This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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.
My mouth was literally watering just looking at this! Perfect for any time of the year too!
Thank you! 🙂
I will try this , but we will be 8 ppl.
Do I double or triple the recipe?
Depends on your appetite. 🙂 The recipe serves 4 people so I would double it.
This recipe turned out really good. I enjoy the crushed red pepper, and that I can add more of I want it a little more spicy. Yummy, thanks for sharing
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
This was delicious! I wish I could have uploaded my pic, but my son and I devour the entire thing....almost! Will be making it agin soon! Gracias!!!
So glad you tried this recipe and liked it! Thank you for stopping by and leaving such a kind comment!
So good and easy to make!!
So glad you liked it!
Dinner!
Enjoy!
I made this last night for a family Sunday dinner, and EVERYONE was super impressed. They thought I slaved over it all day, in reality I started about 30 minutes before everyone arrived! SO easy and SO delicious. I doubled the recipe for 5 people thinking that would give me some leftovers for the next few days, and only had enough left over for lunch today, they devoured it! Followed it exactly, only added a little more cheese at the end to thicken the sauce a little. This is definitely a show stopper!
I am so happy you liked this recipe! Thank you so much for such a kind comment!
I really really love this recipe. Made it tonight (followed your exact instructions) and it turned out perfectly! Thank you so much for sharing!!!!
Thank you for such a kind comment! I am so glad you liked this pasta!
This taste amazing!! And so easy to make. Thank you!
So glad you liked it! Thank you for your kind comment!
So easy to make and my husband loved it.
VERY good!!!
Thank you!
This recipe was easy and tastes so good! The only think I will do different next time is use more half and half to make the sauce not so thick. I did use a whole package of pasta and doubled all the ingredients. Very happy with how it turned out.
So glad you liked this recipe! Yes, if the sauce is too thick, just use more half-and-half to thin it out.
I made this and the cheese and cream became clumpy instead of creamy. What did I do wrong?
Make sure the pan is hot enough. The sauce should be visibly simmering when you're stir in the cheese. Keep stirring, and if the sauce is too thick, add extra half-and-half.
This recipe was absolutely delicious! One of my kids doesn’t like shrimp or mushrooms so I added some chicken to it as well. We all loved it! It was so quick and easy too!
Thank you for such a wonderful comment! So glad you liked this pasta! It's so versatile - works with both seafood and chicken.
Could I add dry white wine to the recipe?
You could. If you want to add white wine, I would use heavy cream instead of half-and-half. So, when it's time to add 1 cup of half-and-half, I would add 1 cup of heavy cream + 1/2 cup of white wine. Bring to simmer and add the cheese.