I am so excited to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for trying it out! ?xx
Tieghan, this one is sooo good! The flavor captures the best of summer. Just a note in ingredients-you probably should add to buy quick cooking polenta (same as corn grits). I didn’t realize this as mine were not the quick ones. It still tastes great, but it requires about 25 min of cooking time. And like you, I prefer homemade Cajun spice (Tieghan gives her recipe in this article) because I don’t care for celery seed that comes in the store bought spice.
Hi Kristi,
Awesome!! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! Thanks for your note on the polenta! xT
I missed the 2 cups of water too!! It’s in your instructions but not in the. Ingredients. I quickly added it! And we loved it, as usual. A bit too much lemon for us in the sauce but we’ll definitely add it to our rotation. We had a lot of polenta left so I played with it today. Made some patties, dusted lightly with flour and quick sautéed in a little oil and butter. Very tasty with a splash of our bourbon maple syrup. Always a wonderful dinner from you Tieghan.
Hey Pamela,
Awesome!! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! So sorry about the water, it’s not in the ingredient list because it’s not something that needs to be purchased:) xT
If I only have tubed polenta, will that change anything?
Hi Madison,
I would just follow the instructions per the tube polenta and add the cheese to that. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
I made this for dinner last night, including the homemade cajun seasoning! Wow the flavors were fantastic. I added some roasted broccoli on the side to add some veggies. The only feedback I would give is that the polenta wasn’t as creamy as I would have hoped. I think adding a little more milk and water would help with that. I subbed shrimp for chicken cubes too which was a nice spin for those who don’t love shrimp. Will definitely be making more of your recipes!
Hey Nicole,
Awesome!! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! Did you use the full 2 cups of water and 2 cups of milk for the polenta? xT
So good! Definitely a keeper. Thank you!
Hi Kathy,
I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Have a great day:)
So good! Quick and easy!
Hi Katie,
I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Have a great day:)
This might seem like a silly question but I had the same one when I made a previous recipe.. is the corn precooked and cut off the cob or just cut off the cob raw?
Hi Morgan,
No worries, the corn is raw, it will cook in the dish:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Liked this shrimp dish very much…Winner!
Hi Victoria,
I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Have a great day:)
Going to try it tonight. The recipe. Alls for 2 cups of milk but instructions say “2 cups of water and add milk”. Can you please clarify?
Thank you
I’m wondering the same thing! I don’t want to add to much liquid and ruin it
I used milk and water! Perfect!
Made this tonight – delicious! It DOES seem like a lot of liquid at first but it boils down…
Thanks so much Kathryn!
2 cups of water and 2 cups of milk:) I hope you love the recipe Katie!
Hi Cathy,
Please follow the instructions as written using 2 cups of water and 2 cups of milk. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT