If you're looking for a super flavorful keto meal, don't overlook this skillet dinner bursting with flavor. Steak and shrimp lovers rejoice, this meal will not disappoint, and it's ready fast, with few dishes!
If you like steak or shrimp, be sure to check out some of our favorite recipes, like this air fryer ribeye, this spicy shrimp bisque, this surf or turf, or this sirloin steak salad with roasted veggies. You may also like this butter poached lobster or lobster pasta!
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❤️Why you'll love this
- One of our most popular recipes - This recipe has over 65 five-star reviews for a reason! People absolutely love it.
- Creamy, rich, and flavorful - This skillet is absolutely packed full of flavor and seasonings. It's a decadent meal for any occasion.
- Perfect for special occasions - Speaking of any occasion, many of our readers say they enjoy this recipe for holiday meals or get-togethers with loved ones.
- Naturally gluten free, low carb and protein packed - All of the ingredients included in this list are not only pantry and kitchen staples, but they're also naturally keto friendly, gluten free, and packed with protein!
🥩Ingredients
You can find full ingredient quantities and nutritional information in the recipe card.
✏️Ingredient notes
- Steak - You can use your favorite cut of steak, it really doesn't matter, and it's more of a preference thing. We generally use sirloin or ribeye, since those are two of our favorite cuts.
- Shrimp - We love big, juicy shrimp for this. They should be peeled and deveined, but it's up to you if you want to leave the tails on or not.
- Olive oil - For searing the steak at a high heat. You could use avocado oil instead if you prefer.
- Unsalted butter - This is the base of the sauce, that makes it so luscious and creamy!
- Salt & pepper - Pretty standard, make sure you season your steak and shrimp very well before skillet them off in your cast iron skillet.
- Seasonings - You can season your sauce and shrimp however you'd like, but our favorites are smoked paprika and some red pepper flakes for a little heat.
- Onion and garlic - These two are the base of any great dish, in our opinion. Feel free to substitute with onion and garlic powder if you prefer, but it's definitely going to taste the best with fresh!
- Fresh spinach - Just to add some greenery to this dish! We like to chop ours up a little bit beforehand.
- Lemon juice and zest - This is another one of our favorite ingredients. Lemon juice and zest add some acidity, sweetness and a ton of flavor. Don't underestimate these two!
- Broth or white wine - To thin the sauce, and add flavor. You can go with anything you see fit here, beef, seafood, chicken or even vegetable broth. If you're into it, use some dry white wine instead!
- Heavy whipping cream - This is where the creamy element of this sauce comes in! You will want to use heavy whipping cream so that it thickens up the best.
- Parmesan cheese - You will definitely want to use freshly grated parmesan cheese for this. Pre-shredded cheese can be convenient but parmesan especially does not melt well if pre-shredded. You want the parmesan to melt as best as it can to create the sauce.
- Parsley & parmesan cheese for garnish - When it's time to serve, add some fresh parsley and parmesan cheese flakes on top if you want.
Be sure to check out our massive Costco keto shopping list if you're looking for the most affordable way to get groceries to make this meal!
📖Instructions
🔪Prep work
- Mince the garlic and dice the onion.
- Zest the lemon.
- Freshly grate parmesan cheese.
- Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the tails off or on (your choice).
- Allow the steak to sit out at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
- Heat a large skillet (at least 10.25", we prefer a 12" skillet) over medium high heat for about 10 minutes before beginning to get the skillet really hot.
- Dry steak off with paper towel to remove any excess moisture.
🥩Cook the steak
Season the steak liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Make sure to reserve some salt and pepper for the other components of the dish.
Once the skillet is very hot, add olive oil, then add the steaks to the skillet. Cook about 3-4 minutes on each side (depending on the thickness of your steaks), until a nice crust forms and the steaks are cooked to your liking.
We like our steaks medium-rare. Once cooked, set aside to rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing into the steak.
🍤Cook the shrimp
In a mixing bowl, combine shrimp with some salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and smoked paprika.
Add some of the butter to the skillet, then add the shrimp, cooking in batches to avoid overcrowding the shrimp. Sear for 1-2 minutes on each side until shrimp are cooked through and no longer translucent. Once cooked, remove from the skillet and set aside.
🧀Make the cream sauce
Add remaining butter to the skillet, along with diced onion and a pinch of salt. Cook until onion is brown and caramelized, then add in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add in the spinach with more salt, moving around the pan often to wilt.
After the spinach has wilted, add in lemon juice, zest, and broth.
Stir in the heavy cream, along with the parmesan cheese in batches, stirring constantly until completely melted and a sauce forms. Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference.
✨Assemble & garnish
Add the steak and shrimp back to the skillet, top with parsley, and parmesan cheese.
Surf and turf represents proteins of both the land, and the sea served together as one dish! Generally speaking, turf is often represented by red meat like steak and it's "the land".
