How To Make Olive Garden Shrimp Scampi

homemade Olive Garden Sicilian Scampi appetizer

overhead view of homemade Olive Garden Sicilian Scampi

Olive Garden Sicilian Scampi is a delicious appetizer of shrimp with creamy, cheesy garlic white wine sauce on toasted bread. Topped with black olives, tomatoes, and green onion, this dish is a feast of flavors.

homemade Olive Garden Sicilian Scampi on a plate

Originally Olive Garden Sicilian Scampi was served as an appetizer. We also suggest serving this over pasta instead of bread.

While you can no longer find this decadent appetizer on Olive Garden's menu, long-time guests of the chain may still fondly remember this remarkable Olive Garden bruschetta recipe. After all, who can forget the delectable taste of shrimp drenched in a wonderfully creamy, cheesy sauce, topped with tangy tomatoes, briny olives, and served on top of a freshly toasted slice of Italian bread. If you still have dreams of the last time you had this Sicilian scampi, you are in luck. You can now make this Olive Garden shrimp scampi appetizer at home. Although this isn't the type of recipe you will want to throw together at the last minute, for those special occasions when you want to serve something that is guaranteed to impress, this is unquestionably going to get the job done.

Mastering the Mornay Sauce

The creaminess in this dish depends on the quality of the cheese sauce or more traditionally referred to as a Mornay sauce. Proper sauce-making technique means the differences between a smooth, creamy consistency and a lumpy sauce tasting of uncooked flour.

After cooking the shrimp entirely, remove them from the pan, but leave behind any remaining liquid and aromatics.
If there is a fair bit of liquid left pan, you can sprinkle a tablespoon of flour directly over the surface and give it a good stir. If little liquid remains in the pan, create a paste by mixing the flour with a tablespoon of water and adding it to the pan. Doing this will help prevent the flour from darkening as the raw flour flavor cooks out.
When you start to smell an aroma like fresh bread, add half a cup of heavy cream. You can use half-and-half or even whole milk if you prefer.
Continue to stir until the sauce thickens slightly.
Reduce the heat to low and add the finely shredded cheese a bit at a time while continually stirring.
When all the cheese melts, remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

Tips for Making and Serving Olive Garden Shrimp Scampi Appetizer

Add wine and lemon juice to the pan when it is off the heat. Adding liquids with high acidity levels to a hot pan is dangerous and can cause splatter. To reduce the chance of getting burned, never add wine or lemon juice while the pan is over the heat. When you return the pan to the stove, make sure to adjust the heat to medium-low before adding the shrimp.
Use fresh Italian bread.Cut the bread approximately a quarter-inch thick and toast until the outside crisps up. The softer bread in the center of the toast will act as a sponge to soak up any excess Mornay sauce. Garlic lovers can rub a raw garlic clove on the cut sides of the bread for more flavor.
Select plum or grape tomatoes.You may want to include various red, yellow, and purple tomatoes for a more attractive-looking bruschetta. Scrap out all the pulp and seeds from all the tomatoes before using them in this recipe to avoid diluting the Mornay sauce.

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Ingredients

Here's a list of what you need:

Shrimp
Olive oil
Onion
Garlic
Dry white wine
All-purpose flour
Water
Fresh lemon juice
Garlic salt
Heavy cream
Shredded asiago cheese
Shredded mozzarella
Shredded Romano cheese
Black olives
Green onion
Tomato
Italian bread
Crushed red pepper

Olive Garden Sicilian Scampi ingredients

How to Make Olive Garden Sicilian Scampi

Slice and toast Italian bread.
Heat olive oil in a saucepan. Add wine and lemon juice.
When olive oil starts to boil, place shrimp in the pan and cook on medium heat until shrimp curls. Remove shrimp but leave wine mixture in the pan.
In the same saucepan, add onion, minced garlic, and garlic salt. Sauté until the onions are transparent.
Mix flour with water to make a paste.
Add flour paste to the saucepan. Stir and cook until sauce is thick.
Pour cream in the sauce, stir, then add the cheeses one at a time, whisking constantly after each addition. The sauce should be a medium-thick consistency and smooth. If the sauce is too thick, add a little water and whisk. Remove from heat.
Place toasted Italian bread slices on a serving tray in an X.
Arrange shrimp in the middle of the bread.
Spoon sauce in the middle of the bread, covering the shrimp.
Sprinkle with sliced green onions, olives, tomatoes, and crushed red pepper on top. Sprinkle more Parmesan cheese on top if you would like.

homemade Olive Garden Sicilian Scampi appetizer on a plate

More Olive Garden Copycat Recipes

Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara
Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Olive Garden Italian Dressing Recipe
Chicken Margherita
Olive Garden Salad Recipe
Shrimp Alfredo Pasta Recipe
Shrimp Parmesan
Tuscany Soup

Favorite Seafood Appetizer Recipes

Clam Dip
Jumbo Shrimp Alexander
Ruth Chris Spicy Shrimp
Scallops Wrapped in Bacon
Seafood Dip

You can find more easy appetizer recipes and the best Olive Garden recipes at CopyKat.com, the web's most popular destination for copycat restaurant recipes.

homemade Olive Garden Sicilian Scampi on a plate

6 shrimp
1/8 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon onion finely diced
1/2 teaspoon garlic minced
1/2 cup dry white wine Chablis
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup water if needed
1/2 cup asiago cheese + 1 tablespoon finely shredded
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese finely shredded
1 tablespoon Romano cheese finely shredded
4 black olives sliced
1 tablespoon green onion sliced
1/4 cup diced tomato
4 Slices Italian bread (4-6" long, 1 and 1/2" thick, cut diagonally), lightly toasted
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Heat olive oil in a saucepan; add wine and lemon juice. When olive oil starts to boil, place shrimp in the pan and cook on medium heat until shrimp curls. Remove shrimp but leave wine mixture in the pan.
In the same saucepan, add onion, minced garlic, and garlic salt. Saute until the onions are transparent.
Mix 1 tablespoon flour with 1 tablespoon water to make a paste.
Add flour paste to the saucepan. Stir and cook until sauce is thick.
Pour cream in the sauce, stir, then add the cheeses one at a time, whisking constantly after each addition. The sauce should be a medium-thick consistency and smooth. If the sauce is too thick, add a little water and whisk. Remove from heat.

PRESENTATION:

Place Italian bread on a serving tray in an X.
Arrange shrimp in the middle of the bread.
Spoon sauce in the middle of the bread, covering the shrimp.
Sprinkle with sliced green onions, olives, tomatoes, and crushed red pepper on top. Sprinkle more Parmesan cheese on top if you would like.

I recreate your favorite restaurant recipes, so you can prepare these dishes at home. I help you cook dinner, and serve up dishes you know your family will love. You can find most of the ingredients for all of the recipes in your local grocery store.

Stephanie is the author of CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home, and CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home 2.

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