Creamy Ouzo Shrimp with Spinach and Rice
These shrimp are coated in a light-colored cream sauce with wilted spinach and a small splash of ouzo. The trick is to finish the sauce without leaving the shrimp simmering until they turn rubbery. Serve them as soon as their centers are opaque and the sauce lightly coats a spoon, with rice underneath to catch the juices.
The spinach recipe from my three-shrimp video
This is a quick skillet dish of large shrimp, spinach, cream and anise-flavored ouzo, served over rice. It combines a short shrimp sear with a creamy finish rather than a long simmer. It works for a weeknight seafood dinner or a small weekend meal when you want something more aromatic than plain sautéed shrimp.
This recipe is based on the spinach version in my YouTube video, with a few adjustments since publication. The video presents three separate preparations: cognac shrimp with garlic and parsley, ouzo shrimp with spinach and cream, and a curry version with coconut milk and raisins. This post covers only the ouzo and spinach dish. Garlic, parsley, curry powder and raisins belong to the other preparations.
For the written version, I have set quantities for three servings and separated the shrimp from the pan briefly while the sauce comes together. That makes the timing easier to control on a home stove. The flavor is related to my Pernod shrimp with fine pasta, but this dish uses spinach and rice. If you want a simpler garlic-led preparation, oven-baked garlic butter shrimp takes another direction.
Ingredients for a balanced sauce
Start with 1â…“ lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined. Very large shrimp, around 13–15 per pound, are close to the size shown in the video. That gives approximately 18–20 shrimp for this quantity, though the number depends on the actual size. Buy by weight first. Smaller shrimp work too, but their searing time needs to be shorter.
Use 5 oz fresh spinach, washed and dried. Baby spinach can stay whole; larger leaves can be roughly chopped after removing coarse stems. A little surface moisture is normal, but dripping leaves add unnecessary water to the sauce. The spinach should collapse into dark green ribbons rather than remain in a wet heap.
Two tablespoons ouzo provide the anise note. Measure it before cooking rather than pouring from the bottle over the pan. Use ¾ cup heavy cream, approximately 35% milk fat, for a sauce that thickens readily with a short gentle simmer. Milk or a very light cream will not behave the same way.
The remaining skillet ingredients are 1 tablespoon neutral oil, ½ teaspoon fine salt added gradually, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. There is no flour, cheese or butter in this sauce. Keeping the list short lets the shrimp and anise remain distinct.
For the side, measure 1 cup dry long-grain white rice, 2 cups water and ½ teaspoon fine salt. The video uses a white-and-wild-rice blend; use its package instructions if you choose a blend, since some take longer than plain white rice. For a different rice preparation, my stovetop rice pilaf can be cooked separately.
Step-by-step preparation
Step 1: Prepare the shrimp and spinach
Thaw frozen shrimp in the refrigerator, then drain and pat thoroughly dry. Check the backs for any remaining vein and remove it. Keep the shrimp chilled until the pan is ready. Wash and dry the spinach, then roughly chop any large leaves. Measure the ouzo and cream now, because the skillet stage moves quickly.
Step 2: Start the rice
Put the rice, water and rice salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stir once, cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 15–20 minutes, or according to your rice package, then rest off the heat for 5 minutes before fluffing. Begin the shrimp when the rice is nearly ready. Rice can rest under its lid; finished shrimp should not wait in a hot pan.
Step 3: Sear the shrimp briefly
Heat a wide skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. Arrange the shrimp in a single layer, working in two batches if necessary. Season with about half the skillet salt. Cook roughly 45–60 seconds per side for very large shrimp, until the outsides start turning pink but the centers are not yet fully cooked. Transfer to a clean plate while preparing the sauce, then finish them promptly in the same cooking session.
Step 4: Deglaze with ouzo
Take the skillet off the heat and add the measured ouzo. Return it to medium heat and let it bubble for about 1 minute, scraping up the pan deposits. The liquid should reduce noticeably. Flambéing is shown in the video, but it is not required for this written method. The anise flavor comes from the ouzo, and a short simmer does not guarantee that all alcohol has disappeared.
Step 5: Wilt the spinach
Add the spinach and turn it through the pan for 1–2 minutes. If the skillet is very dry, add a tablespoon of water to help the leaves collapse. If there is already a puddle, keep cooking briefly until most of it evaporates. I look for glossy, wilted leaves with no large pool beneath them; excess water now means a thin cream sauce later.
Step 6: Add cream and finish the shrimp
Pour in the cream, add the pepper and bring to a gentle simmer for 1–2 minutes. Return the shrimp with their juices and cook another 1–2 minutes, turning them until the flesh is firm, pearly and opaque throughout. Where measurable, the thickest part should reach 145°F. Take out cooked shrimp immediately if the sauce still needs reducing, then return them just before serving.
