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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 made this today and it was a HUGE hit. I added leeks and served over zoodles! YUMMY!
I just made this for my family of 4. I added 1 leek, white and light green parts only, sliced in rings, to the recipe along with the sliced mushrooms (used cremini mushrooms for good flavour) and used basil infused olive oil. IT WAS AMAZING!! I loved it. I actually got a spoon to eat the remaining traces of sauce from my pasta bowl once I was done eating the pasta lol. YUM! Definitely will make again. I didn't need measurements for the basil, red pepper or paprika. Just added what I liked with my hands/fingers as I usually do and it was perfect. What I did do was toss the raw shrimp with the basil olive oil and seasonings before adding to the pan, makes for simple work. I also,added a little extra half and half. Delish! Thanks Julia....this will be going into my regular rotation when I need some comfort food. 😉
Hi! Love the look of this recipe. Do you think it would work with whole milk instead of half and half?
3/4 cup whole milk mixed with 1/4 cup melted butter is a good substitute for half and half.
This was great!!! We only had 2/3 cup of milk so we had to use 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream. Will definitely make again!!
Would like to make this ahead as I would like to bring to my son's when I visit next week. was wondering if it and your chicken tenders recipes can be made ahead and frozen. Looks delicious and cannot wait to try.
It has salt listed in the directions, but not in the ingredient list. How much salt do you use?
Hi, I was wondering if I could substitute the half and half for something else to make it healthier? I love your pasta dishes, but a lot of them call for heavy cream and half and half. Thanks!
Most U.S. supermarkets carry fat-free half & half. I used it in this recipe and I was happy with the results.
I made this last night and it was wonderful. It even got rave reviews from the BF!! Will definitely be making this again. Thanks!
I made this recipe today and it was delicious. For the green leaves I put green basil. Thank you Julia.
So delish!! Came out creamy. It was fast and essy to make. I eill definitely make this again...next week!! 😉 Thank you!
I made this tonight and it was delicious!! I will make this again!!
Made this last night was wonderful added fresh spinach when sautéing the mushrooms I seasoned everything to my family's taste definitely on the make again list, would also be excellent with blackened chicken
After reading all the reviews, and the recipe, I chose to add some flour springs miles lightly just after the mushrooms and shrimp were done, stirred in before adding the cream. The mix tightened up nicely and the cheese melted fine, just needed a little pasta water to thin before serving, since it was so rich. Delicious! Best shrimp I' ve ever made--
Was truly disappointed with the whole dish...it is missing something... I can't put my finger on it... Will never try making it anymore!!!
I'm a horrible cook. But I felt so proud of myself, when my whole family loved this dish!! Awesome recipe!!! Thank you so much!!!