Creamy Garlic Shrimp Pasta
Not only is this creamy garlic shrimp pasta incredibly delicious with all that garlic butter parmesan flavor, but it is also so quick and easy to make!
Simple and fast enough for a weeknight dinner, this creamy shrimp pasta is also restaurant-level good.
Take a look at the recipe to see a hack for lightening up a normally rich and heavy cream-laden dish!
What Kind of Shrimp to Use
The truth is, most of us are going to be dealing with frozen shrimp – not fresh caught. Even the shrimp at most meat counters in the grocery store is shrimp that has been frozen and thawed.
I like to use large shrimp for this recipe. The package is labeled 21 to 30 shrimp per pound (or thereabouts). But really any size of shrimp can be used.
Toss the shrimp with smoked paprika, salt and pepper.
Smoked paprika is the KEY to layers of delicious flavor in this recipe. If you don’t have smoked paprika, you can use regular paprika, but it’s worth getting your hands on some smoked paprika, I promise.
Cook the shrimp in a skillet in a single layer until beautifully pink and cooked through.
It won’t take long! Shrimp cooks very quickly, and you don’t want it to overcook.
You’ll likely want to do this in two batches so the pan isn’t too crowded.
Making the Creamy Garlic Butter Sauce
The first step in the creamy sauce is sizzling butter and garlic together until fragrant. YUM.
Next, you’re going to follow your heart and decide how you want to creamify the sauce.
Here are your options:
- Use heavy cream*. It’s thick and luxurious and rich and never grainy.
- Use milk + a little bit of cornstarch. It’s light (both in texture and calories) and creamy and simple and smooth.
I’ve made this recipe with both options, and honestly, each variation is really, really delicious. The heavy cream version makes a slightly silkier sauce, but the milk + cornstarch version is wonderful, too, and is usually the way I make it.
*Depending on what brand of heavy cream you have on hand, you can still whisk the heavy cream with cornstarch for a thicker sauce. I find that different brands of heavy cream vary quite a bit in thickness. Heavy cream labeled 38 to 40% cream will be very thick (that’s generally the kind I buy from Costco).
Simmer and Toss
Cook the sauce at a low simmer for just a few minutes until slightly thickened. Then add the Parmesan cheese and whisk until the cheese is melted.
Freshly grated Parmesan is best here – it will melt far better than pre-shredded Parmesan cheese.
Important Note About the Pasta
Helpful Timing Tip: start the water boiling for the pasta at the very beginning and then get working on the shrimp and sauce. Take a quick break to add the pasta. While the pasta cooks, you can finish up the other components.
The most important thing to remember about this recipe is that you need to ladle out and reserve a cup or so of the pasta water before draining the pasta!
Every time I’ve made this recipe, I’ve ended up using a good portion of the reserved pasta water to help loosen up the sauce. The starchy pasta water amplifies the creaminess of the sauce and helps the pasta not become stodgy and sticky.
Serve Immediately {Plus a Note About Leftovers}
This pasta benefits greatly from being served immediately. Because this dish is light on sauce anyway, the longer it sits, the less creamy it becomes.
You can definitely increase the sauce ingredients for a saucier pasta, but I find the sauce amount in the recipe is a perfect compliment to the pasta and shrimp without being overwhelming.
Interestingly, for a light-on-sauce-pasta, I think the leftovers are FABULOUS, which isn’t always the case with leftover pasta.
Heated up slightly (or yes, even eaten cold), the leftovers are more reminiscent of pasta salad than a decadent pasta dish – and it just really works for me. As in: Hi, I’m Mel, the leftover hoarder, it’s real nice to meet you.
