Shrimp Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce
A simple shrimp pasta with tons of flavor! The lemon cream sauce adds such a nice, bold zing to this pasta. I finished it off with some parmesan and chopped basil to make it even more delicious!
Hello Hello! It’s my midweek carb binge dinner right here.
The truth is, Anees and I have a big soft spot of pasta dinners. For obvious reasons we try to limit our pasta intake to a few times a month, but then shrimp pasta recipes like this one come around and throw us off of our game. I’m talking shrimp + linguine + lemon zest + cream + basil + parmesan. I’m pretty sure I just named most of my all time favorite foods right there. It’s impossible to NOT love this shrimp linguine.
The best part is that it comes together with a lemon cream sauce thats luxurious but also has a nice bright zing to it – just know it’s kind of impossible to pass this one up.
Since it’s on the heavier side, I served it up with a BIG arugula salad, which I kind of toss together on the plate and turn it into a shrimp pasta with fresh and crispy arugula. I think arugula and shrimp were meant to be together. The pepperiness pairs beautifully with the natural sweetness of shrimp. Um, are you still following? Did your eyes glaze over a little? Sometimes, I get lost in these flavors. I can almost taste them while I’m typing. ????
This recipe was inspired by my one skillet chicken with lemon cream sauce. Lately, i’m really enjoying making these kind of sauces without flour. I despise the horribly sticky consistency you get when the flour soaks up all of the liquid. It’s almost like glue and no matter how much water or milk you put in there, it feels like it’s stuck for good. A flourless sauce can easily be loosened with a little milk, water or cream, and it’s back to the way it was when you first made it.
Though this shrimp pasta can easily be made with leftover rotisserie chicken too, the shrimp really adds on a lot of flavor. I flavored the shrimp with a teeny tiny bit of minced garlic (because who doesn’t love garlic in this house) and a pinch of red pepper flakes. That’s it! A quick sauté in the same pan you’re going to make the sauce in. The brown bits left behind are going to be the base of our sauce. Oh! And be sure to reserve about 1 cup of cooking liquid when you boil the pasta. This will come in handy to help loosen the pasta/sauce later.
The sauce! What a cinch. It’s easy ingredients like butter, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, broth, and some half and half or heavy cream. The sauce truly makes the whole dish come together. You get a zing from the lemons and a smooth finish from the cream. It is a ‘sometimes’ food at my house because we don’t use half and half or heavy cream that often. I used half and half for this recipe because that’s what I had on hand but heavy cream will work too.
Sprinkle on as much or as little of the parmesan as you like on your shrimp pasta. More parmesan cheese is always a good thing, right? A big sprinkling of basil or parsley helps brighten things up and it adds so much flavor.
This lemon cream sauce loaded shrimp pasta makes for an easy weeknight dinner and if you have leftovers, it makes for a perfect lunch. Once you taste the creamy lemon sauce, you’ll know why it was a big hit around here!
Shrimp Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce
A simple shrimp pasta with tons of flavor! The lemon cream sauce adds such a nice, bold zing to this pasta. I finished it off with some parmesan and chopped basil to make it even more delicious!
Ingredients
- 10 ounces linguine
- 1 lb. medium/large shrimp, peeled/deveined (tail can be left on or off)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 teaspoons minced garlic, divided
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon butter
- zest of 2 lemons (about 1 tablespoon)
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
- ½ cup half and half (or heavy cream)
optional:
- Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling
- ¼ cup chopped basil or parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain pasta and return to pot.
- In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the garlic along with the red pepper flakes and the shrimp and cook till the shrimp turn opaque, about 3 -5 minutes. Cooking time will vary based on the size of shrimp and the pan. Remove shrimp to a plate.
- Add broth, remaining 2 teaspoons of garlic, along with the lemon juice into the skillet. Using a whisk, deglaze the pan until any brown bits are removed from the bottom. Let the sauce cook on a gentle simmer for 5 minutes on medium heat. Add in the butter, stirring until it melts. Then, add the lemon zest and the half and half. Let the sauce come to a gentle simmer, then add the pasta and shrimp into the skillet. Toss to combine and coat. Taste for seasonings, adjust salt and pepper as desired. Add pasta water if needed to help thin sauce to coat pasta. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and chopped basil. Serve immediately.
I made this tonight and really enjoyed it. Simple and fast might add some fresh asparagus next time
Glad to hear you liked it! Thanks Kathy! 🙂
Very easy and very good!!
Just made this – it was delicious!! Thanks so much for the recipe. I was so happy eating it lol
Love this recipe, I always make a little more sauce and top with bacon!
