Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta (Printable Version)
Succulent shrimp in garlic butter sauce with angel hair pasta, lemon, and Parmesan for a quick weeknight meal.
# What You Need:
→ 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 - 1/4 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
07 - 1 lemon, juiced and zested
08 - 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
09 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
→ Garnish
10 - 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
11 - 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
12 - Lemon wedges, for serving
# How To Make It:
01 - Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Add the angel hair pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta water before draining. Set the drained pasta aside.
02 - Pat the shrimp thoroughly dry with paper towels. Season both sides lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
03 - In a large skillet set over medium-high heat, melt 2 tbsp of butter with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Arrange the shrimp in a single layer and sear for 1 to 2 minutes per side until they turn pink and become opaque throughout. Transfer the shrimp to a plate and keep warm.
04 - In the same skillet, add the remaining 2 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of 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 white wine or chicken broth along with the lemon juice, scraping up any fond from the bottom of the skillet. Let the liquid simmer and reduce for 1 to 2 minutes. 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 every strand.
08 - Taste the finished dish and adjust with additional salt, pepper, or a squeeze of lemon juice as desired.
09 - Serve immediately in warm bowls, garnished with chopped fresh parsley, grated Parmesan cheese, and lemon wedges on the side.
# Helpful Hints:
01 -
- The entire thing comes together in the time it takes to boil pasta, which makes it feel like weeknight wizardry.
- Garlic butter sauce clings to every strand of angel hair so each bite is rich but not heavy, like a restaurant dish that secretly took no effort.
02 -
- Do not walk away from the garlic in the pan, the window between fragrant and burnt is roughly thirty seconds and burnt garlic will ruin the entire dish with bitterness.
- Reserving that pasta water is not optional, the starch in it is what transforms butter and wine into a silky sauce that actually coats the noodles instead of sliding off.
03 -
- Dry your shrimp like you mean it, spread them on paper towels and press another layer on top because even a little surface moisture prevents that beautiful golden sear.
- Grate your Parmesan directly over the hot pasta at the very end so it melts into the sauce rather than sitting on top like a snowy blanket.