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This shrimp fettuccine has juicy garlic shrimp, spinach, and ripe cherry tomatoes swirled together in a light and creamy, alfredo-style sauce. It’s quick to make (just 30 minutes) and you cook everything in the same pan!
I’m obsessed with all things shrimp, from my shrimp parmigiana and one-pot shrimp with orzo to shrimp Caesar salad. This one-pan shrimp fettuccine is another weeknight favorite!
While I’m a salad and seafood lover, the rest of my family are pasta fiends. I’m pretty sure they’d eat lasagna and pasta primavera every night of the week if they could. And, not going to lie, I could be swayed. My waistline-friendly compromise is light and creamy pasta recipes like this shrimp fettuccine and lemon shrimp pasta. They satisfy a pasta craving while packing my plate full of protein and veggies, so it’s a win-win.
Shrimp fettuccine is one of those “unicorn” recipes that’s bursting with flavor (and shrimp) AND it’s a touch lighter than your typical creamy pasta dish. Did I mention it’s ready in 30 minutes?!
Why I Love This Shrimp Fettuccine
- Fresh ingredients. This recipe has a delicious blend of juicy tomatoes, savory spinach, and buttery sautéed shrimp. All that gets tossed in a creamy alfredo-style sauce with fettuccine pasta. It’s simple to make but choc full of all the flavors I love in an easy dinner.
- An all-rounder. I think I’ve made this shrimp fettuccine on weeknights as many times as I’ve made it when we have guests over for dinner. Every time, the plump buttery shrimp and creamy fettuccine pasta are the ultimate crowd-pleasers.
- Versatile. The best part about home cooking is making it your own. This shrimp pasta is easy to customize, so don’t be afraid to play around with add-ins and flavors to find your perfect version of this dish. I include some suggestions in a bit!
- Quick and easy. This shrimp fettuccine is a one-pot pasta recipe that’s SO quick to make, you’ll blink and it’s on the table. Plus, there are minimal dishes to wash.
Ingredients You’ll Need
You need a few simple ingredients to bring a whole lot of flavor to your shrimp fettuccine. Here are some notes. Scroll to the recipe card after the post for a printable list, plus the full recipe details.
- Fettuccine Pasta – You can really use any pasta you’d like, but you’ll want to use noodles that hold up in the creamy sauce (see below). Feel free to use whole wheat pasta, regular, or homemade.
- Butter – For sautéeing the shrimp. You can also use olive oil.
- Shrimp – You’ll need to peel and devein some jumbo shrimp (larger shrimp have a nicer, juicier bite). I like to pluck off the tails, too, since it makes the cooked shrimp easier to eat in the pasta.
- Garlic – Because no cream sauce is complete around here without at least a couple of cloves of fresh garlic.
- Tomatoes – I like the sweetness of garden-fresh cherry tomatoes. You can use a larger variety, like Roma tomatoes, and dice them up. Larger tomatoes will be a bit more watery.
- Chicken Broth – I use low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth. Vegetable broth will also work in this recipe.
- Cream Cheese – I make my Alfredo-esque sauce with reduced-fat cream cheese instead of parmesan. Go ahead and use full-fat if you’d prefer. I recommend taking the cream cheese out of the fridge ahead of time so that it can soften.
- Milk – Again, I stick with skim milk, but any type of milk works here (whole milk, 2%, etc.). For a richer sauce, you can even use half-and-half or heavy cream.
- Italian Seasoning – You can also use a blend of dried herbs like oregano, basil, and thyme.
- Spinach – I like to wilt in whole baby spinach, but you can use hardier leaves, like chard or kale, and sauté them, too.
What’s the Difference Between Fettuccine and Alfredo?
“Fettuccine” and “Alfredo” often go hand in hand on restaurant menus. Alfredo sauce is an Italian-American white pasta sauce made with parmesan cheese. Meanwhile, fettuccine is the long pasta that’s usually tossed with Alfredo sauce. Fettuccine is my first pasta choice for this recipe, but another long pasta, like linguine, tagliatelle, or spaghetti, also works well.
How To Cook Shrimp for Pasta
Cooking shrimp is easy and takes a couple of minutes, tops. It’s one more reason I love shrimp recipes for quick weeknight dinners! I prepare the garlicky shrimp for this recipe in a skillet, similar to how I’d cook shrimp scampi, and the same way I prepare it for my garlic butter shrimp pasta:
- Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the peeled and deveined shrimp, garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Keep stirring frequently and cook the shrimp for 1-2 minutes until they turn pink. That’s all there is to it!
How To Make Shrimp Fettuccine
Ready to go? Pour yourself a glass of Pinot Grigio to keep you company, and let’s get cooking. This shrimp fettuccine comes together quickly– the whole thing takes just one pan and 30 minutes.
- Prepare the pasta and shrimp. Boil the fettuccine al dente according to the package directions. Meanwhile, get the shrimp sizzling in a skillet (see above).
- Sauté. When the shrimp is set aside, use the same skillet to sauté cherry tomatoes with a little olive oil. After a minute, stir in the garlic and let that soften for 20-30 seconds.
