Skinny Shrimp Alfredo Pasta Bake
An unbelievably cheesy, creamy lightened-up pasta bake that you can easily make ahead of time. Just pop it right in the oven before serving!
Seafood alfredo was a huge favorite of mine growing up. It was the only kind of pasta I would eat, no matter which Italian restaurant we were in. All I needed was that “white pasta” and those warm bread rolls at the center of the table, and I was the happiest kid ever.
But since I don’t have that fast metabolism I had as a kid, this skinny version fits in perfectly. Best of all, taste is not compromised at all in this lightened-up version. TRUST.
It’s just as creamy and cheesy as the original, and you can even make it ahead of time. All you have to do is pop it right in the oven and dinner will be on the table in just 15 minutes. Boom.
Skinny Shrimp Alfredo Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 8 ounces whole wheat penne pasta
- 1 14.5-ounce can petite diced tomatoes, drained
- ½ cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
For the alfredo sauce
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 6-ounce can 2% evaporated milk
- 1 ounce light cream cheese
- ¼ cup chicken broth, or more, to taste
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- To make the alfredo sauce, melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
- Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk, and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in cream cheese and chicken broth until smooth, about 1 minute; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add more chicken broth as needed until desired consistency is reached.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.
- Place shrimp onto the prepared baking sheet. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper, to taste, and gently toss to combine. Place into oven and roast just until pink, firm and cooked through, about 6-8 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
- Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat an 8×8 baking dish with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, combine shrimp, pasta, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, red pepper flakes and alfredo sauce. Add pasta mixture to prepared baking dish and top with Parmesan.
- Place into oven and bake until golden brown and cheese has melted, about 10 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
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*Chef’s kiss* I’d give the alfredo shrimp pasta bake more than 5 stars if I was able! Living in a landlocked place, this was the first time my shrimp turned out tenderly, rather than rubbery. Fresh, light and the whole family enjoyed – even my two picky 11 year old and 3 year old kids!
Hi,
Is the nutritional information listed? I cannot find it?
Hi,
If the pasta has been refrigerated over night, at what temperature and how long should it bake in the oven?
Thanks you
What a huge winner! I was able to make this much more quickly and with less mess than most other pasta bakes, and by baking the shrimp at the same time as the pasta it saved a lot of time. Simple but delicious and a big hit in the house. Will be making again often, especially considering that the fat was so much less than other creamy shrimp recipes- of course not ‘gone’ but less is always better when it doesn’t loose the flavor.
This is absolutely delicious! I’ve made it multiple times over the past couple of months–sometimes with chicken and sometimes with shrimp (one of our kids has a shrimp allergy). I usually make a quadruple batch and freeze half. To freeze, I use a shallow disposable 9×13 pan, cover the pan with regular foil (and write the thawing and baking directions on the foil), and then wrap the entire pan with heavy-duty foil. To defrost, remove the outer heavy foil and leave in fridge for 48 hours. Bake per recipe directions. YUM! Thanks for another great recipe!
Tried this tonight!! Huge hit with the family, including my 11 year old who….”doesn’t like tomatoes” lol. She had seconds even. Will definitely be adding this to my seafood board. I saw on one of the answers that there is 580 calories per serving and another response had the fat calories. I was wondering if you can direct me to the nutritional information chart? I can’t seem to find it. Thanks so much for the delicious recipe.
Make this all the time. Best recipe !
Can this be prepared the day before and baked the following day?
I made this tonight and it was sooooo good! Thank you for the dish!
Okay, the dish was alright, but if you like your food seasoned, I would highly recommend adding more seasoning in addition to salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. The dish was a little on the bland side, so maybe add some italian seasoning and garlic powder to the sauce. I would also recommend making a little more sauce because i felt like there wasn’t enough sauce for the amount of noodles and shrimp. But, this is a really good base for a recipe, it just needed a little more love.
My neighbor brought some fresh caught shrimp over so I made this dish. It was so good. The shrimp were small & a pain to clean, but, they were so sweet and delicious. We will definitely have this again. Would be good with chicken too.
I recently purchased a pound of cooked/frozen langostinos and wasn’t sure what I would make. I made Shrimp and Langostino Alfredo Pasta Bake!! I made a few adjustments based on the number of servings and available ingredients. First, I tripled the recipe with a few exceptions on the amount of ingredients used. 1. I used 20 ounces of shrimp (weight after peeled/deveined and tails off). 2. I used 1 pound of langostinos. I didn’t have reduced-fat cheeses on hand, and no problem! Right? Instead of garnishing with parsley, I used fresh chives from the garden.
The pasta mixture – I tossed the shrimp into the mix RAW, and I did NOT add the pre-cooked langostinos. The mixture just fit in a 9×13 baking dish. I baked the dish for 10 minutes before adding the langostino. I baked the dish for another 10 minutes and added the fresh Parmesan cheese. I continue to bake the dish checking for an internal temperature of 130 degrees in the center.
I covered the dish with foil and left in the oven on a warm setting (140 degrees) until serving!
I’m not sure that I’ve reviewed this yet but I’ve made this recipe COUNTLESS times and its always a hit. Tonight I realized I had leftover crab meat and frozen pizza crusts. I made your alfredo recipe and used it as a sauce on the pizza crusts with some cooked shrimp and crab meat. Sprinkled with mozzarella and old bay and BOY WAS IT DELICIOUS!
This was really delicious. I added an extra diced up tomato since we love tomatoes. I used fat-free condensed milk and regular Philadelphia cream cheese, since that’s what I had on hand. My husband got up 2 more times to fill his plate.i will definitely be making this dish again. Thank you for sharing this yummy recipe.
Ummmm….yummmm! I’ve made this twice, once for myself and once for a women’s table y’all event at my friends house. I used gluten free penne noodles, left out the tomatoes as I’m not a fan & added spinach & a bit more cheese. First, the homemade Alfredo sauce is better than the stuff in the jar. I’m actually not a fan of thick creamy sauces or dressings, however you can thin it out to your liking. I seasoned my shrimp with Creole seasoning & pepper flakes. If it’s too bland for you, you can always use salted butter and season the sauce to your taste preference. I love seafood, haven’t made it with chicken, however I’m sure it would be just as good. Whether you’re an experienced cook, or a beginner, just follow the recipe and tweak to your tastebuds and you can’t lose!
This recipe was delish. Was happy with it.
I did add cooked linguine for the pasta. Also subbed to jar roasted garlic Alfredo.
Will make again.
Substituted cauliflower pasta it was delicious, i substituted roasted diced tomatoes and it was so good. Will Definitely make this recipe again
I love this pasta, I cook it now with chicken because we didn’t have prawns one time and tastes awesome too. If anyone is lactose intolerant normal lactose free milk works just fine with this recipe! This is our go to recipe! Delish!
Did you also use the cream cheese with the lactose free milk?
OMG that was amazing. I didn’t have cream cheese or evaporated milk, so substituted low-fat cottage cheese pureed and boiled 1% milk down to 6 oz for evaporated milk and instead of canned diced tomatoes, I diced fresh ones and it was a hit with everyone!!! Will definitely make again and again!!!
I’ve made this multiple times and it’s great! Always comes out perfectly! I want to try and make this ahead of time and I see that others have asked that and the recipe indicates it but I’m concerned about how long I should cook it if being refrigerated before. Have people done this yet? What’s the best cool time and temp?