This Shrimp Alfredo recipe is a restaurant-worthy dinner that’s surprisingly easy to make, and ready in just 30 minutes! Rich and creamy homemade alfredo sauce is tossed with tender fettuccine and perfectly juicy shrimp.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Shrimp Alfredo Recipe
This shrimp fettucine alfredo recipe is one of my all-time favorite pasta dishes. Here are a few reasons why.
- Ready in about 30 minutes. From start to finish, it takes just around half an hour to prepare this shrimp alfredo pasta dish.
- Restaurant-quality. The end result of this recipe tastes like something from a good Italian restaurant – perfect for date night or a special birthday meal.
- Rich and creamy but not too heavy. The homemade alfredo sauce used in this recipe is rich and perfectly creamy and cheesy but not too heavy. Just the way a good alfredo recipe should be!
What Is Shrimp Alfredo Made Of?
The ingredients you will need for this shrimp alfredo pasta are super minimal, making it easy to shop for and whip up on a weeknight. Here’s what you’ll need. (For the complete recipe card with amounts, nutrition information, and more, scroll down to the bottom of this post.)
- Pasta: I use fettuccine for this recipe, but if you wanted to substitute another type of pasta, that’s fine too. Penne would be great, or linguine, or even spaghetti.
- Olive Oil: Extra-virgin is the most flavorful.
- Shrimp: Peeled and deveined, with the tails removed. You can do this yourself, or buy it already prepped.
- Salt and Pepper: Kosher salt is my go-to, and freshly-ground black pepper really makes a difference in this recipe.
- Cream: Heavy whipping cream.
- Butter: Unsalted butter – so creamy.
- Garlic: For the best, yummiest result, mince or press plenty of fresh garlic. If you’re in a hurry, you can use garlic in a jar or even garlic powder, but it won’t be as bright and authentic.
- Parmesan: Freshly grated parmesan is the best.
- Parsley: For an optional garnish.
Are Frozen Shrimp as Good as Fresh?
Yes, and in fact, it can actually be fresher than the shrimp behind the fishmonger’s counter at your grocery store.
Most shrimp are caught and quickly frozen, so you can get a fresher result by buying frozen and thawing it yourself when you’re ready, than buying shrimp that was thawed at the grocery store and set out on display.
How to Make Shrimp Alfredo
Let’s go over the method for making shrimp fettucine alfredo recipe. If you are familiar with making alfredo sauce or cooking shrimp already, then you’re halfway there! But even if not, this recipe is super simple. Even a total beginner can master this one easily.
- Cook the pasta. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.
- Cook the shrimp. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and cook in hot oil, about 2 minutes per side until pink, opaque, and loosely curled. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Make the alfredo sauce. Add the butter to the pan. Once melted, add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the heavy cream and parmesan. Simmer over low-medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Taste test and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Combine the ingredients. Toss the pasta in the sauce, remove from heat, and add the shrimp.
- Enjoy. Garnish with parsley if desired and enjoy!
Why Is My Alfredo Soupy?
If you make your alfredo sauce and it just doesn’t seem to thicken, it might be that you measured the ingredients incorrectly. In that case, add more cheese to help thicken up the creamy sauce.
On the other hand, if you find that the sauce is too thick, add more cream or use some of the pasta water to thin it a bit. Whatever adjustments you make, be sure to taste the sauce and add more salt and/or pepper as needed.
Tips for Success
With a dish as special as shrimp alfredo recipe, it’s worth knowing a few helpful tips to prevent mushy pasta, overcooked shrimp, etc. Here are my top tips for making the perfect creamy shrimp alfredo pasta, with no hassle and no stress.
- Al Dente Pasta: Be sure to cook your fettuccine “al dente,” to have a firm pasta for this dish. Follow the instructions on the box for al dente, or cut off 3 – 4 minutes of the cooking time if it doesn’t tell you specifically how to cook it al dente. Over-cooking pasta will result in mushy noodles, which are not great, especially in a thick Parmesan sauce.
- Tender Shrimp: Shrimp cooks very quickly. To make sure they’re cooked correctly, cook the shrimp only until they are pink and opaque (not see-through). Overcooking shrimp will make them rubbery, so take them off the heat as soon as they are done.
- To Rinse or Not to Rinse. Rinsing cooked pasta in cold water will help keep it from sticking together while you are preparing the sauce. However, if your pasta is done at the same time as your sauce, don’t bother to rinse it. Just drain the noodles and put them directly into the alfredo sauce.
- Perfect Alfredo Starts with the Ingredients. Speaking of the sauce, let’s be clear: grated parmesan cheese, unsalted butter, and heavy cream are the trifecta in alfredo making! Those are the base ingredients in making the perfect alfredo sauce! If you use jarred parmesan cheese (you know, the kind in the green can?) instead of freshly grated parmesan, it will make the sauce thicker. That’s okay – you can use a little pasta water to thin it to your desired consistency. But grated parmesan really does make the best sauce.
- Seasoning Options: For a Southern twist to this recipe, season the shrimp with Old Bay or Cajun seafood seasoning. Yum.
What Goes Well With Shrimp Alfredo?
Serve up shrimp fettucine alfredo with a few basic sides like salad and bread – just for contrast. You want to let the mild flavor of the creamy sauce and juicy shrimp take center stage here, so keep your side dishes simple.