The surf portion is seafood, generally, lobster, shrimp, prawns, or crab legs and it represents "the sea". This dish starting gaining traction in fancy restaurants back in the 1960's. Surf and turf (like this skillet) represent two gourmet tastes together.
🍽What to serve with steak and shrimp
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🥣Storage
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat gently in the microwave, on the stovetop, or at a lower heat (350°F) in the oven. Keep in mind that the steak and shrimp will cook further every time you reheat it.
🌟Leave a review!
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📖 Recipe
Steak and Seafood Skillet with Creamy Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1.5 pounds steak (use any cut you like, we used ribeye)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided (or to taste, add slowly)
- 1.5 teaspoons course ground black pepper, divided (to taste)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika (to taste)
- 1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 ounces fresh spinach
- 1 whole lemon, juice and zest
- ½ cup broth of choice (could use beef, seafood, chicken, vegetable or even dry white wine!)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 ounces parmesan cheese, freshly grated (do not use pre-shredded parmesan cheese)
- Parsley and parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet (at least 10.25") over medium high heat. Season your steaks liberally with salt and pepper. Once hot, add in olive oil, then add the steaks to the skillet. Cook about 3-4 minutes on each side, until a nice crust forms and the steaks are cooked to your liking. Once cooked, set aside to rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing into the steak.
- Add in some of the butter to the pan, and season the shrimp with salt, pepper, smoked paprika and some red pepper flakes if desired. Add the shrimp to the skillet, and cook 1-2 minutes on each side. Once shrimp are cooked through, remove from the skillet and set aside.
- Add remaining butter to the skillet, along with diced onion and a pinch of salt. Cook until onion is brown and caramelized, then add in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add in the chopped spinach and cook until wilted.After spinach has wilted, add in lemon juice, zest and broth. Simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the heavy cream, along with the parmesan cheese in batches, stirring constantly until completely melted and a sauce forms. Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference.
- Add the steak and shrimp back to the skillet, top with parsley and parmesan cheese.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. We don't recommend freezing this.
Notes
- Make sure to freshly grate your parmesan cheese. Pre-shredded will not melt properly and your sauce will become clumpy instead of a rich, creamy texture.
- To reheat, gently simmer in a skillet.
- Season to taste with salt & pepper. Be aware that adding parmesan to your sauce will introduce salt into your dish, so take care not to over salt the sauce before incorporating the cheese.
- Cook time on both your steak and shrimp will depend a lot on the size and thickness of them. For the steak, you should also cook it to your preference. We prefer our steak cooked medium-rare.
Nutrition
These nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy and are only estimates. We cannot guarantee the accuracy.
These original photos deserved a spot on here too!
Yvette says
This is an absolutely awesome dinner. The sauce is unbelievable. I completely enjoyed it.
Briana says
Thank you so much Yvette! We're so happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
Tiana says
Hi, I am a new subscriber, I planned to try one of your recipes soon.
It’d be great if you can recommend the flours that we can use for diabetics and how to substitute it. For examples, what we can do with buckwheat flour and how to substitute it for certain types of flour as well as measurements.
Thank you very much. I wish you all the best.
Briana says
Hi Tiana, thanks for joining us! All of the recipes you will find on this website are completely diabetic friendly. We eat a low carb/low sugar lifestyle, and create recipes almost exclusively with almond flour, and coconut flour. We haven't actually tried buckwheat flour ourselves, so unfortunately we can't make any recommends on how to use it. Hope you find some recipes you love on our site!
Anita says
I made this for the first time this evening it was a very easy recipe to make. My family enjoyed it it was delicious. I served this with the turnip mash very good combination
Briana says
Hey Anita, that is wonderful! We're so glad you and your family enjoyed this recipe along with the mashed turnips. Thanks so much for being here.
Daniel says
Im a new cook & looking to increase the complexity of my cooking & this recipe fit the bill. Slightly more demanding but not terrifyingly complicated & friggin DELICIOUS in the end. A little rich so I can't make this an everyday thing, but as an early celebration dinner? Perfect. Thanks for sharing it. I very much enjoyed making it.
Briana says
Hey Daniel, this is so great to hear! We're so glad you enjoyed it! We hope you try out some of our other recipes too. 🙂
Judy Logan says
Fabulous! Got rave reviews at a dinner party last night. Everyone asked for the recipe.
Briana says
That is so awesome to hear! Thanks so much for giving our recipe a special place on your dinner table. 🙂
Vince Avery says
This recipe looks delicious. Will try it tonight for my family. Thanks
Briana says
Wonderful! We know you'll love it Vince!
Diane says
Sounds delious. Can’t wait to try out.
Briana says
Thanks so much Diane! We know you're going to love it. 🙂 Thanks for being here!
Darren says
Made it for dinner tonight. Absolutely delicious!!
Briana says
That is so wonderful Darren! Thank you so much. Thanks for being here. 🙂
Pitts says
Just word cannot do justice
Briana says
This is the best comment ever!! Thank you so much Barbara, we're so glad you enjoyed!
