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Shrimp Alfredo Pasta is a decadent dish that’s sure to impress! Creamy and cheesy, rich and indulgent, yet easy enough to whip up in just minutes.
Featured with this recipe
- Easy Shrimp Alfredo Recipe Ingredients
- How to Make Seafood Alfredo
- Tips for Making the Best Shrimp Alfredo
- What goes with Shrimp Alfredo?
- More Pasta and Pasta Sauce Recipes
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Can Shrimp Alfredo Pasta Be Frozen?
- How to Store Shrimp Alfredo Pasta
- How to Reheat Shrimp Alfredo Pasta
- Favorite Shrimp Recipes
- How to Make Shrimp Alfredo Pasta
- Shrimp Alfredo Pasta Recipe
This shrimp Alfredo pasta recipe is perfect to serve for special occasions or quick dinner nights. It looks and tastes fancy, but actually is super simple to make. If you’re looking to impress someone, try this dinner! You’ll get all the accolades without all the work in the kitchen. Plus, it tastes oh-so-delicious.
Dinner can be made in less than 30 minutes with this shrimp Alfredo pasta dish! The noodles are cooked in a matter of minutes, Alfredo simmers during this time, and the shrimp takes seconds to turn pink. It is the perfect combination of a complete meal!
Easy Shrimp Alfredo Recipe Ingredients
Eight ingredients that blend so well together, create the best pasta dish! You will love the taste of pasta wrapped around your shrimp, covered in Alfredo sauce. It is the best meal for a quick date night in or a family dinner for those seafood lovers in your family.
- Shrimp – Purchase the shrimp already peeled and deveined to save you time. Most shrimp comes in a bag that is already frozen. Follow the back of the bag for thawing the shrimp before cooking them.
- Seasoning salt – This gives the shrimp a sweet and savory flavoring while sautéing.
- Butter – Cook the shrimp in either salted or unsalted butter. The butter can be cold when melting in the large pot.
- Garlic – Adds a nutty and savory flavor to the Alfredo sauce.
- Milk – Gives the Alfredo sauce a rich and creamy texture.
- Cream cheese – Thickens the white sauce while adding a hint of sweetness to the homemade Alfredo sauce.
- Parmesan cheese – Freshly grated parmesan cheese give thickness and blends well while melting into the sauce. This combination gives a rich and bold flavor!
- Pasta – Cook your pasta according to the package directions. We used linguine with the shrimp and Alfredo sauce. Fettuccine will work too if you are wanting the classic shrimp fettuccine Alfredo.
How to Make Seafood Alfredo
There are three main steps in making shrimp Alfredo. First is the pasta, then the creamy homemade Alfredo sauce, and lastly the tender shrimp. This combination is out of this world delicious! Make this a complete meal with a side salad and garlic bread, garnish with parsley flakes!
- Shrimp – Rinse and dry the shrimp. In a medium-sized bowl, toss shrimp in seasoning salt and set aside. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of butter and garlic over medium heat until the butter is melted. Add shrimp and sauté until shrimp becomes pink and opaque. Remove shrimp from the skillet, cover, and set aside.
- Alfredo sauce – In the same skillet (do not wipe clean), add 4 tablespoons butter, milk, cream cheese, salt, and pepper, whisking often. Heat until cream cheese is melted and completely smooth (not quite boiling). Add parmesan cheese and whisk until smooth.
- Pasta – Add pasta to skillet and toss until pasta is coated in Alfredo sauce. Add more milk if needed to thin the sauce if it is too thick.
Tips for Making the Best Shrimp Alfredo
This quick and easy shrimp Alfredo dinner is full of flavor and deliciousness! Make this dinner even easier by being prepared with these helpful tips. Learn the best ways to make this seafood dinner with a few steps below!
- Be prepared – This cooks up quickly so being prepared is best. Have your pasta water ready and boiling, the alfredo will have to simmer, and the shrimp cooks up quickly. Altogether, you will want your pots and pans ready on the stove to cook simultaneously to have it done and can serve all together.
- Cooking shrimp – Shrimp cook quickly! You do not want to overcook your shrimp. Once the shrimp is a pink, opaque color you will want to remove them quickly. Use tongs to cook shrimp. This is easier to flip and grab to transfer to a plate.
- Alfredo sauce – When you melt parmesan cheese for the Alfredo sauce you will want to make sure that you continually stir the sauce until it is combined. Alfredo sauce is a slow and steady sauce that does take time. You do not want to rush it or the creams will separate. Cook on medium-low heat to medium-high heat.
- Thicken your sauce – For a thicker sauce substitute heavy cream for your milk.
- Protein – If you are not a seafood lover and would like to use chicken or pork over top your noodles, that works great too. Even adding scallops or mussels with the shrimp is a great choice as well.
What goes with Shrimp Alfredo?
Round out this delicious dish with a simple green salad and one or more of these sides and bask in the joy of creating the perfect romantic dinner.
More Pasta and Pasta Sauce Recipes
Pasta dishes are quick, easy, flavorful, and fancy! Try a few of our favorite recipes and wow your friends and family. These are all made in less than 30 minutes!
