This simple Shrimp Linguine recipe is covered in a lemon butter sauce that will have you licking your plate clean! The best part is it’s made in less than 20 minutes!
Do you love seafood recipes as much as I do? Try Baked Salmon, Fish and Chips, Lobster Roll, or Easy Homemade Crab Cakes!
Why I love this recipe:
- Basic ingredients – Once you’ve got your shrimp, all you need to make shrimp scampi is butter, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon, crushed red pepper, and parmesan cheese.
- Fast (20 minutes) -. This is the easiest dish EVER, and it’s just a bonus that’s it’s delicious and impressive.
- Kid-friendly – Even at 1 and 2 years old, my kids LOVED this meal. Cut the shrimp into small pieces and serve with their favorite noodles.
Purchasing Shrimp: What to Know
If you live in an area where you can buy fresh shrimp, lucky you! Definitely do that.
For everyone else, you can purchase shrimp at the store in all varieties (large, medium, small, shell on/off, tail on/off, fresh, frozen, etc.) but for this shrimp pasta recipe we recommend buying extra large, tail-on, un-cooked shrimp. Once thawed, remove the shells.
I usually buy frozen shrimp from the freezer section. You can also buy thawed shrimp from the seafood counter. Remember that the higher quality the shrimp, the better your shrimp linguine will taste.
To Thaw Shrimp: Leave the shrimp in the refrigerator overnight OR pour them into a bowl and cover them with cold water for about an hour. Drain the shrimp and use paper towels to soak up the water.
How to make Shrimp Linguine:
Cook Shrimp: Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Melt butter in a large skillet, add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the shrimp and sauté just until they turn pink, about 4-5 minutes, tossing often.
Add Seasonings: Remove shrimp from the heat and add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes.
Toss to Combine: Sprinkle parmesan cheese on garlic shrimp pasta and toss everything gently. Season with additional salt and pepper, if needed.
Serve: Serve shrimp linguine with crusty bread or homemade breadsticks.
Recipe Variations:
- Add White Wine: Add ¼ cup of white wine in step 3, sautéing for a few minutes to let it cook down a little.
- Add Veggies: Toss in some asparagus and cherry tomatoes.
- Zucchini Noodles: For a healthier twist, swap out the linguine for zucchini noodles.
More Shrimp Recipes:
- Shrimp Alfredo
- Fresh Spring Rolls
- Shrimp Tacos
- Cioppino
- Shrimp Pad Thai
- Fajitas
- Easy Shrimp Cocktail
- Shrimp Creole
- Spanish Paella
- Authentic New Orleans Gumbo
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Recipe
Shrimp Linguine
Ingredients
- 1 pound linguine noodles , white or wheat
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 pound large shrimp , about 20 shrimp, peeled and deveined
- salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
- 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley , chopped
- lemon zest , from ½ of a large lemon
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice , about 2 lemons
- 1/2 lemon , thinly sliced in half-rounds
- crushed red pepper flakes , to taste
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add a little bit of oil and salt to the boiling water and cook the linguine according to package instructions.
- Meanwhile, season the shrimp with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Add the butter and olive oil to an extra-large skillet over medium-low. Once the butter has melted, add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute, being careful not to burn it.
- Add the shrimp and sauté just until they turn pink, about 4-5 minutes, tossing often.
- Remove from the heat and add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes.
- Toss to combine. Season with additional salt and pepper, if needed.
- When the pasta is cooked, drain the water and add the noodles to the sauté pan.
- Top with fresh parmesan cheese and toss everything gently to combine. Serve.
Notes
- Add White Wine: Add ¼ cup of white wine in step 3, sautéing for a few minutes to let it cook down a little.
- Add Veggies: Toss in some asparagus and cherry tomatoes.
- Zucchini Noodles: For a healthier twist, swap out the linguine for zucchini noodles.
Nutrition
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Recipe adapted from Ina Garten.
*I originally shared this recipe May 2016. Updated February 2020 and October 2022.
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Two words: Lemon Noodles.
You know it’s one thing when you go out on a limb and experiment on your own and something fails. Failure of that capacity typically tends to lead to a learning experience and can be somewhat rewarding. But when you go to somebody who demonstrates an aura of expertise, understanding, and appreciation for a recipe? So much so that they’ve gone and posted this recipe on a website, and you follow this recipe, TO EVERY T, and it turns out to be one of the most garbage things you have ever produced in your life? That type of failure is very frustrating. Do not make these noodles if you appreciate food, the taste of food, the art of cooking food, or anything to do with food. I do not exaggerate in the least when I call these noodles “lemon noodles.” You might as well take a lemon and lick the outside of it. Great dinner. And I’m dead serious. I did not taste any garlic, any fresh parsley, not even the shrimp. Just lemon. So. Don’t listen to this half-brained fart head. Please don’t post any more recipes for the love of God. Just wasted so much time, money and energy to lick a lemon. Fantastic.
Easy and excellent recipe. Only thing was I had to shuffle through a bunch of ads and other recipes to get to the ingredients but it was