Garlic and Chilli Prawns, known in Spain as Gambas Pil Pil, is a classic tapas dish served in tapas bars, loved by all.
Made with fresh prawns cooked in oil infused with garlic and chilli and served with bread to soak up the delicious sauce.
If you're looking for a tasty, easy tapas dish to impress your friends, then look no further than Gambas Pil Pil!
How to make Gambas Pil Pil?
Take a look at the video below to see how simple it is to prepare this Spanish prawn tapas recipe. in
Read the history and get substitution advice and ideas about serving in this post.
Or use the jump button below to make this spicy king prawn recipe now!
Jump to Gambas Pil Pil RecipeHistory
The history of Gambas Pil Pil is a little unclear, but it originates in either the Basque Country, Andalusia or Galicia.
We know for sure that this dish has been around for centuries and is still just as popular today as it was back then.
What does Gambas pil pil mean in Spanish?
'Gambas' is the Spanish word for prawns.
'Pil pil' is a word used in Spanish and Basque cuisines that describes a sauce made with garlic and chilli infused in hot olive oil. Some say 'pil pil' is the sound of popping garlic as it cooks in the hot oil.
So, gambas pil pil, translated to English, is prawns in garlic and chilli oil.
Ingredients for Garlic and Chilli Prawns
Only a handful of ingredients are needed to make this delicious pil pil prawn tapas dish. We also give you some possible substitutes.
Olive oil
Use olive oil, not extra virgin, with a lower smoke point; it can ruin the taste when cooked at high heat.
Prawns
It is best to use fresh raw and peeled prawns for this dish. I like to use jumbo king prawns for a bit of a luxury, but any size prawns will work.
Make sure to thaw frozen prawns before use.
Alternatively, use pre-cooked prawns. Simply add the garlic and chilli over medium heat in the oil before you add the prawns and fry to warm through.
Garlic
Finely chopped fresh garlic is best for this dish; it is a key ingredient and gives such a wonderful flavour to the oil. We use four cloves of garlic; adjust to your taste.
If you don't have any, you can use garlic powder or garlic salt.
Chilli
I like to use fresh red chillies in this tapas recipe, but you could use dried chilli flakes instead. Adjust the amount of chilli or type of chilli used to your heat tolerance.
Paprika
Paprika is a lovely addition to this gambas pil pil; it gives a beautiful orange colour and a slight smokiness. Depending on your preference, you can use sweet paprika, smoked paprika or hot paprika.
Parsley
Parsley is a herb that goes well with garlic and chilli; it gives the dish freshness and colour. Fresh herbs are best, but you could use a sprinkle of dried parsley instead.
You could also use coriander (cilantro) instead of parsley to add a sweet citrus taste.
Equipment
Use a large frying pan over medium-high heat to cook the gambas pil pil.
If serving up in an earthenware tapas dish, warm it up in the oven before you start cooking, ready to transfer from the pan into the tapas dish.
Gambas Pil Pil Serving Ideas
Serve the Gambas Pil Pil with some fresh homemade bread on the side for dunking into that delicious garlic chilli oil sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
Some of my favourite additions to serve with are serrano ham, Iberian cheese, padron peppers, cream cheese stuffed piquante peppers, olives, marinated anchovies and potato bravas.
We will be adding more tapas recipes to our blog soon - watch this space.
📖 Step by Step Recipe
Gambas Pil Pil - Garlic and Chilli Prawns
Equipment
Ingredients
- 180 grams King Prawns - Raw peeled
- 90 ml Olive Oil
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 1 Chilli Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Paprika
- Salt and Black Pepper
- Chopped Parsley
Instructions
- In a pan, heat oil over high heat.90 ml Olive Oil
- Add the prawns and cook on one side for 2 minutes180 grams King Prawns
- Add garlic, chilli and paprika stir in to the oil4 cloves Garlic, 1 Chilli Pepper, ½ teaspoon Paprika
- Flip all prawns then cook for 2 minutes.
- Transfer to a warm tapas or serving dish, with the garlic and chilli oil.
- Season with parsley, salt and pepper.Salt and Black Pepper, Chopped Parsley
Video
Nutrition
Storage
If you have leftovers, they can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days and reheated in a pan until warmed through.
More Prawn Recipes
Looking for more prawn recipes, we have plenty for you to choose from all over the world!
Try our Italian prawn pesto pasta, Indian prawn masala, Vietnamese king prawn salad.
