Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta (Print Page)

Succulent shrimp in garlic butter sauce tossed with angel hair pasta, white wine, and fresh lemon.

# 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 - ¼ cup dry white wine or chicken broth
07 - 1 lemon, juiced and zested
08 - ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
09 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

→ Garnish

10 - 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
11 - ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
12 - Lemon wedges, for serving

# Directions:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Cook angel hair pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain through a colander, reserving ½ cup of starchy pasta water. Set aside.
02 - Pat shrimp thoroughly dry with paper towels and season lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper on both sides.
03 - In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 2 tbsp butter with 1 tbsp olive oil. Arrange shrimp in a single layer and sear for 1 to 2 minutes per side until pink and fully opaque. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
04 - In the same skillet, add the remaining 2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil. Sauté sliced garlic and red pepper flakes for 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 caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 1 to 2 minutes until slightly reduced, then 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. Use tongs to toss everything together until each strand is well coated.
08 - Taste and adjust the seasoning with additional salt, pepper, or a squeeze of lemon juice as desired.
09 - Serve immediately on warm plates, garnished with chopped fresh parsley, grated Parmesan cheese, and lemon wedges alongside.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The garlic butter sauce comes together in the same pan you cook the shrimp, so every bit of flavor stays right where it belongs.
  • Angel hair pasta cooks in under five minutes, making this genuinely possible on your busiest weeknights.
  • It tastes like something you would order at a coastal Italian restaurant but costs a fraction of the price.
02 -
  • Overcooked shrimp turn rubbery and sad, so pull them from the pan the moment they curl into a C shape and turn fully opaque.
  • Garlic goes from golden to burnt in seconds, so stay right at the stove and keep the slices moving once they hit the butter.
  • Reserving that pasta water is not optional because the starch emulsifies with the butter and creates a sauce instead of a greasy puddle.
03 -
  • Buy shrimp that are already peeled and deveined to save yourself twenty minutes of fiddly work on a weeknight.
  • Grate the Parmesan on the finest holes of your grater so it melts instantly into the hot pasta rather than sitting on top in clumps.

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