This Creamy Shrimp Pasta reminds me of my favorite dish at Olive Garden. The creamy Alfredo sauce generously coats the juicy shrimp and noodles. Your family will be humming with every bite and will request it for dinner again and again. One of our favorite shrimp recipes!
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If you cook the sauce while the pasta is on the stove, you can be done with the entire meal in under 30 minutes. It’s so simple and has a short list of ingredients, but tastes restaurant quality. This homemade creamy shrimp pasta is way better than going out because it’s not overly salty like dining out tends to be and you don’t get the big bill at the end of your meal #winning!!
Watch How to Make Creamy Shrimp Pasta Recipe:
This is one of the best reviewed recipes on our blog and for good reason (read the glowing reviews here). Creamy shrimp pasta is super easy and tasty! Many of you have told me that you love it more than Olive Garden’s Shrimp alfredo, which is an amazing compliment.
Want to Substitute the Wine?
No problem! Here is a great white wine substitute: squeeze some lemon juice into the sauce after adding the cream, adding the lemon juice to taste (about 1/2 medium lemon) then season to taste with salt, pepper and paprika. Use freshly squeezed lemon juice, not concentrate.
Make-Ahead tip: This pasta tastes just as good the next day! Add a splash of milk and reheat slowly over lower heat until very warm/hot but not simmering. As with any alfredo pasta, reheating over high heat will cause the cream to separate and liquify into butter.
Funny how that little bit of black pepper, parsley and parmesan cheese really fancies it up at the end, making it look and feel like fine dining. It’s the perfect time to whip out that hand cranked pepper mill to set the mood! 😉
Pasta Recipes to Explore:
These are the most popular pasta recipes on our blog – the top rated and best loved.
- Shrimp Scampi Pasta – Can you tell we love shrimp pasta recipes?
- Lasagna Casserole – All the classic flavors of Lasagna made easy!
- Slow Cooker Lasagna – This one has a make-ahead option
- Spaghetti and Meatballs – The juiciest meatballs we’ve tried!
- Chicken Tetrazzini – A must try, creamy chicken pasta bake
⬇ Print-Friendly Shrimp Pasta Recipe:
Creamy Shrimp Pasta Recipe (VIDEO)

Ingredients
- 3/4 lb fettuccini pasta
- 1 lb large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (21-25 ct)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 onion, (medium), finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/3 cup white wine, I used Chardonnay
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tsp Sea salt, or to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
- 1/4 tsp paprika, or to taste
- 1 Tbsp Parsley, finely chopped, to garnish
Instructions
- Add 3/4 lb pasta to a pot of boiling water with 1 Tbsp salt and cook according to package instructions until al-dente. Drain without rinsing and set aside.
- While pasta is cooking, prepare the shrimp and sauce. Season shrimp with 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper and 1/4 tsp paprika. Place a large, non-stick pan over medium/high heat and add 1 Tbsp oil. Once oil is hot, add shrimp in a single layer and cook 2 min per side or just until cooked through and no longer translucent. Remove to a separate dish to prevent overcooking.
- In the same hot pan, add 2 Tbsp butter with finely chopped onion and sauté until soft and golden (3-5 mins), stirring often. Add minced garlic and sauté another minute until fragrant. Stir in 1/3 cup white wine and boil down until there is only 25% of the liquid left.
- Stir in 2 cups cream, bring to a light boil then simmer 2 min. Sprinkle sauce with 1/3 cup parmesan cheese and stir just until creamy and smooth. Let it come just to a simmer without boiling then turn off the heat and season sauce with more salt, pepper and paprika to taste.
- Stir in the drained pasta and cooked shrimp, tossing until noodles are well coated in sauce. Serve in warm pasta bowls with a generous sprinkle of finely chopped parsley, more parmesan cheese and some freshly cracked black pepper.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Tools We Used in this Recipe (Amazon affiliate links):
Boos Dark Cutting Board
Glass Mixing Bowls
Blue Staub Pan with Lid
5 1/2 Qt Dutch Oven Pot
Cook’s Knife
Love shrimp? Explore all of our top shrimp recipes here. I hope this easy shrimp pasta becomes a new favorite for you!
