Shrimp Provencal is the dish that takes me straight back to summers in France. Shrimp nestled in a loose, brothy sauce of crushed tomatoes, white wine, herbes de Provence, shallots, and garlic. Then finished with fresh basil and parsley, and served with grilled baguette for mopping up every last drop of that sauce. This is French coastal cooking at its most simple and its most satisfying.
A Quick Look at the Recipe
✅ Recipe Name: Shrimp Provençal
🕒 Ready In: ~ 25 minutes
👪 Serves: 4 servings
🍽 Calories: ~ 294 per serving (estimated)
🥣 Main Ingredients: Shrimp, shallots, garlic, crushed tomatoes, basil, parsley, herbes de Provence.
👌 Difficulty: Easy
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One of my fondest memories is when I would travel from Paris to Provence with my aunt, and the food there, the tomatoes, the herbs, the olive oil, the garlic, the way everything tasted like sunshine, is permanently embedded in how I cook.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
The sauce is loose and brothy and completely addictive. Not thick, not heavy. The kind of sauce that makes you pick up the bowl and drink the rest when nobody is looking.
Shrimp cook in 4 minutes. The sauce does all the work. The shrimp just show up at the end and finish the job.
Grilled baguette is non-negotiable. Olive oil, hot pan, golden on both sides. It is the only correct vessel for that broth.
Shrimp Provençal Video
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Ingredient Notes
Jumbo Shrimp: Patting the shrimp dry is the step that actually matters here. Wet shrimp release moisture into the sauce the moment they go in and dilute the concentrated flavors you spent 15 minutes building. Dry shrimp go into the sauce clean and absorb it rather than watering it down. If you love shrimp in a Mediterranean context, my Sheet Pan Garlic Shrimp uses the same jumbo shrimp approach and is equally fast and equally good.
Herbes de Provence: Herbes de Provence is a dried herb blend of thyme, rosemary, savory, marjoram, and often lavender that is the defining fragrance of Provençal cooking. It is completely different from Italian seasoning and not interchangeable. Look for it at most grocery stores or specialty food shops. If you want to understand more about Mediterranean and French herbs, my Mediterranean herbs and spices guide covers everything you need.
Shallots: Shallots are more delicate and slightly sweeter than regular onion and are the base of so much classic French cooking. Soft, sweet, barely golden shallots are the foundation of the sauce.
Dry White Wine: The wine adds acidity and depth, making the sauce taste as if it had cooked much longer than it did. Use something you would actually drink. The flavor concentrates as it cooks. If you want to skip the wine, add ¼ cup vegetable broth and 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar.
Crushed Tomatoes: Crushed tomatoes give you a loose, slightly textured sauce. As the sauce cooks, the tomatoes caramelize slightly and their natural sweetness develops. Do not rush this part of the cooking. Those 10 to 15 minutes are when the sauce becomes....well.... the sauce haha.
Fresh Basil and Parsley: The basil adds a sweet, herby note, and the parsley adds a grassy, clean finish.
Pro tip
Perfect Bread For Dipping
Grill the baguette in olive oil rather than butter. Olive oil gives you a crispier, more golden result and keeps the dish feeling properly Provençal rather than just a generic herby shrimp situation. Season the cut side of the baguette with a tiny pinch of salt after grilling.
Substitutions & Variations
No white wine? A quarter cup of vegetable broth and a teaspoon of white wine vinegar or a squeeze of lemon juice will get you close. The sauce will be slightly less complex but still very good. The acidity is what the wine is adding and any acid will help.
No herbes de Provence? A mix of dried thyme, dried rosemary, and dried marjoram in equal parts gets you most of the way there. Avoid substituting Italian seasoning as the flavor profile is genuinely different and the dish will taste Italian rather than French.
No shrimp? Sea scallops work beautifully in the same sauce with the same brothy treatment. Sear them separately first and nestle into the sauce at the very end exactly the same way. Mussels or clams steamed open directly in the sauce are also a very classic Provençal option.
Want to add more vegetables? Thinly sliced fennel added with the shallots is a very Provençal move and adds a subtle anise sweetness that is completely at home in this sauce. Artichoke hearts added with the tomatoes and wine also work beautifully.
FAQ
Yes, but reduce the cooking time. Medium shrimp will cook through in about 1 minute per side. The key is watching them rather than timing them. Pink and opaque means done, regardless of size.
Add a splash of water and stir to loosen. The sauce should be loose and brothy not thick. A little water goes a long way and does not affect the flavor.
Yes! The tomato herb sauce keeps in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop and add the shrimp fresh right before serving. Shrimp reheat very poorly and are always best cooked fresh.
More Shrimp Recipes You'll Love
- Pesto Shrimp Pasta30 Minutes
- Shrimp Scampi Orzo25 Minutes
- Peri Peri Shrimp (Shrimp Mozambique)25 Minutes
- Grilled Shrimp with Basil Lemon Sauce15 Minutes
⭐️ Recipe
Shrimp Provençal
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs large or jumbo shrimp peeled and deveined
- ½ teaspoon salt and black pepper for the shrimp
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large shallot finely diced
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup dry white wine Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio
- ¼ cup water plus more if needed
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tablespoon herbes de Provence
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves roughly chopped
- ¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
For serving
- 1 baguette sliced
- Extra virgin olive oil for grilling
Instructions
Prep the shrimp
- Pat the shrimp completely dry with paper towels on both sides. Season lightly with salt and black pepper. Set aside. Dry shrimp go into the sauce clean and absorb the broth.1.5 lbs large or jumbo shrimp, ½ tsp salt and black pepper for the shrimp
Build the sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or shallow Dutch oven over medium low heat. Add the finely diced shallot and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until completely soft and translucent but not browned.1 large shallot, ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Add the minced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly until just fragrant. Do not let it brown.5 garlic cloves
- Add the crushed tomatoes, white wine, water, bay leaf, herbes de Provence, red pepper flakes, fresh basil, and fresh parsley. Stir to combine. Cook over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes have sweetened and concentrated, the wine has reduced into the sauce, and the herbs have bloomed into the broth. The sauce should be loose and brothy rather than thick like a pasta sauce. If it looks too thick add another small splash of water. Taste and adjust salt.1 cup crushed tomatoes, ½ cup dry white wine, ¼ cup water, 1 bay leaf, ½ tbsp herbes de Provence, ½ tsp red pepper flakes, ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, ¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, Salt and pepper to taste
Cook the shrimp
- Nestle the seasoned shrimp into the sauce in a single layer. Cover the pan and cook gently for 2 minutes. Flip each shrimp and cook uncovered for another 1 to 2 minutes until pink and completely opaque. Do not walk away. Do not overcook. Pink and opaque means done.
- Remove the bay leaf. Taste the broth and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
Grill the baguette
- While the sauce cooks, slice the baguette on a diagonal into thick pieces. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a separate pan or grill pan over medium high heat. Add the baguette slices and cook for 1 to 2 minutes per side until golden and slightly crispy. Season with a tiny pinch of salt after grilling.1 baguette, Extra virgin olive oil for grilling
Serve
- Spoon the shrimp and generous amounts of that garlicky tomato white wine broth into shallow bowls. Serve immediately with the grilled baguette, and I like to serve mine with some homemade fries and broccoli.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!