Shrimp Oreganata is an Italian-American dish consisting of shrimp topped with moistened breadcrumbs, white wine, lemon juice, parsley, and butter. This classic dish is wonderful to serve with pasta or crusty bread to mop up the sauce and while perfect for any night of the week, it’s especially good for Christmas Eve!
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Editor’s Note: Originally published on December 17, 2018. Updated with full process shots and expanded info.
Shrimp oreganata is a dish I grew up eating and can be found at almost every Italian-American restaurant in the New York area.
It’s loaded with outrageous flavor from the garlic, breadcrumbs, oregano, and white wine which happens to pair particularly well with seafood in general, like salmon oreganata, lobster oreganata, and clams oreganata.
And the beauty of shrimp oreganata is that the recipe is totally customizable. If you want more garlic, add it; don’t want wine, omit it.
Our goal here is to give you a great recipe that you can use to adjust to your own tastes and needs.
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How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Preheat your oven to 425f and set one rack in the middle and the other near the top. Mince 2 tablespoons of parsley and 6 cloves of garlic. Grate 2 tablespoons of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
- Heat a large pan to medium-low and saute the minced garlic in 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil until fragrant (about 2 minutes).
- Add 1/3 cup of plain breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, the parsley, 2 teaspoons of dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt, and the grated Parmigiano Reggiano and mix well. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Pat dry 1 1/2 pounds of colossal peeled and deveined shrimp with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper to taste. In an oven-safe baking dish or large pan, arrange the shrimp with the tails pointing up. Top the shrimp with the breadcrumb mixture and pour 3/4 cup of low-sodium chicken stock and 1/4 cup of dry white wine around the shrimp. Note: Use whatever baking dish you like. A cast iron or stainless steel pan works well too. We used two smaller dishes in the pic above.
- Top the shrimp with 6 tablespoons of cubed cold butter and drizzle a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil on top of the breadcrumbs.
- Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until the shrimp are cooked through. After 10 minutes, move the baking dish to the top rack and broil for 1-2 minutes or until brown but watch carefully to prevent burning. Remove the shrimp from the oven and serve on plates with lemon wedges and a spoonful of the garlicky pan sauce. Serve with crusty bread to mop up the sauce and enjoy!
Top tips
- Shrimp. Buying cleaned shrimp that’s already been peeled and deveined is a huge time saver and I recommend it. That being said, it’s always good to look over the shrimp to double-check before you start prepping. For recipes like shrimp oreganata or shrimp cocktail, I suggest using colossal shrimp, sized U12-15 (that means 12-15 shrimp per pound). You can definitely use smaller shrimp but note that your cooking time may be lessened by a few minutes if doing so.
- Wine. I usually use a dry white wine when cooking, such as a sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio. If you cannot have wine, you can omit it here.
- The breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs in this dish should be well moistened and there’s no need to overdo it with them as the sauce may become too thick or dry out. If that happens, add some water to loosen it up before serving.
- Broiling. Broiling at the end isn’t mandatory, but suggested as it will give a wonderful toasty top to the breadcrumbs. When broiling, watch carefully to prevent burning.
More shrimp recipes
If you came here looking for shrimp recipes, you’re in the right place!
- Lemon garlic shrimp pasta – one of our most popular recipes, this pasta is a must for any shrimp lover!
- Shrimp Francese – colossal shrimp are lightly battered, fried, then simmered in a buttery lemon sauce.
- Shrimp scampi rolls – buttery rolls loaded with shrimp scampi and topped with sauteed cherry tomatoes.
- Shrimp Saganaki – one-pan Greek shrimp dish with feta, olives, and tomatoes.
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Shrimp Oreganata
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds (680g) colossal shrimp cleaned, shells removed, and deveined – size 12-15ct
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons (45g) extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup (180g) low sodium chicken stock
- 1/4 cup (60g) dry white wine
- 1 large lemon cut into wedges
- 6 tablespoons (84g) unsalted butter cubed
For the seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup (33g) breadcrumbs
- 3 tablespoons (45g) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon (15g) lemon juice
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons (16g) grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- 2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf Italian parsley
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
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Instructions
For the seasoned breadcrumbs
- In a large pan saute the garlic in the extra virgin olive oil over medium-low heat for 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add all of the remaining breadcrumb ingredients and mix well. Turn off the heat and set aside.
For the shrimp
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Set a rack in the middle and the other rack near the top of the oven.
