Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo

Article by Emily Saladino

Shrimp fettuccine alfredo comes together quickly, making it an ideal meal for busy weeknights; but there are a few tricks that turn it from a reliable standby into something that everyone will crave. Food Network Kitchen’s recipe developers share their tips for making picture-perfect fettucine alfredo with shrimp at home — all in less than 30 minutes.

How to Make Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo Like a Pro

Salt the pasta water. Add enough salt to the pasta water so that it tastes like the sea, so the fettucine cooks up tender and flavorful.

Splash the cooked pasta with oil. When the fettuccine is just al dente, remove it from the water and splash it with olive oil to keep the noodles from sticking together while you prepare the rest of the shrimp alfredo recipe.

Dry the shrimp with paper towels. After you’ve peeled and deveined the shrimp, pat them dry thoroughly with paper towels, then add salt and pepper so they cook up plump and tasty.

How to cook shrimp for alfredo. Cook the shrimp for alfredo pasta in melted butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Let it sit, undisturbed, for 1 to 2 minutes, then flip and cook until the shrimp pink, about 2 minutes more. This ensures they’re juicy and fully cooked.

Scrape up the brown bits. After you've cooked and removed the shrimp, use a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits into the melting butter to infuse the sauce with lots of savory flavor.

How to thicken alfredo sauce. Slightly reducing the cream and adding a hefty dose of cheese means you don't need flour to make this creamy shrimp and pasta sauce.

Toss everything together in the pan with the sauce. Don't worry if it seems like there is too much alfredo sauce, either. As soon as you toss the shrimp pasta with alfredo, the sauce will cling to the pasta and thicken before your eyes.

Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo Variations

Switch up the pasta. While fettuccine is the traditional choice, you can prepare this shrimp pasta recipe with other long, thin noodles. (Think: linguine or spaghetti.) The size and shape of pasta affects its cooking time, though, so be sure the pasta is just al dente when you remove it from the pot.

Make chicken and shrimp fettucine alfredo. Substitute half the shrimp for cooked chicken breast, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick strips. Or ditch the shrimp entirely and make Food Network Kitchen’s top-rated Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo recipe.

Get other shrimp and pasta ideas. If you love alfredo sauce but want to try something new, some of our other expertly tested shrimp pasta recipes include quick-cooking Instant Pot shrimp scampi and this easy but impressive shrimp Caesar pasta salad.

What to Serve with Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo

We love to serve this shrimp alfredo recipe with other Italian-American classics like our very best garlic bread and sautéed broccoli rabe. This crisp Italian restaurant salad helps balance the richness of creamy shrimp and pasta, too.

How to Store Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo

Store leftover shrimp fettuccine alfredo in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat the shrimp pasta dish, place it in a skillet over medium heat and add a splash of cream or butter to rehydrate the noodles and make the alfredo sauce creamy.