“Such a simple and delicious recipe!”
-Justine
Frequently Asked Questions
Seasoning and spices are always great add-ins. If you feel the Alfredo needs a little more flavor then add in Italian seasoning, dried basil, oregano, parsley, onion, or garlic powder to help intensify the flavor. Start by adding in small amounts and tasting in between in order to gradually get the flavor you are looking for.
For this dish, I absolutely adore linguine noodles. They’re the perfect thickness and don’t dominate over the shrimp, which is the real star of this meal. If you simply can’t imagine Alfredo sauce without fettuccini noodles (because that’s a match made in heaven) then by all means, use them! You can use just about any type of pasta: spaghetti, penne, tortellini, angel hair, ravioli.
Want to add some extra color to your plate? Toss in some fresh spinach leaves, asparagus spears, or to the pasta and sauce. I’ll eat just about anything when it’s covered in Alfredo sauce! Feel free to add any vegetable you like. That’s the beauty of this recipe; it’s versatile and simple so you can experiment with extra ingredients to really make it your own.
If you need to devein your shrimp, no worries! This is a simple step that takes seconds to prepare your shrimp. Stretch the shrimp to make it straight and lightly pull the shell away from each other. Remove the outside of the shell and you will see a black line. Slowly remove the vein by pulling it.
Can Shrimp Alfredo Pasta Be Frozen?
It’s important to freeze the sauce only, not the noodles or shrimp. Alfredo sauce is always best when it’s served fresh, but you can freeze it to use later. Here are some tips for the best results!
- Freeze the sauce quickly after cooking.
- Use a really thick, airtight freezer-safe container for storage.
- Thaw completely in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Finally, stir constantly when reheating in the microwave or stovetop to prevent the ingredients from separating.
How to Store Shrimp Alfredo Pasta
While the Alfredo sauce and shrimp are best served immediately, you can store leftovers for up to five days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It’s delicious for lunch the next day!
How to Reheat Shrimp Alfredo Pasta
If you’re reheating your frozen sauce, allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight. Then, heat in a saucepan until hot, stirring constantly. To reheat leftovers from the fridge with the noodles, place them in a large skillet and add a little milk. Stir until hot, adding more milk to reach your desired thickness.
Favorite Shrimp Recipes
Can’t get enough plump, tasty shrimp?! Try some of these mouthwatering recipes that have all the shrimp you can eat. They are packed full of flavor and seafood deliciousness!
How to Make Shrimp Alfredo Pasta
Shrimp Alfredo Pasta
Equipment
- Fry Pan/Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 teaspoons garlic minced
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 cups milk
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- Kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1 cup parmesan cheese fresh, grated
- 1 pound cooked pasta (cooked according to package directions)
Instructions
- Rinse and dry shrimp. In a medium-sized bowl, toss shrimp in seasoning salt and set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter and garlic over medium heat until butter is melted. Add shrimp and sauté until shrimp becomes pink and opaque.
- Remove shrimp from skillet, cover, and set aside.
- In the same skillet (do not wipe clean), add 4 tablespoons butter, milk, cream cheese, salt, and pepper, whisking often. Heat until cream cheese is melted and completely smooth (not quite boiling).
- Add parmesan cheese and whisk until smooth.
- Add pasta to skillet and toss until pasta in coated in Alfredo sauce. Add more milk if needed to thin sauce if it is too thick.
- Add cooked shrimp and serve!
Notes
Can Shrimp Alfredo Pasta Be Frozen?
It’s important to freeze the sauce only, not the noodles or shrimp. Alfredo sauce is always best when it’s served fresh, but you can freeze it to use later. Here are some tips for the best results!- Freeze the sauce quickly after cooking.
- Use a really thick, airtight freezer-safe container for storage.
- Thaw completely in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Finally, stir constantly when reheating in the microwave or stovetop to prevent the ingredients from separating.
Very good!!
Would this work if I used the yellow and white shredded cheese from the store? I don’t have any fresh parmesan at the moment, but I wanted to make something nice for my mom.
It’s going to make a very different dish if you use cheddar cheese. Fresh parmesan is the only cheese I add to my pasta sauces, unless I am making Mac & Cheese. Do you have the canned grated parmesan cheese? That will work too. I would use that over cheddar.
Can’t wait to try this recipe, I know my family will love it!
Such a simple and delicious recipe!
This looks amazing, is the shrimp cooked or raw? Sorry Kansas’s need to be taught about shrimp.
Hi Lynn– the shrimp is uncooked to begin with. It should be gray to start off. It cooks up to pink really quick. 🙂 Hope this helps!
Hi
Could we add other seafood to this dish? I was thinking king crab?
I don’t see why not! That would be DELICIOUS!
Is it possible to use lactose free milk? I love Alfredo sauce I just can’t digest cream☹️
We haven’t tried it that way before so I can’t saw for sure. I’m not sure how it would taste adding lactose free milk to any recipe calling for milk or cream. If you try it, please come back and let us know how it turns out!