Easy Shrimp Fettuccini Alfredo Pasta Recipe (w/Parmigiano Cream)

Why You'll Love This Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo

If you're a fan of Olive Garden's "seafood alfredo", (or Red Lobster's, Maggiano's, or Romano's Macaroni Grill fettuccini alfredo dishes), get ready because this recipe is way more delicious than any version you'll find there and uses higher-quality ingredients.

Plus, for the cost of one restaurant alfredo pasta, you can feed your entire family by making it at home with this recipe instead.

Everyone LOVES this no-fail pasta recipe (adults and kiddos alike), which makes for a hassle-free meal any night of the week. Keep reading below for easy techniques to make restaurant-quality Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo at home.

Why This Seafood Pasta Recipe Works

Around here, any kind of seafood is a house favorite, and we tend to eat a wide variety of it (especially shrimp). There are lots of ways to cook shrimp at home and make it taste even better than your favorite restaurant.

Here are a few easy professional tips and techniques to help take your shrimp, mushroom, or chicken fettuccine alfredo to the next level:

Use the best quality sweet shrimp you can find (even if they're frozen). For this recipe, I love to use any shrimp from the red family because they're a sweeter, fattier, and more tender variety. This may mean you have to buy quality frozen shrimp instead of sad-looking fresh shrimp (see below for tips on how to buy the best shrimp).

Splurge for Italian 24-month Parmigiano-Reggiano (or 16-18-month Grana Padano) cheese instead of American Parmesan if your budget allows. You'll be rewarded if you do. But this alfredo sauce will still taste great, using a block of American Parmesan if that's what you can easily find and afford.

Use high-quality extra virgin olive oil. Although there is a minimal amount of this ingredient used in this recipe, try to find the best pure Italian or Spanish Arbequina extra virgin olive oil that you can. There are plenty of other recipes you can use it in (especially those where EVOO plays a prominent role).

Use homemade egg pasta vs. regular semolina durum wheat pasta (without eggs). If you want the best shrimp fettuccine alfredo pasta of your life, use egg pasta. It's the type of pasta traditionally used in the only authentic Alfredo pasta originating from Rome (which is totally unlike this Americanized version of Alfredo sauce that we're making here today).

Use fresh egg fettuccine if it's available where you live. Otherwise, use dried fettuccine or tagliatelle egg pasta noodles. Do not overcook the pasta. Keep in mind that egg pasta typically cooks in about half the time as regular semolina pasta.

Cook it to "al dente" as it's intended to be eaten. If you're like me (and so many other Americans), you grew up eating overcooked pasta your entire life. With knowledge comes way better pasta😉.

Do not cook the pasta ahead of time and let it sit in a strainer. Every second that the cooked pasta is sitting there, the starches that are 100% necessary for producing a great bowl of pasta (or even just a restaurant-quality pasta dish), are evaporating along with your chances of making your best pasta.

Instead, time this dish so that the sauce is done just a couple (or a few) minutes before the noodles. You can always turn off the heat from the sauce and add the cheese just at the end, after you've quickly reheated the sauce.

Always add ¼ to ½ cup of starchy pasta cooking water to the final Alfredo sauce. This is an authentic and well-known Italian technique that produces the silkiest and smoothest pasta sauces and ragùs (and also the reason you should never over-salt your pasta cooking water). The starch from the cooking water serves two major purposes in achieving high-quality pasta dishes:

• Starches help emulsify the sauce, which creates that perfect mouthfeel that we love so much about pasta in Italy and at our favorite hometown restaurants.
• Starches help the sauce fully coat the noodles and stick to them in a way they wouldn't be able to otherwise.

Use a good heavy-gauge pan like cast iron, carbon steel, or even stainless steel to pan-sear the shrimp. If you've been unable to get a proper sear on shrimp in the past, there are three very easy techniques to completely remedy this issue and help you avoid accidentally steaming or overcooking them.

