If you’re looking for an easy weeknight dinner that comes together quickly, this is a dinner winner!
This shrimp Alfredo recipe has fettuccine noodles tossed in a homemade Alfredo sauce with tender, buttery garlic shrimp and it’s on the table in about 30 minutes.
Shrimp Alfredo is the Perfect Weekday Dinner Because…
- You can make it from scratch in about 30 minutes.
- The sauce is rich and made from scratch with just a few ingredients.
- Perfectly seasoned shrimp cooks quickly and has great flavor.
- This recipe is versatile; add asparagus, broccoli, or other veggies.
- Skip the hefty bill—it’s restaurant quality made at home.
What You’ll Need To Make Shrimp Alfredo
- Shrimp: Use medium (41-50) or large (31-40) whole shrimp for this recipe. Buying peeled and deveined with the tail off saves time. You can choose tail on or off—tail off is easier to eat, but I love the presentation of tail on. If using precooked shrimp, add in Step 6 and cook until just warmed through.
- Cream: Heavy cream is used in this recipe for the signature flavor and texture of an alfredo sauce—and it thickens beautifully.
- Butter: I use salted butter; if using unsalted, you may need to add extra salt to the sauce.
- Cheese: Cheese adds a lot of flavor to this recipe. I use fresh Parmesan and grate it myself for the smoothest sauce. You can use pre-shredded cheese—the sauce will still be delicious but not quite as smooth.
- Pasta: A classic Alfredo sauce pairs well with fettuccine, but other shapes like linguine or spaghetti are great options, too.
Ingredient Swaps and Variations
- For a new flavor, change the seasoning on the shrimp to Cajun or Greek seasoning.
- Fresh shrimp can be replaced with canned, drained crab or small canned shrimp.
- Swap the shrimp for chicken (adjust cooking time as needed).
- Add steamed broccoli, cooked spinach, or roasted asparagus for a pop of freshness.
How to Make Shrimp Alfredo
- Cook fettuccine to al dente, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water.
- Saute the shrimp in a large skillet and remove it from the pan.
- Make the Alfredo sauce (recipe below). Remove from heat.
- Stir in shrimp. Toss with fettuccine and garnish with parsley.
Storing Shrimp Alfredo
If you plan on storing leftovers, I’d suggest keeping the sauce separate. Reheat alfredo sauce over low heat on the stove while whisking. It will separate slightly, but continue whisking, and the sauce will come back together and be just as good as new.
If you’ve mixed the pasta and sauce and have leftovers, they’ll keep up to 3 days. Add a bit of milk and reheat in the microwave on 50% power, stirring occasionally. The sauce may separate a bit.
Shrimp Alfredo can be made ahead and frozen for up to one month without the pasta. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat as directed.
What to Serve With Shrimp Alfredo…
Did you enjoy this Shrimp Alfredo Recipe? Leave a rating and a comment below!
Shrimp Alfredo
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fettuccine
- 5 tablespoons salted butter divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ pound medium shrimp peeled & deveined, tails removed if desired
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper to taste
- 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 ½ cups shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg optional
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley for garnish
- 1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add fettuccine and cook al dente (just until cooked). Drain, reserving ½ cup pasta water. Set aside.
- While pasta is boiling, heat 1 tablespoon butter and olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Toss shrimp with garlic, lemon zest, salt & pepper. Add to the heated pan and cook just until shrimp turns pink, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- In the same pan, bring remaining 4 tablespoons butter and cream to a simmer. Let simmer about 5-7 minutes or until slightly thickened.
- Stir in parmesan cheese and a pinch of nutmeg.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the shrimp with any juices. Toss with cooked fettuccine adding additional pasta water if needed.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and additional parmesan.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner, Entree, Main Course, Pasta, Seafood
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Excellent shrimp alfredo! Thanks so much-
Excellent
Fabulous, substituted fussili instead of fettuccine, think it would work with most pasta. Added a few mushrooms, want to try it with chicken next!
That sounds like a great substitution. I am glad you enjoyed it.
SO good. We made with edamame noodles to be keto friendly and will be in our permanent rotation!
Erin, I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe.
as always beautiful dish looks great gotta try this one tried your meatloaf and it was fantastic yummy so good and affordable food thank you again
Hello John. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed the meatloaf recipe. Let me know how you enjoy the shrimp alfredo.
My two year old insisted on this recipe for his birthday dinner and it did not disappoint. He ended up having two helpings and it was so easy to prepare. SWP Employee
Hello Samantha. I am happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe.
If I have on hand I do half shrimp and half scallops, just because I love them both
That sounds delicious!
I made this recipe tonight but I have to tell you I’ve come up with a new secret ingredient!
I was going to add just a little bit of cream cheese to this recipe, but all I could find in my fridge was some artichoke jalapeño dip… made with cream cheese and a little sour cream.
Now I’m never gonna make it any other way.
That sounds so delicious, Shannon!
My husband is NOT a fan of pasta, but requests this a few times a month! Easy to make and so delicious!
I am so happy to hear this recipe is a hit Melissa!
I’m making this now and realized I do not have heavy cream.nooo ,can I use light cream or whole milk?thanks waiting lol
You can use light cream but it may not thicken the same. If you need to thicken the mixture further, mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of cold light cream. Add a little bit at a time to the simmering sauce until it’s thickened to your liking. You may not need all of the cornstarch mixture. Let us know how it goes!
I made this last night. It was absolutely delicious! And, there’s enough left for lunch today. Yeah for me!!!
That’s my favorite when the extra yummy recipes make it to leftovers the next day!!
Very delicious!I will it this again for sure!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe Marilyn!
I’m trying this tomorrow night, question is I want to add broccoli florets and green peas, when is the appropriate time to add them if at all?
I would suggest either cooking them in the skillet after the shrimp is cooked and set them aside with the shrimp. Even easier would be to add them to the pasta water for the last few minutes of cooking time and let them simmer with the pasta. Let us know how it goes!
I use lemon pepper seasoning and add 1/2 can of minced anchovies. Gives it a little salty brine finish. This is a delicious meal for the fettuccini lover who has Italian heritage.
Those sound like great additions!
How could I triple the recipe? For a crowd.
Hi Denise, we haven’t tried making a batch that large but if your pot is big enough you could triple this recipe by tripling the ingredients listed. When the mixture is deeper in the pan (with less surface area), it can take longer to reduce so you’ll want to allow extra time for this step.
You will have to let us know how it turns out!