Step 7: Taste and plate immediately
Taste the sauce and add the remaining salt only as needed. If too thick, loosen with a tablespoon of hot water. Divide the rice among three plates, arrange the shrimp and spinach on top, and spoon over the sauce. You want enough to moisten the rice without turning it into a soup. Serve immediately.
Avoiding watery sauce and tough shrimp
The two most useful controls are drying the shrimp and checking the spinach liquid before adding cream. A crowded skillet traps moisture and slows the sear. Wet spinach then dilutes the cream. Neither problem is solved well by boiling the shrimp for several extra minutes.
I prefer a gentle simmer after the cream goes in. It gives you time to watch the shrimp rather than chase a sauce that is boiling rapidly. If the sauce needs more time, remove the shrimp and reduce it alone. For a dinner that skips the cream entirely, plancha shrimp with mesclun salad is another useful option.
This is a rich seafood main course, with protein from the shrimp and cream providing most of the sauce’s richness. The spinach adds vegetables, but it does not turn the dish into a light sauce. Keep the rice portion sensible and serve a fresh side if you want contrast.
Substitutions
For a version without added alcohol, replace the ouzo with 2 tablespoons water or unsalted vegetable stock. My homemade vegetable stock suits that adjustment. The sauce will lose its anise note. Do not replace it with another alcoholic drink and call the result alcohol-free.
Frozen spinach can be used after thawing and squeezing it very thoroughly; begin with about 3 oz thawed, drained spinach and adjust the amount to your preference. Fresh spinach remains the first choice for the texture shown here. A lighter cream produces a looser sauce. If using smaller shrimp, watch their centers rather than copying the timing for jumbo shrimp.
Questions about this spinach shrimp skillet
Does it need garlic or parsley?
Neither belongs to the spinach preparation shown in the video. They are used for the separate cognac recipe. You can vary a dish, but the base recipe here keeps ouzo, spinach and cream as its main flavor combination.
Can I prepare it ahead?
Wash the spinach, measure the liquids and prepare the rice first. Cook the shrimp close to serving. Holding cooked shrimp in a covered hot skillet continues cooking them, even after the burner is off.
What if the ouzo tastes too strong?
Measure rather than free-pour. The written amount is a small splash for three portions. If anise is not a flavor you enjoy, choose the stock substitution rather than trying to cover a large amount with extra cream.
How do I keep leftovers?
Refrigerate promptly in shallow containers, within 2 hours, and store at 40°F or below. Use within 3 days for this dish. Reheat to 165°F throughout, stirring the sauce and adding a little water if necessary. The shrimp will become firmer on reheating, so freshly cooked is the better texture. Store the rice separately when possible.
What to serve with it and more shrimp ideas
Rice is already the main accompaniment. A small Greek salad with cucumber and tomatoes brings a crisp side beside the cream. If serving less rice, a little garlic bread from the air fryer is useful for the remaining sauce.
For other shrimp dinners, try creamy shrimp pasta with basil when you want the sauce tossed through pasta, or shrimp stir-fried noodles for a different skillet meal. A creamy cold shrimp salad belongs to a separate occasion: prepare that recipe for a cold lunch rather than chilling this cream sauce and treating it as a salad dressing.
Creamy Ouzo Shrimp with Spinach and Rice
Ingredients
- 1â…“ lb raw jumbo shrimp peeled and deveined
- 5 oz fresh spinach washed and dried, large leaves roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 2 tbsp ouzo
- ¾ cup heavy cream about 35% milk fat
- ½ tsp fine salt for the shrimp and sauce added gradually to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 cup dry long-grain white rice
- 2 cups water for the rice
- ½ tsp fine salt for the rice
Instructions
- Thaw shrimp if needed, drain and pat dry. Prepare spinach and measure the ouzo and cream.
- Bring rice, water and rice salt to a boil. Cover and cook on low for 15–20 minutes or according to the package. Rest off heat, covered, for 5 minutes; fluff.
- Heat oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly salt shrimp and sear in batches if needed, about 45–60 seconds per side for jumbo shrimp. Transfer to a clean plate while still partly cooked; finish promptly in the same cooking session.
- Remove the pan from the heat to add ouzo. Return to medium heat, scrape the pan deposits and simmer about 1 minute to reduce. No flambé is required.
- Add spinach and wilt 1–2 minutes. Add a tablespoon of water only if dry; otherwise let excess spinach liquid evaporate.
- Add cream and pepper; simmer gently 1–2 minutes. Return shrimp and juices, and finish 1–2 minutes until firm, pearly and opaque throughout, reaching 145°F where measurable. Remove cooked shrimp if the sauce needs further reduction.
- Taste and adjust salt. Loosen thick sauce with a little hot water, return shrimp if removed, and serve immediately over rice.