Hawaiien honey and garlic prawns, prawn pad Thai or American prawn and pork jambalaya.
Another sauce to serve with prawns is our marie rose sauce.
Gambas Pil Pil is commonly found served in tapas bars. Read more about what tapas are here.
We hope you liked this Spanish Tapas garlic prawns recipe! Please leave a comment below to tell us how it went for you.
Sarah
In Morocco we have a similar but different recipe, it's called pil-pil shrimp tagine, I hope you'll try it 🙂
Luke and Kay
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, Sarah! We're so glad you enjoyed our Gambas Pil Pil and we appreciate the mention of a similar dish from Morocco. We will definitely add your recommendation to our list of dishes to try. 🙂
Krysten Wilkes
So juicy and flavorful. I also love the colors in this recipe it’s as if the eyes eat first with this one! So good, an unforgettable dish!
Luke and Kay
Hi Krysten!
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with our Gambas Pil Pil recipe. We're thrilled to hear that it was such a hit for you!
You're absolutely right; this dish is not only delicious but also visually appealing with all the different colours. We love hearing that you had an unforgettable experience, and we appreciate your support.:)
Amy Liu Dong
Just look how juicy and tender those prawns are! It is awesome and looks delicious, i want to devour the whole bowl, it is done great!
Luke and Kay
Hi Amy, thank you for taking the time to leave such a lovely review for our Gambas Pil Pil dish! We're thrilled that you enjoyed it and appreciate your kind words. 🙂
Glenn Smith
This is delicious of course! But smoked Paprika is obligatory for Pili Pili. Best to use fresh Cilantro (Coriander) as well. Same recipe without the Paprika is Gambas al Ajilo but equally delicious!
Luke and Kay
Thank you for your positive and helpful review, Glen! We're happy to hear that you enjoyed our Gambas Pil Pil dish. We appreciate your recommendations for using smoked paprika and fresh cilantro to enhance the flavour. 🙂
James merson
I tend to up the ingredients a little for our taste, but we can’t get enough of this pil pil! Fantastic! We also use the Spanish larger
Prawns (langoustines) as we live here in axarquia. I must say it
even beats most tapas bars too! Even our Spanish guest are
impressed.
Luke and Kay
Thank you for your glowing review of our Gambas Pil Pil, James. We are so glad to hear it is a hit amongst both yourselves and your Spanish guests. It is wonderful to know that the flavour of our product stands out even among the flavors of more traditional tapas bars! We appreciate you taking the time to include such detailed feedback about how adding the ‘extra ingredients’ make this meal even more delicious for yourself.
jennifer
Grandson of 13 years loves this recipe which he had for the first time in Portugal earlier in the year. 2023. He's developing his pallet towards the really flavoursome Portuguese menus. Great stuff.. Thank you for this great recipe. Will be cooking it with him next time he comes.
Luke and Kay
Thank you for the amazing review, Jennifer! It's wonderful to hear that your grandson loves our Gambas Pil Pil recipe. We are delighted that it provided him with great flavours from his trip to Portugal earlier this year. 🙂
Dennis Abbott
Just come back from Spain and had this dish on a daily basis. We are going to try your recipe tomorrow along with Patatas Bravas, Padron Peppers and Cream Cheese stuffed Pepper Dew peppers, not forgetting marinated anchovies. We will let you know if we enjoyed it as much as when we were in Spain
Luke and Kay
Hi Dennis, Thank you for your fantastic review and for choosing to make Gambas Pil Pil with us! We’re delighted to hear that you enjoyed it so much while in Spain and hope that you love our version just as much. 🙂
Audrey
Easy and loads of great flavor!
Kay
Thank you, Audrey 🙂
Glad you liked the gambas pil pil 😉
Linda
Love this shrimp dish! So easy to make and fingerlicking good!
Kay
Thank you so much Linda for the comment and 5* rating 😉
So nice to hear you love our gambas pil pil recipe, this is one of our favourite starters to make for the family, they love it 🙂
Allyssa
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing gambas pil pil recipe! Will surely have this again! It's really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!
Kay
Thank you so much Allyssa 🙂
So pleased to hear you thought our Gambas pil pil was amazing and you would highly recommend 😉
Liz
I have never had this before, but it sounds delicious! As well as pretty quick and easy to make! Will have to give it a try!
Kay
Thank you, Liz; it's straightforward to make it's delicious; have some crusty bread on the side to dip 🙂
Enjoy!!