This shrimp scampi recipe combines juicy shrimp, garlic, butter, white wine, lemon, and linguine in a light, glossy sauce that coats the pasta instead of pooling at the bottom of the pan. The key is cooking the shrimp briefly, then taking them out while the wine reduces so they stay tender rather than turning tough.

A little reserved pasta water helps bring the garlic butter sauce together, while cold butter stirred in at the end gives it a smooth finish without adding cream. Serve it with golden garlic bread for soaking up the extra sauce. For another easy pasta dinner, try chicken Alfredo, or go with blackened shrimp when you want something spicier.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces (225 g) linguine
• 1 pound (450 g) large shrimp (21/25 count) peeled and deveined tails off
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt (divided)
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
• 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter (2 tablespoons kept cold)
• 5 garlic cloves minced
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ⅓ cup (80 ml) dry white wine (Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc)
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 cup (240 ml) reserved pasta water as needed

Instructions

1. Boil the linguine: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it until it tastes like the sea. Add the linguine and cook until it’s 1 minute shy of the package time, usually 8 to 9 minutes, so it still has a white core if you bite a strand. Scoop out 1 cup of the cloudy pasta water, then drain the noodles and leave them in the colander. Don’t rinse them, because the starch on the surface is what helps the sauce cling.
2. Dry and season the shrimp: If the shrimp were frozen, thaw them in a bowl of cold water for about 10 minutes, then peel and devein if needed. Spread them on paper towels and press the tops until the towels stay dry and the shells look matte. Toss with ½ teaspoon of the salt and the black pepper right before they go in the pan, not earlier.
3. Sear, then pull the shrimp: Heat the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until the butter foams and smells nutty, about 1 minute. Lay the shrimp in a single layer and leave them alone for 80 to 90 seconds, until the undersides turn pink and the flesh is still translucent in the middle. Flip and cook 60 to 90 seconds more, until they form a loose C and look just opaque. Move them to a plate; they will finish later. If they have already curled into tight Os, they are overcooked and should come off immediately.
4. Build the wine sauce: Drop the heat to medium so the leftover fat doesn’t scorch the garlic. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and stir for 20 to 30 seconds, until the garlic smells sweet and looks pale gold, not brown. Pour in the wine, scrape the browned bits from the pan, and let it bubble until it reduces by about half and the sharp alcohol smell is gone, 1½ to 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice so the sauce tastes bright before you add the cold butter.
5. Mount the butter off heat: Take the skillet off the burner. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of cold butter and swirl the pan until it melts into a glossy, slightly thick sauce. If you leave the pan on high heat, the butter breaks and you get a greasy puddle with lemon floating on top. Taste and add the last ¼ teaspoon of salt if the sauce tastes flat.
6. Toss pasta and finish: Add the drained linguine and ⅓ cup of the pasta water. Toss over low heat for 30 to 45 seconds, until every strand looks coated and the sauce clings instead of pooling. Return the shrimp and any plate juices, add the parsley, and toss just until the shrimp are hot, about 30 seconds. If the pan looks dry, add pasta water a spoon at a time; if it looks watery, keep tossing off heat until it tightens. Serve it while the sauce is still glossy, because it tightens as it sits.

If the shrimp turn rubbery

• Pull the shrimp when they still look a little underdone in the center. Residual heat and the final 30-second toss will finish them; a 4-minute simmer in the wine won’t un-tough them.
• Pat thawed shrimp dry until the towel stays clean. A wet pound of shrimp can dump a tablespoon of water into the butter, and that liquid stops the wine from reducing.
• Keep garlic on medium heat for half a minute only. Browned garlic tastes bitter in this short sauce, and there’s no tomato or cream to hide it.
• Mount the last 2 tablespoons of butter off the heat. On a hard boil the fat separates, and more wine won’t bring it back together.
• Use pasta water, not extra wine, if the linguine looks dry in the pan. More wine at the end makes the sauce sharp and thin again.
• Crowding 2 pounds of shrimp in a 12-inch skillet steams them. Cook in two batches, or they will gray instead of sear and the sauce will taste watery.

Storage

Eat shrimp scampi the night you cook it when you can. If you have leftovers, cool them and refrigerate in an airtight container within 2 hours. They keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Reheat a portion in a skillet over low heat with a spoon of water just until the shrimp are warm, not bubbling hard, so they don’t tighten again. I wouldn’t freeze this; the shrimp turn mealy and the butter sauce splits on thaw. USDA leftovers and food safety covers the 2-hour cooling window and the 165°F (74°C) leftover reheat target.

