Shrimp is one of our favorite proteins for weeknight dinners because it is so versatile, tasty, and quick. Some other favorite shrimp recipes that you might want to try are our Easy Honey Walnut Shrimp, Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp, Tomatoes, and Basil, and Shrimp Etouffee. When Paul and I were young lawyers working at big firms before the kids came along, I would often stock our freezer with a couple bags of Bertolli’s frozen meals that I could just toss in the skillet when I got home late and didn’t want to go out or even think about what to cook for the two of us. I’m not much for processed or packaged foods, but I will say that I loved those dinners and how simple they were. This creamy garlic shrimp pasta reminds me a lot of those saucy pasta concoctions, except it’s made from scratch and even more delicious. And honestly, I hardly takes much additional time! This easy pasta recipe isn’t quite a one-pot meal since I cook the pasta separately, but it’s pretty close. Also, it’s incredibly versatile and adaptable. Don’t like or have shrimp? Use chicken, salmon, or chunks of steak instead! Trying to avoid gluten or carbs? Leave out the pasta altogether or serve over roasted potatoes. There’s plenty packed into this meal with the veggies and meat so you won’t be left wanting.
Ingredients in Creamy Garlic Shrimp Pasta
Pasta: We prefer bowtie (aka farfalle) pasta for this dish because it’s size and shape matches the shrimp and zucchini so well, but any medium-size pasta will work. Orecchiette is another personal favorite, but shells, rotini, and fusili would all work well, and you could even go with a long noodle like fettucine or linguine, really.Shrimp: My favorite shrimp are the raw, tail-on, peeled & deveined shrimp from Costco. They make dinner effortless because all of the tedious work of peeling and deveining the shrimp are done for you. We always have a couple bags in the freezer for easy meals. Vegetables: I use roasted red peppers (either from a jar or homemade), onion, and sliced zucchini most often when making this dish, but it also works well with sun-dried tomatoes, broccoli florets, asparagus that has been cut-up into 1-inch pieces, and even green beans, peas, and sun-dried tomatoes. It’s one of those “clean-out-your-fridge” type pasta dishes where you almost anything goes.Garlic: 6 large cloves of garlic are minced and added for a wonderful garlicky flavor. It’s just right and not overpoweringly garlicky to us, but feel free to add more or less depending on your own personal preferences. I highly recommend chopping it fresh instead of buying the jars of pre-minced garlic at the stores, but either works.Cream: The heavy cream makes for the most wonderful sauce you can imagine with combined with a little lemon juice, garlic, herbs, and spices.Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated makes such a difference and melts right into the sauce giving it fantastic richness and depth. Do yourself a favor and always keep a block of Parmesan in the fridge to have on hand. Leftover rinds are great added to soups and they freeze really well too!Salt and pepperButterLemon juice: The added acid helps cut the richness of the sauce just a bit and goes so well with the shrimp.Flour: Just a little flour helps thicken the sauce just a bit. Herbs & spices: Italian herbs like basil, rosemary, oregano, and thyme add flavor to the sauce. A little optional crushed red pepper adds a bit of interesting heat.
How to make creamy garlic shrimp pasta
Substitutions and variations
If you have someone in your family that isn’t a fan of shrimp, you could use chicken breasts or steak that have been cut into bite-size pieces instead. Just season with salt and pepper, then saute them in the pan with a little oil BEFORE cooking the onions and vegetables until the chicken is almost completely cooked through. Transfer to a plate and set aside while you make the rest of the recipe as written, then add the cooked back in with the cream and it will finish cooking the rest of the way with the sauce.I haven’t tested this recipe with coconut cream yet, but I’ve used it as a substitute for heavy cream in the past for a number of recipes and it always works great, so I’m fairly confident that it would work here as well. If you try it, let us know what you think in the comments below!
More easy weeknight dinner recipes
Tuna Noodle CasseroleHomemade Hamburger HelperOne Pot Bruschetta Chicken PastaBest Ground Beef StroganoffSheet Pan Shrimp FajitasGrilled Cilantro Lime Chicken ThighsCajun Shrimp PastaButternut Squash RisottoOne-Pot Couscous with Shrimp, Zucchini, and CornShrimp Pesto Pasta with ZucchiniShrimp Pad Thai
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