This Shrimp Alfredo Pasta recipe features succulent tender shrimp in a rich and creamy homemade Alfredo sauce made with Parmesan cheese. This easy shrimp Alfredo recipe is a twist on the popular Italian Alfredo Fettuccine pasta everyone loves. This delicious restaurant-style pasta recipe is ready in about 20 minutes which makes it a great meal to serve on a busy weeknight, although is perfect for special occasions too.
Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo
If you are looking for easy dinner ideas the whole family will love, pasta is the way to go! Fettuccine noodles with creamy Alfredo sauce is by far one of the most popular pasta sauces, Add tender shrimp to the mix and you have a perfect match!
Making creamy homemade Alfredo at home is actually much easier than you think. So easy in fact, that is one of the first recipes my kids learned how to make. Bragging alert: My oldest son makes the absolute best Alfredo pasta!
This pasta sauce is so versatile that I decided to add tender and buttery shrimp to the cheesy and rich Parmesan sauce. It works and I am sure you are going to love it!
Why You’ll Love This Pasta and Shrimp Recipe
- Easy: This pasta recipe is easy to make with common ingredients found in Italian pasta recipes.
- Restaurant Quality at Home: No need to spend time or money going to a fancy restaurant or ordering in!
- Versatile: This creamy fettuccine Alfredo can be made with any type of pasta or seafood. Shrimp as well as crab and crawfish are great options.
Shrimp Alfredo Recipe Ingredients
Check the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients, exact amounts and instructions.
- Shrimp: I use large shrimp, peeled, deveined and with the tails on. Remove the tails if preferred. Buy fresh or frozen shrimp Thaw it before cooking it,
- Butter: I prefer using unsalted butter to better control of the salt level. If you only have salted butter at home use it.
- Garlic Cloves: Fresh garlic is best however, you can use granulated garlic as well. Substitute the fresh garlic with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder or to taste.
- Heavy Cream or Heavy Whipping Cream : You can use half and half or whole milk although heavy cream makes the richest, most decadent Alfredo sauce.
- Nutmeg: All you need is a little bit, just a pinch! Nutmeg adds wonderful flavor to any cream based sauce. Freshly grated nutmeg is best but I must admit, I sometimes reach for the “grated in a jar” one just for convenience. If you don’t have nutmeg in your pantry, skip it!
- Parmesan Cheese: Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, You can also use a combination of parmigiano reggiano and pecorino romano. If you are short on time or would like to make this easy recipe a bit more budget friendly, you can get pre-shredded Parmesan or grated Parmesan cheese (no judgment here!). Keep in mind that grated Parmesan tends to make the sauce a bit grainy.
- Fresh Parsley or Basil: Fresh herbs make this rich and creamy shrimp pasta pop!
- Pasta: I like using any long pasta like fettuccine or linguine noodles. Short noodles like penne, fusilli or bow tie are good options as well.
How to Make Shrimp Alfredo From Scratch
- Boil the Pasta: In a large pot cook the pasta in salted water according to package directions. When al dente, drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta cooking water.
- Cook the Shrimp: While the pasta cooks, rinse and pat dry the shrimp with a paper towel. Season shrimp with salt and pepper. Melt some of the butter in a large saucepan or skillet skillet over medium heat Add the shrimp in a single ayer and cook for about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove the shrimp from the skillet and set aside. Shrimp cooks very fast. The only way to make juicy shrimp is to not overcook it!
- Make the Sauce: In the same skillet, lower the heat to medium-low heat. Melt butter and cook the garlic until it becomes aromatic (if you’re using granulated garlic, add it after the heavy cream). Whisk in the heavy cream and the nutmeg and simmer for a few minutes. The sauce will thicken a bit. Turn the heat to low and add the Parmesan cheese stirring constantly until the cheese melts. Season with salt and pepper to taste and return the shrimp to the skillet.
- Toss: Toss the pasta with the sauce until well coated. If needed, add some of the reserved pasta water to keep the pasta creamy. To serve, garnish with fresh parsley or basil. Top with additional Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.
What Is Shrimp Alfredo Made of?
This shrimp Alfredo recipe is made with juicy and tender large shrimp in rich and creamy Alfredo sauce made with heavy cream, fresh garlic and Parmesan cheese and tossed with al dente pasta.
What Goes with Shrimp Alfredo Pasta?
We love to serve Fettuccine Alfredo with shrimp with a simple side salad and homemade garlic bread. Other side dishes that go well with a creamy pasta dish is a simple vegetable side dish such as sautéed green beans, oven roasted carrots, sautéed mushrooms or grilled asparagus.
What Kind of Pasta Goes in Alfredo?
Traditionally, Alfredo sauce is tossed with fettuccine pasta. Shrimp Alfredo pasta can be made with long pasta such as fettuccine or linguine as well as short pasta such as penne, rotini and even macaroni noodles.
What Does it Mean Creamy Sauces “Break”?
The meaning of “the sauce breaks” or a “broken sauce” is when the butter or oil in the sauce separates from the rest of the ingredients breaking the emulsion. Instead of looking homogeneous, you usually have a sauce that looks curdle with distinct oily areas.
Can I Use Store-Bought Alfredo Sauce to Make this Recipe?