FAQ

Can you make shrimp scampi without wine?

Swap the ⅓ cup of wine for ⅓ cup of low-sodium chicken broth plus 1 extra teaspoon of lemon juice. Broth doesn’t reduce with the same bite that wine does, so the extra lemon keeps the sauce from tasting flat. Skip sweet wines, and don’t skip the acid altogether; a butter-garlic pan with no wine and no lemon tastes greasy instead of bright.

Can you use frozen shrimp for shrimp scampi?

Frozen shrimp are what I use most of the time. Thaw them in cold water, not on the counter and not in the microwave, then peel, devein, and dry them hard before they hit the skillet. If they go in wet, they steam and the sauce turns watery. Pre-peeled tails-off shrimp save time; tails-on look nicer on a platter but are a nuisance in linguine.

How do you know when the shrimp are done?

Look at the shape and the color, not only the clock. Done shrimp are opaque and curved into a C. Overcooked shrimp curl into a tight O, turn chalky white, and bounce when you bite them. Large 21/25 shrimp need about 90 seconds on the first side and a little less on the second in a hot pan, then they come out. They go back in for 30 seconds at the end, which is enough to heat them without cooking them twice.

This stuffed peppers recipe fills tender bell peppers with seasoned ground beef, cooked rice, tomatoes, and plenty of melted cheese. The peppers are roasted briefly before filling, which gives them time to soften without overcooking the beef mixture or leaving you with watery filling. Using cooked rice also keeps the texture consistent since there isn’t enough liquid inside the peppers to properly cook dry rice.

They make a filling dinner on their own, or you can serve them with golden garlic bread or creamy mashed potatoes. If you like hearty ground-beef dinners, my stuffed sauerkraut cabbage rolls and meatloaf with a tangy ketchup glaze are good ones to try next.

Ingredients

• 6 medium bell peppers, any color, tops cut off and seeds removed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for the dish
• 1 lb (450 g) ground beef (85% lean)
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 can (14.5 oz / 411 g) diced tomatoes, well drained
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for the peppers
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup (185 g) cooked white rice, cooled
• 1½ cups (170 g) shredded mozzarella or Monterey Jack, divided
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Prep the peppers: Cut the tops off the peppers and pull out the seeds and white membranes. If a pepper wobbles, shave a thin slice off the bottom without cutting through the wall, so it stands upright in the pan. Salt the insides lightly, then stand them in a lightly oiled 9×13-inch baking dish.
2. Pre-roast the shells: Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and roast the empty peppers for 15 minutes, until the walls look slightly wrinkled and a knife slides in with a little resistance. Pre-roasting drives off moisture so the filling doesn’t sit in a puddle later, so leave the oven at 400°F while you cook the filling.
3. Cook the filling: While the peppers roast, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion for about 5 minutes until it turns translucent, then add the garlic and tomato paste and stir for 1 minute until the paste darkens and smells sweet. Add the beef, break it up with a spoon, and cook for 6 to 7 minutes until no pink remains, then drain off the excess fat.
4. Mix rice and tomato: Stir in the drained tomatoes, oregano, paprika, salt, pepper, cooked rice, and ½ cup of the cheese. The mixture should look moist but not soupy. If liquid pools in the pan, cook for 2 more minutes until a spoon dragged through the center leaves a trail, then taste and add salt if the filling is bland.
5. Stuff and bake: Spoon the filling into the roasted peppers, packing it in without mounding so high that it spills over the rim. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and browned in spots and the pepper walls look collapsed and glossy.
6. Rest and serve: Let the peppers sit for 5 minutes so the filling sets enough to eat with a fork instead of spilling the moment you lift one. Scatter the parsley over the top and serve them in the dish they baked in, with a spoon for the juices at the bottom.

