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Learn how to make Shrimp with Saffron Butter Sauce. This is a simple, yet sophisticated recipe that works beautifully with less than 10 ingredients! The saffron butter sauce is so luxurious and delicious to serve with fluffy rice and a salad.
Shrimp with Saffron Butter Sauce has to be the easiest yet most elevated recipe I’ve made this year.
We’re using less than 10 ingredients and serving up a dish that has layers of flavors. Start by blooming some saffron threads in water and let the shrimp soak in all that sunshine with grated onions. Finally cook it with butter and sumac to make the most delicious saffron shrimp you’ve ever had.
The idea for shrimp in saffron butter sauce is inspired by Persian-style Meygoo Polo, one of the lesser famous dishes, simply because it isn’t something you can easily find at many Persian restaurants. Or the shrimp you get at various Persian grills on skewers.
The subtle buttery-rich flavor pairs beautifully with a shirazi salad on the side and fluffy basmati rice pairs beautifully with the main dish. It also happens to be one of those dishes that you can make quickly with minimum prep.
Ingredients for shrimp with saffron
- Shrimp: Feel free to use any size shrimp that you’d like for this recipe. I typically use shrimp that are 20-30 per pound and in the large to jumbo range. Any size shrimp would work for this recipe, but you just want to make sure to cook them a little less if they are smaller in size.
- Saffron Threads: I typically use saffron from Iran for this recipe. But saffron is grown in many different parts of the world like Afghanistan, Iran, and Spain. Trader Joe’s sells a pretty inexpensive bottle of saffron that would work for this. You need about ½ tsp saffron threads for this recipe.
- Grated Onions: This is something that I do for my joojeh chicken kebabs as well. The grated onions (or shallot) gives the shrimp the most delicious deep flavor. Just be sure to squeeze out the liquid from the onions, either in cheese cloth or several sheets of paper towels.
- Kosher or Sea Salt: is the sodium source for this recipe. You’ll need a big pinch to marinate the shrimp.
- Butter: you’ll need a couple pads of butter to saute the shrimp and a few for the butter sauce. Adding cold pats of butter to a sauce is a chefs secret to create a thick sauce without the use of flour or cornstarch. If the butter is at room temperature or already melted, the sauce won’t thicken properly.The emulsification process happens when you slowly incorporate the butter into a hot liquid, such as chicken stock or lemon juice.
- Chicken Bouillon: the chicken bouillon adds sodium as well as a rich flavor to the cream sauce. Use a brand such a this one.
- Red Pepper Flakes: adds just the tiniest bit of heat to the recipe. Feel free to swap this for black pepper if you want to keep things more mild.
- Ground Sumac: This tangy red powder is a staple in many Middle Eastern cuisines. It’s what I use for my pomegranate and sumac dressing in my Fattoush recipe. It’s also used in my chicken over rice recipe, amongst many, many others. Don’t be afraid to grab some sumac if you haven’t tried it before.
- Rice or Crusty Bread: we prefer this with rice, but the sky is the limit here. A crusty baguette would work equally well. In fact, you might want to double the butter sauces that you have plenty for dipping.
Making Shrimp with Saffron Butter Sauce
- Bloom the saffron. In the past, I’ve bloomed my saffron once the water comes to a boil. But recently, I’ve learned ice waterworks beautifully too.
- Marinate the shrimp. In a shallow bowl, combine the shrimp with the grated onions, bloomed saffron and kosher salt. Toss to combine. You can either let this sit at room temperature for 15 minutes, or cover and refrigerate for 2 hours you have the time.
- Mix the sauce. In a measuring cup, combine the water, chicken bouillon, red pepper flakes, and ground sumac. Stir with a fork and set this aside for now.
- Drain the shrimp. In a mesh stainer, drain the shrimp of any excess liquid that may have accumulated in a bowl. Pat the shrimp dry using paper towels.This allows the shrimp to sear better in the pan.
- Cook the shrimp. One of the tricks to ensure even cooking, is to cook the shrimp in batches.For the cookware, I suggest using cast iron pan if possible. Melt a tablespoon of butter in the pan over medium high heat. Once melted sear the shrimp in the pan and then flip as need to cook both sides. Remove the shrimp to a plate. Then repeat with the second batch.
- Make the sauce. Add all the shrimp back to the pan. Then pour the prepared sauce over the key ingredients. Once the sauce starts to sizzle and evaporate, add the cubed butter to the pan, lower to low-medium heat and slowly stir the butter into the sauce. This breaks the butterfat into tiny droplets disperses in the liquid to create a stable, thickened, and glossy sauce everytime. You can taste and adjust with salt as needed.
- Serve it up. Serve the shrimp with crusty bread, fluffy basmati rice or a salad. Feel free to sprinkle with chopped parsley or cilantro before serving if you’d like.
FAQs about this recipe
You can use olive oil to saute the shrimp, however, you will still need butter to help emulsify the sauce. Olive oil simply won’t work for this.
You’re welcome to add anything you like as this is something you have to eat and enjoy! A few cloves garlic, a sprinkle of paprika, or some chopped cilantro won’t change the recipe too much so these changes are all easy to make if you’d like. But I would still suggest preparing the recipe as written once, before changing things too much.
Other shrimp recipes to try
- Refreshing Cucumber and Shrimp Salad
- Mediterranean Shrimp Orzo Salad
- Mexican Shrimp Cocktail
- Glowing Sesame Ponzu Shrimp Rice
- Garlicky Calabrian Chili Pasta with Shrimp
Shrimp with Saffron Butter Sauce
Ingredients
- 1½ pound shrimp cleaned and deveined
- ½ teaspoon saffron threads
- ¼ cup grated onions water squeezed out
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons butter cold
- ¾ teaspoon chicken bouillon
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon ground sumac
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley optional
- Prepared basmati rice for serving
- Prepared shiraz salad for serving
Instructions
- BLOOM: In a small bowl, add the saffron thread with 1 ice cube and allow the saffron to bloom as the ice melts.
- MARINATE: In a medium bowl, toss the shrimp with the grated onions, saffron water, and kosher salt. Allow the shrimp to marinate for at least 15 minutes. Usually, I let it go for at least 2 hours covered in the fridge for best results, but this is optional.
- MIX: In a 1 cup measuring cup add ¼ cup water, chicken bouillon, red pepper flakes, and ground sumac. Set aside for now.
- DRAIN: Once ready to cook, drain the shrimp in a sieve and gently pat dry, but do not rinse.
- COOK: Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a 12-inch cast iron or nonstick skillet (or larger) over medium-high heat. Once melted, add half the shrimp in a single layer and cook for 30-45 seconds undisturbed. You want the shrimp to start turning opaque before giving them another flip. Flip and cook the shrimp for another 20-45 seconds until they start to curl into a ‘c’ shape. Remove to a plate and cook the remaining shrimp the same way with another tablespoon of butter.
- SAUCE: Add all the shrimp back to the pan, pour the prepared sauce over the shrimp. Once it starts to sizzle and evaporate, lower the heat to the lowest setting. Then add the remaining two tablespoons of butter in cubes and stir to slowly melt it into a thick sauce. Taste and adjust with salt as needed. Sprinkle with parsley if desired.
- SERVE: Serve the shrimp with fresh basmati rice and a salad.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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