It's finally grilling season! Nothing screams summertime quite like cooking dinner outside on the grill does. When the temps heat up, and the last thing I want to do is turn on my oven, the weekly dinner plan revolves around the grill. In my non-stop search for more grilling recipes, I created this recipe for Grilled Butter Garlic Shrimp and Spaghetti Squash.
Over the years we've cooked all different types of food on the grill. Everything from vegetables, to pizza to seafood. One thing I have never cooked on the grill until recently though, is spaghetti squash! Not only is the shrimp in this recipe grilled, but the spaghetti squash is too! Grilled spaghetti squash is incredibly easy to cook and requires very little prep or hands-on cooking time.
I guarantee you that this meal is not lacking in flavor and you'll want to add it to your weekly grilling lineup too! The shrimp marinade is packed with garlic. The butter garlic sauce is packed with even MORE garlic and a combination of fresh and dried herbs. To finish it all off, I top the grilled spaghetti squash with crispy prosciutto and freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Ingredients
Additional ingredients needed are fresh prosciutto and parmesan cheese. Both of these ingredients are added at the end of cook time.
Equipment needed
- Outdoor grill to grill the shrimp skewers and the spaghetti squash.
- Skewers for the shrimp.
- Medium sized mixing bowl to marinate the shrimp in.
- Large frying pan to make the butter garlic sauce.
- Small frying pan to crisp the fresh prosciutto in.
How to make
Step 1: If you are using wooden skewers then you need to soak your skewers in water to prevent them from splintering and drying out during grilling.
Step 2: Marinate your shrimp. Combine the raw, uncooked, peeled and deveined shrimp with the olive oil, salt, garlic, lemon juice and fresh parsley. Let the shrimp marinade for at least 30 minutes. You can purchase shrimp that is already peeled and deveined. This is a huge time-saver! If it isn't available though, then you will have to peel and devein your shrimp yourself.
Step 3: Preheat your grill to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. While the grill is preheating, prepare your spaghetti squash. Slice the top of the spaghetti squash off and then slice the spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise. Clean out the seeds and the guts. Rub the inside of the spaghetti squash with 1 teaspoon of olive oil per side. Sprinkle the inside of each half with salt and pepper. Place the spaghetti squash on the grill over indirect heat, skin side down (cut side up). Cook for 40 minutes or until the squash is easily pierced with a fork. Remove from the grill when it has finished cooking and set aside to cool. Once cool, shred the spaghetti squash with a fork onto a plate and discard the outer skin.
Step 4: Thread your shrimp onto skewers as shown below. After the spaghetti squash has finished cooking, you can cook your shrimp on the grill. The shrimp need to be cooked at about 350 degrees Fahrenheit so you will need to turn your grill temperature down when cooking the shrimp. The shrimp will cook up in about 4 minutes! Flip the skewers half-way through cook time. You will know your shrimp is cooked when it is firm and has turned light pink.
Step 5: Roughly chop the fresh prosciutto. Crisp the prosciutto in a small frying pan over low heat. Lightly oil your frying pan. Add the prosciutto and cook for about 10 minutes, or until crispy. Set aside. While the prosciutto was crisping, I frequently broke apart the clumped up pieces with a fork.
Step 6: Make the butter garlic sauce. Melt the butter in a large frying pan. Add the minced garlic. Cook the garlic for about 2 minutes over low heat. Add the salt, pepper, fresh parsley, dried oregano and chicken stock. Simmer for about 4 more minutes. Remove from heat and add the shredded spaghetti squash. Toss to combine with the butter garlic sauce.
Step 7: Remove the spaghetti squash from the pan. Top the spaghetti squash with freshly grated parmesan cheese and the crispy prosciutto. Serve with the grilled shrimp. Enjoy!
PrintGrilled Butter Garlic Shrimp and Spaghetti Squash
This recipe is packed with delicious garlic flavor and the majority of it cooks outside on the grill! If you are looking for a new and creative low-carb entrée, this is definitely the winner! If low-carb isn't your thing, then this dinner would be excellent served with fresh bread, a baked potato or with spaghetti noodles mixed into the spaghetti squash.
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
Shrimp Marinade
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- Juice from ½ of a lemon
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 pound raw, peeled, deveined shrimp
Spaghetti Squash
- 1 medium-sized spaghetti squash
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of pepper
Butter Garlic Sauce
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 8 teaspoons minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ cup chicken stock
Additional ingredients
- 3 ounces prosciutto - chopped
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Marinate the shrimp. Add all ingredients for the shrimp marinade to a medium-sized mixing bowl. This includes the olive oil, minced garlic, lemon juice and the fresh parsley. Whisk together to combine. Add the shrimp to the bowl and thoroughly coat the shrimp with the marinade. Set aside and let the shrimp marinate for at least 30 minutes. After the shrimp has marinated for at least 30 minutes, thread the shrimp onto skewers.
- While the shrimp is marinating, prepare your spaghetti squash and preheat your grill. You will want your grill to reach a temperature of 450 degrees Fahrenheit. To prepare your squash, cut the stem off of the squash and cut the squash in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, clean out the seeds and the guts. Rub 1 teaspoon of olive oil, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper into each cut half of the spaghetti squash.
