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
Browse all Mediterranean recipes.
Visit Our Shop.
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
Premium Italian Pasta Bundle
Featuring four classic pasta shapes—Rigatoni, Penne Rigate, Fusilli, and Spaghetti—crafted with 100% Italian durum wheat semolina for the perfect bite every time.
*This post has recently been updated with new information for the readers’ benefit.
Delicious
Howdy, I’m going to prepare this and take it to a potluck meal game night. I want to keep it warm, but don’t want mushy pasta and overdone shrimp.
Would the ingredients hold up to being in a warm crockpot for an hour?
Thanks, Bri
Hi, Bri. That is so tricky with pasta and shrimp, because both are sensitive to being over-cooked if heated for too long. I’m not sure if I’d recommend this one for being made ahead and kept warm in a slow cooker. If you want to give it a try, you could slightly under-cook both the pasta and shrimp, and let everything finish the last our in the slow cooker, but since it’s not something we’ve tested, I can’t say how well it would work or not.
Tasted yummy. My family loved it!
Really like this recipe, because it works well even if you don’t add salt! I added green bell peppers for color, and waited until plating to add the fresh basil. And I didn’t add parmi cheese (again, I am on a low sodium diet) and did not miss it, as the wine sauce with the red pepper flakes had such a powerful flavor (along with the lemon zest – a must for this recipe). Made sure I did not reduce the sauce too much (and I probably used 2 cups of white wine to start…), so I did not need to add pasta water. Absolutely delicious. Thanks for this 5 star recipe!!
Hi Suzy I can’t have alcohol. What can I substitute for the white wine in your shrimp pasta dish or do I just omit the wine? Thank you so much!
Hi, Anita! You can just you a bit of broth in place of the wine here.
better the next day!
Ok so I saw this recipe months ago and was scared to try it. I have a go to shrimp scampi that uses 1 stick of butter. I was afraid to try this thinking it would lack flavor due to the omission of butter. Boy was I wrong. Made it tonight and told my wife this isn’t the normal scampi it’s new and has no butter. We was blown away by the flavor bomb of goodness. I saw your video on YouTube and was shocked to see it didn’t have more views. This is by far the best most flavorful shrimp scampi recipe I’ve ever eaten. Better than a certain lady who cooks under the surname barefoot blah blah blah. After eating this I knew I would give you a 5 star for this delicious recipe. Keep up the good work you earned a fan.
I absolutely love how easy and versatile this dish is. I threw in two chopped shallots and 5ozs of baby spinach. I added more red pepper and tons of Parmesan. It is Soo good!
made one recipe…shtimp and pasta with whole wheat pasta
need to see more
Hope you enjoyed it, Tom!
This has become a weekend go-to for us. We live bayside in Queensland, Australia, and are lucky to have delicious fresh produce sourced locally. Love this Susie!
Me and my partner loved making this. Super quick weeknight meal that is delicious and comforting.
Usually love Suzy’s recipes, but this one was bland. Later, I noticed the recipe skipped the step to salt the shrimp as she had done in the video. Overall, the dish tasted like something was missing. Flavors were not strong.
I forgot to click the stars!! Delicious – definitely 5 stars!!!!
Thanks, Becka!!
Just made this for lunch – it was AMAZING!!!!!
It was a hit. Had extra lemons and fresh dried red peppers on the table. Served with a salad, bread, and garlic confit.
Great flavor. little fuss and cooks quickly! This is now on our regular rotation. Thanks Suzie!