Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta

Comforting pasta classic.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Restaurant pasta in 25 minutes.
• Silky sauce that clings to every strand.
• Pantry sauce ingredients.
• Versatile — swap shrimp for chicken, scallops, or just garlic-butter pasta.
• Pure comfort food that feels elegant.

Ingredient Notes

• Real parmesan, grated from a wedge — pre-grated has anti-caking that won't emulsify.
• Large shrimp hold their bite; smaller sizes overcook fast.
• Long pasta (linguine, fettuccine) holds the sauce better than short shapes.

Ingredient Substitutions

• Spaghetti or angel hair.
• Scallops or chicken in place of shrimp.
• Pecorino Romano for a sharper finish.

Equipment Needed

• Large pasta pot
• Large skillet
• Tongs
• Microplane

Prep Tips

• Grate parmesan and mince garlic before starting the cook — there's no time once you do.
• Zest the lemon first, then juice.

Instructions

1. 1

   Gather and prep: 1 shrimp, 12 oz pasta, 2 tbsp butter, 3 cloves garlic, minced, 1 lemon (for juice and zest), 1 cup parmesan cheese, 1 tbsp olive oil. mince the garlic, and grate the parmesan before you start cooking.

2. 2

   Cook pasta. Shrimp cook in 2–3 minutes per side — pull them as soon as they turn pink and opaque.

3. 3

   Sauté garlic in butter; add shrimp.

4. 4

   Toss with pasta, parmesan, lemon.

Artsi Pro Tips

• Parmesan goes in off heat, gradually — direct boil clumps it.
• Reserve more pasta water than you think; the sauce drinks it.
• Tongs, not a spoon, for emulsifying.

Common Mistakes

• Adding parmesan to boiling sauce — it clumps.
• Browning the garlic, making the sauce bitter.
• Forgetting pasta water; the dish will be dry.

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