Garlic shrimp are by far my favorite tapas of all time! Known as gambas al ajillo in Spain, this dish consists of delicious shrimp cooked in olive oil with tons of garlic and served with crusty bread for dipping.

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I’ll never go to a Spanish tapas bar without ordering this dish. It’s also delicious with pan con tomate, crusty bread topped with fresh garlic and tomato.

For a delicious cocktail to go along with this, try My Traditional Red Sangria Recipe!

For another delicious Spanish dish, try out my post How to Make Paella!

What You Will Need

Olive Oil

Shrimp

Garlic

Paprika

Red Pepper Flakes

Garlic Powder

Kosher Salt

Crusty Bread (for serving)

I like to use extra large shrimp (26-30 count) for this recipe. Larger than that and they aren’t that perfect bite size that tapas are meant to be.

It’s really important to use a high quality extra virgin olive oil. It will make all the difference in this dish!

You’re also going to want a really delicious crust bread to soak up every little bit of this delicious sauce.

How to Make Garlic Shrimp

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Pour olive oil into an oven safe baking dish. Add whole cloves of garlic.

Place in oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until garlic cloves are light brown and sizzling.

In a small mixing bowl, combine shrimp, paprika, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and salt.

Remove baking dish from oven and carefully stir in seasoned shrimp.

Return baking dish to the oven and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until shrimp are pink and no longer transparent.

To serve, sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley. Serve with lemon wedges and alongside crusty bread that can be used for dipping.