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 is a family favorite. We add the red pepper flakes to our own dish because of small children eating this. This is in heavy rotation at our house because it’s SO good. I usually double the recipe for a family of 5. We like leftovers. I usually have baby spinach on hand so that’s what I typically use. Go, make this now! 🙂
Absolutely delicious! As I am not a fan of arugula, I used spinach instead- it fused perfectly with the other flavors in the dish. I also added some cherry tomatoes for color and a hint of sweetness. Will definitely be making this again!
Quick and easy! Had most of the ingredients at home. Didn’t use arugula and parm. cheese but even without still yummy.
Followed the recipe except for adding the arugula. Instead I sautéed asparagus tips with the shrimp. My family as well as my guest all thought it was fabulous. This will be a go-to for me.
Delicious! Added a bit more garlic. Chopped some fresh cherry tomatoes and sautéed with the (arugala). Squeeze of fresh lemon juice and added about 1/2 cup of pasta water. Will definitely make again. Thank you for the recipe!
It was easy, I used salad shrimp instead. There was plenty of leftovers, it was not too oily, I have a problem with oil foods. My family loved it they want me to make it more often. The clean-up was easy. I think it was one of the best dishes I have made.
Absolutely delicious!
Substituted the red pepper flakes for cayenne pepper
I also used bow tie noodles and added Alfredo sauce
Damn Delicious! I added Rotel tomatoes , mrs dash table blend to substitute oregano. Also added lemon
lemon pepper to the seasoning of shrimp! Will definitely be using this recipe from now on!
Just what I needed and it was amazing
I used fresh spinach instead of arugula. Delicious. Simple.
Unless you don’t like tomatoes, you have to add some cherry tomatoes…I made it with the intention of adding them but forgot. Ate leftovers the next day (which were SO much better than the night of!) and added tomatoes. It really makes it.
I also added some basil and pasta water. Used half the amount of butter and used some olive oil and extra arugula. Add what seems to be too much arugula because it won’t. Make sure to add the arugula and parmesan separately. I personally recommend adding the arugula when the pasta is still on the stove and adding the parmesan for serving. It still melts perfectly IMO.
My go-to pasta dish used to be shrimp scampi, but this takes the lead by far.
Was looking for a light but delicious meal to prepare and this was spot on. Made it as and no leftover! 🙂 this recipe is for keeps.
Perfection- recipe was easy to follow and my son and I loved it! Will make it again!
Simple and delicious. I’ve made this several times following the recipe and it’s always been perfect. Easy weeknight dinner and guest worthy. You can definitely make tweaks to it depending on your tastes.
Thank you for sharing.
Damn delicious!
Cooked this for new year celebration and loved it! Wasn’t able to grab some arugula but I added more red flakes, onion, tomatoes, and paprika to give it a kick. I also drizzled it with lemon juice and a dash of zest.
To top all up, serve it with cold lemon juice.
T’was amazing!
This recipe is, as others have noted, a keeper!
I tweaked it a little, because I had basil, and not arugula. Added (sliced) cherry tomatoes (not too many), per someone’s suggestion. It worked!
Somebody else suggested to go halfsies on butter + olive oil, and I did that. Also, I’ve recently gotten into making ghee all the time, and so I used that instead of butter.
(If you haven’t made ghee yet, it’s easy and also “damn delicious.” I found an Indian-American woman on YouTube who cooks her ghee in real time — look for it! The video lasts around 18 minutes, as I recall.)
Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
This recipe is so good and so easy to make that my 11 year old and I have made it two weeks in a row. It’s got simple, flavorful ingredients that come together to make a filling and delicious meal.
Wow….just Wow! Fam jam loves garlic so I doubled down….otherwise Phenom! Definitely a do again!!!
Although delicious, I found the amount of butter is a bit much. Also can’t believe the recipe does not include lemon!! such an upgrade to the dish!