For a creamy, restaurant-style pasta dish that’s made easy enough for weeknight, this shrimp Alfredo is always a winner (especially in my home). With tender noodles cooked right in the same pan as the sauce, you can enjoy bursts of flavor with every single bite. If you’re on the hunt for quick meals and want to try a one pan pasta, you’ll want to save this recipe. This fettuccine Alfredo is one of my family’s favorites. I find myself making it a couple of times every month!
If you’re a lover of creamy sauce that’s velvety and indulgent while offering plenty of protein, you definitely need to try this seafood dinner. The sauce is smooth with plenty of butter, cream, and Parmesan cheese to bring it all together. Cooking everything in one pan allows the starch from the pasta to naturally thicken the sauce, making this recipe even easier for those who are beginners in the kitchen.
This recipe’s silky texture is one you’ll be craving once you try it! It’s perfect for busy evenings, date nights (at home), or when you’re craving comfort food with a touch of elegance. You can also make this for gatherings and special occasions to win over a crowd.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
One-pan: This recipe is simple, straightforward, and only requires one pan to get it going! No need to fuss with multiple pans and baking dishes. This recipe is easy peasy.
Family-friendly: This is one of my go-to recipes in the home, as everyone loves it. I can make this during the week or on the weekend and rarely have any leftovers!
Ingredients: While making an Alfredo sauce may seem complicated, it’s not! This recipe is easy to follow with ingredients you already likely have at home in your refrigerator or pantry.
Hearty: If you’re hunting down a one pan dinner that’s not only delicious, but hearty and satisfying, this one is it!
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Fettuccine noodles: We recommend this classic type of pasta to align with a traditional shrimp alfredo. However, you can choose any type of noodle that you prefer with this pasta dish! Finding the right pasta means choosing one that’s right for your family and one that will absorb sauce. Shells, elbow, and even rotini noodles may work best for your family.
Heavy cream: This is necessary if you want to stick to a traditional sauce that has a bit of thickness to it. If you don’t mind a thinner sauce, however, you can also try broth or whole milk.
Cheese: We recommend using a high-quality Parmesan cheese. However, you can also swap it for Asiago cheese or a Pecorino Romano sauce.
Nutmeg: This isn’t required to make a delicious sauce, but if you want to stick to a traditional method, we recommend keeping the dash of nutmeg in for the sauce!
Tips for Success
If you find that your sauce is a bit too heavy, you can thin it out with additional chicken broth! This will help spread the sauce even more while thinning it out.
Storage & Reheating
If you’re lucky enough to have any leftovers with this dish, you can store and reheat it for later. Storing this Alfredo dish can be done with airtight containers that are suitable for the fridge and/or freezer. If you choose to save leftovers of this one pan pasta in the fridge, you’ll want to do so for no longer than 4 days at a time. This is because of the fresh ingredients such as butter, cream, and cheese that are in the recipe.
If you want to store it even longer, you can do so in freezer-friendly containers that are designed for refrigeration or freezing. Using a freezer-friendly container, store individual portions for up to 3-4 months in your freezer.
To reheat and serve again, allow the sauce to come to room temperature before you attempt to reheat it. This will help expedite the reheating process. You can cook the leftovers you’ve saved on the stovetop over medium for 10-15 minutes. You can also cook individual portions you’ve saved and thawed in the microwave for 2-3 minutes per serving.
Notes
If you want to use this recipe repeatedly in your weekly rotation or you’re meal prepping quick meals, you can do so by calculating how much you’ll be serving for dinner and how much you’d like to save and preserve for next time. Double the recipe if you plan to have leftovers or if you’d like to save this pasta for a later date in your fridge or freezer!
Garlic Shrimp Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Large Shrimp peeled and deveined (tails on or off)
- 1 lb. Fettuccine Pasta
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 2 cups Heavy Cream
- 1 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese replaces the shaker-style cheese for a smoother melt
- 1 tsp Lemon Zest adds a bright contrast to the heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes optional, for a subtle background warmth
- 1/4 cup Fresh Parsley chopped
- Salt and White Pepper to taste white pepper keeps the sauce looking pristine
Instructions
- In a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the shrimp in a single layer and sear for 1–2 minutes per side until pink and opaque. Remove the shrimp and set aside; this prevents them from becoming rubbery during the pasta boil.
- In the same pan, add the remaining butter and the minced garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds until fragrant, being careful not to brown the garlic.
- Pour in 2 cups of water (or chicken broth) and the heavy cream. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil.
- Add the dry fettuccine noodles directly into the pan. Submerge them as much as possible. Simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently with tongs to prevent the noodles from sticking together. The pasta will cook in the cream and water, releasing starch that naturally thickens the sauce.
- Once the pasta is al dente and the liquid has reduced into a thick sauce, turn the heat to low. Stir in the freshly grated Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, and red pepper flakes.
- Add the cooked shrimp back into the pan. Toss everything gently until the shrimp are reheated and the sauce is glossy and clings to every strand of pasta.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and a final dusting of Parmesan.