Tips for the Best Classic Stuffed Peppers with Beef and Rice

• Cook the rice ahead and let it cool to room temperature before it hits the skillet. Hot rice keeps cooking in the beef fat and turns the filling sticky instead of separate. Leftover rice from the night before is actually better here than a fresh pot, because the grains have dried out enough to absorb sauce without turning to paste.
• Use 85% lean ground beef, because extra-lean dries out inside the pepper when there’s no pan sauce left to baste it, and 80/20 leaves a grease puddle in the bottom of each shell. Drain whatever fat renders in the skillet before you add the tomatoes, or the filling will taste oily even if the ratio was right.
• Don’t skip the empty-pepper roast. Blanching in boiling water soaks the walls, so they steam from the inside and the filling sits in a puddle. Fifteen minutes at 400°F drives that moisture off and gives you a pepper that’s already starting to soften, which means the final bake can be shorter and the cheese doesn’t burn waiting for the walls to give.
• Drain the canned tomatoes well and press them in a sieve for a few seconds so you’re adding tomato, not tomato water. If the filling looks soupy in the skillet after you stir in the rice, keep it on the heat another two minutes until a spoon dragged through the center leaves a trail.
• Buy peppers that are about the same height and can stand on their own. A mix of squat and tall peppers means some overcook while others stay crunchy. If one wobbles, shave a thin slice off the bottom and stop before you cut a hole, or the filling will leak into the dish.
• Ground turkey works if you add a tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet with the meat, because turkey has less fat and otherwise tastes dry. Italian sausage mixed half and half with the beef is another swap when you want more spice without changing the rest of the method.
• Stir some of the cheese into the filling, not only on top. The cheese inside binds the rice and beef so a forkful holds together, and the layer on top still browns. Pre-shredded mozzarella works in a pinch, though a block you grate yourself melts cleaner because it isn’t coated in starch.
• Green peppers taste more grassy and hold their shape a little better under heat. Red, yellow, and orange peppers are sweeter and soften faster, so check them a few minutes earlier. If you mix colors in one pan, pull the red ones as soon as the walls look collapsed, even if the green ones need another few minutes.

Storage

Store leftover stuffed peppers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Reheat them in a 350°F (175°C) oven, covered with foil for about 15 minutes, then uncovered for 5 minutes so the cheese melts again. The microwave works in a pinch but turns the pepper walls rubbery, so use it only if you’re eating one for lunch. To freeze, bake the peppers fully, cool them, wrap each one tightly, and freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat from frozen at 350°F, covered, until the center is hot, which usually takes 30 to 40 minutes. According to the USDA leftover food safety guidance, cooked leftovers keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge, so don’t stretch that window even if they still smell fine.

FAQ

Can you freeze this stuffed peppers recipe?

Bake the peppers first, cool them completely, then wrap each one in plastic wrap and foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat from frozen in a 350°F oven, covered, until the filling is hot in the center. Freezing them raw makes the pepper walls collapse into mush when they thaw, so skip that shortcut and freeze them after the first bake.

Do you cook the rice before stuffing the peppers?

The rice needs to be fully cooked and cooled before it goes into the filling. Uncooked rice doesn’t get enough liquid inside a stuffed pepper to soften, and you end up with hard grains in the middle. One cup of cooked rice is about ⅓ cup dry, so a leftover pint container from takeout is plenty.

Can I use ground turkey instead of beef?

Ground turkey works if you add a tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet when you brown it, because it has less fat than 85% beef and otherwise tastes dry. Season it the same way, and taste the filling before you stuff the peppers, since turkey is milder and often needs an extra pinch of salt. Italian sausage mixed half and half with turkey is another option if you want more flavor without going back to beef.

How do I know stuffed peppers are done?

The pepper walls should look wrinkled and glossy, and a knife should slide through the side with little resistance. The cheese on top should be melted and browned in a few spots, and you should see the filling bubbling at the edges. If the cheese is brown but the pepper still feels rigid, cover the dish with foil and give it another 8 to 10 minutes.

This cornbread recipe is the one I reach for when a pot of chili needs something to soak up the last of the sauce. It walks the middle of the sweet-versus-savory debate: a touch of honey and sugar for flavor, buttermilk for moisture and tang, and enough cornmeal to taste like corn instead of cake. The edges turn crisp and dark in a hot pan, while the middle stays soft and slightly sweet.

I’ve tested this batter several times, because the ratio of cornmeal to flour decides everything about the texture. Too much cornmeal and it crumbles into dust the moment you cut it; too much flour and it turns into yellow cake. Buttermilk does the other half of the work, since its acidity tenderizes the crumb and keeps the bread moist for days instead of hours. If you’ve made my homemade chili or my beef stew, you know both deserve a warm side that can stand up to broth.

This one comes together in a single bowl in about ten minutes of hands-on time, then bakes while you finish the rest of the meal. It works beside sloppy joes, under a pile of comfort food like my creamy mashed potatoes, or with a smear of butter and honey on a quiet morning. You can dress it up with cheddar and jalapeños or keep it plain, and both versions earn a permanent spot on my fall table.

