Lemon garlic shrimp pasta is the perfect dish to make when you want to make an impression, with minimal effort. Shrimp are gently sauteed and then tossed with al dente pasta, in a buttery, garlicky concoction of parsley, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Whether you're a shrimp cooking veteran or a beginner, this is the perfect recipe, and the best part is this can be made in about 30 minutes!
Editor’s Note: Originally Published on January 24, 2019. Updated with full process shots and expanded info.
Life can be hectic at times, but for me, that doesn't mean I need to throw in the towel on dinner.
In the time it takes to pick up fast food, or order takeout, you can prepare lemon garlic shrimp pasta, provided you have a few key ingredients on hand.
For the most part, this recipe requires household staples, such as lemon, butter, and garlic.
Not everyone has fresh parsley or shrimp on hand, but I've made it a point to always include parsley on my weekly shopping list because I use it so frequently in many of our pasta recipes.
Pro Tip: If you buy a large bunch of parsley or it's growing too fast in your garden, divide it up, and freeze it. I take a good size handful, enough for 1 pound of pasta, and wrap it in foil. When I need some fresh parsley, I grab a pack or two from the freezer. My Grandmother and Mother always stored parsley this way.
I also try and keep shrimp on hand as well. I usually have a bag of uncooked frozen shrimp in my freezer to use in a pinch.
Costco and Whole Foods sell affordable 2-pound packs of frozen shrimp. I like to buy peeled and deveined raw 21-25 per pound size.
How to make lemon garlic shrimp pasta
- Place clean and dry shrimp in a bowl with ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, and ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper. Mix well and set aside.
- Zest the lemon and give any longer strands a chop.
- Chop or slice the garlic.
- Mince the fresh parsley. Also, start boiling the pasta in salted water (2 tablespoons kosher salt per gallon of water) to "al dente". Basically, undercook the pasta by 1-2 minutes. Be sure to reserve at least 1 cup of pasta water before draining.
- Heat a large pan to medium heat. Add ¼ cup of olive oil, then the shrimp
- Saute the shrimp until cooked through. Roughly 4 minutes depending on their size. A good way to cook shrimp is to spread them out and flip them after 2 minutes. Don't be afraid to cut one open to check if they're done. They will be nontranslucent and very firm and plump when touched. The objective is to cook the shrimp right to the done point but not overcook them.
- When finished place the shrimp on a plate, tent with foil, and set aside.
- To the same pan add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and saute the garlic until nicely golden (about 2 minutes).
- Reserve 2 cups of pasta water and set aside right before draining the pasta. You won't need all the pasta water, but it's good to save just in case.
- Add ½ cup of pasta water to the pan and mix with a wooden spoon. Use the spoon to scrape up the good flavor bits on the bottom of the pan.
- Add the pasta into the pan and the ½ stick of butter. Coat the pasta well, cooking for about 1 minute longer. If you can flip a pan, do it now to emulsify the pasta water and butter so that it clings to the pasta. Otherwise, coat it as well as you can with a wooden spoon.
- Add the shrimp, parsley, lemon juice, and zest to the pasta, mix and toss together. Taste test right now and adjust salt, pepper, and crushed pepper levels before serving. If the pasta is dry add a couple of ounces of pasta water to loosen it up.
Substitutions and additions
Since there are minimal ingredients in this garlic shrimp pasta, most of which have flavors that pair well with others, this is the perfect dish to change-up or enhance depending on your personal preferences.
Some of my favorite ingredients to add include:
- Capers add a distinct briny flavor. They are strong, so go easy with them. About 1-2 tablespoons, rinsed, should add great flavor but not overpower the whole dish. I use capers in many recipes, like chicken piccata, caponata, and chicken with capers and cherry tomatoes.
- White wine adds a great flavor to many Italian pasta recipes and it absolutely will do the same in this lemon butter shrimp pasta. Use a Pinot Grigio or dry white wine, adding a ¼ cup of wine during step 10. The wine will replace some of the pasta water, so if using wine, only add ¼ cup of pasta water to start. Bring the wine and pasta water to a simmer for 2 minutes and continue on in the recipe.
- Fresh herbs, such as basil add great flavor but can be more overpowering, so be cautious with how much you use. Use in addition to parsley, or replace it.
- One of the best-kept secrets to taking Italian seafood dishes from good to great is using anchovy. By sauteing a few chopped anchovy fillets with the garlic, you will achieve a more robust seafood flavor. Anchovy fillets are commonly used in red and white clam sauce to give it that extra zing and umami flavor. You can buy anchovy cans in five packs at Costco or tubes of anchovy paste at Trader Joe's and other grocers.