- A Green Veggie: Green beans, broccoli, or this Air Fryer Asparagus are all great ideas for serving with shrimp alfredo. I especially love the asparagus because flavors marry so well with seafood.
- Garlic Bread: You can make a simple garlic bread with toasted baguette, butter, and garlic salt, but this Goat Cheese Garlic Bread is something special. Tangy goat cheese is the perfect accent to buttery garlic bread.
- Salad: Any kind of leafy salad would be great here, but you should know that you can also make salad with green beans. You heard me right! This Green Bean Salad is fresh, crunchy, and utterly crave-worthy.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
Since homemade alfredo sauce will separate and become oily once stored and reheated, this dish is best served fresh! However, if you do have leftovers, here’s how to store them.
- Fridge. You can safely store any leftovers in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to 3 days.
- Reheat. The best way to reheat shrimp alfredo is on the stovetop. Try stirring in a bit more Parmesan or a splash of cream when reheating, to help bring the sauce back together.
Can I Freeze This?
I don’t recommend freezing shrimp alfredo for two reasons. The first reason is that the creamy sauce can become grainy and/or oily when frozen, thawed, and reheated. Not really what you want in a pasta dish, right?
The second reason is that shrimp can get pretty tough and bland when you thaw, cook, re-freeze, and re-cook them. If you’re concerned that this recipe will make too much for you to enjoy in one meal, it might be better to reduce the ingredient amounts by ½ or ⅓.
More Easy Pasta Dinners
- Creamy Chicken Pasta Salad
- Homemade Hamburger Helper
- Chicken, Artichoke, and Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
- Easy Taco Pasta
- Loaded Cajun Chicken Pasta
- Easy Greek Pasta
- Cajun Shrimp Pasta
- Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
Shrimp Alfredo
Ingredients
- 12 oz fettuccine pasta
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined with tails removed
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ¾ cup grated parmesan cheese
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- Parsley, optional garnish
Instructions
- Cook the fettuccine pasta in well-salted water until al dente using the instructions on the box. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water. Once the pasta is cooked and drained, rinse it with cold water and set aside. (You do not need to rinse the pasta if it is done at the same time as the sauce, just add it directly to the pasta sauce after being drained!)
- While the pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil.
- Once the oil is hot, add shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Cook on one side until the shrimp become pink, about 2 minutes. Then flip them over and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes or until they are pink, opaque, and loosely curled. Remove the cooked shrimp from the skillet and set them aside. Return the skillet to the stovetop.
- In the same hot skillet, add 8 tablespoons unsalted butter and stir until melted. Then add the garlic, sautéing for 30 seconds. Then add heavy cream and grated parmesan cheese.
- Bring to a simmer over low-medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Taste and season the alfredo sauce with salt and pepper. Add the cooked fettuccine to the skillet and toss the pasta so that the alfredo sauce coats the pasta. Remove from heat.
- Add the cooked shrimp and lightly toss with the pasta and alfredo sauce. (As your sauce cools, it will thicken. If you want to thin the alfredo sauce, add small increments of the reserved pasta water until the sauce thins to your desired consistency.)
- Serve immediately with a sprinkle of parsley on top, if desired.
Notes
- Storage: Alfredo sauce will separate and become oily once stored and reheated, this dish is best served fresh! However, you can store any leftovers in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to 3 days.
- Al Dente Pasta: Be sure to cook your fettuccine “al dente,” to have a firm pasta for this dish. Follow the instructions on the box for al dente, or cut off 3 – 4 minutes of the cooking time if it doesn’t tell you specifically how to cook it al dente. Over-cooking pasta will result in mushy noodles, which are not great, especially in a thick Parmesan sauce.
- Tender Shrimp: Shrimp cooks very quickly. To make sure they’re cooked correctly, cook the shrimp only until they are pink and opaque (not see-through). Overcooking shrimp will make them rubbery, so take them off the heat as soon as they are done.
- To Rinse or Not to Rinse. Rinsing cooked pasta in cold water will help keep it from sticking together while you are preparing the sauce. However, if your pasta is done at the same time as your sauce, don’t bother to rinse it. Just drain the noodles and put them directly into the alfredo sauce.
- Perfect Alfredo Starts with the Ingredients. Speaking of the sauce, let’s be clear: grated parmesan cheese, unsalted butter, and heavy cream are the trifecta in alfredo making! Those are the base ingredients in making the perfect alfredo sauce! If you use jarred parmesan cheese (you know, the kind in the green can?) instead of freshly grated parmesan, it will make the sauce thicker. That’s okay – you can use a little pasta water to thin it to your desired consistency. But grated parmesan really does make the best sauce.
- Black Pepper: Freshly cracked black pepper will really add a lot more flavor to your dish! It’s worth the extra step!
- Seasoning Options: For a Southern twist to this recipe, season the shrimp with Old Bay or Cajun seafood seasoning. Yum.
Nutrition
More Easy Pasta Dinners
- Creamy Chicken Pasta Salad
- Homemade Hamburger Helper
- Chicken, Artichoke, and Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
- Easy Taco Pasta
- Loaded Cajun Chicken Pasta
- Easy Greek Pasta
- Cajun Shrimp Pasta
- Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
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