Creamy Shrimp Pasta with Mushrooms in a homemade alfredo sauce. The creamy pasta sauce is made with Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese, garlic, basil, crushed red pepper flakes, paprika.
One of the bests ways to cook and eat shrimp is in a luscious creamy sauce with pasta! Some of my favorites are creamy mozzarella shrimp pasta and spicy shrimp pasta with tomato cream sauce.
And, don't forget mushrooms - they go amazingly well with shrimp, as in this pesto shrimp mushroom pasta!
How to make creamy shrimp pasta
1) First, saute shrimp in olive oil, garlic, basil, and paprika.
2) Then, remove the shrimp from the skillet and in the same pan saute some mushrooms.
3) Add cooked shrimp to the skillet with mushrooms.
4) Next, make creamy shrimp pasta sauce. To the skillet with cooked shrimp and the mushrooms, add half-and-half, cheeses, more spices while the sauce simmers. Simmer the sauce, stirring, until the sauce thickens.
5) Add cooked and drained pasta to the skillet with shrimp, mushrooms, and the cream sauce. Reheat on medium heat. Stir well.
How to thicken or to thin out the cream sauce?
- To make the cream sauce thicker, add more cheese, while liquids are hot.
- To make the cream sauce thinner, add reserved warm pasta water (from cooking pasta).
Gluten-Free Friendly Recipe
I've also made this creamy shrimp pasta with gluten-free pasta (I used brown rice fettuccine) - and it was wonderfully delicious! The gluten-free pasta had the perfect texture for this kind of sauce.
Other creamy shrimp pasta recipes:
Creamy Shrimp Pasta with Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 8 oz fettuccine pasta (for gluten free version, use gluten free brown rice pasta)
- ½ cup cooked pasta water (optional)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb shrimp (10 big shrimp or 20 small shrimp without shells, deveined)
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 8 oz mushrooms thinly sliced
- 1 cup half and half
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- ½ cup Mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
Cook pasta
- Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain. Reserve some of the pasta water.
How to cook shrimp
- Heat a large skillet until hot - add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and immediately add garlic and shrimp.
- Cook on one side for about 1 minute until pink, on medium-high heat.
- Flip the shrimp to the other side. Sprinkle the top of the cooked side of shrimp with dry basil, paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, and salt. Cook for another 1-2 minutes, occasionally stirring, until shrimp is pink on both sides.
- Remove the shrimp from the skillet. If shrimp is a little undercooked - it's OK because you will continue cooking it in the sauce.
How to cook mushrooms
- To the same, now empty, skillet, add sliced mushrooms. Add more olive oil if necessary.
- Cook on medium-high heat for about 2 minutes, occasionally stirring, until mushrooms become soft and release juices. Sprinkle with a small amount of salt midway through cooking.
How to make creamy sauce
- To the skillet with mushrooms, add cooked shrimp. Immediately add 1 cup half-and-half. Bring to boil.
- Add half the cheese (½ cup). Bring to boil, and immediately reduce to medium-simmer. Cook, constantly stirring, until the cheese melts.
- Gradually start adding the remaining cheese (½ cup), while stirring. Do not add all of the remaining ½ cup of cheese at once. Add just enough for the sauce to get creamy without getting too thick. You might not use all of the remaining cheese.
- Remove from heat. Taste, and add more salt if needed.
- Add cooked and drained pasta from step 1 to the skillet with shrimp and mushrooms and cream sauce. Reheat on medium heat. Stir well.
- If the cream sauce is too thick and you want it thinner - add some pasta water in small amounts to the cream sauce (while the sauce is simmering on low-medium heat) until you reach desired consistency.
- Season with more salt and add more crushed red pepper flakes and basil, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I forgot the rating in my previous comments.
Thank you for the 5-star rating!!
I have tried this recipe yesterday for dinner. I did not put the red pepper flakes because I don't like them. It was so delicious and easy to do. Thank you for sharing your recipes.
Lise, you are so welcome! Thak you for taking the time to share your review with me. 🙂
Delicious! I made this for dinner tonight and my husband and I both really liked it. The only thing I changed was that I added 1/4 cup dry white wine and decreased the half and half to 3/4 cup. I think it would also be good with some diced sun dried tomatoes added to it. I served this with roasted asparagus and white wine and it made for a delicious meal. Will definitely be making it again.
Hi Carol! I love that you added white wine to the sauce, and served it with roasted asparagus - SO YUM!! 🙂
Can I use 2% milk instead of half & half
Yes, you can! In this case, use cornstarch to thicken the sauce. Whisk equal parts cornstarch and water until smooth (1 tablespoon + 1 tablespoon). Add about 1 tablespoon of slurry (or less) per 2 cups of simmering sauce, stir, and cook for 2 minutes. Check thickness and repeat if needed. In this case, you might have to adjust (reduce) the amount of cheese. Or, don't even add the cheese to the sauce, and sprinkle it on top of the pasta instead.
I made this for supper tonight. Simple and delicious!
To give 1 star it is necessary! But we Italians would rate it +0. It is disgusting! First of all no cream or cheese where you have fish or seafood!
Well aren't you special ?
Hmmm. I seem to recall some delicious smoked salmon with cheese on pizza in Italy. But whatever Italians, this is fantastic! I've never tried to make it myself and we had only half the shrimp and only 2/3 of the noodles but it turned out perfectly anyway. Talk about a flavorful sauce! Wow. This will be my new go-to. Thanks!
You are missing out on chowder! No cheese in it but it is made with half and half.
Chowder is so GOOD! Everybody should try it at least once! 🙂
I made this tonight & it was delicious! I didn't change anything, although your nutrition info says 4 servings. We have enough left for at least 6 (total). There are 3 of us, so another meal for sure.
Hi Julia, here's another 5-star recipe from your collection. Thanks. I would just say that I would not add the cooked shrimp to the Alfredo sauce until it is fully prepared. It's best not to overcook the shrimp.
First time making this. Easy. Fast. Mmmm good!
So happy to hear that! ❤️
Easy perfect recipe and Julia writes it in simple steps for us. Thank you, Julia - I made it two nights ago exactly as written and it was delicious.
Thank you, Larry, for taking the time to leave a review - I always appreciate it! 🙂
To make your life easier, start with the mushrooms and garlic in the hot pan. Once about halfway done, add the shrimp and cook until done. I make a lot of shrimp scampi and that's how I do it.
That said, this recipe was DELICIOUS. I didn't change anything other than omitting the pepper flakes (I'm allergic) and it's some of the best Alfredo sauce I've had. Simple but very savory and flavorful. I'm also going to try this with thin spaghetti, which my husband and I both prefer. Thanks for a great recipe.
Thank you, Suzanne, for such a thoughtful and kind review - I appreciate it! ❤️
I made a double batch today so I have plenty to freeze for quickie meals later. I quadrupled the seasoning since I was going to have so much liquid/sauce. I also stirred in several handfuls of fresh baby spinach after removing this from the heat. (I throw spinach in everything.) The next time I make this I think I'll add some caramelized onion and maybe some sundried tomatoes or red pepper. This was quite tasty and no fuss. Thank you for another amazing recipe!
Thank you so much, Melanie, for sharing your review! I love the idea of adding spinach, and caramelized onions would also be a great addition! You might like this pasta recipe where I use caramelized onions:
https://juliasalbum.com/farfalle-with-spinach-mushrooms-caramelized-onions/
This is a great recipe. The only thing I did different was that I added the cooked shrimp back in with the pasta, because I have a tendency to overcook them.
Thank you, Elaine, for your review!