Quick and Easy Shrimp Pasta
This creamy shrimp pasta bursts with flavor from every ingredient. It’s great for a weeknight family meal, or for entertaining since it makes so many servings in very little time. People will think that you really labored over this one!
I love homemade shrimp pasta dishes because you can really taste the difference in the freshness of the ingredients AND they can be made so much healthier at home. The majority of homemade pastas also save well in the refrigerator and make great lunches for the next day. Although, this recipe has never made it to a second day. If my family doesn’t finish all of it at dinner, they come back within an hour looking for “seconds.”
The creamy shrimp pasta sauce is made up of only 6 ingredients: Butter, garlic, onion, lemon zest, lemon juice, and cream. This recipe is so easy and takes less than 10 minutes to prep everything and roughly 15 to cook, totaling less than 30 minutes for a dinner that feeds 5+ people!
To Make the Sauce
Start by chopping your onion and fresh garlic cloves then add in your lemon zest and sauté in butter until onions start to become transparent. This will be more obvious in a red onion than a white onions but both work well for this dish. I also like to use shallots in place of the onion depending on what I have on hand that day. The fresh garlic really makes a difference here though (as it does in most dishes in my opinion) so I try to keep full garlic cloves on hand. I usually peel these in advance and store in a ziplock bag in the fridge for convenience.
Next, add the cream and lemon juice and whisk together. After fully combined, add in your fresh parmesan cheese and turn on a low heat to simmer. Keep whisking the creamy shrimp pasta sauce every couple of minutes while you complete the next two steps.
Cook the Pasta and Shrimp
This is when I like to start cooking my shrimp and pasta. I usually use angel hair pasta for this dish, but if you decide to use a thicker pasta it would be best to start cooking that before the sauce.
Any kind of shrimp works well for this dish. I usually opt for pre-peeled and deveined shrimp for times sake, but I have also made this with jumbo shrimp – in which case, I just prep the shrimp at the same time that I prep the sauce ingredients.
The pasta and shrimp both usually boil for 4-6 minutes so I start them both at this time.
Combine
Once cooked, drain pasta and combine with sauce, folding the noodles into the sauce until well coated. Next, add in your cooked shrimp and mix well.
Immediately top with a quick squeeze of lemon juice and your herb of choice. We normally reach for either parsley (my favorite) or basil. Fresh herbs really add a depth of flavor to this dish when combined with the lemon. Even my pickiest eater loves this one!
Serve immediately or store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Creamy Shrimp Pasta
Course: DinnerCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy5
servings10
minutes15
minutes418
kcalKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
8 oz Angel Hair Pasta
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
1 Cup Red Onion
8 Cloves Garlic
3 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Lemon Zest
1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
3 Tbsp Basil
1 lb Shrimp
1/4 Cup Fresh Parmesan Cheese
Directions
- In a large saucepan, saute onions, garlic, and lemon zest in butter.
- Add in heavy cream, lemon juice, and cheese and whisk together on low heat until well combined. The sauce should be thick.
- Allow to simmer for 5 minutes on low heat while your pasta cooks.
- Add cooked pasta, and boiled shrimp to your sauce and mix well.
- Top with lemon juice and your herb of choice.
Notes
- I like to use Italian parsley or fresh basil with this recipe.
- Nutrition Facts below are an estimate.
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Nutrition Facts
5 servings per container
Serving Size1 servings
- Amount Per ServingCalories417
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat
15g
24%
- Saturated Fat 8g 40%
- Trans Fat 0g
- Cholesterol 32mg 11%
- Total Carbohydrate
39g
13%
- Sugars 3g
- Protein 31g 62%
* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
If you liked this recipe, be sure to check out my other dinner recipes too!