What's the deal with baking soda?
Baking Soda added to the shrimp keeps them plumper and prevents them from drying out. The baking soda has no taste and can only benefit shrimp dishes. I learned this trick many years ago while working for a great chef. Chinese restaurants do this all the time as well. For more info check out this article on how to improve any shrimp recipe.
Tips for making flawless lemon garlic shrimp pasta
- Shrimp - make sure they are completely thawed and that the baking soda trick is used. You will have great shrimp every time!
- Pasta water - with any pasta dish, I recommend reserving some pasta water. In this particular dish, the sauce is actually made from the pasta water and butter combination. The starchy pasta water and butter concoction cling to the pasta and coat it so well during the last minute of cooking. Save the remaining pasta water, and if required, use a few ounces to loosen everything up if you're not serving immediately. I do however recommend you serve right away.
If you love shrimp and pasta, give these recipes a try
- Shrimp fra diavolo - pasta and shrimp tossed together in a spicy marinara sauce.
- Shrimp Alfredo - Shrimp and fettuccine in a creamy Alfredo sauce.
- Classic shrimp scampi - butter, garlic, lemon, and wine join forces to create this classic seafood dish.
- Shrimp arrabbiata - sauteed shrimp are tossed in a cherry pepper tomato sauce.
- Shrimp oreganata - shrimp are nestled in white wine, lemon, and garlicky breadcrumbs and baked until perfect.
- Shrimp scampi rolls - the budget-friendly and garlicky cousin of the lobster roll!
If you’ve enjoyed this lemon garlic shrimp pasta or any recipe on this site, we want to know so tell us in the comments below. We would love to hear how you did and it’s nice to show others as well. Thanks!
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Ingredients
- 1 pound large shrimp 21/25 count
- ½ pound spaghetti
- ½ stick unsalted butter
- 1 large lemon juice and zest
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil for finishing
- ¼ cup fresh parsley minced
- 6 cloves garlic sliced
- 1 cup pasta water reserved
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Place cleaned and dry shrimp in a bowl with ½ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp kosher salt, ¼ tsp black pepper and ⅛ tsp of crushed red pepper. Mix well.
- Meanwhile cook pasta "al dente" in salted water (2 Tbsp kosher salt per gallon of water) and reserve at least 1 cup of pasta water before draining.
- Heat a large pan to medium heat. Add in a ¼ cup of olive oil and saute shrimp for about 4 minutes or until done (when the shrimp are firm and pink). Remove shrimp and set aside tented with foil to keep warm. To the same pan add the garlic. Saute garlic for 2-3 minutes until lightly golden.
- Add a ½ cup of pasta water to the pan. Also, add the butter and the al dente pasta. Cook for 1 minute tossing to coat well so the sauce absorbs and clings to the pasta. Add the shrimp, parsley, lemon juice, lemon zest, and toss/mix again.
- Turn off the heat and taste test. Make final adjustments to salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. If the pasta becomes too dry add a couple more ounces of pasta water. Serve with a healthy drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on each plate and lemon wedges on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
- The recipe easily doubles or triples.
- Always reserve extra pasta water just in case the pasta dries out while sitting and or waiting to serve.
- Salt is kept to a minimum so adjust according to taste.
- Leftovers can be saved for up to 3 days and reheated in the microwave. Though, I recommend eating all the shrimp on the same day. Shrimp doesn't reheat too well.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on January 24, 2019. It was completely updated on July 13, 2021.
I knew I'd find more delicious food here. 🙂 I think lemon, garlic and butter is always a brilliant blend of flavors, and with pasta and shrimp it sounds divine. And I'm loving the touch of heat with the crushed red pepper.
Well thanks so much! We love the speed of this one too.
Hi! i'm not much of a cook. i've tried simple things--some are hits, many are misses! 😄 Your lemon garlic pasta recipe was a definite hit! Even using cooked shrimp, the baking soda tip made a difference. i think i'll try the garlic mushroom pasta recipe next!
Thanks, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I hope you enjoy the garlic mushroom too!
This was a fantastic recipe! Only thing I d is was (always do) add 1/2 of an onion and a few mushrooms. They tasted great!!
Thank you! It's important to experiment and make a recipe your own. The mushrooms and onion sound great!
