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 in a homemade alfredo sauce. The creamy pasta sauce is made with Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese, garlic, basil, crushed red pepper flakes, paprika.
- 8 oz fettuccine pasta (for gluten free version, use gluten free brown rice pasta)
- 1/2 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
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 8 oz mushrooms thinly sliced
- 1 cup half and half
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese shredded
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Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain. Reserve some of the pasta water.
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Heat a large skillet until hot - add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and immediately add garlic and shrimp.
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Cook on one side for about 1 minute until pink, on medium-high heat.
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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.
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Remove the shrimp from the skillet. If shrimp is a little undercooked - it's OK because you will continue cooking it in the sauce.
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To the same, now empty, skillet, add sliced mushrooms. Add more olive oil if necessary.
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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.
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To the skillet with mushrooms, add cooked shrimp. Immediately add 1 cup half-and-half. Bring to boil.
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Add half the cheese (1/2 cup). Bring to boil, and immediately reduce to medium-simmer. Cook, constantly stirring, until the cheese melts.
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Gradually start adding the remaining cheese (1/2 cup), while stirring. Do not add all of the remaining 1/2 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.
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Remove from heat. Taste, and add more salt if needed.
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Add cooked and drained pasta from step 1 to the skillet with shrimp and mushrooms and cream sauce. Reheat on medium heat. Stir well.
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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.
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Season with more salt and add more crushed red pepper flakes and basil, if desired.
What is half-and-half?
Here is what to do to substitute for 1 cup of half-and-half: combine 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup heavy cream.
In general, this was a very good dish. I think I cooked a little too much pasta (it’s hard to weigh pasta ). Next time, I’ll add more mushrooms, more Parmesan, and use white wine instead of the pasta water and I think it will be a big hit. The shrimp were cooked perfectly, to my surprise; I took them out of the pan shortly after turning them and didn’t return them to the pan until the pasta had been added. They finished cooking in the short time after I covered the pan and turned off the heat. Definitely a keeper!
So happy you enjoyed this dish! Thank you for stopping by and sharing your feedback! 🙂
Made this dish for dinner last night! It was amazing! I think I would add some spinach and maybe another vegetable next time too 🙂
this was pretty bad. overcooked the shrimp and how on earth are you supposed to whisk lumps out of your cream sauce with all that in the way? Great if you like a gritty sauce. I’m pretty upset with myself for not avoiding something i knew instictively was a bad idea, but it was the thing google recommended you know?
You overcooked the shrimp in two minutes and then your sauce broke because the temp was up too high. Yet you blame the author… confusing
What could cause lumps in a sauce without any flour? As long a you keep some heat under the cream and blend the cheese a little at a time you should be ok. You need to stir constantly or the cheese won’t melt completely. As with any sauce or gravy, if you leave it alone bad things can happen. Just keep stirring and be patient. As for shrimp, it is easy to overcook. When they turn from translucent to a pinkish white, they are done. If you keep cooking them, they become rubber. If by any chance you used pre-cooked shrimp, do not cook them. Just add them to the sauce and pasta at the end and warm them through on a gentle heat for a few minutes. Hope this helps.
Looks delicious! How many does one receipts feed?
It was very good but as others have said the shrimp can become overcooked and rubbery. Next time, I will get the shrimp opaque in the pan but not add it to the final pan with the pasta and sauce until the sauce is thickened and ready to serve.
Found this recipe a little while ago and I’d love to try it! Do you think canned coconut milk would work for the half and half to lighten it up a little? Thanks for any insight!
You MUST make this if you love shrimp and pasta. Made this for our 30th wedding anniversary and I thought we went to a restaurant. I did leave out the mozzarella to avoid the stringiness and used the full cup of Parmesan. Soooo good!
If you can find it, try using whole milk mozzarella not part-skim and shred yourself. It will melt much better. Always the best for pizza too.
Hello….shrimp cooks instantly and will become rubbery ,
Can be removed and add after everything cooks just before serving,
So easy to make! I love recipes that are not complicated. Delicious my family approves
Made this last night. We love shrimp and it was a delicious dish. I used bow tie pasta and a tablespoon of melted butter in with fat free filtered milk. This was a easy recipe and my husband even asked how I made it! Definitely a recipe I will be making regularly.