This lemon garlic shrimp pasta is fantastic! The combination of lemon, shrimp, parmesan, and fettuccine is perfectly balanced to create the ultimate pasta dish. Better yet, you'll have this ready in 30 minutes, and it only requires one pot.
If you love this, try my Stuffed Shells or my Stuffed Rigatoni with homemade italian marinara sauce. This hearty pasta dish is fantastic and one of my personal favorites.
Contents
🦐 Why this recipe works
I had some fresh shrimp on hand and decided to make an easy garlic shrimp pasta with a touch of lemon.
I love simple recipes, and this 30 min, one-pot checks all of the boxes for a quick weeknight meal. I serve this recipe to my family regularly, and every time I do, I get positive reviews from everyone.
Another thing to consider is the flexibility of this recipe. With a few simple substitutions, you can turn this into a creamy shrimp pasta, swap shrimp for salmon, or even kick it up a notch with cayenne pepper.
Overall this is a fantastic recipe for beginners and home cooks looking for a quick pasta night win. Follow my easy step-by-step instructions, and you'll certainly have a delicious dish ready to impress.
For busy weekdays check out my collection of best pasta recipes with few ingredients.
🍽 Ingredients notes
For this quick and easy dinner, you'll need a large pot to cook the pasta and a heavy-bottomed skillet. Ingredients-wise, fettuccine, garlic, fresh lemon, and shrimp are the key ingredients.
🔪 How to make
Learn how to make this lemon garlic pasta recipe with step-by-step instructions, top tips, and a detailed recipe video. Expect this recipe to take about 30 minutes from stove to table.
Step 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, cook the pasta to al dente - about one minute less than package directions. Drain it well and set aside. Do not rinse.
Step 2
Melt half of the butter in a large, heavy bottomed skillet. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two, then add the crushed red pepper and lemon juice. Stir until hot.
Step 3
Add the shrimp, season generously with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until pink - about 3 - 4 minutes.
Step 4
Add the remaining butter, the cooked pasta and spinach, and stir with tongs to combine and wilt the spinach.
Step 5
Add the parmesan and stir more to combine.
Step 6
Use the tongs to serve the pasta immediately and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
💭 Cooking tips
- Use a timer for cooking the pasta and shrimps so that you do not over-cook them (you can even use your microwave or stove timer). Overcooking the pasta before adding it to the Skillet will make it too soft, and overcooking the shrimp will lose its chewy texture.
- Save a small cup of the pasta cooking water to add to the buttery lemon sauce if it becomes too thick to stir.
- If you have a good bottle of olive oil, feel free to drizzle it on top for serving. This gives it an earthy light olive taste the I believe ties everything together.
📖 Recipe variations
- If you don't have shrimp, you can swap it with other seafood, chicken, beef, or add extra veggies like asparagus to make it vegetarian.
- To make the lemon & shrimp pasta creamy, add 100ml of cream or 200 grams of cream If you don't have shrimp, you can swap it with other seafood, chicken, beef or add extra veggies like asparagus to make it vegetarian.
- To make the lemon & shrimp pasta creamy, add 100ml of cream or 200 grams of cream cheese. Either option works great!
- Fancy adding a bit of heat to the dish? Mix a teaspoon of curry powder, a touch of cumin, cayenne pepper, and red pepper flakes, and coat the prawns before adding to the butter sauce to infuse the flavors.
- Instead of using pasta in the recipe, why not cook up some rice and pour the lemon & garlic shrimps sauce over the rice.
🥗 What to serve with
- Serve this healthy, fragrant meal up with an arugula salad. Mix some cherry tomatoes, shaved carrots, sliced red onion, pine nuts, and a balsamic dressing into the arugula leaves.
- I am all about healthy meals and side dishes, so serve it up with slices of avocado and a drizzle of olive oil.
- This is more of an English side dish, but I tried it, and to be honest, it works rather well. Make or buy some garlic bread and cook it to serve with the shrimp pasta.
🍳 Related recipes
Try one of these easy to make pasta recipes for dinner or any time of the day. And for more seafood ideas you should check my collection of best crab meat recipes.
Including my collection of best shrimp pasta recipes with lots of tasty recipes for you to explore.
🥫 Storage
This recipe stores equally well in the fridge or freezer, and it is super easy to reheat and serve.
Fridge
Once everyone has finished eating and the dish has completely cooled down, transfer the lemon & garlic shrimp pasta to an airtight container and pop it in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you don't have an airtight container, you can also use cling film to cover the dish completely.
Freezer
Freeze this recipe for up to 6 months. Unthaw in the fridge and reheat in a pan, oven, or microwave when you're ready. I recommend the oven or pan until hot and serve.
⏲️ Make ahead
This pasta is the perfect weeknight meal to prepare for busy people working weeknights or have children running around all day.
🎥 Watch how to make it
👪 Serving size
This super easy garlic shrimp pasta with lemon sauce makes 4 servings. Of course, you can quickly scale this recipe to accommodate a small dinner party for 8 - 12 people.
All-in-all, this recipe is SUPER-EASY to prepare and is sure to please the crowds with its ZINGY lemon & garlic butter sauce. Be prepared for regular requests to make it for lunch and dinner!
If you are looking for more pasta inspiration I highly recommend you to try my olive garden giant cheese stuffed shells recipe, it is super easy to make and it taste unbelievable!
Check out my fantastic four cheese stuffed manicotti recipe that you can have it on your table in less than 1 hour!
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page.
Try one of my comfort dinner recipes for your next family meal! And if you have any questions, I'm here to help!
📋 Recipe
Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta
Equipment
- 1 large pot
- 1 Large Skillet heavy-bottomed pan
- 1 Chopping board
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Tongs
Ingredients
- ½ pound fettuccine
- ½ cup butter - separated
- 4 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 teaspoon red pepper - crushed
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice - fresh squeezed
- 1 pound shrimp - peeled and deveined
- to taste salt and pepper
- 2 cups baby spinach
- ½ cup parmesan - freshly grated
- 2 tablespoons parsley - chopped fresh
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, cook the pasta to al dente - about one minute less than package directions. Drain it well and set aside. Do not rinse.
- Melt half of the butter in a large, heavy bottomed skillet. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two, then add the crushed red pepper and lemon juice. Stir until hot.
- Add the shrimp, season generously with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until pink - about 3 - 4 minutes.
- Add the remaining butter, the cooked pasta and spinach, and stir with tongs to combine and wilt the spinach. Add the parmesan and stir more to combine.
- Use the tongs to serve the pasta immediately and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
Diane S
I mad this with spiral cut zucchini instead of pasta. Very good alternative!
Robin
I made this last week for dinner, EXCELLENT!!!! The only thing I did was add fresh mushrooms. It's a keeper for sure!!!
Willi
Thank you for this recipe...it is delicious!! I made it as you wrote it except that I did add sliced mushrooms and added a bit of water from the drained spaghetti to make it more moist. Both my husband and I loved it! I will definitely make it again.
Polly
I made this and we enjoyed it.
Teresa
I made this recipe last week and my family loved it. I made it again yesterday so good and easy to make.