Fancy a bit of a zing and garlic punch with your prawns? This quick garlic lemon prawns recipe is just the ticket to add these great flavours to your BBQ. And the best bit – you can have them ready to eat in under 15 minutes. It’s a no-fuss flavour affair that will have everyone begging for seconds.
Zesty Garlic Lemon Prawns
Is there ever a bad time to serve up some garlic prawns? I think not! But best of all, these zesty lemon and garlic prawns bring so much flavour, with minimal prep or cooking time required.
This simple seafood recipe is easily one of the quickest ways to level up your next BBQ! Throw them in the skillet with all the ingredients and you will be enjoying your own homemade surf and turf or a plate of tasty garlic prawns in no time.
TIP: This recipe can get a little messy so I prefer to cook them in a skillet, but you can definitely cook them on your BBQ plate if you don’t mind the extra cleanup!
What You Will Need
Let’s take a closer look at what ingredients you will need for this lemon garlic butter prawn recipe:
- A bunch of large prawns (these quantities are based on around 16-20 so adjust as needed), cleaned and ready to rumble
- 3 garlic cloves, minced for that aromatic kick
- A splash of lemon juice (2 tablespoons)
- A pinch of chilli flakes for a gentle kick – this is totally optional but recommended
- A couple of teaspoons of seafood seasoning (alternatives below)
- A dollop of butter (2 tablespoons)
- A sprinkle of parsley (fresh or dry, we don’t judge)
- Lemon zest from one zesty lemon
- Salt & pepper, season to perfection
Seafood Seasoning
If you don’t know what seafood seasoning is, it’s essentially a pre-made spice blend made for seafood that you can grab at the supermarket. Nothing fancy!
But you can also make your own version and if you’ve visited the site before, you might already know that I’m a fan of making my own seasoning mixes. But sometimes you can’t beat the convenience.
If you want to make your own, here’s what I like to add:
- Smoked paprika
- Garlic powder (you might want to skip this since we’re using fresh garlic already)
- Onion powder
- Thyme
- Cumin
- Salt
Experiment with quantities and other flavours and make it your own! This just adds to the overall flavours of the dish so you can skip it entirely if you want to.
The printable recipe card with FULL ingredients list and instructions can be found at the bottom of this post.
Prepare Your Prawns
If you’re buying fresh prawns that aren’t yet peeled, you’ve got a bit more work to do. Peeling prawns is no one’s favourite thing to do so often I get the pre-peeled prawns with tails on to save time.
Otherwise, you’re going to have to do this step yourself. You can choose to leave tails on or off. I like to leave tails on so you’ve got a nice little handle but it’s not necessary.
Make sure you remove the black intestinal tract/vein then pat down your prawns with paper towel. This tiny step helps the flavours cling better, which is exactly what you want!
Lemon and Garlic Prawns Serving Ideas
Lemon Garlic prawns are the perfect entree or starter served alone if you’re hosting a BBQ for friends and family. It sure beats garlic bread or a cheese platter (although all 3 sound great to me).
They are also great on top of a steak for a surf and turf.
If you’re serving them up as the main dish, pair the prawns with sides that complement their flavours.
Here are some side dish ideas:
- Fresh Salads: A leafy rocket salad or classic Caesar salad for a light touch.
- Comfort Sides: Creamy risotto, potato bake or fluffy mashed potatoes to soak up the sauce.
- Veggie Sides: Crispy, sweet potato fries or BBQ corn cobs.
Need more side dish ideas? Check out these kid-friendly BBQ sides and make-ahead BBQ sides.
Garlic Lemon Prawns
Equipment
- 1 Skillet or BBQ
Ingredients
- 16-20 large prawns
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 2 teaspoons seafood seasoning see above
- 3 teaspoons fresh chopped parsley dried is fine
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Salt & pepper to season
Instructions
- Prepare prawns by removing shell and vein if needed. Pat dry with paper towel.
- Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet or on your BBQ plate.
- Toss in prawns, garlic, and chilli flakes. Give them a quick fry for around 2 minutes.
- Sprinkle in your seafood seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook for another 3-5 minutes.
- Add in the lemon juice, then lower the heat to simmer until cooked.
- Add parsley and lemon zest, stir until well mixed.
- Serve up and watch them disappear!
Notes