- Pat the shrimp very dry then season with salt and pepper to taste.
- In an oven safe baking dish or large pan arrange shrimp with tails pointing up. Distribute the breadcrumbs on top of the shrimp.
- Pour the wine and chicken stock around the shrimp. Sprinkle the cubed butter all over the shrimp and into the sauce. Drizzle 1-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil all over the breadcrumbs.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until the shrimp are cooked through.
- After ten minutes, move the baking dish to the top rack and broil for 1-2 more minutes or until nice and brown. Remove shrimp from the oven and plate with lemon wedges. Spoon the sauce onto plates and serve with crusty bread to mop up all of the butter sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
- The recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.
- The sauce in the center can be loosened up before serving with a couple of ounces of water or chicken stock if needed.
- The shrimp used in this recipe are 12-15ct which means 12-15 per pound. Cooking time will be up to a few minutes less if using smaller shrimp.
- Leftovers can be saved in the fridge for up to 3 days and can be reheated in the microwave, though this dish is best eaten right away.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was originally published on December 17, 2018. It was completely updated on December 13, 2022.
This is a GREAT meal. I highly recommend serving this during the holiday season.
Thank you so much. This is my go to shrimp recipe in place of fried. I’m an Italian born and raised in jersey and I relate to all your recipes. I also love that you also say “wooder”. 🤣
We’re so happy you liked this one, Michelle!
Made this as a Christmas Eve appetizer and it was a hit! It turned out perfect! Definitely serve with bread cuz the sauce is amazing! I will definitely be making this again!
If I wanted to serve this atop angel hair pasta, would there be enough sauce for about three-quarters pound of pasta? Love your videos! Thank you for all of the thought and preparation that goes into them.
Hi Laura, there’s most likely not enough sauce for 3/4 pound of angel hair pasta though you could likely add pasta water to the sauce to increase the amount. You might be better off making a simple aglio e olio sauce to serve with the pasta to ensure you have enough.
Hello Jim & Tara,
This looks delicious! I love shrimp and definitely trying this recipe. Some day I might try using haddock. Any suggestions you may have? Love all your recipes & videos!
Karen😊
Hi Karen, this would be great with haddock. You may want to look at our salmon oreganata recipe and go off that one since that’s using fish instead of shrimp. Thanks for the comment!
Jim great recipe and directions as usual Thank You for sharing
So happy to hear that, James!
Jim i am new to your channel but love everything I see you do , thank you for sharing, this recipe was great.
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, James!
Can I mix shrimp with scallops or other seafood? Is there any modifications I should make? I’m thinking half shrimp half scallops…
Hi Gregg, yes, you can definitely add scallops and other seafood to the recipe. As long as you’re using the same amount (by weight), there shouldn’t be any modifications to make.
I used fish stock from the shells, I think it was much better than chicken stock. Yes you can double the recipe but it still needs to be baked in small batches so the bread crumbs toast up.
Very tasty recipe.
So happy you enjoyed the recipe, Sally!
Easy and very good for a hot summer evening.
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Jerry!
Question: should the chicken stock be hot?
Hi Dan, it’s doesn’t need to be hot – room temperature would be ok.
I love the recipe, can’t wait to try it! Shrimp Oreganata is one of my favorite dishes in the world!!!❤️❤️❤️
All of your oreganata recipes that I’ve tried have been great! Wonderful! I’ve almost mastered making them and getting the bread crumb mix and the oil butter balance without checking the recipe. Almost.
Thanks.
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Diane!
Excellent recipe and instructor. 3rd time making it and delicious. Greetings from Bangkok
I love it.
Show stopper shrimp recipe. Absolutely delicious.
This recipe is amazing! I have made it a few times and love it!!
I’m so happy you made this one a few times and enjoyed it! Thanks for the comment!
I’m making the shrimp oreganata tonight and telling everyone I’m using a recipe that comes via a chef from an island off the coast of Italy called Isla Lungo. We’re in San Diego but I’m from Bayside and Plainview, the wife and her mother are from the five towns,my daughter is from Suffern and nobody speaks Italian so hey, what they don’t know…
Great Recipe, I have been cooking and baking for over 50 years. I cooked professionally for 12years and I love your recipes and videos. You explain everything so thoroughly and you’re a great video host. Thanks you you and Tara for all you guys do.
Thanks for the comment, Bob. We’re so happy you’re enjoying the recipes!
Good recipe. Easy to follow