Several years ago I watched TV personality-gourmet cook Ina Garten make this recipe on her Barefoot Contessa Food Network show and have enjoyed watching repeats of the show several times since then.
I love shrimp and I love this recipe. I’ve modified it slightly to meet my needs. When I invite friends for lunch I often make this entrée. It is easy and quick to make, and is an elegant dish to serve.
I admit, when I have friends for lunch, I will likely go over even the 700 calorie dinner goal, but I will cut back on the other food I eat during that day.
With the Shrimp Scampi I like to serve a Fresh Fruit Salad made with the best seasonal fruit available. For example: 1 cup each of fresh strawberries, fresh orange sections, fresh pineapple, fresh green or purple grapes and a touch of brown sugar, if needed, produces 4 - one cup servings at about 70 calories each.
I also like to serve a light dessert of some kind. And, I’ll generally serve goblets of ice water with the meal (or a nice white wine) and my favorite hot green tea with the dessert.
When I’m home alone I will occasionally make up half the recipe so I’ll have one serving for myself at the time of cooking and one serving to reheat as leftovers the following day for lunch.
You can easily take leftovers to work with you and reheat them in a microwave. Be sure not to leave the shrimp in a microwave too long because shrimp toughens quickly. I buy frozen, raw shrimp. I buy the large 26-30 per pound size or the jumbo 16 to 25 per pound size. Anything smaller simply isn’t worth my time to clean and I prefer to use raw rather than pre-cooked shrimp in the recipe. A four-ounce serving of the 26-30 size gives you 7 to 8 shrimp per serving and the 16 to 25 size gives you 4 to 6 shrimp per serving. That is a nice-sized luncheon or dinner serving. And, Shrimp Scampi with Linguine is surprisingly low in calories.
Here then is Ina Garten’s basic recipe with my minor modifications plus my estimates of the calorie count:
Shrimp Scampi with Linguine Recipe
| Ingredients | Calories |
| 1 Tbsp. kosher salt to cook linguine | 0 |
| 1-1/2 tsp. salt for shrimp scampi preparation | 0 |
| 8 oz. (1/2 pound) dry linguine noodles | 840 |
| 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter | 300 |
| 2 Tbsp. good olive oil | 240 |
| 1-1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic (4 cloves) | 16 |
| 1 pound 26-30 (large) or 16-25 (jumbo) shrimp | 280 |
| 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper | 0 |
| 1/4 c. chopped Italian flat leaf parsley | 6 |
| 1/2 lemon zested (grated) | 0 |
| 1/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons) | 16 |
| 1/4 lemon, thinly sliced in half-rounds | 5 |
| 1/8 tsp. hot red pepper flakes | 0 |
| Total calories for ingredients: | 1703 |
| Calories per serving: | 426 |
|
Here’s the way I prepare the dish using the listed ingredients: Thaw shrimp according to package instructions. Remove shells and devein. Rinse, pat dry, and set aside. Set a large pot of water to boil adding 1 Tbsp. of kosher salt, sea salt, or whatever salt I have in the kitchen. While the water comes to a boil, mince the garlic, chop the parsley, zest the lemon, squeeze the lemon for the juice, slice thin pieces of lemon, and set each aside. When the water comes to a boil add the linguine, following the package instructions for cooking time. I generally don’t add oil to the cooking water. In a large sauté pan, add the olive oil and the butter, melting it over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add the shrimp, the 1 to 1-1/2 tsps. of salt, and the black pepper, and sauté until the shrimp turns pink - about 5 minutes - stirring often. Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine. When pasta is cooked, drain, and add to the shrimp and other ingredients in the large sauté pan. Combine well and serve. For the exact Ina Garten recipe and instructions, check out the Barefoot Contessa recipes on the Food Network. |
500 Calorie Lunch Menu Options
| Menu Item | Calories |
| Shrimp Scampi with Linguine | 426 |
| Paired with: | |
| Side salad with Wishbone Spritzer dressing | 52 |
| 6 asparagus spears (steamed) | 22 |
| Ice tea (no sugar) | 0 |
| Total calories: | 500 |
| OR | |
| Shrimp Scampi with Linguine | 426 |
| Paired with: | |
| 3/4 c. fresh fruit salad | 69 |
| Total calories: | 495 |
| OR | |
| Shrimp Scampi with Linguine | 426 |
| Paired with: | |
| 4-oz goblet white wine | 80 |
| Total calories: | 506 |
700 Calories Dinner Menu Options
| Menu Item | Calories |
| Shrimp Scampi with Linguine | 426 |
| Paired with: | |
| 6 asparagus spears (steamed) | 22 |
| Weight Watchers Smart Ones Strawberry Shortcake |
170 |
| 4-oz. goblet white wine | 80 |
| Total calories: | 698 |
| OR | |
| Shrimp Scampi with Linguine | 426 |
| Paired with: | |
| 3" slice crusty French bread (oven toasted) | 130 |
| 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil sprayed on bread | 60 |
| 1 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese (grated) for bread | 21 |
| 1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic for bread | 2 |
| 4-oz goblet white wine | 80 |
| Total calories: | 719 |
| OR | |
| Shrimp Scampi with Linguine | 426 |
| Paired with: | |
| Discretionary selections - your choice | 274 |
| Total calories: | 700 |