Shrimp Alfredo
Shrimp Alfredo is an Italian restaurant favorite and for a good reason. Fettuccine pasta coated with creamy, cheesy, rich alfredo sauce topped with juicy, flavorful shrimp on top. I will to teach you how to make it at home and it will be a lot easier than you think and SO much tastier.
It doesn’t just taste much better homemade, you also have control over every ingredient. If you want, it’s easy to add a little more parmesan cheese, more or less garlic and seasoning, or even make allergy adjustments.
I know quite a bit about adjusting classic and favorite dishes to allergies so I will show some ways to make this dish lactose free (dairy free), and gluten free. And plenty or tips to make it the best, of course!
Featured Comment
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This was the easiest and tastiest alfredo. It is definitely a keeper. Thank you 😊”
How to Make Shrimp Alfredo (Important Tips)
- In fast recipes, always measure all of your ingredients first and have them ready to go! This is a fast moving recipe.
- Try to use a heavy bottom sauce pot and cook over medium and then medium-low heat. Never hotter than medium!
- Melt butter and sauté garlic until fragrant. Stir in flour until it’s mixed with butter and slowly pour in heavy whipping cream while constantly stirring. (This will help with not having lumps in sauce.)
- Remember, don’t let it alfredo sauce boil! Once heavy cream is hot, whisk in sour cream, Parmesan cheeses, salt, and pepper. Lower heat to medium-low and gently stir until grated cheese melts and incorporates.
- Keep cooking over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often, and take off heat!
- Peel and de-vein shrimp, if you need to. Toss shrimp with seasoning and parmesan cheese.
- Make sure to preheat the pan first over medium-high! Melt butter in a large cooking pan. As soon as butter is melted, add shrimp.
- Cook shrimp until pink and opaque on one side and flip them all over. Cook on the other side until just turns pink and opaque. Take shrimp out of the pan right away so it doesn’t keep cooking. (Depending on size, shrimp only take 2-3 minutes to cook.)
- Toss cooked fettuccine with sauce and add shrimp on top. Add some grated parmesan on top but you can never go wrong with more cheese!
Recipe Variation and Add-ins
- Pasta: The best pasta to use with Alfredo sauce is a thicker, long pasta like fettuccine, linguine, tagliatelle and even spaghetti. Just make sure to salt the water that pasta is cooked in and don’t overcook it.
- Vegetables: Broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, chopped asparagus, and diced zucchini all taste great with shrimp and Alfredo sauce. Cook the vegetables in the same pan as the shrimp but cook the vegetables first.
- Gluten Free: to make this recipe gluten free, use 1:1 gluten free all purpose flour in the sauce and gluten free pasta.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: Heavy whipping cream is the best option for a rich and creamy Alfredo sauce. If you’re in a bind, you can use half and half but it will be slightly thinner and not as rich. To make the sauce thicker when using half and half, add another 1/2 tbsp of flour and use a little more parmesan cheese. Don’t use anything less rich than half and half!
- Lactose Free: If you need to keep this recipe lactose free, use lactose free half and half. Parmesan cheese is aged and aged cheeses are usually naturally lactose free. (As always double check the packaging for sugar content or lactose statement.) Add a little bit more flour in you plan to use LF half and half.
- Dairy Free: you can use unsweetened cashew creamer and almond milk. You can also try unsweetened oat creamer. (There are also plant based heavy whipping cream option you can get at stores but that is meant for whipping for desserts and I personally don’t like it in sauces.)
Recipe FAQs
If your sauce broke, you most likely overheated it. Never boil cream sauces! If cream boil, there is a good chance it will break. Start cooking sauce over medium and then turn it down to medium-low after adding the cream. Cook the sauce until it’s heated through and cheese is melted in, just a few minutes.
Absolutely! Just make sure to thaw the shrimp first and drain off all excess liquids before using.
Storing, Reheating and Make Ahead
- Make ahead: You can easily make the Alfredo sauce ahead of time. Store Alfredo sauce in a glass jar with a lid in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
- Storing: Store leftover pasta, sauce, and shrimp in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.
- Reheating: Alfredo sauce is a little trickier since it’s cream based and best not be reheated in a microwave. If you have to use a microwave, reheat in 30-second increments, mixing in between.
- It’s best to use a sauce pot to reheat your leftovers. Reheat it over medium-low heat. If the sauce seems a little thick, add a splash of whole milk and stir gently until mixed.