Yes, as a shortcut you can make this dish with store bought jarred Alfredo sauce however, homemade Alfredo sauce is quick and easy to make and tastes so much better than anything you can buy at the grocery store. Not only you know exactly what ingredients go into the sauce, you’ll also know that additives and preservatives won’t be added into the sauce!
My Best Tip When Making Homemade Alfredo Pasta
Reserving the cooking pasta water is a must. The starchy pasta water creates an emulsion that helps make the creamy sauce smooth, velvety and absolutely perfect.
After you toss the pasta with the sauce, the noodles tend to absorb the sauce making the dish look dry. Adding some pasta water fixes that problem. After a quick toss your pasta will be creamy as if you just finished cooking it.
How Do You Know If the Shrimp is Cooked?
Raw shrimp has a grayish-white color and it looks a bit translucent. As it cooks, it turns whitish-pink and becomes opaque. This only takes about 2 minutes per side.
Another sign of perfectly cooked shrimp is that the shrimp curls up slightly resembling the letter C. Overcooked, chewy and rubbery shrimp curls up into an O shape.
Why Did My Alfredo Sauce Break?
Cheese sauces like this Alfredo sauce usually break because they get heated too much or too quickly. If you keep the sauce warm for an extended period of time, the sauce can break as well.
Sudden changes in temperature can also break the emulsion of the sauce (freezing/defrosting/reheating)
Can You Cook With Frozen Shrimp?
In theory, yes you can boil frozen shrimp in a pot of hot water although I never recommend this method. To make shrimp Alfredo, it’s best to defrost the shrimp before cooking it.
An easy and super quick way to defrost shrimp is to place it in a colander under cold running water, giving it a toss every 2-3 minutes. It takes about 10 minutes for the shrimp to thaw out completely.
Should I Defrost Shrimp Before Cooking?
Yes, to make fettuccini Alfredo I thaw out the shrimp in the refrigerator before cooking them. If you are short on time, you can defrost the shrimp by placing it in a colander under cold running water.
Make Ahead, Storage, Freezing and Reheating
Make Ahead: Creamy pasta recipes are best when served fresh, immediately after made. Pasta dishes dry up quickly as the noodles tend to absorb the creamy sauce.
Storing: Keep any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.
Freezing: I don’t recommend freezing Alfredo pasta.
Reheating: If you need to reheat the sauce only (without the noodles), place it in a saucepan and warm it up slowly over very low heat, stirring as needed.
Pasta Alfredo (already mixed with the noodles) can be reheated in the microwave in small intervals, or in a baking dish, covered in a preheated 325ºF oven. You may need to stir the pasta with a little bit of water to make the sauce creamy again.
Shrimp can overcook fast so make sure you don’t heat the pasta for too long.
Alfredo Shrimp Recipe Tips
- Shrimp cooks very quickly. It only takes about 2 minutes of cooking time per side.
- If your Alfredo sauce looks a bit thin, don’t worry. When tossing the pasta with the sauce, the pasta will release some of its starch, making the sauce a bit thicker.
- If your shrimp pasta Alfredo is too thick, add some cooking pasta water and toss to combine.
- Alfredo Pasta is best served immediately after it is ready. The sauce can be reheated on the stove top but must be heated slowly. otherwise it separates.
- Make seafood Alfredo pasta by using other seafood like scallops or crawfish.
- Other proteins, like chicken or sausage can be used to make this dish.
Take a Look at These Other Easy Shrimp Recipes:
- Cajun Shrimp Pasta
- Shrimp Ceviche
- Grilled Shrimp Skewers
- Shrimp Pad Thai
- Tom Yum Soup (Thai Hot and Sour Soup)
Shrimp Alfredo Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fettuccine or any pasta of your choice
- 1 pound large shrimp peeled and deveined, tails on or off
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 cups heavy cream
- A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus more for garnish – optional
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley or chopped basil.
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in salted water according to package directions.
- Rinse and pat dry the shrimp. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the shrimp to the pan and cook for about 1-2 minutes per side or until the shrimp turns pink. Remove the shrimp from the skillet and set aside.
- Lower the heat to medium-low and add the remaining butter to the skillet. When the butter is melted, add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute scraping the bottom of the skillet to release any brown bits. You want the garlic to become aromatic but not to brown .
- Whisk in the heavy cream and add the nutmeg. Simmer for 4-5 minutes or until just thickened.
- Turn the heat to low and whisk in the Parmesan cheese, stirring continuously, until the cheese has melted. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
- Drain the pasta reserving about 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid.
- Add the shrimp and the pasta to the skillet and toss well. You want to toss the pasta for 1 to 2 minutes so it has time to absorb the sauce. If the pasta gets a bit dry, add some of the reserved cooking pasta liquid.
- Sprinkle with parsley or basil and serve immediately topped with some extra Parmesan cheese (optional).
Recipe Notes
- Shrimp cooks very quickly. It only takes about 2 minutes of cooking time per side.
- If your Alfredo sauce looks a bit thin, don’t worry. When tossing the pasta with the sauce, the pasta will release some of its starch, making the sauce a bit thicker.
- If your shrimp pasta Alfredo is too thick, add some cooking pasta water and toss to combine.
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