Skinny Shrimp Piccata with Zoodles

Skinny Shrimp Piccata with Zoodles is low-carb, gluten-free, and cooks in under 20 minutes in just one skillet. Fresh, light, and delicious!

We’re officially 10 weeks out from meeting baby boy #2 (oh, we finally decided on a name – whee! Turns out the Olympics inspire more than breakfast recipes ?) which means I’ve officially reached the “get way too full way too fast” point of this pregnancy as my stomach is currently being squished by a wee baby knee. Aw! But also…ow!

That said, I’m a volume eater – love me some GIANT salads, BIG steaks, and HUGE plates of pasta – so when the amount of food I’m able to eat gets slashed, you better believe that what I do get to eat has to be full of flavor…which is why I keep a bag of Cherry-Berry Hi Chews in the cupboard. Sah good.

Anyway, Skinny Shrimp Piccata with Zoodles is also fitting the bill. All the flavor of buttery, lemony piccata made with a fraction of the butter, jumbo shrimp instead of breaded and pan-fried chicken, and zoodles (zucchini noodles, y’all) instead of regular spaghetti noodles. No compromises made on the capers, lemon, and parmesan cheese though – like I said, what I’m eating these days has to be packed with flavor and these three ingredients are what make piccata, piccata!

The inspiration for this dish came from another recipe here on IGE, actually. I made my Lighter Chicken Piccata Risotto for Ben’s parents the last time they were in town, and while it was semi torturous not drinking a cold glass of sauvignon blanc while stirring, which is my risotto making tradition, it was so delicious that I was left wanting more.

I’d planned on making the risotto again the following night but Ben had to go to a work event and I didn’t want to go to the trouble of making risotto for one (although, hmmm, there’s an idea – easy risotto for one?!) so I rustled up a couple zucchini from the depths of our vegetable drawer, spiralized ’em up and got my fill of piccata flavors in this super light yet flavor-packed dish. I am in LOVE!!!

Less than 20 minutes cooking time, made in one skillet, low-carb, gluten-free, and no comprises on flavor. I was actually shocked at how delicious this recipe was after taking my first bite, and couldn’t wait to test it again for the blog.

Now, if you don’t like shrimp, feel free to go the chicken breast route. You could marinate them in a lemon dressing first, or season with garlic salt and pepper, like I did with the shrimp, before sauting. I think salmon would be unbelievable paired with the crisp-tender, lemony zoodles, too!

Start with 4 small, thin zucchini. I look for zucchini that are the same circumference from top to bottom, but if you can only find ones that are a little misshapen, that’s fine too! Thin zucchini are preferable to big fat zucchini as they contain more liquid which could make your dish watery at the end. No bueno!

Slice the tops and bottoms off the zucchini then send them through your spiralizer fitted with the fattest blade to create zoodles. I own a Paderno Spiralizer but Ali’s got a great Inspiralizer, too!

Add the zoodles to a colander set atop a bowl then sprinkle with salt and toss with your fingertips to coat. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour then use a kitchen towel or paper towels to remove the excess water from the surface of the zoodles by pressing and/or gently squeezing. This is the step that will save you from watery zoodle dishes so definitely don’t skip it.

Once the zoodles are ready, pat 1lb jumbo shrimp (16/20 count) very dry with paper towels then season both sides with garlic salt and pepper.

Add 1-1/2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil to a large, 12″+ skillet over heat that’s just a touch above medium, then add half the shrimp and saute for 2 minutes a side, or until cooked through. With shrimp this large, I like to roll them on their tails at the end to make sure they’re cooked through.

When the shrimp have 30 seconds left to cook, squeeze in fresh lemon juice for a burst of bright flavor then saute until the juice evaporates, which should happen very quickly. Remove the shrimp to a plate then repeat with the second half of the shrimp.

Once all the shrimp are cooked, melt 2 Tablespoons butter in the skillet then add 2 minced garlic cloves and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Just have to say – the scent of garlic + butter = ?!!!

Add the zoodles to the skillet then turn the heat up to medium-high and saute until crisp tender, 3-4 minutes. Finally add 2 Tablespoons capers, 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, and a big squeeze of fresh lemon juice then toss to combine.

Season to taste with salt and pepper then swirl the zoodles onto plates, top with the shrimp, and dig in! Hope you love this lighter, low-carb Simple Shrimp Piccata with Zoodles!

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