The Easiest Shrimp Alfredo Pasta

Light the candles and uncork a bottle of Chianti — even if it is just a Tuesday night — because our shrimp fettuccine Alfredo tastes every bit as delicious as the dish you always order at Italian restaurants. And you won’t find an easier way to put together a dinner that’s quick enough for weeknights but special enough for date nights, with plump shrimp, sautéed mushrooms and bell peppers, and fettuccine pasta tossed in a creamy, garlicky white wine Alfredo sauce from scratch.

You could almost call this a one-pot pasta dish, since the sautéed shrimp, homemade Alfredo sauce, and veggies are all cooked in the same pot… the only hitch is that the fettuccine is boiled separately, so technically this is a two-pot affair. (But how hard is it to wash up a pasta pot, really?) The point is, this dish is simple.

This dish already comes together in less than 40 minutes (and you’ll spend most of that just waiting for the pasta water to boil), but if you need dinner on the table at Nascar speed, feel free to use a store-bought jar of sauce. Our foolproof Alfredo sauce recipe, though, makes it surprisingly easy to whisk up your own home-cooked cheesy white wine cream sauce.

Shrimp Alfredo Pasta

Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

Shrimp Pasta:

  • 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • salt, to taste
  • ground black pepper, to taste
  • 3 – 4 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • ½ pound mushrooms, quartered (about 2 cups)
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, sliced
  • 10 ounces (⅔ pound) uncooked fettuccine pasta
  • ¼ cup chopped parsley or basil (optional garnish)

Alfredo Sauce:

  • 3 Tablespoons butter
  • 3 – 5 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 Tablespoons, or to taste)
  • ⅓ cup white wine
  • 5 Tablespoons flour
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Preparation

  1. In a large bowl, season the shrimp with salt and pepper, and set aside
  2. In a large pan over medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the shrimp to the pan and cook, stirring often, until they are just cooked through (about 2 to 4 minutes, depending on the size of your shrimp). Remove the cooked shrimp from the pan and set aside.
  3. In the same large pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes or until they’re slightly caramelized and just cooked through. Add the sliced bell peppers and cook for 3 – 5 minutes or until they’re softened. Remove cooked mushrooms and peppers from the pan and set aside.
  4. Reheat the large pan over medium heat and add 3 tablespoons of butter. Add the minced garlic and sauté for one minute, stirring occasionally, until fragrant. Add the white wine and allow it to simmer for 2 – 3 minutes, or until it’s mostly evaporated. Sprinkle with flour, and stir to combine. Sauté for an additional minute to cook the flour, stirring occasionally.
  5. Slowly add the milk, whisking to combine until smooth. Whisk in the cream, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Let it cook for an additional minute until the sauce has thickened. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, pepper, and salt, until the cheese melts. Remove the from heat and set aside.
  6. Cook the pasta according to your own preferences or the package instructions. Drain the pasta, saving and setting aside about ½ cup of the pasta cooking water. Toss the cooked pasta with 1 tablespoon of olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking together, if needed.
  7. Add the cooked pasta to the pan with the Alfredo sauce and toss to combine. Add the cooked vegetables and shrimp and toss to combine. Adjust the consistency of the Alfredo sauce with more pasta cooking water, if needed. Garnish with chopped basil or parsley.

Need more quick and easy pasta dinners? Try our zippy shrimp scampi with linguine or our avocado pesto chicken pasta.