- Make the sauce. Next, stir in the chicken broth, cream cheese, and milk. Season the sauce with your Italian herbs, salt, and pepper, and bring it to a simmer.
- Finish the sauce. Finally, wilt in the spinach, then add the cooked shrimp and fettuccine. Give everything a good toss to coat. After, garnish with fresh parsley and dig in!
Tips and Variations
- Pasta matters. Technically, any pasta works with this recipe, however, I find that the sauce adheres best to fettuccine. If you don’t have it, linguine is a good substitute. You can also use zucchini noodles (zoodles) as a low-carb option.
- Don’t overcook. Most jumbo shrimp take only a minute or two to turn pink in the skillet. Be careful not to overcook the shrimp, as it tends to get rubbery.
- Make it extra creamy. I like to use tangy cream cheese to thicken up the sauce, but you can experiment with heavy cream or half-and-half to get the richness where you like it.
- Spice it up. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes or a dash of cayenne pepper to taste if you like your shrimp fettuccine with a bit of heat.
- Different sauce. Borrow the more traditional Alfredo sauce from my shrimp Alfredo recipe. While you can use just about any sauce, I find that the best sauce to eat with shrimp are lighter, creamier pasta sauces.
- Different protein. If you’re not a fan of shrimp, you can still make this delicious fettuccine recipe with another protein, like chicken or steak. You might like this lemon chicken fettuccine or my Alfredo pasta with steak, too!
Serving Suggestions
This creamy and garlicky shrimp fettuccine is a one-pan meal on its own, or I’ll serve it with focaccia bread or garlic breadsticks. A sharing-style zucchini salad or this fresh and easy avocado salad also goes well with shrimp fettuccine. If we’re entertaining, I love this shrimp pasta with a side of grilled steak for a fun twist on surf and turf. It pairs great with a refreshing Campari spritz!
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Store any leftover shrimp fettuccine in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
- Reheat. Reheat the pasta gently on the stove, adding a splash of milk or broth to keep the sauce nice and creamy.
More Shrimp Recipes
- Skillet Barbecue Shrimp
- Lemon Shrimp Spaghetti
- Coconut Lime Shrimp
- Honey Walnut Shrimp
- Baked Shrimp Scampi
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Shrimp Fettuccine
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fettuccine, whole wheat or regular
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 12 ounces large uncooked shrimp, peeled, tails removed, and deveined
- salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 cloves garlic, minced, divided
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
- ¼ cup low-sodium fat-free chicken broth
- ⅓ cup reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup skim milk
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1 bag (6 ounces) baby spinach
- fresh chopped parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Prepare the fettuccine according to the instructions on the package.
- Sauté the shrimp. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Stir in 1 clove minced garlic and continue to cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until shrimp is pink and cooked through. Remove shrimp from the skillet and set aside.
- Sauté the tomatoes. Return the skillet to the stove and heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add halved cherry tomatoes and cook for 1 minute, or until just beginning to soften. Stir in the rest of the garlic and cook for 20 seconds or until fragrant.
- Make the sauce. Stir in the chicken broth, cream cheese, milk, seasonings, salt, and pepper, and bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened.
- Combine. Stir in spinach and cook for 1 more minute. Add shrimp and drained fettuccine to the skillet and toss to coat.
- Serve. Remove from heat and stir in chopped parsley. Enjoy!
Notes
- Shrimp: Choose large shrimp for a better bite.
- Pasta: Fettuccine or linguine works best with the sauce.
- Ingredients: Use fresh tomatoes and spinach for vibrant flavors.
- Cream: Experiment with cream cheese, heavy cream, or half-and-half.
- Spices: Add a pinch of red pepper flakes for a kick.
- Cooking Shrimp: Cook shrimp just until they turn pink to avoid dry and rubbery shrimp.
- Reheating: Reheat leftovers gently with a bit of milk or broth to keep the sauce creamy.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How much is one serving?
I have one complaint about this recipe. My husband came home to this for dinner and after enjoying every bite said I must really have this stay at home Mom thing (I’m at home right now due to covid) down pat and that the kids must have been easy today for me to have made such an outstanding dinner. He now has the same expectations for future dinners. This is going to be an issue. Seriously though, such a delicious and easy recipe and so so so yummy.
😀 😀 …I am very happy you enjoyed it! Thank you so much! 🙂
Do I have to add the tomatoes, I don’t eat them. I know it adds a nice color to the recipe, but could I leave them out??? Sooo want to try this recipe.
Thanks
Hi!
Sure, just leave them out. They add color, as well as a bit of sweetness to the dish, but if you don’t care for tomatoes, no biggie. 😊
My family loved this dish. I used broccoli instead of spinach. Delicious!
Absolutely delicious! Thank you! So nice to have a low cal pasta dish. Added some artichoke hearts to this just to give it another veggie. Can’t wait to make it again!
Oh YUM! This is such an awesome combination of ingredients!
This is such an amazing dinner any night of the week!
This looks absolutely delicious! Yummy!
The addition of spinach and cherry tomatoes takes this pasta to the next level.
This has me dreaming about it. I love shrimp and pasta, so this is right up my alley.
I’m so in love with this meal. It looks incredible!