Creamy, cheesy homemade shrimp fettuccine pesto Alfredo sprinkled with fresh parsley. This herby dish is packed with tons of flavor and is a perfect fettuccine pasta dish for a quick and easy weeknight dinner.
This delicious meal is a perfect quick and easy weeknight pasta dinner. I feel like pasta is always an awesome go to for a busy night because it is packed with delicious flavor, super simple to make, and always leaves you full and satisfied.
Another recipe that reminds me of this one is my Cheesy Garlic Buttered Gnocchi. It incorporates a lot of the same flavors and is a recipe you will definitely love if you enjoy this one. If you love this flavor profile, you will also enjoy my Toasted Pine Nut Ravioli with Spinach and Bacon.
Ingredients
This seafood pasta dish only uses a few different ingredients to create.
- butter
- olive oil
- garlic cloves
- cream cheese
- heavy whipping cream
- freshly grated parmesan cheese
- pesto
- fettuccine pasta
- salt and pepper
- frozen shrimp
- fresh parsley
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Fill a large sauce pan with water and add a generous amount of salt. Bring water to a boil. Add in the pasta. Cook until al dente according to the directions on the box. Once done, turn off the heat and set aside. I leave the pasta in the water so that the pasta does not stiffen.
Grate the parmesan cheese and set aside. In a skillet, add the butter and oil. Crush the garlic into the pan. Cook until fragrant. Add in the cream cheese. Add in heavy whipping cream. Once the heavy whipping cream starts to heat up and the cream cheese is melted in, add in the parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese is completed melted in. Add in the pesto, salt and pepper. Stir well. Set the sauce on low and allow it to simmer, stirring frequently.
Cook the shrimp in olive oil. Add pasta and shrimp into the sauce and toss until all of the pasta is evenly coated. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.
Hint: serve immediately. If the sauce starts to cease up, add a little heavy whipping cream to bring it back to life.
Substitutions
There are some ways you can substitute certain ingredients in this recipe, but not too many. A lot of these ingredients are vital to achieve the delicious flavor in this dish.
- pasta - instead of using gluten pasta, you can also use a gluten free pasta. This can slightly change the texture of the pasta but it doesn't make a huge difference from what I've noticed.
- shrimp - chicken is another delicious protein that you can use in this dish.
- Vegetarian - you can omit meat all together and just make the pasta for a vegetarian friendly dish.
Variations
You can also change this recipe up to add some spice or different flavors. The fun thing about food is that you can really play around with the flavors to get certain results.
- Spicy - add chili pepper flakes while cooking to imbue heat into the dish, or a splash of hot sauce.
- Deluxe - add steak instead of shrimp.
- Kid friendly - add chicken if your littles don't prefer shrimp.
Equipment
When creating this recipe, I suggest using a cast iron skillet. I think it gets the flavor profile perfect but also evenly heats which is so important when making an alfredo sauce.
If you are using a regular skillet or have a stove that has trouble heating your pans easily (ex. your pan heats up more in the middle than the sides) make sure you cook your sauce on a medium low heat so it doesn't stick to the center of the pan and burn.
Storage
Store in an air tight container for up to 2-3 days. I suggest reheating in a pan with either some added olive oil or added heavy whipping cream to try and bring the sauce back to life. You can also do the same thing when microwaving.
You can also freeze this meal for up to 2-3 months in a freezer ziploc.
Top tip
Make sure you are constantly moving the sauce while it is cooking. Alfredo can be tricky and you don't want it to stick to the pan.
Homemade Shrimp Fettuccine Pesto Alfredo
Equipment
- Skillet
- large sauce pan
- garlic crusher
- Cheese Grater
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoon salted butter
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- ¼ cup cream cheese
- 1 ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1 tablespoon pesto
- salt and pepper to taste
- 15-20 shrimp peeled
- 1 lb fettuccine pasta
Instructions
- Fill a large sauce pan with water and add a generous amount of salt. Bring water to a boil. Add in the pasta.
- Cook until al dente according to the directions on the box. Once done, turn off the heat and set aside. I leave the pasta in the water so that the pasta does not stiffen.
- Grate the parmesan cheese and set aside.
- In a skillet, add the butter and oil. Crush the garlic into the pan. Cook until fragrant.
- Add in the cream cheese.
- Add in heavy whipping cream.
- Once the heavy whipping cream starts to heat up and the cream cheese is melted in, add in the parmesan cheese.
- Stir until the cheese is completed melted in.
- Add in the pesto, salt and pepper. Stir well.
- Set the sauce on low and allow it to simmer, stirring frequently.
- Cook the shrimp in olive oil.
- Add pasta and shrimp into the sauce and toss until all of the pasta is evenly coated. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Food safety
If you are using chicken, make sure you are checking out some of the important tips below!
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
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