Jasmine says
Made this (on top of a bed of Rice) for Easter dinner and the Family LOVED IT!
Briana says
Hey Jasmine, that is awesome! We're so glad our recipe could join your Easter dinner table. So happy you enjoyed it!
Donna Bare says
This dish is a top of the list Dish for sure. Amazing flavors throughout. 💗
Briana says
Donna, thank you so much for your sweet comment. It really means the world to us. We're so glad you're here! 🙂
John says
This looks incredible! Question, is it possible to replace the spinach with Swiss Chard or Kale?
This looks so delicious, I can't wait to try it out. Will let you know how it goes.
Briana says
Hey John!
Thanks for the comment. You can certainly do that, absolutely! Let us know how it goes. 🙂
Bobbie says
I saw this recipe and can’t wait to try it but looks fabulous.
Karen says
4stars because I have not made it yet..but this has everything We love, cream, shrimp and steak! Spinach and parm! My husband actually found this recipe and sent to me knowing I was going grocery shopping. There is no way I can mess this up and looking forward to making it this week. Then I can give 5stars! Thank You!
Briana says
Hi Karen, Thanks for the note! Make sure to let us know what you think about this recipe, it's a fan favorite!
Pam says
This recipe looks wonderful! I sent it to two people n I’m using it myself🥂
Briana says
Hey Pam! Thanks so much, we really hope you enjoy it, and thank you so much for sharing it with your friends! 🙂
Ivonne says
Easy and delicious
Chamere Orr says
Thank you Ivonne! It's one of our go-to's and it was a lot of fun to photograph!
Jennifer McClain says
I made this today and it was awesome! I actually halved the recipe, since it's just the two of us, but it was still great. The only change I made was adding some mushrooms when I was browning the onions. It was a very good addition!
Briana says
Jennifer, thank you so much for the review! We love that you improvised to fit your needs, that's so perfect! Also - great idea with the mushrooms, it's one of our favorite veggies. Thanks for trying this! 🙂
Cynthia says
Sounded scrumptious until I got to the Chicken Broth. Need a replacement for that - I'm allergic to Chicken.
Briana says
It's still scrumptious without the chicken broth, don't worry. 😉 I've updated the recipe instructions (this was a bit of an oversight on my part, as you can imagine, running a food blog is a lot of work!) but you could use beef broth, seafood stock, vegetable broth, or even dry white wine! I hope you give it a try.
Tee says
Just curious as to why everyone wimps out and uses chicken broth in a non-chicken meal? Why not go for a beef, seafood, or here’s a unique thought-vegetable-broth instead?
Especially for those of us who are allergic to chicken! You’d be amazed at how much restaurant food is off the table for those of us that are, because this.
I myself switch it out, but it would be nice to see the chef be proactive and prepared, rather than going for the old standby.
Besides, wouldn’t one of those 3 choices, blend more naturally?
Briana says
Hi there,
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I don’t see this so much as “wimping out”, but rather, my husband and I run this food blog from a very small apartment with limited storage. I had some chicken broth that needed to be used up in the fridge at the time, and had no other options available for us in the pantry. Really sometimes it’s as simple as that, and then I forget to make mention of this in the instructions.
You’re absolutely right though that any broth could be used here, and beef or seafood stock would be great options. Even a dry white wine if you prefer. I’ve updated the instructions to reflect this, it’s an easy swap.
As you can imagine, running a page like this is an incredible amount of work, and sometimes I slip up with the instructions. The blog post writing especially is my least favorite part, and sometimes, I miss things.
I’m not sure if you’re new here or not, but we do encourage our readers to make substitutions when necessary. This post just recently went viral, and there are a ton of new users on our site.
We’re only human and balancing a huge influx of new users, and we make a point to get to know people as best as we can. Kindness and understanding go a long way around here.
We hope you’ll give this recipe a try.
Heather says
You handled this with a lot of tact. I applaud you for this. Most people would just get upset and ignore. When looking at recipes I feel as though all people reading a recipe should be aware of the fact that they may have to substitute for their allergies. It is not up to you to know what everyone’s needs are.
Your recipe looks fantastic and I plan on using this for my dinner tonight!
Briana says
Thanks Heather! I must say, as time has gone on, I have ignored more and more rude comments. I just get tired! But once in a while, I feel the need to respond! I hope you enjoy this recipe. It sure is a hit with so many of our readers! 🙂
Dee says
Wowwww
Dee says
Comment wow was for Tee
Briana says
Hey Dee, we figured that. Thanks for the support and no worries! 🙂
Carla S says
It was yummy
Briana says
Wonderful to hear Carla! Thanks so much for giving it a try! 🙂
Dawn says
This is so good! I followed the recipe as is. Super easy!
Briana says
Dawn, thank you so much for your review! We really appreciate it. 🙂 So glad you love it as well, it's one of our favorites!