Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta
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An easy peasy pasta dish that’s simple, flavorful and hearty. And all you need is 20 min to whip this up!
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Spring is here and it’s all about staying in, wearing your favorite sweatpants and cooking up some major comfort food. Specifically, 20 min quick comfort food with al dente pasta, quick pan-fried garlicky shrimp, and sneaked in greens, all topped with freshly grated Parmesan.
And let me share with you again – this comes together lightening fast. You can whip up the garlicky, buttery shrimp so quickly while your pasta cooks through. And with wide, long strand fettuccine noodles, we have just enough space to coat all that silky buttery heavenly goodness.
It’s the most perfect quick and easy dinner – for family, for friends, for company. All of the above. It’s all just so so good.
tips and tricks for success
- Fresh pasta goes a long way. We love using homemade pasta whenever possible as it is much smoother and silkier (and cooks much faster than store-bought!).
- Use high-quality shrimp. Medium or large wild-caught shrimp are much more meatier and juicier than farm-raised shrimp.
- Long strand-like pasta is ideal. Fettuccine is a great pasta to use because it holds up sauce very well. Linguine, spaghetti or angel hair pasta are also good options.
- Add in leafy greens. This is a great recipe to sneak in leafy greens for those picky eaters. Arugula, spinach, kale, collard greens or swiss chard are all great options.
what to serve with shrimp pasta
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta: Frequently Asked Questions
You can thaw frozen shrimp overnight, transferring it from the freezer to the fridge the day before. For a quick thaw, you can run them under cold water until completely thawed, about 5-10 minutes. Pat them dry as thoroughly as possible to remove any excess moisture (so they can brown nicely and evenly).
Fresh or dried long strands of pasta such as fettuccine, linguine or spaghetti will all work very well.
Absolutely! You can substitute thyme or rosemary (dried or fresh!) or any other herb of your choosing. And because dried herbs are often more potent/concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. The correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh herbs to 1 teaspoon dried herbs.
Baby spinach and kale are both nutrient-rich and great alternatives.
Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fettuccine, linguine, or spaghetti
- 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 cups baby arugula or spinach
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
- Season shrimp with salt and pepper, to taste; set aside.
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until pink, about 2-3 minutes; set aside.
- Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in the skillet. Stir in pasta, arugula and Parmesan until arugula begins to wilt, about 2 minutes. Stir in shrimp.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
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Found this recipe on pinterest and cooked as one of my dishes. My husband loved it. Had seconds and asked for it to be part of our weekly menu. Mind you he never liked pasta without tomato sauce before. I use kale instead of arugula. I’m not a big fan of cooking but thank you so much. I can’t mess this up.
Kid you not- I didn’t have any shrimp or leafy green very ke and it was still delicious!
what is the substitute for crushed red pepper flakes and dried oregano..?
You can omit the red pepper flakes and substitute other herbs for the oregano. Hope that helps!
We used cayenne instead.
I made this tonight and we loved it! Thank you for an easy and delicious recipe!
This might be a silly question, but I haven’t cooked with shrimp before- would you recommend leaving the tails on or take them off? Does it matter? Thanks!
You can leave them on or off – it’s up to you.
We are a culture that loves to acquire more and more. We like to shop for ourselves and we like to shop for others.
Throwing in some red and yellow peppers. because they rock and are on sale.
This reciepe was to die for! I used all of the ingredients as required. I added an extra bit of a kick by adding more of the crushed red pepper,and extra minced garlic. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
This sounds delicious! I want to make it for dinner tonight but I don’t have any Parmesan. Could I use shredded mozzarella instead? Also could I use mushrooms instead of the arugula?
Yes, absolutely.
Thank you so much for this recipe. I tend to veer away from making any seafood pasta or any seafood in general, but this one was really easy and simple to follow. I ended up using spinach instead of arugula and I thought it was just as delicious! Thanks again for this wonderful recipe!
I made this for dinner on sunday ( I ate it all :-S) Then made another pot on Monday for my co-workers to try. I know they will love it just as much as I did. I had had a hard time finding arugula in the grocery stores here. One store employee told me to find arugula in the spice aisle **cough Walmart cough cough**
Luckily, I was able to find it at another store in the organic form.
Yummy and easy recepie. Thank you!
We found it in the prewashed salad area in plastic containers.
Made this last night. OMG!!!! Absolutely Wonderful!!!! Thank you!!!!!
Awesome recipe. But I was out of shrimp so I used Louis Kemp Crab Delights and also did not have any arugula or parsley so I used Edamame (soy beans) to give it some color. Very yummy.
I made this last week and it was WONDERFUL. I found the recipe to be easy to follow and it came together quickly. I thought the proportions of everything were spot on. I had a hard time finding arugula; I see several suggestions for kale and spinach as alternatives so I need to remember that. Seriously, this was so good. It beats any dish I’d have at a restaurant. Thank you!
Searched the Net for a pasta and shrimp with butter sauce recipe. Found this simple but wonderful recipe and am so glad I did!! Cooked this for dinner tonight. Soooo good!
I normally don’t cook so this was the first real recipe I tried for my boyfriend and I. And let me tell you it was DELICIOUS! He was so impressed. Thanks so much!
This is best shrimp and pasta dinner I have ever made!
I was a Flight Attendant for 32 years and traveled the world !
I have had the pleasure to eat in some of the finest restaurants around the world and this recipe would be featured in many of them !
But I made it in my home and it was the best!
You have to try it and make it with Brown wild Shrimp, that is from the Gulf of Mexico !
Try it and see for yourself !
Enjoy!
Love!!! Added more garlic 7 cloves total. Might halve the red pepper for company but my husband and I liked the kick!
I am a huge damndelicious fan and have cooked many of your fab recipes, and the fam has LOVED every one! I’m sure this one will also become a family fave!! I mean, butter, garlic and shrimp … it doesn’t get much better! We will be enjoying this meal tonight. I don’t have any arugula, so will be subbing baby spinach, and I am fresh out of parm, so will be using cotija instead. It should be interesting.
Great recipe! I used baby spinach and increased the garlic.
Love pasta but cutting down on carbs. Can I use zucchini noodles instead?
Yes, absolutely.