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Top view of shrimp scampi with spaghetti pasta garnished with finely chopped cilantro.
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4.98 from 35 votes

Classic Shrimp Scampi Pasta Recipe

This garlicky, creamy and buttery, rich and classic shrimp scampi pasta will be a super hit at your dinner table this holiday season. This is a perfect dish for all seafood and pasta lovers.
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: American, Italian
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 874kcal
Author: Kushi

Ingredients

For Shrimp Scampi

  • 16 Jumbo shrimps deveined with shell and tail on
  • 2 tablespoon Milk
  • 2 tablespoon All-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon Paprika or Red chilli powder or Red pepper flakes
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • ½ teaspoon Garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon Dried basil or mint or parsley
  • 2 tablespoon Olive oil or Butter for shallow frying

For sauce and pasta

  • 1 Small onion finely chopped
  • 6 Garlic cloves whole, check tips
  • 2 tablespoon Butter add more if needed
  • 1 tablespoon Olive oil
  • 1 Tomato finely chopped
  • 1 pint Heavy cream
  • ½ tsp Salt adjust to taste
  • 1 teaspoon Red pepper flakes optional, add more for garnish if desired
  • 1 tablespoon Cilantro or Parsley or Basil, finely chopped, add more for garnish
  • 2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese grated, use more for garnish if desired
  • 8 oz Angel hair pasta or Linguine or Spaghetti or any pasta of your choice

Instructions

Step I - How to make Shrimp scampi

  • In a large bowl add flour, milk, paprika powder, garlic powder, salt, and herbs, and mix well. To this, add fresh (or thawed) and deveined shrimp and mix well until all shrimp are coated in the flour mixture.
    2 tablespoon Milk, 2 tablespoon All-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon Paprika, ½ teaspoon Salt, ½ teaspoon Garlic powder, ½ teaspoon Dried basil, 16 Jumbo shrimps
  • In a nonstick pan on medium heat, add olive oil or butter. Once the oil is hot, or butter is melted, add shrimp and cook on each side for about two minutes, or until they are cooked but still tender and juicy.
    2 tablespoon Olive oil

Step II - How to make Scampi Sauce

  • In a saucepan on medium heat, add oil and butter, finely chopped onion, and garlic cloves. Sauté until onions just begin to start developing light golden color.
    1 Small onion, 2 tablespoon Butter, 6 Garlic cloves
  • Next, add tomatoes, heavy cream, salt to taste, and red pepper flakes if desired, and bring it to a boil. Add finely chopped cilantro and parmesan cheese, and continue to simmer the sauce for 5 more minutes or until it just begins to thicken.
    1 Tomato, 1 pint Heavy cream, ½ teaspoon Salt, 1 teaspoon Red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon Cilantro, 2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
  • Meanwhile, in a large pot, bring water to a rolling boil. Add salt to season this water, and then add angel hair pasta. This cooks really fast, so drain the hot water in about 4 minutes. Drizzle some olive oil if you want to prevent the pasta from sticking to one another.
    8 oz Angel hair pasta, 1 tablespoon Olive oil
  • Once the sauce thickens, toss it with the pasta and shrimp scampi you prepared from step I.
  • Garnish it with cilantro, pepper flakes, and parmesan cheese if desired. Enjoy.

Notes

  • To enhance the flavor, instead of whole garlic, you can also finely mince and add it to the recipe. 
  • I have added only 2 tbsp. of butter. You can add up to 6 tbsp. if desired to make it buttery. 
  • For low carb, gluten-free version and protein-rich meal, you can substitute pasta with zucchini noodles.
  • To serve it like The Cheesecake Factory style or Bistro style, pour some sauce on the plate, and depending on the size of the plate, arrange shrimp at the bottom. Take a ball of cooked pasta and plate that above the shrimp. Garnish it with fresh herbs and parmesan cheese. 
  • Read the entire post above to know how to defrost or thaw shrimp. 
  • You can also read my post on garlic butter shrimp to learn how to cook shrimp perfectly every single time. 

Nutrition

Calories: 874kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 60g | Saturated Fat: 32g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 307mg | Sodium: 839mg | Potassium: 632mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 2303IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 209mg | Iron: 2mg