How to Saute Calamari with Garlic (quick and easy)

Learn how to saute calamari with this easy, step-by-step, delicious recipe where the calamari is seasoned with fresh garlic, extra virgin olive oil, dry white wine, capers and fresh lemon juice. It’s low carb and gluten free. This seafood recipe is perfect for your Italian Christmas Eve dinner!

This recipe is similar to my Easy Calamari Pasta with Garlic White Wine Sauce recipe except it doesn’t have the pasta. 

Sautéed calamari is a delicacy in Italian cuisine. If fresh and cooked properly, they tantalize the taste buds. While calamari may seem intimidating to cook at home, sautéing these delectable calamari rings is surprisingly simple with these steps and tips. 

Calamari tastes good cold too. Try my Italian Seafood Salad with poached calamari and shrimp, green olives, a few veggies in a lemon/olive oil dressing. It’s so good!

It’s an easy calamari recipe made with a handful of ingredients. The calamari is seasoned with fresh garlic, extra virgin olive oil, dry white wine, some capers, fresh lemon, red pepper flakes, which are optional and salt and black pepper.

If you don’t like the tentacles or the looks of the tentacles, you don’t have to use them. The purplish tentacles give the sauce in this dish a brownish color. Therefore, if you don’t use the tentacles, the sauce will be not be brownish.

If this is your first time cooking calamari, you’ll find that it’s really not that hard. 

In America, calamari is often served fried as an appetizer or it can be part of your main meal, such as a seafood dish. You’ve probably seen it fried more than sautteed. 

Sauteeing it is much easier and not as fattening as frying because you’re using a small amount of oil.

There are different ways to cook calamari. You can deep fry it, sautee it, grill it or bake it such as stuffed calamari which uses calamari tubes. Sauteing it is the easy way to make calamari.

Olive oil doesn’t have a higher smoke point so, it’s not recommended for frying but, it’s great for sauteeing.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links which means, if you make a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission but, the price you pay is the same.

Where can I buy calamari?

You may be able to buy fresh calamari tubes, or frozen calamari tubes at the grocery store, Whole Foods, or Italian specialty stores, seafood stores or fish mongers. If the calamari is frozen, defrost them in your refrigerator overnight. Once defrosted, you should cook the calamari within two days.

Obviously, fresh squid will give you a fresh taste but, it can be hard to find.

Save yourself some time and buy the calamari already cleaned, especially if you’ve never cleaned calamari before.

How to Saute Calamari

*The full, printable recipe is at the bottom of this post in the recipe card. 

Ingredients

• calamari rings and tentacles, cleaned and patted dry of moisture
• extra virgin olive oil (good quality)
• garlic cloves (minced, chopped, or whole)
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh lemon juice
• dry white wine (optional)
• capers (optional)
• salt and black pepper
• lemon wedges for serving
• red pepper flakes (optional)
• chopped fresh parsley or parsley flakes for color and garnish

For this recipe, you can omit the wine, red pepper flakes and capers and still have a delicious sauteed calamari dish. So, keep that in mind if you don’t like any of those things or don’t have them on hand.

Summary Instructions

*The full, printable recipe is in the recipe card below.

The picture below depicts calamari tubes on the left and tentacles on the right. 

Then, using kitchen scissors, cut the tubes into half inch wide pieces to make the rings unless you’ve purchased rings. Then, pat them dry with paper towels to remove the moisture and avoid oil splatters. Do the same with the tentacles.

Then, add to a large skillet on medium high heat: extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, and red pepper flakes if you’re using them. Sautee for 30-60 seconds but don’t allow the garlic to brown especially if it’s minced because it happens quickly. If using chopped or whole garlic cloves, let it cook a bit longer being careful not to let it get too brown or it will become bitter and hard. 

I like to add the red pepper flakes early so they can add aroma and spice to the oil. However, you can add them at the end if you prefer.

Then, add the calamari and stir. 

Next, add the lemon juice, dry white wine, and capers (if you’re using the wine and/or capers.) Saute for 2-3 minutes. Stir them to coat them in the oil mixture.

It only takes a few minutes to cook them. The calamari are done when they hold the their shape, are opaque and firm to the touch.  This is what they look like when they’re done! I added a sprinkling of parsley flakes for color and garnish.

​Tips

• Do not overcrowd the pan; cook the calamari in batches if necessary.
• Keep an eye on the calamari as it cooks, as it can overcook quickly and become chewy and rubbery.
• Add a lemon wedge to the serving bowl with some fresh or dried parsley for color.

What to serve with Sauteed Calamari?

• Sauteed Rappini with Garlic and Lemon
• Air Fryer Roasted Garlic and Herb Potatoes
• Arugula Salad with Lemon Dressing
• simple mixed green salad

You don’t need years of culinary experience making calamari dishes to make this delightful seafood dish. 

Sautéed calamari rings make for a delightful appetizer or seafood side dish that is sure to impress friends and family. With this quick and easy recipe, you’ll see how easy it is to saute calamari and enjoy it fresh. 

Make this easy calamari recipe as part of a weeknight dinner or a fitting dish for a holiday dinner, such as Feast of the Seven Fishes Christmas Eve dinner because your family and friends are sure to love it!