Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta
This Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta is an elegant restaurant-quality pasta dish that’s so simple to make right at home in less than 30 minutes. If you’ve never cooked shrimp before, I give you my tips to make it plump and tender. It’s a crowd-pleasing recipe that’s great any time of the year and has minimal clean up!
Reader Review: “I made this for weekend dinner was looking for something light and liked the idea of using shrimp with so ever easy pasta. It wasn’t heavy sauce but light great for summer dinners. I would make this for a small gathering of guests for dinner.” – Susan
A couple of summers ago, I was hosting a dinner party and wanted an easy pasta recipe that would really wow everyone at the table. That’s when this Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta was born, and I’ve made it dozens of times since. The secret is to not to overcook the shrimp before tossing it with the pasta and a light lemon garlic sauce.
It was so popular at that dinner party that all of my friends asked for the recipe, truly it’s better than our local Italian restaurant. The best part, it’s simple to make in less than 30 minutes with no fancy equipment. I’m all about a no-fuss recipe, and this shrimp garlic pasta is just that!
If you love a great pasta recipe, you should also try my Creamy Eggplant Pasta and Lemon Spaghetti.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- 10-ingredient gourmet shrimp pasta. This isn’t just any pasta recipe, this garlic shrimp pasta is pro level, and will be an impressive main course for any party.
- Easy cleanup and prep. With just a large pasta pot and a skillet, you will have this dish made in no time. It will also be quick to clean up in about 5 minutes.
- A family favorite pasta any time of the year. Consider this a recipe that’s going to be placed in your recipe arsenal. It’s a family favorite of ours – we make it for weeknight meals, holidays, and summertime parties.
Jenn’s Tip: Be sure to reserve some of the starchy pasta cooking liquid, this is the key component to making a super silky and creamy pasta sauce.
Ingredients
- Shrimp: You want to buy large shrimp here that are already peeled and deveined. If you have frozen shrimp, no problem! Just thaw them completely in the fridge before cooking.
- Unsalted butter: Adds creaminess to the pasta.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Cooking oil for the shrimp as well as pasta ingredients.
- Garlic cloves: Infuses the garlic shrimp pasta with so much delicious flavor.
- Dry white wine: Used to deglaze the skillet, and adds a nice depth of flavor to the sauce.
- Lemon: Gives a hint of acidity that brightens all of the flavors.
- Heavy cream: The creamy component for the shrimp pasta.
- Fresh flat-leaf parsley: Used for garnish for a hint of freshness.
- Fresh basil: Adds bright herbaceous flavor.
- Linguine spaghetti, or fettuccine: The noodles we love to use for this recipe, we love the long and thinner style to coat the sauce beautifully.
Frozen Shrimp Tip: If you buy frozen shrimp, that’s great! Thaw it overnight in the fridge and be sure to lightly rinse and drain before cooking. Oftentimes the texture of frozen and thawed shrimp is better than the seafood counter.
How to Make Garlic Shrimp Pasta
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente. Before draining, reserve ½ cup of pasta water. Drain the pasta and set aside.
- Pat the shrimp dry and season with salt and pepper.
- In a large skillet, heat the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp in a single layer and sear for 1–2 minutes per side, just until pink and opaque. Transfer the shrimp to a plate and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the minced garlic to the same skillet and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly, just until fragrant. Do not let the garlic brown.
- Add the white wine and simmer for 2–3 minutes, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Stir in the heavy cream and cook for 1–2 minutes, until the sauce is slightly thickened.
- Stir in the lemon zest, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, and most of the chopped parsley and basil, reserving some for garnish.
- Add the cooked pasta and a small splash of the reserved pasta water. Toss well, adding more pasta water a little at a time, as needed, until the sauce lightly coats the pasta.
- Return the shrimp to the skillet and toss gently until heated through, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Serve immediately, garnished with the remaining parsley and basil.
Expert Tips
- Don’t overcook the shrimp or they will become rubbery in texture. They only need about 1–2 minutes per side. Overcooked shrimp become tough quickly, so remove them from the pan as soon as they turn opaque and pink.
- Use good-quality white wine. Choose something dry and crisp (like Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc) that you’d drink, it makes a difference in the sauce.
- Add fresh herbs at the end. Stir in the parsley and basil just before serving to keep their flavor bright and fresh.
- If your heavy cream separates from the sauce, don’t worry. Just reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and whisk in a little bit more pasta water. It should come together nicely.
Storage
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a skillet with a splash of water if needed to re-loosen the sauce.
We don’t recommend freezing this garlic butter shrimp pasta, as it will compromise the quality of the shrimp and pasta.
FAQs
Yes, you can use them just be sure to full thaw before cooking.
All you need to do is sear them about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
You want to add it near the beginning to infuse the olive oil or butter with the flavor before cooking the rest of the dish.
More Easy Pasta Recipes
Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta
Equipment
- Large Pot
- large skillet
- Microplane or zester
Ingredients
- 1 pound large shrimp peeled and deveined
- kosher salt to taste
- freshly ground pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- ½ cup dry white wine
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- â…“ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
- 1 pound linguine
- ½ cup reserved pasta water as needed
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente. Before draining, reserve at least ½ cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta and set aside.
- Pat the shrimp dry and season with salt and pepper.
- In a large skillet, heat the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp in a single layer and cook for 1–2 minutes per side, just until pink and opaque. Transfer the shrimp to a plate and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the minced garlic to the same skillet and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly, just until fragrant. Do not let the garlic brown.
- Add the white wine and simmer for 2–3 minutes, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Stir in the heavy cream and cook for 1–2 minutes, until the sauce is slightly thickened.
- Stir in the lemon zest, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, and most of the chopped parsley and basil, reserving some for garnish.
- Add the cooked pasta and a small splash of the reserved pasta water. Toss well, adding more pasta water a little at a time, as needed, until the sauce lightly coats the pasta.
- Return the shrimp to the skillet and toss gently until heated through, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Serve immediately, garnished with the remaining parsley and basil.
Notes
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- Don’t overcook the shrimp or they will become rubbery in texture. They only need about 1–2 minutes per side. Overcooked shrimp become tough quickly, so remove them from the pan as soon as they turn opaque and pink.
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- Use good-quality white wine. Choose something dry and crisp (like Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc) that you’d drink; it makes a difference in the sauce.
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- Add fresh herbs at the end. Stir in the parsley and basil just before serving to keep their flavor bright and fresh.
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How do I prevent my cream from separating?
Hi Dot! Cream sauces can separate if the heat is too high or if they boil. Keep it at a gentle simmer. A splash of pasta water helps emulsify it — and if it starts to split, take it off the heat and whisk in a little warm pasta water. Let me know if you have any more questions!
I made this for weekend dinner was looking for something light and liked the idea of using shrimp with so ever easy pasta. It wasn’t heavy sauce but light great for summer dinners. I would make this for a small gathering of guests for dinner.
Thank you so much, Susan! I’m so happy you loved it. It means a lot that you tried the recipe and would make it again. Really appreciate your kind words!