P.S. Because I’ve had loads of questions about omitting the wine – I think the wine really makes the flavor in this dish next-level delicious but if you prefer not to use it, the recipe still works, just replace it with chicken broth, season the sauce to taste and add a splash of lemon juice for extra flavor.
Make for my family and add some Broccoli and they love it.
Yay, that’s fantastic! Thanks for sharing that with us.
Excellent! Very easy, colorful, quick.
Thanks a lot for your good feedback!
can frozen shrimp we used in place of fresh?
Hi Susan, yes, raw frozen shrimp is what I usually use, but be sure to thaw according to package instructions before adding them to the recipe, otherwise they will juice out and turn rubbery.
I received rave reviews for doing this recipe on my wife’s birthday. Fairly simple but very tasty. Thank you!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Peter!
Going to make this in a few minutes.
Sounds like a good plan. I hope you love it and please share with us how it goes.
We made this tonight. It was delicious. Included half a bunch of asparagus chopped and parboiled. The sauce and the shrimp was so good. My husband raved about it too!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, JoAnn! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Made this so yummy and easy
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Made this tonight, delicious.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Made this tonight. It was so delicious. Both my husband and I loved the flavour but the sauce could have been thicker. I think maybe I need to simmer the whipping cream longer. I will definitely make this again. Thank you
Glad you enjoyed this recipe, Jollean. Thanks for sharing!
Do you think I can add calamari?
Hi Tamara, I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Tasted good but yeah I agree with that one comment, the sauce did not stick to the pasta. I followed the recipe exactly and it was disappointing.
Hi Miki, using a lighter cream or half and half will produce a lighter sauce. Also if you do not rinse the pasta, it will stick better.
Made this tonite for our meatless Friday. It was very very good. It seems my husband likes all your recipes!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Donna! I’m so happy you’re both enjoying my recipes.
It SHOULD have been good. I trust your recipes, Natasha, I’ve followed your recipes and their instructions quite a few times. They’ve turned out good. But for me, I’ve watched both the video and read the instructions and the sauce doesn’t stick to the pasta, it’s disgusting what the end result turned out to be. It ended up as almost bland pasta and the only part that was good was the shrimp. I’m probably not going to try this again, please give me any reasons you have for why it turned out like this.
Hi Cara, this is a very popular recipe and I haven’t heard of that happening – I wonder if maybe you are substituting for a light cream rather than a heavy whipping cream that is called for in the recipe.
don’t rinse the pasta
My favorite recipe to make!!
Hands down the best… & I don’t cook often! This recipe makes me feel like a gourmet chef!
That is awesome! Thank you for your wonderful comments and feedback, Tiffiany!
Hi Natasha,
I plan to make this for my husband tomorrow night! Can you add zucchini to this pasta? Would that throw off the flavor?
Hi Michelle, I haven’t tried that but it sounds delicious. I would probably add the zucchini/ zucchini noodles just after the onions (step 3) and sautee them for 5 minutes then add the garlic. So the noodles don’t overcook, remove them before adding the wine and cream. Keep in mind the sauce will be thinner as the zucchini will release liquid so you may need to boil down the liquid and wine longer. That is my best guess! If you experiment, let me know how it goes 🙂
I make a dish like this but I use some pasta water and some pesto instead of wine. I am making it tonight and adding artichoke hearts also. Because I like artichoke hearts
Sounds like a good plan, Mariann. Please share with us how it goes!
I like the fact that you made it with unsalted butter and you can omit the salt and add other seasonings for low-salt diets. Great recipe!
I make the the first time tonight it’s amazing! I did use 3 cloves of garlic and I only had 1/2 and 1/2 on hand but it still was rich and creamy some reviews said it was dry but I love some sticky pasta! A keeper for sure! Thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I’m happy that still worked great for you!
can fresh mozarella be used instead of parmesan?
Hi Claire, I haven’t tried that yet to advise but I imagine that will work too but it will just be creamier. Please share with us how you like that version if you try it.
thanks will so and let you know
OMG — I made this last night — used lemon juice instead of wine. Even added a little lemon zest. I used angel hair pasta, as I didn’t have any fettuccine. It was delicious. Having leftovers, although not much was left, for dinner tonight. This will be a fav for us.
Hi Nancy, that sounds perfect! I’m happy that you all enjoyed this recipe for dinner. Thanks for your wonderful review!
May I ask how did you use the lemon?