Add a bit of freshly grated nutmeg to the final sauce. Do not be afraid of using whole nutmeg. And do NOT use pre-ground powdered nutmeg in this dish. It doesn't taste like freshly grated nutmeg (at all). When freshly grated, this little spice can take your Alfredo sauce to a whole new flavor level.

Ever been to Macaroni Grill, Olive Garden, or any other chain or restaurant that serves up your favorite creamy pasta?  They use a tiny bit of freshly grated nutmeg to finish some of these dishes for a reason. It's delicious. Although using too much nutmeg can ruin a dish, so just go easy. Grate a little, stir and taste. Add more if you think it needs it.

Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo Ingredients

Sweet and tender pan-seared shrimp tossed in a silky, delicious garlicky Parmigiano-Reggiano cream sauce is the perfect complement to chewy egg pasta like fettuccine or tagliatelle. Be sure to check out the tips below for how to choose good quality seafood, even if your best options come from the freezer aisle♡).

• Argentinian Red shrimp (or other sweet shrimp)
• extra virgin olive oil
• garlic cloves
• unsalted butter
• heavy cream
• Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano
• scallion
• sweet grape tomatoes
• sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• crushed red pepper flakes
• freshly grated nutmeg
• fresh flat-leaf parsley

How to Make the Best Shrimp Alfredo Pasta Sauce 

It only takes 3 to 4 minutes to pan-sear shrimp, and the rest of the dish takes just about 15 minutes to pull together. That means this restaurant-quality shrimp pasta is ready in just 20 minutes, making it perfect for busy weeknights. See above for the tips + techniques used to create this delicious shrimp alfredo pasta.

1. Clean the shrimp. Remove the shells from the shrimp, leaving only the tail attached, and devein. Pat the shrimp dry and place them on a plate while you prepare the garlic-infused olive oil.
2. Heat the pasta cooking water. Bring a lightly salted pot of water to a boil over medium to medium-high heat.
3. Infuse the olive oil. Add the olive oil and garlic to a cold cast-iron or another heavy-gauge skillet and increase heat to medium. Sauté the garlic until just perfectly golden brown and fragrant and remove the garlic from the pan and reserve (You may want to add this back to your Alfredo sauce if you really love lots of garlic, but I do not).
4. Sear the shrimp. Increase the heat to medium-high heat and just before the skillet begins to smoke, add the shrimp in one single layer (avoid overcrowding the pan) and sprinkle them with salt to taste. Do not move them once they hit the hot skillet. Let the shrimp cook for about 2 minutes, or until they turn reddish-orange and have a golden sear. Flip them over, being sure not to move them around, and cook for 1 ½ to 2 minutes more, until just opaque and cooked through. Remove from the skillet while you build the Alfredo sauce.
5. Sautée the scallions. Reduce the heat to medium, add the butter, and allow it to melt while using a coil or other flat whisk or wooden spatula to scrape up the browned bits (shrimp fond) from the pan. Add the scallions and cook for just about 2 minutes until soft and fragrant.
6. Add the cream and grated cheese. Add the heavy cream and crushed red pepper flakes, and cook, whisking the mixture periodically for about 5 minutes or until the mixture has reduced and become a bit thicker. At about the 5-minute mark, the cream will start to show bubbles forming. At this point, turn the heat off, wait about 30 seconds, and add the grated cheese while whisking vigorously to emulsify the two mixtures until you have a silky smooth, cohesive sauce. Adjust the seasonings with salt and freshly cracked black pepper (if using).
7. Add the tomatoes and shrimp. Add finely diced tomatoes and shrimp, tossing everything together to fully coat the shrimp. Set aside while the pasta finishes cooking.
8. Cook the pasta. Cook the pasta to al dente doneness according to the package directions, reserving a ¼ to ½ cup of the starchy cooking water to add to the Alfredo sauce. Note, fresh egg pasta cooks in just 30 seconds to 3 minutes, dried egg pasta cooks in just 5 minutes, regular semolina (non-egg) pasta cooks anywhere between 9-12 minutes. Be sure to consider the cook times associated with the pasta you are using. 
9. Finish the sauce and assemble the dish. During the last 2 minutes of pasta cooking time, add a couple (or three) spoonfuls of the starchy pasta water directly into the sauce and whisk to incorporate. Strain the pasta and immediately add it to the sauce, and toss to combine everything well. Sprinkle with a little fresh chopped parsley if desired, and Enjoy!

