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Shrimp Recipes

Shrimp Alfredo Recipe

  • Main Dishes
  • Shrimp Recipes
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Servings 4 servings
Calories 483 kcal
Shrimp Alfredo Recipe
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With our shrimp alfredo recipe, you can cook up a delicious and healthy meal in just 30 minutes.

Smothered in a rich, aromatic cream sauce, this shrimp and pasta is the ultimate comfort food that’s also surprisingly simple. Even better, each serving has a sound nutritional profile.

You might also love our creamy chicken alfredo. It’s tasty, easy, and can also be cooked in an Instant Pot.

If you’re planning to cook ahead, be sure to check out our storage instructions. We have some tips that will keep the pasta soft but avoid it turning mushy when reheated.

Is Shrimp Alfredo Healthy?

After several adjustments to the original, our shrimp alfredo recipe makes a healthy dish.

Is Shrimp Alfredo Healthy

Shrimp alfredo is often high in saturated fats, containing loads of dairy. Its sodium level can also be over the top without moderate seasoning, as shrimp itself already contains a significant quantity.

As the dish has calorie-rich components, it’s important to be mindful of the size of each serving. Improperly portioned and it would be impossible to include in our strictly calorie-controlled diet.

Taking all of this into account, we made sure that each of the aforementioned ingredients is used reasonably. Each serving, therefore, yields about 8.6 g saturated fat, 576 mg sodium, and 483 calories, complying to our nutrition guidelines.

Shrimp Alfredo Ingredients

Let’s take a look at what you need for our shrimp alfredo recipe:

1. Pasta

Fettuccine is the traditional choice for any alfredo, but we found spaghetti works just as well. As long as the noodles are long-stranded, the difference in experience should be minimal.

For efficient cooking, you want to bring a pot of water to a boil before proceeding with the steps we’re about to show you. Once it reaches a rolling boil, add the pasta and cook it according to its package instructions.

On the package you’ll find the cooking times, the lower of which results in al dente (firm) pasta and the other, soft pasta. Cook the pasta until soft for immediate serving and al dente for storing.

2. Shrimp

Shrimp of different sizes work the same way, but larger ones make for a better experience. Still, jumbo-sized shrimp can make portioning difficult, so be sure to get ones similar to ours — medium, about 6 per serving.

If you’re using fresh shrimp, you need to devein them and remove their heads and shells. Get frozen (deveined and peeled) shrimp and you won’t need to do any of this, plus, you can cook them straight from frozen.

Be sure to check out our instructions for cooking frozen shrimp below.

Ingredients

3. Aromatics and Seasonings

You’ll need garlic, onion, Italian seasoning (a mix of dried herbs), salt, and pepper. The first three are crucial in any Italian dish while the last two are self-explanatory.

To intensify the shrimps’ flavor, we added some onion and garlic powder, which have a more concentrated flavor compared to the fresh aromatics. We also added a touch of paprika for an appetizing spicy kick.

4. Alfredo Sauce

Traditional alfredo sauce only has butter and parmesan, but seeing as this sauce contains loads of saturated fat, we prefer an alternative.

The one we’re about to show you is a combination of butter, parmesan, milk, cream, and chicken broth. They make for a healthier sauce that’s as rich and flavorful as the traditional one.

Can You Cook Frozen Shrimp?

You can, and it’s really easy: cook them for an additional 2 minutes or until both sides turn golden pink.

If you don’t want to spend the extra minutes on cooking, you can defrost the shrimp first. However, it is important to understand how to thaw shrimp properly:

How to Thaw Frozen Shrimp, the Right Way

It’s not okay to simply leave the shrimp on the counter and wait until they come to room temperature. By doing this, you’re allowing the present bacteria to reactivate and spoil the shrimp.

The key is to allow them to be soft and pliable, but still really cold. Cooking it at this stage kills off the bacteria before they have a chance to thrive.

Can You Cook Frozen Shrimp

You can do this by moving the frozen shrimp to the fridge the night before, allowing them to defrost overnight or for 12 hours. Or, place the frozen shrimp in a bag, seal it, submerge it in cold water for 5-10 minutes, and they’ll be ready to cook. It’s even quicker with small shrimps, taking just a couple of minutes.

How to Make Shrimp Alfredo

We promised an easy shrimp alfredo recipe, and now we deliver:

Sauté the garlic with butter.

Sauté the garlic with butter. (Boil some pasta if you haven’t.)

Sear the shrimp and add seasonings. Put aside.

Sear the shrimp and add seasonings. Put aside.

Make the cream sauce.

Make the cream sauce.

Add the spaghetti and shrimp.

Add the spaghetti and shrimp.

Sprinkle parsley, parmesan, and pepper flakes to serve.

Sprinkle parsley, parmesan, and pepper flakes to serve.

