Gluten Free Spanish Garlic Shrimp (Gambas al Ajillo)
Few dishes deliver this much flavor with this little effort — plump, juicy shrimp cooked in a pool of garlicky, chile-spiked olive oil until just pink and curled, then finished with a bright hit of lemon juice and a shower of fresh parsley. It's the kind of recipe that looks and smells like something you'd order at a buzzy tapas bar, but comes together in a single skillet in minutes. Every ingredient here is naturally free of gluten, so there's no swapping, substituting, or label-squinting required — just clean, bold Mediterranean flavors exactly as they were meant to be made. The key moves are drying the shrimp well before they hit the pan and keeping a close eye on the garlic so it turns pale golden rather than bitter and burnt. Serve it straight from the skillet with lemon wedges on the side, and don't forget something to soak up all that incredible oil — a gluten-free baguette or crusty rice works beautifully. It's an effortless crowd-pleaser that genuinely tastes like a special occasion.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
- 1 ½ lb large shrimp (21–25 count), peeled and deveined, tails on
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
For serving
- lemon wedges, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Pat the shrimp thoroughly dry with paper towels, then season evenly with the salt and black pepper.
- 2
Pour the olive oil into a large (10–12-inch) skillet or cazuela and set over medium heat until the oil shimmers and a garlic slice dropped in sizzles immediately, about 2 minutes.
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