How to Make Restaurant-Style Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo Step-by-Step Photos

What Texture Should Cooked Shrimp Be and How to Buy the Best Shrimp?

The shrimp in this Alfredo recipe should be tender and springy. In order to avoid rubbery or chewy shrimp, don't overcook it. It's essential to cook shrimp just until they're opaque and turn reddish-orange or pink (about 2-4 minutes total, depending on the size and type of shrimp).

Red shrimp cook faster than other types of shrimp, and you can learn more about Royal Reds and the other varieties of shrimp here or just over here).

Also, the quality of shrimp matters. Sometimes frozen shrimp is your best option, and that's ok.  If the "fresh" shrimp looks or smells old, opt for frozen instead. "Off" or old shrimp will have an ammonia smell (similar to the smell of cat urine), and it can look "shredded" or leathery.

Old shrimp also has a mushy, unpleasant texture.  Follow these general guidelines to avoid buying old or outdated shrimp.

• Buy shrimp from a reputable source like a local fishmonger or mom-and-pop seafood shop.
• Buy fresh shrimp when available and always ask the employee which shrimp is the freshest and how old it is. Buy frozen if your fresh options aren't looking good.
• Check all the dates of frozen or fresh shrimp, and don't buy shrimp with very old dates, or you risk getting an inferior product.
• Smell the shrimp if they'll let yo,u and if it smells clean and fresh, that's a good sign, but if it smells like ammonia, take a pass and buy something else.
• Check the texture and do not buy shrimp that looks leathery or "shreddy," which indicates it's been frozen too long, stored improperly, or just old.

More Creamy Pasta Recipes

What to Serve with Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo

To make this a true restaurant experience, pair this shrimp alfredo recipe with some starters, sides, or this White Chocolate Creme Brûlée Cheesecake for dessert. Here are a few of our favorite pairings, but honestly, this pasta is so delicious and satisfying, you won't need anything else to go with it.

Who Invented Fettuccine Alfredo Sauce?

The original Italian Fettuccine Alfredo pasta began in 1914 in Rome, Italy, with a pretty sweet love story. Alfredo Alla Scrofa restaurant owner, Alfredo Di Lelio, was taking care of his wife, who'd just given birth to one of their children.

After a difficult pregnancy and post-pregnancy illness, he created this simple, nourishing pasta dish for his wife.  This is how the first authentic Fettuccine Alfredo pasta originated.

Using only, fresh homemade fettuccine egg pasta, room temperature butter, and finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, this pasta dish is prepared tableside in front of customers.

Fettuccine is cooked for 30 seconds, strained into a deep pasta bowl with all of the ingredients, and tossed together in a rotational motion from the bottom to the top until the butter and Parmigiano become a sweet cream.

Pasta Alfredo was an instant hit and became a staple dish served in his restaurant and later made famous in America around 6 years later when Hollywood stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks dined at the restaurant while on their honeymoon.

They loved the dish so much that they commissioned a pure gold spoon and fork with "To Alfredo the King of Noodles" engraved in them, to be created in Aflredo's honor which they have to him as an expression of their deep love for his pasta.

Mary and Douglas spread the word about this pasta to all of their Hollywood friends and Alfredo Alla Scrofa and Fettuccine Alfredo became a food mecca for the rich and famous visiting Rome. Everyone from Kathrine Hepburn to Jimmie Hendrix has dined at Alfredo's restaurant.

The rest is history. It was only a matter of time before a version of this pasta would show up in restaurants and home kitchens across America. And although the dish that we call "fettuccine alfredo" is not actually authentic, it's incredibly delicious and deserves a spot on your pasta roster.