So delicious!!! I added steamed asparagus!!! What a hit!!
Fantastic….really nice and lemony. I’ve made something similar before, but this was more successful because of the two full Tbsp. of lemon zest. My son (who has done catering/ sous-chef work) suggested adding capers, so will try that. Bet it would not only work with chicken, but also with leftover flaked salmon.
I think I’ll make it creamier. Going to give it a try tonight. Adding fresh spinich and maybe peppers.
Very tasty! Had a bit left over- tasted even better the next day!
Absolutely delicious! 2 small things I did differently- 1) I cooked my shrimp in oven 400 degrees for 8 mins (tossed first with olive oil, salt pepper) and 2) I added a heaping teaspoon of flour and 1/4 Parmesan cheese into the sauce to give it some thickness. Thank you for this great recipe!
This is an amazing dish!! i was wondering, i want to add white wine to it but don’t know how much or when in the recipe. thanks please comment soon thx -Anna
The BOMB!!!!! So good!!!!! I added capers . My family went nuts over it❣️
AMAZING!! Everything I hoped it would be and more. I I’ll be making thin again.
This recipe was absolutely amazing! I doubled it to feed my big family. It was so delicious! Thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Erica! Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment 🙂
It was delicious! Am making it again tonight!
Have mercy!! This recipe is just delicious!! Followed recipe exactly,,,wouldn’t change anything, except…DOUBLE THE RECIPE!! 🙂
Made this tonight and it was just as easy as it was delicious! Made a couple of small tweaks: Used only a 1/2 cup of chicken broth and added a 1/2 cup white wine. Also added grated Parmesan to the sauce while it simmered to make it a little creamier and cheesier! Will definitely make this again.
Delicious recipe, but sauce definitely needed thickening when using half n half. I used a 2 T cornstarch slurry and it was perfect! I added a little fresh spinach to the sauce at the end for color and bite. Mixed sauce with fettuccine.
I thought this was delicious. I read the reviews, so I was careful adding the liquids. I did not add the extra liquid from the pasta, I also did not add the lemon rind, mainly because I used an amazing Myer Lemon olive oil I have. I followed everything else to a T. I was careful to turn the heat down and slowly stirred the cream in, and it came out beautiful. I will definitely make this again!
This was delish!! One suggestion. The second time I made it I doubled the sauce recipe and it worked much better with 14 oz of pasta. The first time it seemed a bit dry. Half and half worked great instead of heavy cream. Don’t freak out if it doesn’t get thick while cooking it. It will thicken up once you add the pasta to the sauce. My lesson learned. Very easy recipe and yummy!
Delicious. I made with cauliflower linguine. Poured pasta over spinach to wilt and added some asparagus and red pepper I had roasted the previous night. This is restaurant worthy.
I’ve made this about 5 times now and making it again tonight. One of my favorite pasta recipes. The lemon shines and the dish is absolutely delicious.
I made this for Sunday night dinner, and we thought it was restaurant quality. Only change I made was reduced chicken broth to 1/2 cup, and added 1/2 cup white wine. Also had a few asparagus that needed to get used up, so roasted them and threw them in towards the end. I had questioned the amount of zest and juice, but it was perfect, just creamy enough without being too rich. We will make it again!
Made homemade fettuccine fini and followed the recipe. The lemon flavor really stands out compared to garlic and red pepper flakes. I used natural sea salt with oil to season shrimp, and it didn’t come out too or under salted. Pro tip: cook pasta while sauce is simmering for 5 minutes, use a spider to ladle out the noods into your cream sauce. Serve with a glass of Pinot Blanc. Delicious!
Another 5 star recipe. It was delicious. I added asparagus as suggested in the other comments….it was wonderful. Will definitely make this again.
Wow! This recipe is superb! What a sexy yet simple meal!
Thank you for sharing this recipe.
So easy and delicious!!! My friends ask me to make it for them.
This is a great recipe, the only thing I added was 1/4 C of white wine before adding the lemon juice and chicken broth. I will definitely keep this in my files.
Very easy recipe to recreate. Flavor was fantastic. Will definitely make again, the only thing I would do differently is swap out a half cup of broth with a half cup of the heavy cream just to make it slightly thicker and creamier.
I have been looking for a lemon cream sauce for everything!!! THANK YOU.
I tried it this evening. It was very good however I need to admit that I made it just for me for one person with six shrimps so I had to guess how much to reduce everything but it still turned out very good. And I had some already cooked rice so I use that rather than the pasta. So easy peasy and very good.