Garlic Shrimp and Broccoli
Fat prawns seared in garlic, a heap of broccoli still snapping with bite, and a whole plate that lands around 360 calories with 41 grams of protein. It cooks in the time it takes the kettle to boil twice, and it’s the meal I make when I’m tired, hungry, and not in the mood to be sad about either.
Plate 01 / Finished
There’s a fish market near the harbour back home where I’ve been buying prawns since I was a younger, dafter man with twice the ego and half the sense. The fella behind the counter knows me. He knows I’ll poke every tray, sniff the air like a suspicious bear, and walk out with a bag of shell-on prawns and a sermon nobody asked for about how shrimp is the most forgiving protein a person on a cut can own. He’s heard it a hundred times. He nods. He’s a patient man.
And I stand by the sermon. When I’m pulling calories down for a shoot and everything feels grey and joyless, this is the plate that brings me back. Prawns cook in three minutes flat — overshoot them and they go to rubber, so you have to stay at the pan, which I quite like; it makes me slow down. The garlic does most of the heavy lifting for flavour, the broccoli gives you a genuine pile of food to chew through, and the whole thing lands light enough that I’m not lying awake feeling stuffed.
I make this when I can’t be bothered, which on a long cut is most evenings. Fifteen minutes, one pan, real food, real numbers. No sad steamed nonsense, no eating standing over the sink feeling like you’ve been punished. Just a hot, garlicky plate that happens to be very kind to your macros. Cook it once and you’ll see what I mean — I’ve got you.
01Who it’s for & when to eat it
Prawns and broccoli are a brilliant lean base because they bend in every direction. The protein is high, the calories are low, and what you add around them decides the job. Here’s how I steer it.
The default plate
Prawns and a mountain of broccoli, garlic, lemon, a single teaspoon of oil. Huge volume, low calories — exactly what you want when you’re hungry but the day’s calories are nearly gone. My go-to evening cut meal.
Build it up
Same prawns and broccoli over a bowl of jasmine rice, with an extra glug of oil and a spoon of soy. Easy clean calories without the bloat you’d get from anything fried. Numbers are in the variations below.
Steady fuel
A moderate portion of rice, a little more oil for the fats, the same lean prawns. Light on digestion for an evening, keeps you full, and nothing overshot.
Timing: this is a fast-cooking, light-on-the-gut plate, so it’s lovely after evening training when you don’t want to lie down full. It also reheats decently if you’re careful, though prawns are always best fresh from the pan.
02Ingredients
Makes 1 big plate — one generous serving. Doubling for two? Cook the prawns in two batches so the pan stays hot and they sear rather than stew.
Servings 1 · adjust on the live recipe card- Raw prawns, peeled tails on or off180 g · 6.3 oz
- Broccoli florets200 g · 7 oz
- Garlic, finely sliced4 cloves
- Olive oil1 tbsp · 15 ml
- Lemon, juice of½ lemon
- Chilli flakes optional½ tsp
- Fresh parsley, chopped2 tbsp
- Black pepperto taste
- Saltto taste (go light)
Swaps I actually use: frozen prawns are perfectly good here — just thaw and pat them bone dry or they’ll steam. No broccoli? Tenderstem, green beans, or asparagus all work the same way. Want it leaner still? Drop the oil to two teaspoons and lean on the garlic and lemon for flavour. A splash of light soy instead of salt adds savour for barely any calories.
03Step by step
Thaw if frozen, then pat them dry
If the prawns are frozen, thaw them fully and pat them properly dry with paper towel. Wet prawns release water and steam instead of searing — and a steamed prawn is a sad, rubbery prawn. Dry surface, every time.
Magnus says: dry the prawns like you mean it. It’s the whole difference between sear and stew.
Get the greens going first
Steam or boil the broccoli florets for 3 to 4 minutes — you want them bright green and still snapping, not grey and floppy. Drain well and set aside. Undercook them slightly; they’ll keep cooking on the hot plate.
Warm the oil and garlic gently
Heat the olive oil in a wide pan over medium. Add the sliced garlic and the chilli flakes if using, and let them sizzle gently for about a minute until fragrant and just turning gold. Don’t let the garlic brown hard or it goes bitter.
Magnus says: low and slow with the garlic. Burnt garlic ruins the whole plate.
Two to three minutes, no more
Turn the heat up to medium-high and add the prawns in a single layer. Sear for about 90 seconds a side, until they turn pink and curl into a loose C. The moment they’re opaque through, they’re done — overcook them and they tighten to rubber.
Magnus says: a tight little O means overdone. Pull them at the loose C.
Broccoli in, lemon over, done
Tip the broccoli back into the pan, squeeze over the lemon, season with pepper and a light pinch of salt, and toss everything together for 30 seconds so the greens pick up all that garlicky oil. Off the heat, scatter over the parsley and plate it straight away.
04The spec sheet
Real numbers, calculated — not guessed. This makes one big plate, about 400g of cooked food. Here’s what the whole serving and a flat 100g actually give you.
