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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Made exactly per recipe….was fantastic! I’ve never added arugula to a pasta dish like this called for…really was amazing. My new favorite! Thanks so much for sharing!
Delicious & Filling! Made this dish late Saturday night. Added just a bit of cream for a little thickness. The Arugula gave it a unique taste, since I’m used to adding Baby Spinach or Broccoli to certain Shrimp & Pasta dishes. The meal was easy to follow as well as quick to make…. And, may I repeat ‘Delicious’. Thank You for sharing… Definitely an addition to the dishes I’ve Googled during my Isolation.
Excellent! Added halved grape tomatoes with the spinach (instead of arugula).
Do you have to add spinach or arugula? Unfortunately my family won’t eat either 🙁
I like the grape tomato substitute
I love this dish! Its about as easy as it gets. I prefer to use baby spinach instead instead of arugula when I’m making it for my grandson. I’ve used many different pastas. It’s very flexible and easy to add other ingredients. This just one of many Damn Delicious recipes I have made. I like that they are are simple, easily modified and quick, for the most part.
I added a splash of cream and used spinach instead of arugula. Damn delicious and quick too.
Damn delicious and quick too. I added a splash of cream and used spinach instead of arugula.
Husbnd said it was the best thing I made all year. I added broccol, cherry tomatoes and green onions since that is what was on hand. Will definitely try with spinch next time.
Actually have a question. After cooking the shrimp, do you discard the liquid before adding more butter to the skillet and then adding the pasta, etc?
No leave in for flavor
Good grief, don’t ever dump that beautiful juice out. Add your butter and enjoy a delicious sauce.
Made it tonight. Delicious.
Damn Delicious!!! Easy and very good. Made home-made pasta and had all other ingredients in fridge. This is really good!!!
Just made this for dinner, and upped the garlic because we love garlic, and decreased the butter to 6 TBSP. Used baby spinach. My family and I inhaled this dish! So simple, easy and quick!
This recipe is a family favorite!!! Saved back some pasta water And added when I combined everything and squeezed in some lemon juice. Amazing for sure and easy recipe. Thank you, thank you.
Lemon Butter Scallops are looking sooo delicious, I WILL be trying them on Saturday…
Delicious easy to cook
This was definitely #damndelicous #damneasy.
I used spinach instead of arugula & thin spaghetti.
Just made this and it taste amazing 🙂
If i need more sauce, do I just mix more butter and minced garlic in a separate pan?
Made tonight, and it was a hit!!
I used spinach instead of arugula, and angel hair instead of fettuccine, just because that is what I had available! Also added some blistered cherry tomatoes, and it was so so good – adults and 2 kids loved it!
Cannot see recipe. Have made this wonderful dish before and my family wanting again. Help please.
Delicious and easy, it was a hit with the family and they want it on the menu every week. I didn’t have arugula so I used baby bok choy and also used less butter.
Love this! Didn’t have arugula so I used spinach. Came out great!