Easy Creamy Shrimp Pasta features tender and juicy shrimp cooked in a delightfully rich pasta sauce made with butter, cream cheese, and blue cheese. Served over pasta and packed with flavor, this lovely main dish is both hearty and satisfying!
medium-size (2-½ to 3 quart) oven-safe baking dish
10-inch non-stick skillet
Ingredients
2lbsshrimpextra-large, raw, heads and tails removed, peeled, and deveined.
¼cupfreshly squeezed lime juice
9tablespoonsunsalted butterdivided
8ouncescream cheesecut into cubes
2ouncesblue cheese crumbled
pinchred pepper flakes
12ouncespastabow tie or mini farfalle
1tablespoonfreshly squeezed lemon juice
4tablespoonsgrated parmesan cheesedivided
4 tablespoonsflat leaf Italian parsleychopped, and divided
Instructions
Gather the ingredients and preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Spray a medium-size (2-½ to 3 quart) baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Arrange the shrimp on the bottom. Top with lime juice and let the shrimp marinate for about five minutes.
Put eight tablespoons of butter in a medium-size (10-inch) non-stick skillet over low heat. When the butter has melted, add the cream cheese, blue cheese, and red pepper flakes.
Whisk constantly until the cheeses have melted. If your sauce looks curdled or lumpy, continue whisking until it is creamy and smooth.
Pour this sauce over the shrimp and bake for 14-16 minutes for medium to large shrimp and 16-18 minutes for extra-large.
While your shrimp are baking, prepare the pasta according to the directions on the package. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water and drain.
When the shrimp have finished baking, pour the drained pasta over the shrimp. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter, two tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and parsley. Add all or part of the reserved pasta water if needed, to loosen the sauce, and toss gently to combine everything.
Before serving, garnish with the rest of the parmesan cheese and additional chopped parsley.
Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Do not let your shrimp marinate in the lime juice for more than five to seven minutes. Any more time and the lime juice will actually start cooking itWhen you first combine all of your ingredients, the mixture may look a bit soupy. Don't worry; the pasta will absorb much of the liquid, and after a few minutes, it will firm up.I almost always serve extra grated parmesan cheese with this dish for the cheese lovers in my house.Fresh shrimp is always best if you can get it, but frozen works too. I usually have the folks at the seafood market remove the heads and tails and peel and devein my shrimp before I take them home.I like to use extra-large shrimp in this recipe, but you can use any size you like or have on hand. Just keep in mind, smaller shrimp cook much more quickly than larger ones. I have used both an expensive variety of blue cheese and the cheaper variety you can find already crumbled in the plastic containers located in the cheese section of your grocery store, and both work in this recipe. The expensive variety melts a little easier, but both are good.I usually make this dish with either bow tie or mini farfalle pasta. However, feel free to use any pasta you like or have on hand. A friend of mine likes to use shell pasta.When cooking the pasta, cook it to the tender stage instead of al dente because it will not be cooked any further.