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Let’s get straight down to business today! You know when you come home from a long day and you actually want to eat homemade food, but you JUST CAN’T EVEN. I know that feeling all too well, and my solution is to have recipes like this that take under half an hour from start to finish. Enter my Roasted Gambas al ajillo AKA garlic shrimp!

Gambas al ajillo is a very typical tapa that can be found in almost any restaurant in southern and central Spain. I’ll never forget the story my mom told me about ordering this dish in Barcelona – the menu said it came with four prawns (super big shrimp). When she and my dad got the bill it cost TEN euros PER shrimp!! She almost fainted but said it was worth every euro considering it was the best shrimp she’d ever had.  

This recipe is the model for all quick and easy recipes, and I’ll prove it!

• Requires less than 10 ingredients (most of which are pantry items you already have)
• Less than 25 minutes from prep to table
• You don’t have to stand over a hot stove to cook it
• Can be made prepped ahead of time so you just throw it in the oven when you’re ready to eat
• You can put these on skewers and grill them for the tastiest grilled shrimpies you’ve ever had!

I rest my case :) 

Another tip: I always keep a big bag of wild caught shrimp in the freezer for meals like this. Red Argentinian shrimp are my favorite, they’re so flavorful and tender! Odds are I have all the other ingredients on hand at any given time, so it’s a no-brainer as long as I remember to defrost the shrimp a day ahead of time :)

Ingredients

How to make it

Whisk together the marinade ingredients (olive oil, thyme, chili powder, smoked paprika, and minced garlic) in a bowl large enough to fit the shrimp.

Add the shrimp to the marinade and gently toss to combine. Cover with plastic and set aside in the fridge for 10-15 minutes (or up to 8-9 hours).

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the shrimp on a foil-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle a few pinches each of kosher salt and black pepper over the shrimp.

Roast in the oven for 8-10 minutes tops – the shrimp should be firm. Squeeze some lemon onto the shrimp and top with chopped parsley. Serve immediately with extra lemon wedges.