This Creamy Lemon Shrimp Pasta is comforting, rich yet fresh and light! With just a few grocery store ingredients you can create a simple shrimp pasta with tons of flavor! The lemon cream sauce is so easy to make and cooks as your pasta cooks, making this is quick dinner for the whole family! This is elegant enough for company or date night but quick enough for weeknight meals. It is so easy to make but tastes just like something you would get in a wonderful Italian restaurant.
Start by getting a pan of boiling water on the hob.
Whilst the water is coming to a boil, heat the 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large heavy-based skillet/frying pan.
Cook the shrimp over high heat for just 2-3 minutes. (see note 1)
Remove the shrimp to the pan and set to one side.
Add the remaining olive oil to the skillet then cook the chopped onion for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute.
Add the butter and as it melts add in the flour and stir well.
Slowly pour in the broth, whisking into the flour. The sauce will start to thicken.
Once the stock has been incorporated. Add the zest and juice of the lemon, dried basil, and heavy cream.
Stir gently and place over very low heat.
Whilst the sauce is simmering, add a tablespoon of salt to the boiling pan of water, then cook the pasta as per the packet suggestions. Reserve a cup of the cooking water and drain.
Add the pasta and shrimp into the hot sauce and gently lift everything together until well combined and the shrimp have heated through.
Stir through the cup of spinach and thin the sauce as needed with the reserved cooking water.
Serve immediately garnished with parsley, black pepper and maybe a little extra lemon zest.
Notes
Shrimp – I used frozen, shelled and deveined shrimp in this recipe. As long as you ensure they are fully defrosted before cooking they taste perfect in this sauce. Be sure not to over-cook the shrimp. Overcooked shrimp are rubbery! The shrimp need frying for just 2 minutes as they will finish cooking in the sauce.
Onion - You can use any onion you like here or swap the onion for leek or shallot. I tend to use a standard brown or white onion. But any onion will be fine.
Broth - I use a homemade shrimp stock for this recipe, but you can use any broth that you have on hand. This sauce works with seafood, chicken or vegetable broth.
Heavy Cream - The recipe uses heavy cream, you can substitute with half and half but there is a danger that the addition of lemon juice could split the sauce. This doesn't happen with heavy cream. If you are replacing it with half and half, add the lemon juice and zest to the broth and stir well before slowly adding the cream
Pasta – I love this creamy sauce with spaghetti, but the sauce will work with any long pasta, so use fettuccine, linguine or tagliatelle. If you prefer a smaller pasta this is equally good with penne or spiral pasta.