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 360 kcal | 90 kcal |
| Protein | 41.0 g | 10.3 g |
| Carbohydrate | 14.0 g | 3.5 g |
| — of which sugars | 4.0 g | 1.0 g |
| Fat | 15.0 g | 3.8 g |
| — of which saturates | 2.3 g | 0.6 g |
| Fibre | 6.0 g | 1.5 g |
| Sodium | ~0.55 g | ~0.14 g |
Very low. Prawns and broccoli are mostly water and protein, so you get a genuinely large plate for the calories — volume is your best friend on a cut, and this delivers it.
A lifter’s metric. A big share of these calories is protein, exactly what you want when you’re holding muscle while the scale comes down.
- Selenium~60 µg · 109% DV
- Vitamin C~135 mg · 150% DV
- Vitamin B12~1.4 µg · 58% DV
- Vitamin K~180 µg · 150% DV
- Iodine~50 µg · 33% DV
- Folate~110 µg · 28% DV
Macros are calculated from standard food-composition data and will shift a little with your exact ingredients and brands. Micronutrient figures are estimates against general adult Daily Values. Numbers are for guidance, not medical advice — see our Nutrition Disclaimer.
05Bulk / Cut / TRT variations
One base, three jobs. The prawns and broccoli stay the same — you adjust the carbs and fat around them. Macros below are for a full serving.
The lean default
Prawns and broccoli with the oil dropped to two teaspoons, heavy on garlic, lemon and chilli for flavour. No rice. Maximum volume, minimum calories — this is the version I live on before a shoot.
Build it up
Same plate over 180g cooked jasmine rice, with the full tablespoon of oil and a spoon of light soy. Clean, easy calories that go down without bloat — great for getting food in when appetite’s low.
Steady & balanced
Prawns and broccoli over 120g rice with the full tablespoon of oil. Moderate carbs, healthy fats, lean protein — full and satisfied without overshooting your day.
06Meal prep & storage
Prawns are best straight from the pan, but this still preps well if you’re sensible about the reheat. I’ll cook the broccoli and garlic base ahead and sear fresh prawns to order when I can.
Store cooked prawns and broccoli together in an airtight container. Cooked prawns don’t keep as long as meat, so eat within two days.
I don’t freeze cooked prawns — they go watery and tough on thawing. Freeze the raw prawns instead and cook fresh.
Gently, and only just warm through. A quick toss in a hot pan or a short microwave blast — push it and the prawns turn to rubber.
If you’re prepping for the week, my honest advice is to cook the broccoli, garlic and lemon base ahead and keep raw prawns portioned in the freezer. Three minutes in a hot pan and dinner’s done — it’s barely more effort than reheating, and it tastes ten times better.
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07Common questions
Can I use frozen prawns? +
Absolutely — frozen prawns are often fresher than the “fresh” ones, since they’re frozen at sea. The only rule is to thaw them fully and pat them bone dry before they hit the pan. Wet prawns steam instead of searing, and you lose all that lovely caramelised edge.
How do I stop prawns going rubbery? +
Don’t overcook them, that’s the whole game. Prawns are done in about 90 seconds a side — the second they turn pink and curl into a loose C, pull them. A tight little O shape means they’re overdone. Cook them on real heat, fast, and get them off.
Can I make this in an air fryer? +
You can do the broccoli beautifully in an air fryer — toss it with a teaspoon of oil and the garlic, then air-fry at 190°C for about 8 minutes. I’d still sear the prawns in a pan, though; they cook so fast that the pan gives you more control and a better edge.
How do I turn this into a proper bulk meal? +
Add carbs and a touch more fat. Serve the prawns and broccoli over 180g of cooked jasmine rice, use the full tablespoon of oil, and finish with a spoon of light soy. That takes the plate from around 360 to roughly 640 calories with 46g protein — clean calories that go down easy. See the Bulk variation above for the full numbers.
What can I use instead of broccoli? +
Anything green and quick. Tenderstem broccoli, green beans, asparagus, or sugar snap peas all cook in the same few minutes and pair just as well with garlic and lemon. Keep the cooking light so they hold their bite — limp greens are the only way to ruin this plate.
This plate lives inside a full week of meals.
This garlic shrimp is one dinner in my 7-day cutting plan — seven days of high-protein, low-calorie meals with the macros counted and the grocery list written. You pick the goal; I do the maths.
See the cutting meal plan →08Pairs well with
Magnus Olafsson
I’m Magnus — twenty years under the iron, from a cold gym in Stockholm to the classic-physique stage, and now mostly in my kitchen in a pink apron. I’ve cut for shows, bulked through winters, and I’ve been on TRT since I was thirty-five. I know what it takes to eat for the body you’re chasing, and I know it shouldn’t come with a side of shame.
Everything here is food I actually cook and macros I actually count. I don’t diagnose, I don’t promise, and I never make a number up. I just feed you well and tell you the truth.
Slim Diet Era shares recipes and general nutrition information. It is not medical or dietetic advice, and we do not provide guidance on obtaining or using any controlled substance. See our Medical Disclaimer and Nutrition Disclaimer.