Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta

Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta is a light pasta dish mixing shrimp, fresh parsley and a lemon garlic butter sauce. This seafood pasta recipe is a great for a romantic date night, a dinner party or a light weeknight meal. Pair with a good bottle of white wine, crusty bread and a salad. 

LEMON GARLIC SHRIMP PASTA

There is something so delicious about a pasta dish the perfect balance of lemon and garlic. It uses such bright flavors.

This Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta is so light, but filling and bursting with citrusy fresh flavor. 

If you like shrimp recipes, especially shrimp scampi, you will love this easy pasta dish. 

I like to make this dish for special days like Valentine’s Day, Christmas or New Years Eve. It also works as the perfect weeknight meal.

When I serve this dish I like to serve a big green salad like this Arugula Salad, white wine and crusty bread. 

My kids love shrimp and this is one of their favorite pasta dishes that I make. 

If you want to modify this dish you can adde vegetables, beans like white beans, greens like arugula or cheese like Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese. 

We often rotate this pasta dish alongside this Mediterranean Pasta, Lemon Ricotta Pasta and this Lemon Basil White Bean Pasta. 

Why You Will Love Lemon Shrimp Pasta:

Easy to Make: This pasta dish is so easy to make and comes together in 15 minutes. It involves a few easy steps to an elegant, flavorful meal.  

Simple Ingredients: This recipe uses fresh shrimp along with fresh lemon, white wine and fresh herbs paired with pasta. Simple, fresh ingredients make this the perfect meal! 

Perfect Flavor Combination: The flavors of shrimp with the lemon garlic butter sauce are so perfect when paired together. The sweet and savory flavors really compliment each other. 

Recipe Ingredients in Garlic Lemon Pasta

• Pasta: I used linguine in this recipe, but you can use any shape of pasta noodle. 
• Butter: I use unsalted butter in the sauce, if using salted butter cut back on adding any extra salt before eating the pasta.
• Garlic: I highly suggest fresh garlic for the best flavor, although garlic puree will work in a pinch or even garlic powder for the lemon garlic sauce.
• Onion: I use a small sweet yellow onion, you could also use shallots or red onion.
• Shrimp: This recipe uses peeled and de-veined shrimp, but you can leave the tail on for extra flavor and just take the tail off when eating. 
• Lemon: Use both the finely shredded zest and juice of 1/2 lemon to give it that lemony, citrus flavor. 
• Wine: Use a good quality white wine, something you would drink yourself, to flavor the sauce. (I used pinot grigio).
• Herbs: I stir freshly chopped parsley through the sauce just before serving. This helps brighten the dish. 
• Seasoning: Season the sauce with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste and basil if you think it needs some extra flavor. 
• Garish: I garnish the dish with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a wedge of fresh lemon.

How do you Make Lemon Shrimp Pasta

1. Cook the Pasta: Cook linguine according to instructions on the packaging in a large pot of water. Save some of the pasta water in case you want to thin out the sauce at the end. 

2. Make the Butter Sauce: While the pasta cooks heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the garlic for 2 minutes. Add the onion, a sprinkle of salt and continue to sauté for 2 more minutes until the onion is soft.

3. Cook the Shrimp: Add the shrimp and a dash of salt and pepper and cook until the shrimp turns pink, about 4-6 minutes.

4. Finish the Sauce: Add the white wine and fresh lemon juice and cook for 2 more minutes.

5. Finish the Dish: In a large mixing bowl add the pasta, shrimp mixture and salt and pepper to taste, stirring to combine. Add the lemon zest and the freshly parsley and stir again.

6. Serve: Serve on plates with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and lemon slices.

Ways to Modify this Shrimp Pasta

• Pasta: I’ve used linguine but you can swap it for any other pasta noodle, try spaghetti, fettuccine, angel hair pasta or tagliatelle. Try to make sure you cook the pasta to al dente pasta.
• Zoodles: For a great low carb option, swap the linguine for zoodles (zucchini noodles) or any other vegetable noodle.
• Gluten Free: Use a gluten free pasta and this easy pasta dish is ideal for celiacs or anyone following a gluten free diet.
• Cream: Make creamy lemon shrimp pasta by stirring some cream or half and half through the butter sauce.
• HEATHeat If you enjoy heat, add some crushed red chili flakes, or a small amount of finely chopped habanero pepper.
• Vegetables: Try adding vegetables like zucchini, tomatoes, asparagus or green beans. 
• Protein: You can swap the shrimp for a different protein for chicken, steak, salmon or scallops. 

Recipe Tips

• Leave Tails on Shrimp: For the best flavor, I recommend leaving the tails on the shrimp as it will add flavor to the pasta sauce. The tails are easy to remove when you eat the dish.
• Garlic: I like to slice the garlic for the butter sauce which imparts a milder flavor. If you want more intense garlic flavor you can mince the garlic cloves.
• Wine: Use a good quality white wine, one that you would drink yourself as it is being used to flavor the sauce. 
• Don’t Overcook Shrimp: Make sure not to overcook the shrimps. Only cook for 4-6 minutes until they have turned pink, then finish the dish and serve.
• Check Seasoning: Any seafood like shrimp can be salty, so taste the sauce and check the taste before seasoning with extra salt.
• Make Ahead: This dish that is best served freshly made, straight from the pan. If you try and make the dish ahead of time and warm it up, you risk overcooking the shrimps and they will become tough. 

What to Pair with Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta

I like serving potatoes with our meals throughout the week. Some of my favorites are these Gouda Smashed Potatoes, Spicy Lebanese Potatoes or these Lemon Cilantro Potatoes. 

Adding a salad to your meals is a nice way to get those vegetables and greens in. A few of the ones I serve on repeat are this Lemon Arugula Salad with Pine Nuts, Kale Salad with Lemon Dressing or this Mediterranean Bean Salad.

Simple side dishes work nicely with this shrimp dish. A few I make are this Simple Roasted Broccoli, Za’atar Roasted Cauliflower with Yogurt Tahini Sauce or these Za’atar Roasted Carrots. 

Other Shrimp Recipes to Try:

AIR FRYER COCONUT SHRIMP

HONEY GARLIC SRIRACHA SHRIMP

SAUSAGE SHRIMP FOIL PACK

SHRIMP KALE ARTICHOKE PASTA

EASY CAJUN SHRIMP

EASY SHRIMP CURRY