This creamy Seafood Pasta recipe has pasta tossed in a simple homemade garlic cream sauce with plenty of shrimp, scallops, mussels, and clams. It only takes 20 minutes and is sure to satisfy any seafood lover!
Looking for more seafood recipes? Try this Poke Bowl, Seared Scallops, or Cioppino!
Why I love this dish:
- Quick – Only 20 minutes for this fresh gourmet meal!
- Delicious – The flavor combination of the assortment of seafood and the creamy garlic sauce is absolutely perfect together.
- Easy – The different seafood may look intimidating, but really this recipe couldn’t be more simple!
How to make Seafood Pasta:
Cook Pasta and Season Seafood: Season shrimp and scallops with a pinch of salt and pepper. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain noodles but reserve 1 cup of the pasta water.
Cook Shrimp and Scallops: Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shrimp and scallops and cook for about 2 minutes per side (until shrimp is pink and both are opaque), then transfer to a plate. Cover with foil to keep warm.
Cook Remaining Seafood: Add remaining 3 tablespoons butter to skillet then place shallots in pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds then pour in wine and bring to a simmer, cooking for a few minutes. Add clams and mussels then cover with a lid and cook for 4-5 minutes, until shells open. Remove mussels and clams to the plate with the other seafood (discard any shells that didn’t open).
Make Sauce: Stir 1 teaspoon cornstarch into the cream. Add cream mixture, bouillon, and ¾ cup of the parmesan to the pan and cook until sauce has slightly thickened. Taste the seafood pasta sauce and season with salt and pepper, if needed. Add pasta and lemon zest.
Serve: Add seafood to pasta then garnish with parsley and remaining parmesan. Enjoy this Italian seafood pasta with a side of artisan bread.
Recipe Variations:
- Add Veggies: Feel free to add in tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, sundried tomatoes, capers, or olives.
- Seafood: Add fish or calamari rings.
- Cajun Seafood Pasta: Add a sprinkle of cajun seasoning to the shrimp and scallops while cooking.
More Seafood Pasta Dishes:
- Shrimp Alfredo
- Shrimp Scampi with Linguine
- Pad Thai
- Tuna Noodle Casserole
- Capellini Pomodoro with Shrimp
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Recipe
Seafood Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb linguine noodles (or spaghetti or fettucine)
- 4 Tablespoons butter , divided
- 1/2 lb uncooked shrimp , peeled and deveined
- 1/2 lb scallops , patted dry
- ½ lb mussels , cleaned and beards removed
- ½ lb clams
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 shallot , diced
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- ¾ cup dry white wine
- 1 1/4 cups heavy cream , half and half or milk
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon paste
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese , divided
- lemon zest , from ½ of a lemon
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley , plus more for garnish
Instructions
- In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain noodles but reserve 1 cup of the pasta water.
- Meanwhile, season shrimp and scallops with a pinch of salt and pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shrimp and scallops and cook for about 2 minutes per side (until shrimp is pink and both are opaque), then transfer to a plate. Cover with foil to keep warm.
- Add remaining 3 tablespoons butter to skillet. Add shallots and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add wine and bring to a simmer, cooking for a few minutes. Add clams and mussels then cover with a lid and cook for 4-5 minutes, until shells open. Remove mussels and clams to the plate with the other seafood (discard any shells that didn’t open).
- Stir 1 teaspoon cornstarch into the cream. Add cream mixture, bouillon, and ¾ cup of the parmesan to the pan and cook until sauce has slightly thickened. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed.
- Add pasta and lemon zest and toss to coat. Add seafood. Garnish with parsley and remaining parmesan. Enjoy.
Notes
Seafood: Add fish or calamari rings
Nutrition
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Amazing! my super picky family simply loved it
Delicious recipe overall. What is the one cup of reserved pasta water for? What do you intend for the 1/4 cup of chopped parsley? I stirred it in at the end, plus used additional parsley for garnish.
Add parsley at the end. The reserved pasta water is to add to the sauce, to thin it, if needed.
The seafood pasta is the very best I have ever had. This will be our 4th year making this for NYE. We fell in love the 1st time and made it a tradition.
I made this recipe last night and it was okay. Some of the instructions were unclear as mentioned in another review (what to do with the reserved 1 cup of pasta water?) I also didn’t know whether to add the clams and muscles with the liquid they cooked in or without. The result was too much pasta, too little sauce but I think the right amount of seafood.
Thanks for trying out the recipe and sharing your feedback! Here are some quick tips for next time:
Reserved Pasta Water: Use it to thin the sauce if it’s too thick or to help it coat the pasta better.
Clams and Mussels: Strain the cooking liquid and add it to the sauce for extra flavor.
Sauce to Pasta Ratio: Try less pasta or increase the sauce ingredients slightly for a better balance.
I hope these tips help make your next seafood pasta even better!
I’ll give a different review with some clarification. It says to reserve 1 cup of liquid from pasta but never says when or where to add it. Also fresh parsley? Is it just a garnish or used in recipe? Maybe it’s just me but instructions seem a little lacking
This was an amazing dish to make for my Seafood Pasta!
Absolutely delicious and my wife new favorite dish. Seems intimidating but as long as you prep everything before beginning to cook it’s really quite easy to prepare. I made one change and doubled the garlic the recipe called for as I felt 4 cloves was a little light and went with 8 plus a little garlic powder as a thickener in the sauce since I skipped the corn starch.
I was reluctant to make this as it always seemed a bit intimidating (cooking the seafood just right). But, it was my husband’s request for date night so I thought I would surprise him. He honestly thought it was take-out. It was so delicious and your detailed instructions quickly eased my fears. Thank you for such an amazing recipe and resource.