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.
I made this today. It was delicious, shrimpy, creamy and yummy!
I had garlic shrimp from NYD left over so I used it in this and added mushrooms. I just saved it, will be making this often. Thank you for the recipe and happy new year!😄
My pleasure Eve! I’m glad to hear how much you enjoy the recipe. Thanks for sharing your wonderful review and have a blessed year!
Hi Natasha,
Could this recipe work with half n half instead of heavy cream?
Hi Sharon, I haven’t tried it with half and half, but I think it would work. It would be a little thinner of a sauce so you may need to simmer the half and half a little longer before adding the cheese. One of my readers wrote in with a great review on this recipe saying: “I use half and half and then add a little more butter since I tend to have half and half in the house” I hope that helps! 🙂
Hello, what kind of butter and what kind of paprika???
Hi Avelina, since the amounts are so small, it doesn’t make a big difference if using salted or unsalted (I always use unsalted in cooking and baking) and we just have regular paprika (Amazon affiliate link) but again, it is such a small amount that you can use whichever variety of paprika you have on hand and it will work well 🙂
Hi Natasha, what do you think of using Paprika smoked Spanish Style. It is stronger and I don’t want to destroy the flavor of your recipe but I like it. I get it from Penzey’s. I LOVE and swear by their herbs and spices!
I honestly haven’t tried it with that but it may work. Maybe try it on a small side batch? I would love to know how you like it if you experiment.
Hi Natasha, I made this wonderful shrimp pasta for my Mom who is 96 and she loved it! Me too! I only made 2 changes. I made homemade Spinach pasta and I used half & Half instead of heavy cream. I followed the directions to the letter but for some reason when I added the 1/2 & 1/2, it curdled and the sauce turned to paste. Any idea why? Thanks! Steve
Hi Steve! It was most likely due to using half and half. If the sauce is too thin, the cheese does not incorporate into it as easily and most likely the cheese clumping is what gave it a curdled appearance. When using half and half, I would sprinkle the cheese onto the pasta at the end.
Excellent! The only thing I did was sub shallots for onion. Perfect in every way! Thank you!
You’re welcome Donna! I’m glad to hear how much you love the recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Natasha, just out of curiosity, do you know what the substitute equivalent for heavy whipping cream in Europe is? Would it produce the same results? I will eventually be moving abroad to Cyprus and was wondering if you had any insight 😊 thanks!
Hi Nicole, I’m not sure what products are available there to be honest, but even a regular whipping cream would work which has a slightly lower fat content but will still produce a creamy sauce.
Can you double this up? I want to make for XMAS eve dinner
Hi Kelly, yes but you would need to cook the shrimp in batches so it isn’t overcrowded. Enjoy! 🙂
Hi Natasha, can i use lemon juice intead of white wine? thank you
Hi Lhen, yes, please see note towards the top titled: “Want to Substitute the Wine?”
thank you for this info, im so excited to do this for my kids.. 😊
Can I add a substitute for white wine
Hi Chrysolite – yes! Please see note in the recipe that says: “Want to Substitute the Wine?”
I made this one last night. It was just excellent.
Awesome, I’m glad to hear you love the recipe! Thanks for sharing your great review Cathy!
I refuse to please a large, non-stick pan over medium/high heat … that goes beyond the scope of cooking. 😉
lol! Oh dear, that was not intended to read that way. Ha ha ha!! Fixed 🙂
COULD I USE RICE INSTEAD OF THE NOODLES?
I think that would work to serve the creamy shrimp over the rice, but I’m not sure if I would mix the rice into the shrimp or it might get a little dry overall.
Can I use cooked frozen shrimp? it is all I have and the recipe looks so yummy!
Hi Erika, 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 LOVE this recipe, my whole family enjoys it, especially my kids they ask me often to make it. A friend posted one of your recipes on FB and I tried it, liked it and it let me to your site. This recipe is one of a handful of dinners that everyone in my house really likes. I use half and half and then add a little more butter since I tend to have half and half in the house for coffee.
I’m so glad to her how much you love the recipe! Thanks for following and sharing your great review Natasha!
Love your recipes but always looking for somewhat healthy meals. Can this by any chance be made with milk instead of whipping cream??
Joan, it won’t be the same. You’ll need to add some sort of thickener like flour so recipe will need some modifications in order for it to be creamy.
Can this dish be frozen and reheated ?
Kathleen, I haven’t tried doing it myself but it should work as long as you thaw and reheat slowly so that cream won’t separate.
I love this! I made this dish last night and it smell so good! thank you!
You’re welcome Carmen! I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for sharing!
Hi! It’s my first time to cook and it was your recipe that I chose. Definitely didn’t make a mistake on my choice. My family loved it! Both the creamy sauce and the shrimp, it’s just that the shrimps were so big, but still good. Didn’t put white wine but I guess it would taste better if there’s any. Next time will add it. Thanks a lot!
All the way from the Philippines 🇵🇭
Hello Gab! You’re welcome! I’m glad to hear the recipe is a HIT! Thanks for sharing your great review!
I made this tonight for dinner and my fiancé and I loved it! I think the wine in the sauce is a must. I did use half and half instead of heavy whipping cream because we’ll use that in our coffee too. Thanks for another great recipe!!
My pleasure Tay! I’m glad to hear you both love the recipe! Thanks for sharing your great review! 🙂
I discovered this video on youtube recently and your channel. Made it tonight, this really was better than Olive Garden!. My husband always orders the seafood alfredo, he liked this sauce better. It was *very* tasty, I couldn’t stop remarking about it. You found the trick, thank you so much for sharing. No more store bought alfredo sauce. Another way to kick it up a little is to sprinkle a little ground cayenne on your serving and mix it in.
Next dish will be the Chicken Madeira.
How do you like your Staub braiser? Do you find the diameter of the sauteing/searing surface adequate for a family of four? Trying to decide between that and a couple other items that are wider but I really like the features of the Staub and be able to braise some dishes in the oven, too.
Hi Kris, I really love the braiser and use it as a frying pan as well. I love that it is deep so there is less splatter on the stove. The lid is wonderful for dishes that go from the stove to the oven and just for keeping things warm. It works perfectly for our family of 4 🙂
This was really yummy. I had to use dried parsley as something ate all of mine in the herb garden. I seasoned the shrimp with the salt, pepper, paprika, pepper flakes and the dried parsley for about 20 minutes before cooking. This was a quick easy meal and good enough for company! Thanks!
You’re welcome Susan! I’m glad you enjoy the recipe! Thanks for sharing your great review!