20 minutes or less is all it takes to make this bright garlic shrimp pasta recipe! Prepared Mediterranean-style and tossed in a light sauce with garlic, onions, white wine, and lemon juice.
We’re pasta lovers around here, but there is a reason this one is top of my family’s list. Shrimp and pasta are a match made in heaven!
I’ll often serve my shrimp scampi over angel hair pasta. But this time, I tossed the shrimp in a a light Mediterranean sauce–with garlic, fresh tomatoes, white wine, and lemon juice. It is next level delicious.
This garlic shrimp pasta recipe is like fine dining in the comfort of your own home. Best part, you can make it in 20 minutes or less!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Here’s what you need to make this shrimp pasta recipe:
- Pasta: I used spaghetti, but shrimp pasta isn’t picky. Use any pasta shape you like or have on hand.
- Seasoning: Dried oregano, red pepper flakes (or Aleppo pepper), kosher salt, and black pepper.
- Dry white wine: It doesn’t need to be expensive, but use a something tasty enough to drink (I used Pinot Grigio).
- Olive oil: Use a high quality extra virgin variety for the best flavor.
- Shrimp: Frozen shrimp works great! Simply thaw it overnight in your fridge, or in a bag in cold water for 20 minutes or so.
- READ MORE: Guide to Buying and Cooking Shrimp
- Red onion: Swap with yellow onion, white onion, or shallot.
- Garlic: Green onion can also work here, or simply reduce the amount if you’re sensitive to garlic.
- Lemon zest and juice: Lime could work in a pinch.
- Parsley: Swap with basil or dill.
- Tomatoes: Use grape or cherry tomatoes if it’s off-season, as they tend to be sweeter.
- Parmesan cheese: Adds a good umami-boost, but simply leave it off for a dairy free option.
How to Make Shrimp Pasta
Everything comes together quickly, so it’s best to get your prep done first. Here’s the step-by-step:
- Get ready. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Chop 1/2 of a red onion. Mince 5 garlic cloves. Zest and juice 1 lemon, and chop 2-3 vine-ripe tomatoes. Ready yourself 1 cup of chopped parsley. Peel and deveigh 1 pound of large shrimp.
- Cook the pasta. Salt the boiling water generously and add 3/4 pound spaghetti. Cook according to package to al dente (about 9 minutes). Reserve a half cup of the starchy pasta cooking water before draining.
- Meanwhile, cook the shrimp. In a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the shrimp. Cook until pink on both sides, 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer the shrimp to a side plate for now.
- Saute the aromatics. Add little more extra virgin olive oil to the pan, if needed. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the onion, garlic, 1 teaspoon dried oregano and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper). Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add 1 cup dry white wine and scrape up any pieces of garlic and onions. Cook the wine for 1 minute to reduce, then add the lemon zest and juice.
- Combine. Add the chopped parsley, tomatoes, and a pinch of salt. Toss about for about 30 to 40 seconds, then add the cooked pasta to the pan. Toss to coat, adding a splash of the reserved pasta water if needed to make a glossy sauce.
- Finish and serve. Toss in the cooked shrimp and allow to warm through briefly, about 30 seconds. Remove the pasta from heat. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and more red pepper flakes or Aleppo pepper. Serve immediately!
What to Serve with Garlicky Shrimp Pasta
You really only need a bright and crunchy salad to round out the meal. Try an easy lemony lettuce salad, or simply toss greens in any of theses healthy salad dressings.
More Shrimp Pasta Recipes
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Ingredients
- 3/4 pound spaghetti
- Kosher salt
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined (thawed if frozen)
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper)
- 1 cup dry white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- Large handful chopped fresh parsley (about 1 packed cup)
- 2 to 3 vine-ripe tomatoes, chopped
- Black pepper
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese, for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, salt generously and add the spaghetti. Cook according to package to al dente (about 9 minutes). Reserve a half cup of the starchy pasta cooking water before draining.
- Meanwhile, cook the shrimp. In a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the shrimp. Cook until pink on both sides, 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer the shrimp to a side plate for now.
- Saute the aromatics. Add little more olive oil to the pan, if needed. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the onion, garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes (I used Aleppo-style pepper). Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine and scrape up any pieces of garlic and onions. Cook the wine for 1 minute to reduce, then add the lemon zest and juice.
- Combine. Add the chopped parsley, tomatoes, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss about for about 30 to 40 seconds, then add the cooked pasta to the pan. Toss to coat, adding a splash of the reserved pasta water if needed to make a glossy sauce.
