This homemade shrimp Alfredo recipe tastes amazing and is perfect for both special occasions and busy weeknights. This shrimp fettuccine Alfredo recipe is one of my go-to meals, as the whole family loves it. It’s not complicated to make but tastes as if it came right out of your favorite Italian restaurant’s kitchen. It’s so easy that even a novice cook can make it.
The perfectly tender fettuccine noodles are tossed in a rich Alfredo sauce and topped with plump shrimp, making for an irresistible meal you can make with simple everyday ingredients. The best thing to serve alongside this pasta is my garlic bread recipe, dinner rolls recipe, or breadsticks recipe. Trust me, you’ll want to soak up every single drop of this rich and flavorful sauce in the shrimp Alfredo pasta.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Pasta — I use fettuccine, but you can use any pasta you have on hand, such as linguine, penne, fusilli, or bow-tie pasta.
Butter — I prefer using unsalted butter to better control the salt level of the recipe, but if you only have salted butter, simply adjust the amount of salt you add to the dish.
Shrimp — to save time, you can buy peeled and deveined shrimp to make shrimp Alfredo. You can keep the tails on or have them removed, it’s up to you! Medium and large shrimp are great as it’s much easier to overcook smaller shrimp accidentally.
Heavy cream — the cream makes the homemade Alfredo sauce super creamy and luscious.
Parmesan — I highly recommend freshly shredded Parmesan from a block as the flavor is better, and it melts more smoothly compared to pre-shredded cheese.
How to Make Shrimp Alfredo
1. Bring a large pot of water and 2 teaspoons salt to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook until tender.
2. While the pasta cooks, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shrimp and cook until opaque and pink.
3. Remove shrimp from the skillet to a bowl and set aside.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and garlic. Saute until the garlic is fragrant but not brown. Add the cream to the skillet and bring to a simmer.
5. Whisk in the Parmesan until melted. Stir in ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
6. Drain the pasta, reserving ¼ cup of the pasta water, and cover to keep the pasta warm.
7. Add the drained pasta to the skillet.
8. Add the cooked shrimp and toss the pasta and shrimp until coated with the sauce. If the sauce is too thick, add a small amount of reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce up. Garnish the shrimp Alfredo with parsley and serve immediately.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- I don’t recommend swapping out the heavy cream as milk or half and half will make the sauce more watery. You want the sauce to be creamy and luscious, so it coats the pasta and shrimp. The sauce also won’t be as rich if you switch out the heavy cream.
- Shrimp cooks very quickly, so keep an eye on the skillet! Once the shrimp goes from translucent to opaque, the shrimp is ready.
- If your Alfredo sauce is thin, you can add more parmesan cheese. However, add it after tossing the pasta and shrimp in the sauce. The starch from the pasta will help thicken the sauce as you toss everything together.
- Make sure you use a large enough pot and enough water when you cook the pasta. This ensures you give the noodles enough room, so they don’t stick together. Having enough water in the pot will also give starch from the pasta a chance to dilute, so it does not coat the pasta, making the texture gluey. Stirring the pasta will also help.
- Don’t let the fettuccine alfredo with shrimp sit out for too long before serving it. The Alfredo sauce will start drying up as the dish cools, leading to the pasta clumping together.
- Make sure you reserve some of the pasta water. The starchy liquid will make the sauce silky and smooth, making for a luscious and rich shrimp Alfredo pasta.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can definitely use frozen shrimp to make this shrimp Alfredo pasta! Just make sure to thaw the shrimp beforehand. You can quickly thaw frozen shrimp under some running cold water. Pat the shrimp dry before adding them to the skillet, so you get a nice sear on the shrimp, as the water will make them steam.
Alfredo sauce tends to break if you suddenly cook it on high heat or overcook the sauce. The protein in the cheese will seize up and clump together if the heat is too high.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I don’t suggest keeping it longer as the shrimp will not last more than 3 to 4 days. I don’t recommend freezing shrimp Alfredo pasta.
To reheat leftover Alfredo pasta with shrimp, add leftovers to a skillet over low heat with a splash of milk. Gently toss together under the sauce becomes hot, creamy, and melty again.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this Shrimp Alfredo recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Shrimp Alfredo
Equipment
- Large Pot
- Large skillet
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fettuccine (225g)
- 2 teaspoons plus ¼ teaspoon salt divided
- 3 tablespoons butter divided
- 12 ounces shrimp thawed and peeled (tails optional) (338g)
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup heavy cream (240ml)
- ¾ cup grated parmesan cheese (60g)
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water and 2 teaspoons salt to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook until tender, about 9 minutes.
- While the pasta cooks, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shrimp and cook until opaque and pink, about 3 minutes. Remove shrimp from the skillet to a bowl and set aside. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and garlic. Saute until the garlic is fragrant but not brown, about 1 minute.
- Add the cream to the skillet and bring to a simmer. Whisk in the parmesan until melted. Stir in ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
- Drain the pasta, reserving ¼ cup of the pasta water, and cover to keep the pasta warm.
- Add the drained pasta and cooked shrimp to the skillet and toss until coated. If the sauce is too thick, add a small amount of reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce up. Garnish with parsley. Serve immediately.
Notes
- I don’t recommend swapping out the heavy cream as milk or half and half will make the sauce more watery. You want the sauce to be creamy and luscious, so it coats the pasta and shrimp. The sauce also won’t be as rich if you switch out the heavy cream.
- Shrimp cooks very quickly, so keep an eye on the skillet! Once the shrimp goes from translucent to opaque, the shrimp is ready.
- If your Alfredo sauce is thin, you can add more parmesan cheese. However, add it after tossing the pasta and shrimp in the sauce. The starch from the pasta will help thicken the sauce as you toss everything together.
- Make sure you use a large enough pot and enough water when you cook the pasta. This ensures you give the noodles enough room, so they don’t stick together. Having enough water in the pot will also give starch from the pasta a chance to dilute, so it does not coat the pasta, making the texture gluey. Stirring the pasta will also help.
- Don’t let the fettuccine alfredo with shrimp sit out for too long before serving it. The Alfredo sauce will start drying up as the dish cools, leading to the pasta clumping together.
- Make sure you reserve some of the pasta water. The starchy liquid will make the sauce silky and smooth.