What to Serve With This
One Year Ago: Easy Cheesy Breadsticks
Two Years Ago: Easy Yogurt Flatbread
Three Years Ago: Lemon Bar White Chocolate Brownies
Four Years Ago: Easy Choco-Banana Bars
Five Years Ago: Extra Fudgy Brownies {One Bowl!}
Six Years Ago: The Best White Sandwich Bread
Seven Years Ago: Soft Baked Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie {Egg-Free}
Eight Years Ago: Fudgy Coconut Oil Brownie Bites
Nine Years Ago: Incredible Chocolate Pudding {Dairy, Egg and Gluten Free}
Ten Years Ago: Chocolate Frosted Brownies
Creamy Garlic Shrimp Pasta
Ingredients
Pasta + Shrimp:
- 1 to 2 pounds peeled, deveined shrimp (remove tails, if needed) – see note
- 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika (or regular paprika)
- Salt and pepper
- 12 ounces linguine or spaghetti
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 ½ cups milk (not skim) or heavy cream (see note!)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Pinch of black pepper
- 1 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
- Chopped, fresh parsley, for garnish
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels. In a medium bowl, toss the shrimp together with the smoked paprika and a small pinch or so of salt and pepper.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, according to package directions. BEFORE DRAINING, ladle out 1-2 cups of the pasta water and set aside for later. Drain the pasta.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat the 1 tablespoon butter + 1 tablespoon olive oil in a 12-inch skillet (or a deep skillet) over medium heat until hot and rippling. Add half of the shrimp in a single layer and cook for 30-45 seconds; flip the shrimp and cook just until the shrimp have turned pink and are cooked through (it won't take long!).
- Using tongs, remove the shrimp to a plate keeping as much butter/liquid in the pan as possible. Repeat with remaining shrimp – removing to the plate with the other shrimp when done cooking.
- Return the pan to medium heat and melt the 2 tablespoons butter. Add the garlic and cook, stirring often (don't let it burn!), until fragrant, about 30-45 seconds.
- If using milk, whisk it together with the cornstarch (see note below). Pour the milk mixture (or heavy cream, if using) into the pan and whisk to combine, letting the sauce bubble and thicken slightly, 1-2 minutes.
- Add the salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese. Stir over medium heat until the cheese is melted.
- Add the cooked noodles, lifting and tossing with tongs to coat the pasta thoroughly with the sauce. Add spoonfuls of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce and pasta (just eyeball it – probably won't need to add all the reserved water).
- Add the shrimp and toss to combine with the pasta. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, if needed! Sprinkle with fresh parsley.
- Serve immediately (for maximum creaminess)! Serve with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Wonderful! Should have bought peeled/deveined shrimp as that took the longest time. But we love this and will make it again and again.
Wow! This is great! My husband and I both loved it. It comes together so quickly and easily, yet tastes like something I would be very happy to have served to me in a restaurant!
Made this last night. Easy enough to make. Way too much parm cheese, really took over the flavour of everything else. Next time I will use a lot less of the parm cheese.
Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Very simple recipe. Ingredients wasn’t pricey at all. Overall 5. Try it you won’t be upset!
Love this recipe! Super easy and so delicious! I added a little bit of Cajun seasoning for some extra spice and it was amazing! Even my 4 year old loved it! I’ll definitely be making again.
This was really good. I used 2% milk and probably add 1.5 c of parm.
I am so happy!! ( :
Cooked some bella mushrooms I’d frozen and saved for something important. This was that moment. When I was finished and admiring the beautiful pasta it occurred to me that I still had the mushroom. I sautéd them in a separate pan so they didn’t muddle up the pretty color from the paprika.
This was so good. Thank you, I’m gonna send this to everyone I know and brag about it to my coworkers who ask what that smell is! LOL
No leftovers here. We loved the strong flavors of the smoked paprika and garlic ( I may have gone a little overboard )
I’m so glad I tried this!
Thanks , Mel
That was the best I ever had
Mel. This was AMAZING. I left out the shrimp and just did the pasta and sauce, and it was the best Alfredo sauce I have ever made, no contest. I have a terrible track record with Alfredo sauce recipes that separate and curdle and make me want to cry…this was smooth, creamy, flavorful, and indescribably delicious. THANK YOU for working your recipe magic in my kitchen yet again. You are a superhero.
Love reading this, Anna! Thank you!
not sure why but white sauce pastas have always been slightly off with me. truly not sure what it is, but they just never taste the way they’re supposed to. im not sure what’s different this time, was it something i did… or was it this recipe? either way, this turned out fantastic and my normally pasta hating husband went back for seconds. kids all loved it as well.
I made this tonight and my husband loved it. I was started making it before I realized I had mozarella cheese, not parmesan. This meant it was kind of bland. (My fault) I used 1/2 and 1/2 instead of cream and it was creamy, but not thick. I will definitely make it again with the right cheese.
