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How to Cook Shrimp for Alfredo

This fast and easy recipe for how to cook shrimp for alfredo and will have you cooking up a delicious dinner in no time at all!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Course: main
Cuisine: American
Keyword: how to cook shrimp for alfredo
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 1177kcal
Cost: $15

Equipment

  • 1 skillet
  • measuring cups and spoons
  • 2 saucepans

Ingredients

for the shrimp

  • 1 lb shrimp
  • 4 Tbs Butter
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne
  • 1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 lemon for squeezing juice

for the noodles

  • 1 lb fettuccine noodles
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 tsp salt

For the Sauce

  • 8 tbsp butter
  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup parmesan cheese

Instructions

For the Shrimp

  • Thaw the shrimp by placing frozen shrimp into the refrigerator the day before you prepare.
  • Preheat a cast iron skillet or heavy pan over medium heat on the stove top.
  • Once preheated, put the butter, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, old bay, salt and pepper into the pan. Heat until the butter is just melted.
  • Add the shrimp all at once (but do not include any juices from the container) to the preheated skillet. Stir the shrimp continuously until the shrimp is cooked through. (Flesh is opaque, the shrimp becomes a bright pink color and the tails begin to curl).
  • Remove from the heat, squeeze lemon over the top of the shrimp and reserve some for serving at the table with the shrimp.

For the Noodles

  • Place the water and salt into the sauce pan and heat over high heat on the stove top.
  • Once the water is boiling add the noodles and make sure they go all the way into the water. Cook for about 9 minutes, following the instructions on the box to reach "al dente" for noodles.
  • Drain into a colander when done.

For the Sauce

  • Place all of the sauce ingredients into a sauce pan and heat over medium heat, stirring frequently.
  • You may have to break up the cream cheese with a whisk. When the sauce ingredients are melted, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and stir frequently.

Combine

  • When ready to serve, place the noodles into a large platter, pour the sauce over the top and then add the shrimp on the top of the sauce. Serve immediately.

Video

Notes

  • It's best to heat the butter in the pan, add the seasonings and then put the shrimp in the pan. Don't try to put the butter and seasonings in a bowl with the shrimp because the shrimp are cold and they make the butter hard and it becomes too difficult to stir.
  • The main thing to understand about cooking shrimp no matter if you start with raw, precooked, shell on or shell off, the shrimp is done with the meat is opaque and the shrimp turns bright pink and curls a bit. Take it off the heat immediately.
  • If you are using precooked shrimp, just understand that because the shrimp is already cooked, you simply need to warm it up in the pan so lower the temp and let it warm slowly.
  • If you thawed the shrimp in the bag that it was frozen in, remove the shrimp from the bag and drain well. You do not want to add that juice to the pan.
  • Thaw the shrimp by placing the frozen shrimp into the refrigerator the night before. If you forgot, you can thaw shrimp fast by placing the bag from the freezer section into a large bowl of cool water (not warm or hot water). Change the water every 20 minutes until the shrimp is thawed.
SUBSTITUTIONS
Shrimp - I don't know of a substitution for the shrimp in this recipe, however, you CAN substitute any format of shrimp you have, raw, precooked, head on, head off, shell on, shell off, etc. Just understand from the notes section when the shrimp is done.
Seasonings - you can substitute any seasonings you prefer in any amount you like. Try garlic and onion powders, Old Bay, Tony Cacheries, hot sauce and butter, Lemon Pepper, etc. Get the idea?
Butter - feel free to substitute an equal amount of olive oil, margarine or whatever oil you prefer.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.25lb | Calories: 1177kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 101g | Fat: 86g | Saturated Fat: 51g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 21g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1525mg | Sodium: 5748mg | Potassium: 225mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 2953IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 881mg | Iron: 9mg