Be sure to check out the ingredients list in the recipe card section below.

Jump to Recipe

How to Store and Reheat Shrimp Alfredo

If you’re cooking shrimp alfredo ahead, remember to take out the pasta at the point of al-dente. Then, proceed to make the dish and portion it out into containers to store.

Place the ones you’re eating within the week in the fridge. For the rest, place them in the freezer with a note saying “3 months expiry from [today]”.

We often choose air-tight containers when there are only a few servings and reusable Ziploc bags when there are more. Containers are convenient for reheating in the microwave, while Ziploc bags save lots of fridge space.

To reheat, simmer your desired portions with about 1-2 tbsp water in a pot over low heat for about 4-6 minutes. Or, place them into a microwave-safe container and microwave for 2-4 minutes (check every 1 minute).

What to Serve With Shrimp Alfredo

This rich, savory pasta pairs well with tangy, fresh salads, among which our Greek salad is the most suitable. It can be put together quickly and is also perfect to make ahead.

To balance out the flavors, we picked out a sweet and mildly tangy drink: our pineapple ginger juice.

Recipes Course Calories Saturated fat Sodium
Shrimp Alfredo Main Dish 483 8.6 g 576 mg
Greek Salad Side Dish 173 3.0 g 275 mg
Pineapple Ginger Juice Beverage 92 0.0 g 5 mg
Total 748 11.6 g 856 mg
Nutritional values in this table vary somewhat to those below due to different app calculations. Read more...
What to Serve With Shrimp Alfredo

More Meal Prep Ideas With Shrimp

There are tons of ways to cook shrimp into a delicious meal. In case you’re short on ideas, we have a few:

  • Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara Recipe
  • Shrimp Primavera Recipe
  • Instant Pot Shrimp Recipe
  • Shrimp Scampi Recipe
Shrimp Alfredo Recipe

Shrimp Alfredo Recipe

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Our shrimp alfredo recipe makes many portions of a healthy, comforting meal in under 30 minutes. It’s meal-prep friendly.
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Total Time 30 mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 4 servings
Calories 483kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter about 0.5 oz
  • 2 tbsp garlic about 3 cloves, minced
  • 24 oz raw shrimp 14 oz peeled (with heads removed)
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 oz onions about 2/3 a medium, diced
  • 1/2 cup unsalted chicken broth
  • 4 tbsp whole milk
  • 6 tbsp heavy cream
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 14 oz cooked spaghetti from 6 oz uncooked, al-dente for later storage and soft for immediate serving
  • 2 tbsp parsley finely chopped
  • 0.5 oz parmesan cheese shredded
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Instructions
 

  • Boil some pasta if you haven’t already. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and melt 1 tbsp (or 0.5 oz) unsalted butter. Add 2 tbsp minced garlic and stir for about 30 seconds.
    Sauté the garlic with butter.
  • Add 24 oz raw shrimp and leave it to sear for about 1.5 minutes. Flip to cook for another 1 minute, stir in 1 tsp Italian seasoning, 1 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp onion powder. Once the shrimp is thoroughly seasoned, place them in a bowl and put aside.
    Sear the shrimp and add seasonings. Put aside.
  • Grease the skillet with 1 tbsp olive oil and add 4 oz diced onions to cook for 1 minute or until translucent. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth, 4 tbsp milk, 6 tbsp heavy cream, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. With a spatula, stir for 1 minute, and at the same time, scrape the bottom to release all of the flavors into the sauce.
    Make the cream sauce.
  • Add the cooked shrimp back and cook everything for another 3 minutes over medium heat. Add 14 oz cooked spaghetti, stir to coat it with the sauce, and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
    Add the spaghetti and shrimp.
  • Sprinkle with 2 tbsp chopped parsley, 0.5 oz shredded parmesan, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, and enjoy.
    Sprinkle parsley, parmesan, and pepper flakes to serve.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Shrimp Alfredo Recipe
Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
Calories 483 Calories from Fat 162
% Daily Value*
Fat 18g28%
Saturated Fat 9g56%
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g
Monounsaturated Fat 6g
Cholesterol 311mg104%
Sodium 576mg25%
Potassium 647mg18%
Carbohydrates 38g13%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 3g3%
Protein 44g88%
Vitamin A 552IU11%
Vitamin C 6mg7%
Calcium 222mg22%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Luna Regina

Luna Regina

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Luna is the founder and chief recipe developer of Healthy Recipes 101. Apart from cooking, she also loves reading, programming, exploring the outdoors, and collecting useless facts about everything.

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Shrimp Alfredo Recipe
Shrimp Alfredo Recipe
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Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN, LD
Recipe developed by Luna Regina on December 16, 2021 Nutritionally reviewed by Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN, LD

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