A restaurant-quality meal made at home in less than 20 minutes!
Ready for a simple and delicious recipe that can be ready in less than 20 minutes? This lemon garlic shrimp pasta is an impressive and elegant dish that is surprisingly healthy! It’s easy to make and full of pantry essentials that you probably already have on hand. And because it can be whipped up in practically no time, this dish is perfect for busy nights. That said, it can also be used to impress guests or your dinner date without all the hassle!
A Healthy Twist on an Italian Classic
Just because you’re making healthy choices doesn’t mean you need to banish pasta for good. Using whole wheat pasta in place of regular pasta is a great way to introduce more nutrients, like fiber to a dish. We also stuck to olive oil rather than butter in this recipe. This gives you a healthy fat boost (not to mention all of the omega-3’s in shrimp) and decreases the saturated fat content of this dish. Between the fiber-rich whole grains and antioxidant-packed ingredients like garlic, mushrooms, and lemon, you’ll be reaping some pretty good health benefits without the sacrifice.
No Shellfish?
While shrimp does provide some great benefits like healthy fats and lean protein, it’s not for everyone! If you’re not a fan of shrimp (or just can’t have it), try switching it up with some other omega-3 rich seafood options like salmon, white fish, scallops, or crab. If you avoid seafood altogether, go for some chicken breast for similar protein benefits. And if that’s still not your vibe, try this recipe with cannellini beans for a vegetarian go-to (you’ll just need to warm them and mix them in at the end). Let us know how you mix it up in the comment section- we love to see how you personalize our recipes to your liking!
Elegantly Simple Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta
You’ll have a simply divine dish in just minutes with our easy lemon garlic pasta recipe! Begin by cooking the penne until al dente. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat one tablespoon of olive oil on medium-high heat. Sauté the garlic and chili flakes for about one minute.
Next, toss the shrimp in the skillet and season them with salt and pepper. Cook the shrimp for two to three minutes, or until they turn pink. Remove them from the skillet and set aside.
Add the mushrooms to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Sauté the mushrooms for about five minutes and then drain the pasta and reserve some pasta water. Add the pasta, shrimp, leftover olive oil, cooking water, parmesan, lemon juice, and chopped parsley to the skillet with the mushrooms and toss over medium heat until well combined.
Garnish with the remaining two tablespoons of parsley and enjoy!
Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces whole wheat penne pasta
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1 pound shrimp deveined, peeled, tails removed
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 2 cups brown mushrooms sliced
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1/4 cup parsley plus 2 tablespoons, fresh, chopped
- 1/4 cup parmesan grated
Instructions
- Cook the penne pasta until al dente. When the pasta is finished, drain it but reserve about 1/4 cup cooking water.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1 tabelspoon olive oil on medium high heat.
- Sauté garlic and chili flakes for about 1 minute.
- Add shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until the shrimp turns pink.
- Remove shrimp from the pan and add mushrooms, salt, pepper, and sauté for another 5 minutes.
- Add the cooked pasta, shrimp, lemon juice, remaining olive oil, cooking water, parmesan, chopped parsley and toss over medium heat until well combined.
- Garnish with remaining parsley and enjoy!
Nutrition Information
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What do you think? Are you going to give this lemon garlic shrimp pasta a try? If so, be sure to let us know what you thought in the comment section!
If you enjoyed this tasty seafood pasta, we think you might also like to try:
- Gluten-Free Chicken Scampi
- Fast and Flavorful Chimichurri Shrimp
- 5-Ingredient Spinach & Pasta Alfredo
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I made this tonight and my husband and I loved it! The only change I made was adding three times as much fresh, minced garlic cloves. It was so easy to make with little prep and even less clean up. Thank you for another delicious recipe.
You are so welcome, Marsha. I’m happy you and your husband enjoyed the Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta.
This was good and easy to make. We made 1/2 the recipe for 2 people. Our only complaint is that we wish there was a bit more flavor. But, will make again. 🙂