Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta (Printable Version)
Succulent shrimp in garlic butter sauce with angel hair pasta, lemon, and Parmesan for a quick weeknight meal.
# Ingredient List:
→ Seafood
01 - 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
→ Pasta
02 - 12 oz angel hair pasta
→ Sauce
03 - 4 tbsp unsalted butter
04 - 2 tbsp olive oil
05 - 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
06 - ¼ cup dry white wine or chicken broth
07 - 1 lemon, juiced and zested
08 - ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
09 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
→ Garnish
10 - 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
11 - ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
12 - Lemon wedges, for serving
# How to Make:
01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Cook angel hair pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of starchy pasta water before draining. Set pasta aside.
02 - Pat the shrimp thoroughly dry with paper towels and season lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper on both sides.
03 - In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 2 tbsp butter with 1 tbsp olive oil. Arrange the shrimp in a single layer and sear for 1–2 minutes per side until pink and opaque throughout. Transfer shrimp to a plate and set aside.
04 - In the same skillet, add the remaining 2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil. Sauté the sliced garlic and red pepper flakes for about 1 minute until fragrant, taking care not to let the garlic brown.
05 - Pour in the dry white wine (or chicken broth) and lemon juice, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 1–2 minutes to reduce slightly, then stir in the lemon zest.
06 - Return the seared shrimp to the skillet and toss gently to coat evenly in the garlic butter sauce.
07 - Add the drained angel hair pasta to the skillet along with splashes of the reserved pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce. Toss everything together until the pasta is well coated and the sauce clings to the noodles.
08 - Taste and adjust the seasoning with additional salt, pepper, or lemon juice as desired. Serve immediately, garnished with chopped fresh parsley, grated Parmesan cheese, and lemon wedges alongside.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The garlic butter sauce comes together in the same pan you cook the shrimp in, so every single bit of flavor gets layered into the final dish.
- It genuinely takes twenty five minutes from cutting board to plate, which makes it possible even on your most chaotic weeknights.
- The lemon zest and white wine give it a brightness that feels like something you would order at a coastal restaurant, not something you pulled off in your own kitchen.
02 -
- Garlic goes from golden to bitter in seconds, so pull the pan off the heat the moment you see it starting to color.
- Do not skip the pasta water because that starchy liquid is what transforms melted butter into an actual sauce that clings to every strand.
03 -
- Cook the shrimp in batches if your skillet is not wide enough to hold them all in a single layer because overcrowding steams them instead of searing.
- Grate the lemon zest directly into the pan off the heat so the essential oils land in the sauce and not on your cutting board.