This 15-minute Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta is an irresistible combination of tender shrimp, al dente pasta, and flavorful garlic butter sauce. Follow this simple recipe to create an effortless meal that blends the best of seafood and pasta into a delicious dish the whole family will love.
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If you love shrimp, then this will be your new favorite pasta dish. It's basically my Shrimp Scampi - but served with pasta. All the amazing shrimp scampi flavor, in a delicious dinner package.
And after this, I've got loads more unique pasta recipes for you to try!
Why you will love this recipe
- It's quick and done in under 15 minutes
- It's easy with a few simple steps
- Flavor packed with garlic, paprika and chili
- Perfectly cooked shrimp and I'll teach you how to cook them just right
- A little bit spicy - if that's something you like
- An easy weeknight dinner that's tasty enough for company!
What you need to make Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta
Ingredient notes & substitutions
- Shrimp should be peeled, and I prefer to remove the tail for easy eating. You can use raw or pre-cooked shrimp.
- Fresh parsley is mainly decorative. Frozen parsley also works!
- Butter and olive oil: you can use just one of them as well, just double the amount. Olive oil can be swapped for a neutral cooking oil.
- Fresh lemon juice: don't use the bottled kind. If you don't have any, better to go for white wine vinegar instead.
- Spaghetti can be swapped for another long pasta type like tagliatelle, linguini or angel hair pasta
- Chili flakes (red pepper flakes) can be omitted to keep it mild, or use more/less for a more/less spicy version
- Chicken stock cube & water can be swapped for homemade chicken broth in the same amount as the water
How to make Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta
- Sauté garlic in butter and olive oil
- Add chicken stock and spices and simmer to thicken
- Add shrimp
- Cook until pink on both sides
- Add lemon juice
- Mix in cooked pasta and pasta water
- Top with parsley
- Mix, and serve!
Tips & tricks
- Don't allow the garlic to brown - you want a soft, nice, garlic flavor
- Don't overcook the shrimp - they're done as soon as they are pink and opaque through, and they will keep cooking after you add the pasta and sauce
- Store leftovers in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 3 days
- Reheat leftoves in the microwave in 1 minute increments
- I don't recommend freezing leftovers as the consistency of the sauce will be ruined
Recipe FAQ
To defrost shrimp really quickly, you can soak them in cold water for 10 minutes. However, this will also remove a lot of the shrimp flavor.
My preferred method for quickly defrosting shrimp is to spread them out on a plate in room temperature for 1 hour. After 1 hour, there will still be ice around the shrimp - but the shrimp itself will be thawed. At this point I peel off the ice with my fingers, and then pat the shrimp dry.
Deveining shrimp or not a matter of preference, and I never do it. If you do want to do it, use a small, sharp, knife, and slice into the bottom of the shrimp, on top of the dark vein. Use the knife to remove the vein, wipe the knife clean, and then proceed to the next one.
If using pre cooked shrimp you just need them to really heat up, so you can just sear them 1 minute per side, and then add the pasta.
Variations on this recipe
There are many ways to vary this recipe:
- Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta: Add lemon zest and more lemon juice
- Add cherry tomatoes for a bright pop of flavor
- Add asparagus, zucchini or baby spinach for extra flavor and greens
- Top with Parmesan cheese or Pecorino cheese for a cheesy meal
- Serve with Garlic Roasted Broccoli - it's a great combo!
More 15-minute pasta recipes
Looking for more 15-minute pasta recipes like this Garlic Shrimp Pasta recipe?
- Spicy Sausage Pasta
- Tortellini Carbonara
- Lemon Ricotta Pasta
- Fried Spaghetti with Chicken & Green Curry
- Smoked Salmon Pasta with Spinach & Lemon
Did you love this recipe? Rate it five stars!
...and let me know what you loved about it in the comments.
Recipe
Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta
Print RateIngredients
- 2 servings pasta reserve the pasta cooking water
- ¼ cup pasta cooking water
- ½ lb jumbo shrimp peeled, raw or pre-cooked
- ½ cup boiling water
- ¼ chicken stock cube
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon fine table salt
- ¼ teaspoon paprika powder
- ¼ teaspoon red chili pepper flakes or more or less, according to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in a large pot in heavily salted water, until al dente, about 1 minute less than package instructions. Reserve some of the pasta cooking water before you drain it.2 servings pasta
- Dissolve the chicken stock cube in the boiling water and set aside for now.½ cup boiling water, ¼ chicken stock cube
- Heat and melt butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.2 tablespoon butter, 2 tablespoon olive oil
- When the butter is melted, add minced garlic. Sauté 1 minute without the garlic browning, lower the heat if necessary.2 garlic cloves
- Add the chicken stock, salt, paprika powder, chili flakes and black pepper. Simmer 2 minutes until thickened.¼ teaspoon paprika powder, ¼ teaspoon red chili pepper flakes, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon fine table salt
- Add the shrimp and cook for 1- 2 minutes until both outsides of the shrimp are pink (if using raw shrimp) or 1 minute per side if using pre-cooked shrimp.½ lb jumbo shrimp
- Turn off the heat and mix in lemon juice and parsley. Mix well!1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice, ¼ cup chopped parsley
- Add pasta and pasta cooking water, toss to coat, and simmer 1 minute. Then serve.¼ cup pasta cooking water
Equipment (may contain affiliate links)
- Measuring cups (metric or US)*
Video
Notes
Ingredient notes & substitutions
- Shrimp should be peeled, and I prefer to remove the tail for easy eating. You can use raw or pre-cooked shrimp.
- Butter and olive oil: you can use just one of them as well, just double the amount. Olive oil can be swapped for a neutral cooking oil.
- Fresh lemon juice: don't use the bottled kind. If you don't have any, better to go for white wine vinegar instead.
- Pasta: spaghetti or any other long pasta type like angel hair or tagliatelle
- Chili flakes can be omitted to keep it mild, or use more/less for a more/less spicy version
- Chicken stock cube & water can be swapped for homemade chicken stock in the same amount as the water
Tips & tricks
- Don't allow the garlic to brown - you want a soft, nice, garlic flavor
- Don't overcook the shrimp - they're done as soon as they are pink and opaque through, and they will keep cooking after you add the pasta and sauce
- Store leftovers in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 3 days
- Reheat leftoves in the microwave in 1 minute increments
- I don't recommend freezing leftovers as the consistency of the sauce will be ruined
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate and automatically calculated, and should only be viewed as an indication.
Gail Korolewski McKelvey
Oh, yum! The butter shrimp pasta looks soooo good. Can't wait to try it.
Now...on butter, a friend and I were at a talk about eating healthy and we were told that margarine is one molecule away from plastic and butter is one molecule away from blood! Have not used anything but butter since and that has been probably 30 years! And...it made my farmer Dad happy!
Emmeline Kemperyd
Hi Gail! Now that's kinda how I feel about butter as well 🙂 Not to mention, it tastes so much better!! /Emmeline