Greek-Style Lemon Butter Garlic Shrimp with Feta

Name: Greek-Style Lemon Butter Garlic Shrimp Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 3 pounds large or jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch slices; 4 tablespoons olive oil; 8 garlic cloves, finely minced; 3/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley, divided; 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice; 1 tablespoon chili powder (see notes); 1 teaspoon kosher salt.; 10 ounces good quality feta, crumbled, about 2 cups (see notes); Thick slices of crusty bread, for serving

Published: Dec 4, 2018 · Updated: Dec 26, 2025 · By Lisa Goldfinger · 71 Comments · This post may contain affiliate links

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We've taken lemon butter garlic shrimp and amped it up—'Greek-style'—with chili powder and feta cheese, and I can't imagine anything much better. A steaming pot of succulent tender shrimp in spicy, lemon, butter garlic sauce, to serve as an appetizer, with crusty bread or to toss this with pasta for a hearty Mediterranean shrimp pasta dinner.

A pot of Greek lemon butter garlic shrimp with a serving spoon holding three of the shrimp

An Over-The-Top Shrimp Recipe

It's hard to beat the deliciousness of lemon butter garlic shrimp but what sets this recipe apart is the rich heat of chili powder, the melting comfort and tang of feta cheese and the fact that instead of being sautéed, the shrimp is simmered gently in a covered pot, resulting in succulent spicy shrimp in luscious lemon garlic butter sauce.

This dish couldn't be easier to prepare. All you do is scatter the ingredients in a pot, put the cover on, turn on the heat, and the magic happens. You can make this in 25 minutes, start to finish.

How To Make This Greek-Style Lemon Garlic Shrimp

Here's an overview of the recipe with photos. For precise details, scroll down to the recipe card.

Gather all of your ingredients together because once you start cooking, things with move quickly.

Ingredients

Shrimp: Large or jumbo, peeled and deveined.
Butter & Olive Oil: For that rich, silky sauce base.
Garlic: Lots of it, finely minced.
Parsley: Fresh flat-leaf parsley adds brightness.
Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed is best here.
Chili Powder: Choose the level of heat you desire. If you like a lot of heat, add extra chili powder or choose a fiery hot chili powder such as peri-peri.
Salt: To bring all the Mediterranean flavors together.
Feta Cheese: Use a high quality feta such as Velbreso or Mt Vikos

You'll need a heavy casserole dish or shallow pot with a lid. The one I use is a 5-quart Le Creuset Signature Braiser.

Directions:

First Layer: Cut the butter into pieces and spread it over the bottom of the pot. Lay half the shrimp over the butter and scatter on half the garlic, parsley and chili powder. Drizzle with olive oil.
Second Layer: Repeat with another layer using the rest of the shrimp, the rest of the garlic, parsley, chili powder and salt. Drizzle with more olive oil.
Simmer: Cover the pot and simmer for a few minutes until the shrimp is half cooked.
Finish: Add the lemon juice and feta cheese and cook, covered, for another 5 minutes or so, until the shrimp is just cooked through and the cheese is melted.

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Raw shrimp layered in a pot with parsley, garlic and spices for making lemon butter garlic shrimp

Inside the steamy chamber the flavors meld and everything gets warm and tender. When you take off the cover an intoxicating aroma is unleashed and the sight of steamy fresh shrimp in rich lemon butter garlic sauce with melted feta is truly irresistible.

And just wait until you taste it!

bowl of lemon butter garlic shrimp with a piece of crusty bread.

How to Serve Greek Lemon Garlic Butter Shrimp

As an Appetizer: My favorite way to serve this is at the start of a party. I take the pot right from the stove, steaming hot, and set it on my kitchen island on a trivet. I have a basket of sliced crusty bread nearby, a stack of bowls, and napkins on hand. When guests arrive, I take off the lid and let people dig in. Pure heaven!
As a Main Dish: Serve this for dinner with a green salad and plenty of crusty bread for sopping up the amazing sauce.
Garlic Shrimp Pasta: This dish works really well over pasta. There’s plenty of delicious lemon butter garlic sauce to coat the noodles and make a delicious hearty shrimp pasta meal.

Shallow dutch oven with the lid cracked open showing a pot of lemon butter garlic shrimp with feta and a spoon scooping out a few shrimp

It's great to have some simple but special recipes like this in the repertoire. So nice when you don't have to work very hard and you can still get something incredibly delicious on the table fast. This garlic shrimp recipe gives way more than it takes.

If you're looking for more quick and delicious shrimp recipes, give this Gambas Al Ajillo recipe a try.

If you try this Greek-Style Lemon Butter Garlic Shrimp recipe, I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!

Recipe

Greek-Style Lemon Butter Garlic Shrimp Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.9 from 19 reviews

Author: Lisa Goldfinger
Total Time: 25 mins
Yield: 8 Servings 1x

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Description

A quick and easy Greek-style lemon butter garlic shrimp dish with feta. This makes a great appetizer or main dish. Serve it with crusty bread to soak up all the delicious sauce or toss it with spaghetti or linguini for a hearty shrimp pasta dish. Easy enough for a weeknight, special enough for a dinner party.

Adapted from a recipe in Pure Simple Cooking by Diana Henry.