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Shrimp Alfredo Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb fettuccine pasta*
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 lbs raw shrimp
- salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
- 1/2 cup dry Parmesan cheese
Alfredo Sauce:
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp all purpose flour*
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup dry Parmesan cheese
- salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
Fettuccine:
- Start cooking pasta at the same time as starting the sauce.
- Bring a pot of water to boil and salt the water. Salt it generously so that pasta gets seasoned as it cooks.
- Add pasta and cook according to the package suggested time. Don’t overcook the pasta because it will continue to cook while coated in hot Alfredo sauce.
- Once pasta is done, strain it and add it back to the pot.
Alfredo Sauce:
- Measure your ingredients ahead of time because cooking the sauce goes fast.
- In a medium, heavy bottom sauce pot, melt butter over medium heat. Once butter is melted, add pressed garlic. Cook garlic until it’s fragrant and sprinkle flour over it. Stir until flour is all mixed with butter and slowly pour in heavy whipping cream while constantly stirring.
- Gently stir the mixture together and let it heat through. (Don’t let it boil!) Once heavy cream is hot, whisk in sour cream, Parmesan cheeses, salt, and pepper. Lower heat to medium-low and gently stir until grated cheese melts and incorporates.
- Keep cooking over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Once sauce is ready mix it with cooked pasta. (Reserve a little bit of sauce to drizzle over shrimp.)
Shrimp:
- Clean, de-vein, and take all the shells off shrimp if needed.
- Use a mixing bowl to season shrimp with salt and pepper. Add dry Parmesan cheese and toss until it’s evenly spread out.
- Preheat a large cooking pan over medium-high heat and add butter. Melt butter and add shrimp. Cook shrimp until pink and opaque on one side and flip them all over. Cook on the other side until just turns pink and opaque. Take shrimp out of the pan right away so it doesn’t keep cooking.
- Portion sauce coated pasta into large bowls and top it off with sautéed shrimp. Drizzle a little sauce over shrimp.
Video
Notes
- *Gluten Free Notes: This recipe is pretty easy to make gluten free. Use your favorite gluten free pasta as a base and use gluten free all purpose flour in the sauce.
- Storing: Store leftover pasta, sauce, and shrimp in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
- Reheating Alfredo sauce: it is a little trickier since it’s cream based and not tomato based. Alfredo sauce should not be reheated in a microwave and should be reheated slowly or it will separate.
Use a sauce pot to reheat your leftovers. Reheat it over medium-low heat. If the sauce seems a little thick, add a splash of whole milk and stir gently until mixed.
Nutrition
More Comforting Italian Recipes To Try
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in July 2019.
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Categories:
30 Minute Meals, Dinner Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Italian Dinner Recipes, Lunch Recipe Ideas, Most Popular Recipes, Pasta Recipes, Seafood Dinner Recipes, Shrimp Dinner Recipes, Valentine's Day,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Delicious!!! I made it for my husband. He loved it ! The shrimp was so flavorful!
Absolutely super good!! This is the second time I have made it… hit everytime❤️
I am so glad you liked it, Lisa!
This was the easiest and tastiest alfredo. It is definitely a keeper. Thank you 😊
I am so happy you liked it, Laurette!
Loves this recipe and so did the family
I love hearing that! So glad you liked it!
Easy to folllow recipe. Delicious
So glad you liked it, Julia!
Excellent
Very good, I normally like the sauce a little thinner but not a big deal. This is a keeper
Hi Dennis,
Next time you can thin it out with more cream if you like it thinner but I am pleased you liked it! 🙂
This was the best shrimp alfredo I’ve ever made! It tasted better than Olive Garden(which is my favorite) I accidentally used fresh Asiago instead of fresh parmesan. Otherwise, I followed it to the T. Thank you!
Thank you for the kind comment, I am so glad you liked it!
Hello
Love your recipes. I do have a question on this recipe however. What is the difference between Dry Parmesan cheese and grated Parmesan cheese?
Dry parmesan is the parmesan that doesn’t have to be refrigerated that is in the shaker bottle.
This recipe for Alfredo was incredible. I have tried many recipes and this was the best. Not only was it delicious but it was quite simple. Will definitely make again and again.
Fantastic recipe
Thanks, Gary!
Delicious. My picky 6 year old cleaned her plate.
Awesome! I am so happy she liked it!
What a delicious recipe! My husband and I both loved it and will be making it again for sure! I did add some chopped broccoli and mushrooms which was a subtle way to get our vegetables in!
Yum! SO glad you liked it!
I MADE THIS!!!! For Valentine’s! It was AMAZING!!!!! Thank you for this great recipe. I didn’t have to alter anything! It was perfect. Plus it looked beautiful!