This was absolutely delicious! As always, Mel, you delivered! Our family loved it, especially our 15 year old daughter. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!
Thank you so much, Stephanie! So happy you and your family loved this one!
Delicious! I did squeeze half a lemon on top before I served. Soo good!
Thanks, Natalie! Good call on the lemon!
This was fast, easy, delicious and everyone liked it! What’s not to love. I served it with sheet pan roasted vegetables. Will make often.
I’ve made this twice and it was delicious both times. The first time, I thought it was a little heavy, so I remarked on that to a friend who is an accomplished cook, and said that I was going to switch from cream to half and half the next time I made it. She was horrified, and told me that instead I should sprinkle the dish with lemon juice. I tried that and it was just the ticket. Thanks, Mel, for another great dish.
Great advice, Margaret. Thanks for sharing!
I made this for my lunch today and it was very good. Very easy to scale recipe up or down to fit the amount I need for 1 or 2 people. Will make it again. I loved the smoked paprika in it.
This sounds so good! I accidentally bought Asiago at Aldi instead of parm. Do you think this would still work all right? Or should I wait to make it?
I’d say go for it – Asiago is delicious!
Oh good! I’m definitely going to try it and report back! We’re out of town to visit some family, but it is definitely on the menu when we get home. 😉 Thanks, Mel!
Creamy and delicious! Your recipes have converted the shrimp haters in our family, and they now request shrimp meals! I used Asiago, and it was wonderful. Next time, I’ll try it with parm as written and a squeeze of lemon as others suggested. 🙂
Oh, and I did 1.5 the sauce because I used 1 lb of pasta and added broccoli as another reader mentioned. Yum! 🙂
I just made this with homemade sourdough noodles and it was divine! Thanks for a really great recipe!
Enjoyed the shrimp and pasta! I would double the spices next time and maybe even triple the garlic.
Hi Mel! I am going to hopefully make this over the weekend! Two questions, for the frozen shrimp, is it “cooked”? The frozen shrimp has “cooked” on front of the package, so want to make sure. Also, is heavy whipping cream the same as heavy cream?
Thanks so much!
Hi Lori – sorry for the confusion (and delay in responding) – the shrimp is uncooked, and yes, heavy whipping cream and heavy cream can be used interchangeably (different brands label differently).
My family loved this! I hate having leftover pasta, so I used the whole 16 oz package and added some broccoli because I didn’t have any salad fixings. It definitely was not as saucy because of my swaps…if I was doing it again, I would make 1 1/2 times the sauce for my changes. Everyone ate and declared it a win though. Thanks for making dinner easy and delicious once again.
The broccoli sounds like a perfect addition! I’m going to try that, too. Good to know about the sauce. 🙂
Delicious! Special enough for my daughter’s birthday dinner, and easy enough to throw together on a weeknight. Thank you for another fabulous recipe!
Made this for Sunday dinner yesterday and we all loved it. I upped the sauce a bit and used parm-reg so it had a lot of great flavor. Will definitely make again. Thanks, Mel!
Ooops forgot the stars
I felt there wasn’t much flavor at all, very bland. I wanted to love it, but it was a no from my family.
Adding that additional salt and pepper in step #9 will help boost flavor for sure. Sorry you didn’t love this one!
I’m really looking forward to making this cozy dish in the coming weeks, Mel. What side dish would pair well?
Hi Lauren, a nice green salad and breadsticks would go well with this meal!
This recipe looks amazing and I will make it asap!
The sauce portion of this recipe is very close to something I use often. I’ll make this cream sauce and use it on any pasta: orzo makes it risotto-like, ditalini or elbow macaroni is a fun more Mac-and-cheese texture, small shells are amazing. And then I’ll add whatever my heart desires. Sautéed mushrooms (with S&P and a little garlic powder) + orzo is like risotto. shells and peas is delicious, add some leftover ham, saute some zucchini and squash and add that in. It’s so versatile! I’ll often make some grilled chicken and serve this and some vegetables as sides. It’s a nice alternative to rice or potatoes. Just fancies up the meal a bit!
Sounds amazing, Rikki!
Yum, yum yum. Always looking for lighter versions of tasty dishes. Thank you so much.
Thanks, Shery!