Ingredients

• 1½ cups (180 g) yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1¾ cups (420 ml) buttermilk
• ¼ cup (60 g) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
• 2 tablespoons honey

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep the pan: Set the oven rack in the middle position and preheat to 400°F (200°C). Generously butter a 9-inch square baking pan, or place a 10-inch cast iron skillet in the oven to heat while you mix. If using the skillet, the butter will melt and sizzle while the batter comes together, which is exactly what you want for a crisp crust.
2. Whisk the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar together until evenly combined. Break up any clumps in the cornmeal with the back of the whisk, since a lump of dry cornmeal in the finished bread is the one thing you can’t fix after baking.
3. Mix the wet ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until the yolks break, then whisk in the buttermilk, melted butter, and honey until smooth. The honey will sink and stick to the bowl, so scrape the whisk against the sides and get it all into the mixture rather than leaving a sweet puddle behind.
4. Combine the batter: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir with a spatula until just combined, about 15 strokes. A few small lumps are fine and bake out, but overmixing develops gluten in the flour and turns the crumb tough and chewy, so stop the moment you see no more streaks of dry flour.
5. Bake until golden: Pour the batter into the prepared pan, or carefully swirl the melted butter around the hot skillet before adding the batter so it sizzles as it lands. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the top is deep golden brown, the edges pull away from the sides, and a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean. Let it cool 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Tips for the Best Moist Cornbread with Buttermilk and Honey

• Stop mixing at about 15 strokes. Gluten develops fast in the flour, and an overmixed cornbread comes out tough and rubbery instead of tender. A few small lumps in the batter are fine and disappear during baking.
• If you’re out of buttermilk, put 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar in a liquid measuring cup, add whole milk to reach 1¾ cups, and let it sit for 5 minutes. The acid does the same tenderizing job as real buttermilk, and the recipe comes out identical.
• For the crispiest crust, bake in a 10-inch cast iron skillet instead of a pan. Melt the butter in the skillet in the hot oven, swirl it to coat the sides, then pour in the batter. The hot fat gives you that dark, crunchy edge that a glass or metal pan simply can’t match.
• If your cornbread keeps crumbling when you slice it, the ratio is off: cut the cornmeal back to 1¼ cups and bump the flour up to 1¼ cups next time. Cornmeal has no gluten to hold the crumb together, so flour is the lever that fixes a dusty, falling-apart slice.
• For a spicy or cheesy version, fold in ½ cup of shredded cheddar and one chopped jalapeño with the wet ingredients. A cup of corn kernels or a handful of crumbled cooked bacon work just as well and keep the batter’s moisture intact.
• Keep the sugar and honey light if the cornbread is going next to savory food, since chili and stew want a bread that tastes like corn first. When I want a sweeter, dessert-leaning version, I add an extra tablespoon of honey and skip the jalapeño entirely.

Storage

Cool leftover cornbread completely, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, wrap the whole slab in plastic wrap and then foil, and freeze it for up to 3 months; thaw it overnight in the fridge, then warm it in a 300°F oven for 10 minutes to bring back the crisp edge. The microwave works for a quick single square, but the oven keeps the crust from turning soggy, which is the only real way leftover cornbread goes wrong. For safe reheating and handling guidance, see the USDA leftovers and food safety guidelines.

FAQ

Why does my cornbread crumble?

Crumbly cornbread usually means the ratio leans too far toward cornmeal, the batter was overmixed, or the bread baked a few minutes too long and dried out. Cornmeal has no gluten, so flour is what holds the slices together. Cut the cornmeal back to 1¼ cups, add an extra ¼ cup of flour, and pull the bread from the oven the moment a toothpick comes out clean.

Can I make cornbread without buttermilk?

You can, and the swap takes two minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup, top it up with whole milk to 1¾ cups, and let it sit for 5 minutes. The milk thickens slightly and turns tangy, which is close enough to buttermilk for this recipe to work exactly the same. Whole milk gives the moistest crumb, but any milk you have will do in a pinch.

How do you freeze cornbread?

Cornbread freezes well for up to 3 months. Cool it completely, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then foil so it doesn’t pick up freezer smells, and freeze the whole slab or individual squares. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then reheat in a 300°F oven for about 10 minutes to crisp the crust back up before serving.

How do I know when cornbread is done?

Bake it at 400°F for 20 to 25 minutes, then test with a toothpick: it should come out clean or with just a few crumbs, never wet batter. The top will be deep golden brown and the edges will pull away from the sides of the pan. If the toothpick comes out wet, give it 3 more minutes and test again.