The delectable shrimp scampi is a wonderful meal that’s easy to cook, filling, and quite enjoyable. Yet, one of its ingredients may raise an eyebrow for those who’re on a specific diet. It’s the wine.
Thankfully, there can be a shrimp scampi recipe without wine.
It doesn’t even have to be a lot of extra work. Choose your substitute right and make a few adjustments if necessary, and you could have a nice shrimp scampi without a care in the world.
Let’s take a look at a few options.
Choosing The Right Substitute For Wine In Shrimp Scampi
White wine plays a central role in getting the shrimp scampi sauce a delicious flavor. The sauce holds the keys to the flavor and does an amazing job at making shrimp scampi the delicacy that it is.
White wine plays an important role in the overall flavoring of the shrimp scampi sauce. In fact, when cooking shrimp scampi, most chefs would suggest you use the finest quality white wine you can afford rather than going for a cheaper option. Cooking wines are a big no.
This is why making shrimp scampi without wine is tough. Getting that same hit of flavor is going to be difficult.
Yet, there are a few options that you can use. Keep in mind, using these substitutes for white wine in shrimp scampi will alter the flavor of the dish. However, they can be quite enjoyable in their own right.
Here are some substitutes for wine that you can consider.
1. Chicken Stock Or Chicken Bone Broth
Chicken stock is the go-to replacement for wine in shrimp scampi. The stock adds a fair bit of flavor, so its presence can somewhat mask the lack of wine. Besides, it presents enough liquid or moisture to keep the sauce going, while also upping the flavors.
2. Chicken Broth
Regular chicken broth will do too. Chicken broth doesn’t usually bring the same depth of flavor as chicken stock or chicken bone broth, but it’s good enough to use when you want a quick substitute.
3. Vegetable Broth
Vegetable broth isn’t quite the best option to replace wine in shrimp scampi, but if you’re in a tight spot, vegetable broth can bring in some flavor.
4. Bouillon Cube
Using a bouillon cube is a great way of using the deep flavors of chicken stock to the recipe. Besides, bouillon cubes are more concentrated in flavor compared to chicken stock, so you can decide how much water to add and the resulting strength of flavor you prefer.
The use of these cubes is simple and straightforward, so it can save you some time. Plus, the relative ease of managing depth of flavor is a really helpful quality as well.
5. Shrimp Stock
Shrimp stock is a great way to get flavors for your shrimp scampi. It can be quite handy if you don’t have other alternatives or substitutes available.
One reason it’s so useful in this scenario is that you can prepare the stock quickly and with ingredients already at hand. If you’ve got the shells at hand, just put them in water and boil for a few minutes.
Strain the water and discard the shells. Shrimp stock is ready!
6. Other Stock Or Broth Options
There are a few other broth options depending on the ingredients you use for making the shrimp scampi.
For example, if you’re using pasta, it’s possible to put aside some pasta water and use it as a substitute for white wine. Usually, just a cup of pasta water will do.
7. Unsweetened Grape Juice
Reaching for unsweetened grape juice to substitute white wine should be one of the last options on your list.
The juice is flavorful, but it’s also sweet, so it might throw off the flavor profile of the recipe. Yes, even unsweetened grape juice will have some sweetness to it.
Depending on your tastebuds or how you like the flavoring, this substitution might work very well for you. However, if you want any semblance of authenticity for the recipe, it’s better to skip this one.
8. Plain Water
Can’t figure out any options or substitutes to use for wine in shrimp scampi? Just plain water will do. The idea here is rather simple.
You choose to sacrifice the wine flavor without adding any other flavors as a replacement.
This can be a winning strategy. It will lack flavor, but some authenticity of the dish can be maintained.
9. What Not To Use – Beef Stock And Fish Stock
The list here includes several stock and broth options to use for the recipe. However, the ones you should never use are beef stock and fish stock.
Beef stock simply doesn’t go over well with seafood. Fish stock too doesn’t pair well with shrimp.
Quick Recipes For Shrimp Scampi Without Wine
1. Shrimp With Stock Or Broth Of Your Choice
This recipe will replace white wine with a stock or broth of your choice. As noted in the other section, you can use chicken stock, shrimp stock, vegetable stock, or bouillon cubes.
I’d suggest going with chicken stock. Here’s what you need for the recipe.
Ingredients For The Recipe
- Shrimp (peeled and deveined) 1 lb
- Butter 2 tablespoons
- Garlic (minced) 2 cloves
- Chicken Stock (¼ cup)
- Lemon Juice 2 tablespoons (can also use lemon zest)
- Garnishing and taste: chopped parsley, salt, pepper.
Recipe
- Melt butter in the skillet.
- Once the butter is hot, add minced garlic and cook for a minute.
- Add the shrimp and cook for a minute. Make sure the shrimp is cooked right.
- You can remove the shrimp at this point and continue cooking the sauce.
- Add the stock and lemon juice and cook until the stock reduces by half.
- Add salt and pepper.
- Take the sauce off the heat and add cooked shrimp.
- Garnish shrimp scampi with parsley and serve.
2. Shrimp Scampi With Pasta – Using Pasta Water Instead Of Wine
This recipe adds pasta to shrimp scampi. Additionally, it will use pasta water as a replacement for wine in the recipe.
There are a few options for pasta to use in this recipe. These include spaghetti, angel hair pasta, fettuccine, and linguine.
Ingredients
The ingredients for this shrimp scampi recipe remain the same as those listed in the previous recipe. However, there is the addition of pasta and the chicken stock is removed.
Recipe
- Boil the pasta according to the instructions on the package. Make sure to save ½ cup of pasta water for use later.
- Cook the shrimp.
- Prepare the sauce. Add the pasta water and give it enough time so that the sauce reduces a little.
- Add the pasta to the sauce and stir until it’s well combined.
- Add the shrimp.
- Stir for a few seconds and remove from heat.
- Season with chopped parsley, parmesan, or other ingredients and serve.
Conclusion
It can feel like a challenge to cook shrimp scampi without wine. Wine is a major flavor element in the recipe and greatly adds to the overall flavor of the dish. However, if you must replace it, there are a few convenient options to try.
Remember, skipping wine will alter the flavor of the recipe. However, some of these substitutes might keep it as flavorful and delicious as you want your food to be!