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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This recipe, as written, is now in the weekly rotation. Darn delirious.
Excellent, I even used Kale since that’s all I had and it was still wonderful!
Great dish to make on a weeknight using minimal ingredients. As a Louisianan who loves a heavy hand of garlic, I added 2 additional cloves, a sprinkle of onion powder, broccoli and a medley of sweet peppers and bell peppers to give it a punch of flavor and color. I finished it off with a sprinkle of parm after plating. Pleased with the turn out.
it was amazing! i just made this recipe and omggg! will be doing again
Very easy and damn delicious
Simple to make and damned delicious! I added some roasted red bell pepper strips for a little more fun. I felt guilty about using all of that butter but it was worth it!
We didn’t have arugula either so we used green onion tops for the greens, added a bit more red pepper flakes. Delicious! great recipe to tweak depending on what’s on hand!
Fabulous would use I/2 red pepper flakes for those light weights and didn’t have arugula so substituted spinach and it was a huge hit thank you
I’ve made this twice; it’s becoming my new favorite comfort food! I haven’t included the arugula because I don’t usually keep it on hand. Instead, I add a hand full of frozen green peas to the pasta water during the final minute. The sauce is all you need to flavor the shrimp and pasta but I have sprinkled the shrimp with a little lemon pepper. Thank you for this winning recipe!
The recipe was delicious. I made the mistake of using angel hair pasta and it was very clumpy. Next time, I will consider using ziti.
This was so delicious – in fact my husband said it might be the best thing I’ve ever made. I did make a few changes. First I marinated the shrimp in half the garlic and some olive oil – really does make a difference. I also used about 3 tablespoons of butter but added a splash of white wine. I also added cherry tomatoes as per comment suggestions, but roasted them first. Oh and I didn’t have arugula, but did add the parsley.
This was my first time making this and it was DELICIOUS!!
I fixed this and my absolutely loved it! Delicious!
Thank you for a delicious meal. So easy and quick to make. Will definitely make this again.
I halved the butter and it was more than enough. I added capers, lemon zest and lemon juice at the end. Yum.
Just made this fabulous dish and let me just say it’s heavenly!!!!
Delicious! Many thanks for a great recipe!
Just made this for dinner and it’s a keeper for sure. So easy and delicious! I didn’t have any arugula so I used baby spinach and it was fine.
The only thing I wish is that you listed number of calories per serving. Due to the whole stick of butter, I’m assuming I’m over my calorie limit for today but I loved the dish!! Will definitely be making this again.
We didn’t have arugula and we used gf rotini and it was still delicious! All my kids came back for seconds. Will definitely be on the rotation.
Made it yesterday. Everyone loved it!!! I also used spinach instead of arugula 🙂
This dish was easy and very tasty!! I added lots more garlic & butter plus some small varied colored tomatoes at the end!! My dish looked like I spent all day preparing it! Paired with a salad and some garlic bread and wine!! It was a hit!! Definitely a recipe I will use often!!