Garlic Butter Shrimp and Steak

This quick garlic butter shrimp and steak skillet delivers tender, juicy steak bites and plump shrimp bathed in a rich garlic butter sauce in under 20 minutes.

Why This Recipe Works:

• Sequential Searing: Cooking the steak first renders delicious fat to cook the shrimp, while preventing overcrowding and steaming.
• High Thermal Mass: Using a heavy cast-iron skillet retains intense heat, ensuring a rapid, beautiful crust on the steak bites.
• Emulsified Butter Sauce: Adding cold butter at the very end off the heat creates a glossy, clings-to-everything garlic sauce that won't separate.

I still remember the exact Tuesday evening I ruined a beautiful strip steak and a pound of wild-caught shrimp because I tried to cook them in the same pan at the exact same time.

It was a disaster.

My skillet was overcrowded, the temperature plummeted, and the seafood turned into rubbery little erasers while the beef remained stubbornly grey and boiled-looking.

I actually cried over that wasted twenty-dollar strip steak, which felt a tad clumsy at the time, but it forced me to finally understand the physics of thermal mass and how overcrowding a pan ruins dinner. This brand of cheap, thin non-stick skillet I used back then failed every single test because it simply could not hold heat.

Bear with me here on this.

The science is simple: beef and shrimp have completely different protein structures, meaning they require vastly different cooking times to reach absolute perfection without turning into leather.

Tossing them in together steam-cooks the beef, completely blocking the Maillard reaction.

Here is the simple fix.

We sear the steak bites first in a screaming-hot skillet, fish them out (after a quick, satisfying tap of the tongs against your hip), and then use those glorious browned bits to flash-cook the shrimp before tossing everything back together.

This sequential cooking method ensures both proteins hit their peak textures without a single second of compromise.

It is absolutely perfect every single time.

If you love this flavor profile, you should also check out our Garlic Butter Steak Bites for another quick weeknight win.

Garlic Butter Shrimp and Steak

• Publisher Storied Skillet
• Cuisine American
• Category Dinner, Surf and Turf
• Prep Time 10 mins
• Cook Time 10 mins
• Servings 4
• Calories 420 calories
• Rating 4.8 5819
• Tags garlic butter shrimp, steak bites, surf and turf, quick dinner, skillet steak

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs sirloin steak, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1.5 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 6 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. Pat the steak cubes completely dry with paper towels and season generously with Diamond Crystal kosher salt and black pepper.
2. Heat avocado oil in a large cast-iron skillet over high heat until it just begins to smoke.
3. Add the steak bites in a single layer, leaving space between them, and sear without moving for 2 minutes to develop a deep crust, then flip and cook for 1 more minute before transferring to a plate.
4. Lower the heat to medium-high, melt 1 tablespoon of butter, and add the shrimp to the skillet, searing for 1 to 2 minutes per side until pink and opaque, then transfer to the plate with the steak.
5. Reduce heat to medium, add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and minced garlic, cooking for 1 minute until fragrant while scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
6. Stir in the lemon juice and fresh parsley, then return the steak and shrimp to the skillet, tossing to coat them beautifully in the garlic butter sauce before serving immediately.

Notes

• Salt Conversion: We use Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If you are using Morton's kosher salt or fine table salt, cut the volume in half (use 3/4 teaspoon) to avoid over-salting your beef.
• The Science of Searing: Avocado oil is selected for its exceptionally high smoke point (520°F). Butter contains milk solids that burn at high heat, so we sear the steak in oil first and save the butter for the low-heat finish.
• Garlic Workflow Warning: Do not add the minced garlic to a smoking-hot pan. It will burn in seconds, turning bitter and ruining the sauce; always lower the heat and let the pan cool slightly before tossing it in.
• Reheating Realities: After a day in the fridge, the butter will solidify. Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat with a splash of water to re-emulsify the sauce without overcooking the shrimp.

What to Serve with Garlic Butter Shrimp and Steak

This surf and turf skillet is a complete showstopper on its own, but pairing it with the right sides turns it into an unforgettable feast.

• Pair it with our ultra-velvety Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes to soak up all that glorious pan sauce.
• Add some sweetness with Honey Garlic Butter Roasted Carrots for a beautifully caramelized side.
• Keep it fresh and green with our simple Roasted Asparagus and Carrots.
• If you are a seafood purist, you might also enjoy our Lemon Butter Salmon & Shrimp for your next meal prep.
• Serve over a bed of hot, fluffy jasmine rice to catch every drop of garlic butter.
• Accompany with a warm, crusty sourdough baguette for dipping directly into the skillet.

How to Store and Reheat Leftover Surf and Turf

Let's be completely honest: seafood and steak are always best enjoyed immediately fresh from the skillet. If you do end up with leftovers, store them in an airtight glass container in the fridge for up to two days.

Do not use the microwave here.

The intense, uneven heat of a microwave will turn your beautiful shrimp into rubber and completely overcook the steak.

Instead, melt a tiny pat of butter in a skillet over low heat, add your leftovers along with a tablespoon of water, and cover with a lid for three minutes until just warmed through.

Easy Ingredient Substitutes for This Skillet

If you need to swap things out based on what is in your fridge, here are the best tested alternatives:

1. The Beef: If you don't have sirloin, ribeye or New York strip work beautifully, though you may need to trim excess fat.
2. The Seafood: Sea scallops make an incredible substitute for shrimp; just sear them for 2 minutes on the first side to get a gorgeous crust.
3. The Fat: Ghee (clarified butter) can replace both the avocado oil and butter, offering a high smoke point with a rich, nutty flavor.
4. The Acid: Dry white wine (like Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc) can be used instead of lemon juice to deglaze the pan.

I hope this quick skillet brings as much joy to your dinner table as it does to mine, especially on those chaotic weeknights when you still want something special.

Happy cooking, my friends!