- Place the spaghetti squash on the grill, over indirect heat, cut side up. Cook the spaghetti squash for about 40 minutes or until the spaghetti squash easily pierces with a fork.
- When the spaghetti squash has finished cooking, remove the squash from the grill and let cool. Once the squash is cool, shred the squash using a fork and set aside.
- Lower the grill temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook the shrimp skewers over direct heat. Cook for about 2 minutes per side. You will know the shrimp is done cooking when it becomes firm and turns light pink in color.
- Crisp the prosciutto. In a small frying pan coated in about 1 teaspoon of olive oil, cook the chopped prosciutto. This will take about 10 minutes over low heat. Cook until very crispy.
- Make the butter garlic sauce. In a large frying pan, melt the butter over low heat. After the butter is melted, add the minced garlic. Cook the minced garlic over low heat for about 2 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, fresh parsley, oregano and the chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 4 minutes.
- Remove the butter garlic sauce from the heat. Add the shredded spaghetti squash to the frying pan and toss to combine.
- Serve the spaghetti squash topped with fresh parmesan cheese and the crispy prosciutto with the shrimp skewers on the side.
Notes
- If you are using wooden skewers for the shrimp, soak them in water for at least 1 hour prior to using.
- Many of these cooking steps can overlap and be done while something else is cooking. For example, you can cook the butter garlic sauce and crisp the prosciutto at the same time, and while the spaghetti squash is grilling.
- Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Serve this with fresh bread, a baked potato or with spaghetti noodles mixed into the shredded spaghetti squash.
- This is a gluten free, low carb meal. Always double-check packaged ingredients for added gluten if you are trying to avoid gluten.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: dinner
- Method: grilling
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: grilled spaghetti squash, grilled spaghetti squash recipes, grilled butter garlic shrimp
Serving suggestions
I suggest serving the Grilled Butter Garlic Shrimp and Spaghetti Squash with
- Asparagus Salad with Fried Goat Cheese
- No Knead Overnight Bread
- Quick & Easy White Bean Salad with Feta
Frequently Asked Questions
Shrimp can easily be grilled without skewers. You can place the shrimp on a sheet of aluminum foil. Fold the sides of the foil up so the shrimp do not fall off. Place the foil directly on the grill and cook the shrimp. You can also purchase a shrimp grill pan like this one found here.
You can cook spaghetti squash a variety of different ways. In the cold weather months I regularly cook my spaghetti squash in the oven. You can also microwave your spaghetti squash or cook spaghetti squash in an instant pot.
Yes it is. Since this recipe does not contain any grains, pasta, flour or sugar, it is a naturally low carbohydrate recipe.
Yes. Gluten is not regularly found in any of the ingredients in this recipe. I always recommend double checking any packaged ingredients for gluten though. You never know where it could sneak in!
You can save the leftovers in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can freeze both cooked shrimp and cooked spaghetti squash. I have not tried to freeze either of these ingredients myself though so I do not have any personal experience with this.
Recipe Variations
Here are a few ways you could change up this recipe:
- Use bacon instead of prosciutto.
- Use regular pasta noodles instead of spaghetti squash or use half spaghetti squash and half pasta noodles.
- Instead of using shrimp, you could try this recipe using scallops. If you need to avoid shellfish, you could use chicken breast instead.
- If you want to add more veggies to this meal, I would suggest mixing fresh spinach into the spaghetti squash when you are tossing the grilled spaghetti squash with the butter garlic sauce.
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a review below!
Jenny
This looks amazing! Thank you for all the wonderful information on this post, I can’t wait to try these tonight!
★★★★★
Brianna
This was super flavorful, my family just loved it!
★★★★★
Audrey
The spaghetti squash is so awesome in this dish!
★★★★★
Jeri
Oh my gosh...this was so good!! The shrimp had wonderful flavor and were so tender, and the squash was so delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
★★★★★
Agnieszka
I absolutely loved this recipe. It's low-carb and delicious. Win-win!
★★★★★
Alexandra
These are so tasty - love the garlic, yum!
★★★★★
Raquel
Such an easy and delicious dinner idea! Wonderful grill idea!
★★★★★
Freya
Yum! This was so delicious and the perfect light supper dish!
★★★★★
Elizabeth Flight
So delicious!
★★★★★
Kyleigh
This was delicious! Great recipe!
★★★★★
Gwynn Galvin
So delicious! This recipe is on my grilling menu rotation for the summer!
★★★★★
Faith Still
Yum! I can't wait to try grilled spaghetti squash. What a novel and delicious sounding idea.
★★★★★
Nora
This looks so delicious! Can't wait to try it out! Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
Addie
I love spaghetti squash! This was so yummy!
★★★★★
Brianna
This was so tasty!
★★★★★
Julia
Yum! We love eating spaghetti squash and having it with the grilled shrimp was so good! Definitely spruced up the dish.
★★★★★
Alice | SkinnySpatula
The shrimp was to die for!
★★★★★
Oscar
My family loved this recipe. Definitely will be making again. Thank you.
★★★★★