Easy Shrimp Scampi in the Ninja Foodi

This recipe for Easy Shrimp Scampi is so delicious and ready in 20 minutes! I'm not kidding! The Ninja Foodi or any electric pressure cooker is going to make this dish in no time at all and it tastes like a restaurant-quality dish.

I happen to LOVE Shrimp Scampi, so why don't I make it more often? I don't know! I really don't. It's so quick and easy, super flavorful, and a touch fancy. What's not to love?

What is Shrimp Scampi?

Surprisingly (to me), defining Shrimp Scampi isn't as easy as I thought before sitting down to write this post. I figured I could do an internet search that would confirm what I thought. Shrimp Scampi is a dish made with shrimp, garlic, butter, pasta, and wine. Instead, I ran across some fascinating information about Shrimp Scampi.

Scampi is the name for large shrimp or prawns. So, basically, Shrimp Scampi is Shrimp Shrimp. Kind of strange. Then, I also read that if you order scampi in a UK pub, you might end up with a fried fish ball or a fried shrimp. Interesting. I also saw the word lobster associated with the dish Shrimp Scampi. Intriguing.

The one thing that was clear in all my research, is you can adapt Shrimp Scampi any way you like. That was a relief; really it was. My recipe for Easy Shrimp Scampi is definitely adapted and it's so good, I hope you try it!

What is in Easy Shrimp Scampi?

I know you can just look at the recipe and see what's in this version of Shrimp Scampi; but since there are so many variations of Shrimp Scampi, I thought I would go over the ingredients and describe how they benefit this recipe.

First off is the roasted garlic. I'm not claiming to be the only person to use roasted garlic in a recipe for shrimp scampi, but it isn't the most common ingredient found in shrimp scampi recipes.

Roasted garlic has a sweet, almost candy-like taste, and it adds the perfect balance to the minced garlic also in this recipe for Easy Shrimp Scampi. I really urge you to give it a try! I absolutely love roasted garlic and use it in a lot of recipes, like this one for Ninja Foodi Spaghetti.

Minced garlic is found in almost every shrimp scampi recipe I've seen. The minced garlic is really the key ingredient in Shrimp Scampi and I recommend you use fresh minced. I like to use a Garlic Press from Pampered Chef to mince my garlic fast. I don't even have to peel the cloves! YAY!

I also use diced red peppers and onions. The red peppers are primarily for color, but they do add a touch of flavor. This is one ingredient you can certainly leave out and it will not affect the dish at all. It's pretty, though! The diced onions I use are sweet onions and I like the texture they add to an otherwise soft dish. They are sautéd, but retain just a bit of texture that I really enjoy. You can leave them out if you want, but if you happen to have a sweet onion... dice it up and give it a try!

I use white wine in my Easy Shrimp Scampi recipe. This is a common ingredient found in Shrimp Scampi, but certainly is not necessary. You can replace it with chicken broth or, even better, shrimp stock.

Speaking of Shrimp Stock... I really urge you to make some for this recipe. If you are using shrimp with the shell on like I recommend, you already have the shells and it only takes a few minutes under pressure. I'm telling you, this might be the secret to my delicious Shrimp Scampi. I am able to reduce the butter quite a bit by using this stock. Chicken stock will also work, or any seafood stock.

Medium to large shrimp is what I recommend in this recipe. The ones I used were shell-on frozen shrimp 31-40 per pound. I do not recommend using already-cooked shrimp as they tend to be rubbery. If you use jumbo shrimp, you will need to sauté at the end to get them cooked through. You could also try using frozen shell-off jumbo shrimp and putting them in with the pasta to pressure cook for 1 minute. Of course, then you will give up the shrimp stock and I really recommend the shrimp stock!

Lemon is one of those ingredients that can really brighten up a dish and that is exactly what it does for this shrimp scampi. It's not overwhelmingly lemony in flavor but adds that note of citrus that is just lovely with the rich butter in the sauce.

Butter is a key ingredient in shrimp scampi and I use salted butter. If you use unsalted butter, you may need to add a touch of salt at the end.

I also use olive oil in this recipe, but you can use all butter if you prefer.

Angel Hair Pasta is one of my favorite pastas of all time. I love the thin noodles and they pair perfectly with this scampi recipe. You can use regular spaghetti, but you would want to add a couple of minutes to the pressure cooking time.

Parmesan Cheese is the perfect cheese for shrimp scampi. I use it in the recipe and as a garnish. Use fresh-grated though. The kind you get in a bag will not melt or taste the same. I also do not recommend the powdered kind for this recipe. When you have a recipe with very few ingredients, it is important to use quality ingredients for the best outcome.

Last, but certainly not least... broccoli! Weird, right? I know, but it really works! It also gets a veggie into a recipe that doesn't usually have one. I cut the florets really small and just fold them in with the shrimp at the end, allowing the residual heat to cook them. This way they retain a slight crunch, a vibrant color and I just love them in this dish! If you aren't a fan of broccoli, try adding some fresh spinach at the end and just fold it in so you don't overcook it.

That about wraps up the ingredients in this recipe, let's get to making it!

How to make Easy Shrimp Scampi

I always recommend prepping ingredients before you go to cook a recipe and I think it is especially important in this recipe because it is so quick to cook. The prep won't take but 5 minutes if you already have your garlic roasted. If not, that will add about 35 minutes to the total time of this recipe.

Peel the shrimp, chop the onion, red pepper, mince the garlic, and chop those broccoli florets. There you go! Easy peasy!

To make the Shrimp Stock add the shrimp shells from 12-16 ounces of large shrimp to the inner pot of the Ninja Foodi. Add 2 ½ cups of water along with 1 teaspoon Old Bay. I know not everyone can find Old Bay in their grocery store, but you can order it on Amazon, here is the link: Old Bay 24 oz

You can also use ½ teaspoon Season-All, ¼ teaspoon garlic salt, and ¼tsp celery salt. That should work to give you a nice flavored stock.

Pressure cook on high for 5 minutes and immediately release the pressure after cooking. Strain the shrimp shells from the stock. I like to use a Fine Mesh Strainer. Clean the inner pot.

To make the Shrimp Scampi turn the inner pot on high sauté and add in butter and olive oil. When the butter has melted, add in diced onions and red pepper and sauté for 1-2 minutes.

Add in the minced garlic and ½ teaspoon sea salt, stir, and sauté for 2 minutes. Add in the 2 cups of shrimp stock and ½ cup of white wine. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen any brown bits that may be stuck on the bottom. Reserve the remaining shrimp stock in case you need more liquid for a sauce after pressure cooking.

Add in the roasted garlic and the zest of 2 lemons. Break the angel hair pasta in half and place on top in a crisscross fashion. You can watch me do this in my video on YouTube: Quick & Easy Shrimp Scampi.

Put the pressure lid on and make sure set the black pressure release valve to seal. Set the Ninja Foodi on LOW pressure for 1 minute. When done, allow to natural release for 1 minute and then manually release the remaining pressure.

Add in the shrimp and the broccoli florets and stir so the shrimp are under the pasta. Close the lid and let sit for 5 minutes to cook the shrimp.    

Add in the grated Parmesan and toss with tongs. If you need more sauce, add in the remaining shrimp stock and 2 tablespoon of butter. Turn sear/sauté on low until melted.

Serve and Enjoy!

I really hope you LOVE this recipe as much as I do! Please leave me a comment and let me know!