- Finish and serve. Toss in the cooked shrimp and allow to warm through briefly, about 30 seconds. Remove the pasta from heat. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and more red pepper flakes or Aleppo pepper. Serve immediately!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Made this last night and loved it! I plan to reheat the leftovers tonight. Any recommendations for a liquid to add so it’s not dry with the reheating?
Hi, Catherine! I’m Summer from The Mediterranean Dish. If you reserved any pasta water I would just use a little bit of that, if not, I would just use about a 1/4 cup of regular water and toss with a little more extra virgin olive oil. So glad you loved the recipe!
Thanks!
My family loved this! Only critique we had was, a half teaspoon of red pepper flakes makes it to spicy; 1/4 teaspoon is perfect. And I had some fennel in the frig and it really took this dish to another level!
Thanks so much, Romona!
❤️ love it
Made this for my sisters last night and it was a huge hit! I loved that it was simple and fast…but even better is waas delicious! Thank you!
With a couple of tweaks we loved it. I added some red bell pepper, cut back on the salt for health reasons and added a good salt free herb blend. The red pepper flakes, lemon and hint of wine all made for a nice sauce. I added some of the pasta water and it thickened the sauce a bit. Used whole wheat spaghetti. Will definitely make again.
Yay! Thanks for sharing your adaptations here, Judy!
Seemed like way too much wine. Which is not something I have ever said. 😂 but I’m wondering if I did something wrong. It took forever to reduce which essentially boiled my other ingredients.
Lacked flavor. After making this, what gives it some flavor? Really nothing.
Absolutely delicious! So flavorful. I used whole wheat spaghetti and added mushrooms with the onions. Will definitely make again! We loved it!
Delicious! Only changes were I added spinach because it was in the fridge waiting to be used and I used calabrian chili pepper paste instead of pepper flakes.
The lemon was awesome in this. All the flavors melded beautifully . I thought there would be leftovers for lunch…not a bite was left! Great recipe.
Thanks for the great review, Fran!!
Learning how to cook without dairy and this a fab recipe. Hubby liked it too! This far North our parsley is only stubs so we had to use dried but that is the only change I mad. This will be great for company once all my fresh herbs are on the go in the summer. Thanks! PS I love your cookbook as well.
Also I did reduce the wine to about 1/2 before adding in the lemon/zest.
Thanks, Wren! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I just made this. The sauce was delicious. I used your Aleppo pepper flakes which had a very nice taste. My question is about the shrimp. I’ve been making shrimp seasoning it first with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. I was hesitant to do the same thing with this recipe. Do you think the smoked paprika would conflict with the taste of the sauce (which is fabulous)? I felt the shrimp was a bit tasteless, so I’m wondering how I can best season it. Thanks
Hi, Dale. Adding smoked paprika here will change the flavor profile here just a bit, of course… but I don’t think in a bad way. I say, give it a try!
Delish!! Even my “meat and potatoes” husband likes it 🙂 We’re trying to eat healthier and are incorporating the Mediterranean style into our meals. This one will be a great addition!
How could I add more flavor to this dish?
Hi, Shay. You can always increase the amounts of the seasonings used in the recipe. Another reader added some chopped bell peppers and cherry tomatoes to add more flavor, so you could also give that a try.
My family loved this! I made homemade whole wheat spaghetti for the recipe. I would change a couple of things though—1 cup of wine seemed to make the sauce too soupy. I had to cook it down for quite a bit longer than the recipe. I also didn’t think the lemon juice added anything. The lemon zest is a nice touch though.
I hate to be the different one here but, I wasnt really happy with the end result. Not much flavor. I was expecting the lovely robust flavors of your recipes. This was the first recipe we were disappointed with. Not all my recipes are perfect either, lol
I will try more of the shrimp dishes and looking forward to the Greek Codfish, Looks delish!
My husband’s first words when he took his first bite were “Wow, this is fabulous!” He told me at least three more times how good this recipe is! Every recipe you publish that I have tried has been fantastic and a keeper.
I am the one who started a Mediterrean/non-GMO diet 9 months ago and feel so much better. My carnivor husband has also embraced it which I am so grateful for.
Thank you for your website, your recipes, your notes, etc. I am very grateful.
I made the recipe with only one change. I didn’t have parsley but did have some fresh baby spinach that needed to be used. I cooked it first and then squeezed all the water out. It worked out so well and gave us more iron!
We love hearing this, Loran! And thank you for sharing your wonderful review! I’m so glad the recipe was such a hit!
My family who is hard to please loved this recipe and so did I. It was a long hard day at work and I wasn’t sure if I could get dinner cooked. My husband always says “This is one for the books”. Thank you!!!
Yesss! That’s so great to hear. Thanks, Michelle!