When you want to be fancy but also lazy, this lemony Parmesan shrimp Alfredo pasta dish is the dinner option for you!
You’ll love this creamy lemon shrimp pasta dish so much, I’ll be it’ll become a go-to dinner option after you try it.
Shrimp Parmesan Alfredo Pasta — perfect for a quick and easy weeknight meal.
This is one of my favorite weeknight meals because it’s simple to prep and I almost always have all the ingredients I need to make this, on hand.
I use frozen raw shrimp, so no need to even plan ahead because no defrosting is necessary. Brilliant. We all need more meals like this in our lives, am I right?
No need for jarred Alfredo sauce.
Using a simple roux base (butter + flour) you can make your own Alfredo sauce in just a few minutes. Parmesan cheese gives this homemade Alfredo sauce it’s classic cheesy flavor and creamy texture. This homemade sauce tastes 100 times better than any jarred sauce available and is so easy there’s no reason not to go for it!
What ingredients are needed to make this creamy shrimp Alfredo recipe?
Even though we’re making the sauce from scratch, you only need a handful of ingredients.
Here’s everything you’ll need: raw shrimp (I use frozen shrimp), pasta (spaghetti or linguine), butter and flour to create your roux, white cooking wine, lemon juice, grated Parmesan cheese, and milk. Parsley is optional for garnish and added flavor but highly encouraged and it really makes this dish look amazing when plated too!
You’ll love how easy this Shrimp Parmesan Alfredo Pasta is to make!
Watch the video to see step-by-step how this delicious dinner dish comes together in less than 30 minutes.
White wine and lemon add a bit of tang and sophistication.
If ever you want to jazz up a weeknight meal, just add some sort of cooking alcohol. That’s my motto. And for this dish, it totally works.
For a non-alcoholic version, you can substitute champagne vinegar, rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar for the wine, just use a little less of it so it’s not overly vinegary and balance it out with more lemon juice.
When you make a sauce with lemon and white wine, it’s often times called shrimp scampi. So this dish is very similar in flavor but we are introducing Parmesan cheese here for an extra boost of flavor and richness and the roux make this sauce thick which help it stick to the noodles and shrimp.
Add chicken to this dish.
Feel free to sub or add chicken to this dish. Shrimp and chicken go really well together and the flavors of this dish work really well with both.
Make this dish kid-friendly.
Easy. If you have picky eaters, just set some plain noodles and plain cooked shrimp aside and add a veggies.
Make everything in one pot.
Using a dutch oven, you can boil the noodles, drain then set those aside. And then use the same pot to cook the remaining ingredients of this dish. Using just one pot makes clean up so easy! I have a 6-quart Lodge Dutch Oven (in green!) that I love and use all the time for one-pot meals and for literally almost everything I cook.
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You can also use a large cast iron skillet to cook this one-pot meal.
What veggies go well with this Parmesan shrimp Alfredo pasta?
A side salad goes great with this dish. Or if you’re in the mood for something warm, roast some veggies. I really love roasted asparagus, Brussels sprouts or broccoli with this pasta dish.
Love easy pasta dishes?
Lemony Parmesan Shrimp Alfredo Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz spaghetti noodles or linguine pasta
- 6 tbsp butter divided
- 3 tbsp flour
- 5 lb frozen raw shrimp
- ¼ cup white wine
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- 2 cups milk
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- ¼ tsp garlic salt more or less to taste
- Fresh parsley for garnish optional
Instructions
- Prepare spaghetti noodles according to package. Drain and set aside.
- Rinse frozen shrimp under luke warm water until separated. Pat dry with paper towel.
- Melt 2 tbsp butter in large skillet over medium heat. Stir and cook just until the shrimp turns pink, about 4-6 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add and melt 4 tbsp butter to skillet. Whisk in flour. Let bubble for 2 minutes then add white wine, lemon juice, milk and Parmesan cheese. Bring to a boil, stir until thick. Add garlic salt to taste.
- Add shrimp and noodles to Parmesan Alfredo sauce and gently toss to coat. Add fresh parsley as a garnish to your plates or toss it in with everything in the pan. Your choice! Serve hot.