Haven't tried this yet- at moment enjoying your excellent Caponata recipe.
My question is about your suggestion of freezing handful of parsley. Doesn't the freezing ruin it? Or do you mean it is fine in a stew or soup. but not chopped to sprinkle on food?
Not at all. Freezing herbs especially parsley works quite well. It works well in soups and stews but is also great on pasta dishes. I use a lot of fresh parsley to make my pics look better, but as far as flavor, frozen and fresh are the same. Dried, on the other hand, will change the flavor of many herbs. The only dried herb I use is oregano. Glad you liked the caponata and hope you enjoy this recipe too!
I will have to try this method--I usually brine the shrimp, with no baking soda (using about 2 1/2 T kosher salt/16 oz water, so this would save on the salt). So, question for you--for how long (minimum/maximum) do you leave the salt mixture on the shrimp before cooking them? If I brine the shrimp, would I add baking soda, and if so, how much? Thanks!
Hey Marne. I normally only leave it for about 10-20 minutes or the time it takes me to prep the rest of the ingredients. I leave it on for this recipe and I use a 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda for 1 pound of shrimp. Since you have the added salt already on the shrimp you might not need to use too much extra salt. For your information, I just filmed this recipe yesterday and will be posting it in a few weeks to my YouTube channel.
This recipe was delicious!! The lemon/butter/olive oil sauce was amazing! I used malfadine noodles and it was just yum!!!
Hi Marie, thank you for the comment and so happy you enjoyed this recipe!
I stumbled upon your tomato and butter pasta dish the other day. It seemed quite easy and as I'm not an accomplished cook I thought I'd give it a go. My partner said it was restaurant standard - it was delicious. I am binge watching your youtube recipes and I love how some have only a few ingredients and your videos have given me the confidence to try new food!!! your lemon garlic shrimp is next on my list!! thank you from UK
Hi C.J., thank you for your comment. I'm so happy you're enjoying these recipes!
I came across the YouTube video for this and it was what made me subscribe to the channel. This recipe is so simple, but so fresh and rich, it's in our lineup from now on. The boyfriend loved it so much, he asked me to make it again two days after I first tried it. I was happy to oblige because this dish is fire. I'm making the alfredo pasta tonight and can't wait for the result. Thanks for this easy, yet amazingly delicious recipe! Keep 'em coming!
Hi Sarah, thank you so much! It's great to hear that you enjoyed this one a few times! Thanks for checking out the recipes and subscribing to the channel.
Made this last night and it turned out great!!
Hi Rebecca, so happy you enjoyed the recipe and thanks for the comment!
This was amazing, im always hesitant of pasta in the summer but this dish delivered with shrimp, garlic and citrus. Thanks for a keeper!
Hi Greg, thank you and so happy you liked this one!
This dish well exceeded expectations. Im usually leery of making pasta in the summer but the citrus, shrimp and garlic hit all the right notes in the summer. We had it on the porch with some good weather and it was great
Just found your YT channel and enjoy your recipes so much I created a new pinterest board just for S&F recipes. Love your presentation and all your tips. I live in a small town in central Oregon, but the ingriedients you use are pretty much available everywhere, no special hard to find items, which I truly appreciate.
Thanks & Happy 4th.
Hi PattiAnn, thank you for your comment! Welcome to the channel, and happy to have you here!
great! i feel like a chef! Thank you!
Thank you, Jerry! I'm happy you enjoyed this one!
Phenomenal and EZ to make. Couldn't have been happier. Made it twice already.
Hi Marc, thank you and we're so happy you liked this one!
Is this your own version of shrimp scampi or do you have a separate recipe for that?
Hi there, yes there is a classic shrimp scampi recipe on this site.
What's the difference? I searched your site for scampi and this didn't come up but I searched YT and it was listed. Seems to be same ingredients. Great channel!
Hi Bill, I do have a recipe for scampi on this site under "Classic Shrimp Scampi". The flavors and ingredients are very similar but this one is with pasta and the shrimp scampi is without. I'd also say that the pasta has more lemon flavor because I'm using the zest whereas the scampi just uses the juice.
great teacher . . and great recipe combinations
Hi Bonnie, I appreciate your comment, thank you!
Awesome dish! Great flavor! Held back on the garlic (3 instead of 6) and the crushed red pepper as I was serving to my 91 year old Dad. Otherwise, kept to the recipe and turnout great! New favorite site for all Italian recipes.
Hi James, I'm so happy you liked this one and that you're enjoying the recipes!