So glad you liked it, Terry!
This was my first time making shrimp Alfredo from scratch and this was an easy recipe and it turned out delicious! Great tasting recipe!
This was delicious!
I want to make this today but only have dry parmesan cheese. Should I just use more or can I use shredded mozzarella?
Yes. I did and it was wonderful .
I wanted a quick easy dinner for my husband tonight and so I ran to the store for heavy cream , I had everything else on hand. I just had this dish on a cruise ship, I have to tell you that this recipe was far better than the ships, we both loved it. It makes enough to feed a lot of people, so we’re looking at some yummy leftovers, and I added some pasta water to keep it saucie Thanks for the recipe. I will most definitely be making this again.
Sounds so yummy; want to try, but what is dry Parmesan? I know shredded, shaved, but dry?
Thanksl
Very delicious recipe. I added garlic powder, onion powder and Italian seasoning to shrimp. Very cheesy. Kids loved this recipe.
Glad you liked it, Angela!
This was amazing!! I added extra garlic and some Old Bay. We also added Scallops! Amazing flavors. Definitely going to become a comfort meal.
Yum, I am so glad you liked it!
So so easy and super delicious. I added extra garlic cloves to kick up the sauce and it paid off. My husband gave it 5 stars and said it was the best he had ever had. Love it and its a keeper for sure. Thanks
Wow! What a nice compliment! I am so glad you guys liked it, Sue!
When you say “dry Parmesan” do you mean the powdery stuff from the can? Sorry if this is a silly question, I’ve just never heard of it being referred to in that way, and want to make sure I’m using the right thing! Thanks!
Hi Amanda,
Yes, the one in the plastic container that is usually with the deli section of cheeses but sometimes you find it down the pasta aisle.
Oh my goodness is this yummy
Thanks for sharing your recipe💚🌻
You are welcome, Janet! I am glad you liked it!
I made this tonight… my husband said one of the best dishes I have ever made!!! This is a keeper… so glad you said to measure everything first.. it came together fast.., I make mine with angel hair pasta as that is his favorite. We loved it!!!
Wow! What a complement for us both! I am so glad he liked it! 🙂
Very good and easy to make
Patted myself on the shoulder
LOL! So glad you liked it!
Looking forward to trying this. The picture shows green stuff on the shrimp – is that parsley? It’s not listed in the actual recipe. Thanks!
Hi Katie, yes it is, I used it as a garnish.
I just made this and it was CRAZY delicious! I modified it by adding tomato sauce/additional spices to make a parma roma type of sauce (and added crisped prosciutto) which took it to the next level! So thankful for this recipe to build off of, though! Thank you thank you thank you!!
Yum! I am happy you were able to make it your own, Leslie!
Can you sub plain Greek yogurt for the sour cream?
Made this last night, added broccoli. Sauce was absolutely on point! Decadent. I will be making this over and over again. Thank you!!!
Hi Amy,
I am so happy to hear that and I am glad you liked it so much!
Thank you for making this recipe easy to follow and the video fun to watch
You’re so welcome! I am glad you liked them! Thanks for stopping by!
I am usually having chicken alfredo but I haven’t tried shrimp alfredo. But will surely try this recipe soon. Thanks for sharing this.
I hope you like it!
Made this for my husband, for fathers day dinner. It is so yummy! The sauce is perfect! I used precooked shrimp and it turned out great!
I am so glad you liked enjoyed it, Amber!
Can I freeze extra sauce?
Love, love love this recipe!! A crowd favorite. We will be making this again very soon.
I made homemade sauce before BUT this one takes the Cake for delicious Must try Yum Yum
Thank you, Catherine!!!
Mmmmm. There is nothing that I love more than pasta and seafood!
Hi Lubya,This dish looks beautiful! I could just reach out right now and have that whole plate of goodness. Hope you are having a great week end and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.Come Back Soon!Miz Helen
Light but filling at the same time. Fab!
Thank you so much for taking the time to join our Pin’Inspiration party this week. I’m hoping that you’ll pop by tomorrow and share at my “Beat The Winter Blues” party. 🙂
Ooooh, that looks and sounds TOTALLY delicious!! I looooove alfredo, but hubby is lactose intolerant so I rarely get it. Can I come over? 🙂 Thanks for sharing this recipe; can I beg you to share it at my party too?
http://oneartmama.blogspot.com/2012/01/shine-on-fridays-11-and-giveaway.html
oh… that looks scrumptious!
That look sos good I can almost smell it! I am so craving pasta now.
~Christina @ The Foodie Entourage