Garlic Butter Shrimp Linguine (Printer View)

Tender shrimp in garlic butter sauce with perfectly cooked linguine. An elegant, simple Italian-American pasta dish ready in 25 minutes.

# What You'll Need:

→ Seafood

01 - 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined

→ Pasta

02 - 12 oz linguine pasta

→ Sauce

03 - 4 tbsp unsalted butter
04 - 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
05 - 6 cloves garlic, minced
06 - 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
07 - Zest of 1 lemon
08 - 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

→ Finishing

09 - 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
10 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
11 - Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving

# Method Steps:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the linguine according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water, then drain the pasta.
02 - Pat the shrimp dry and season lightly with salt and pepper.
03 - In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter with olive oil. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, sautéing for about 1 minute until fragrant but not browned.
04 - Add the shrimp in a single layer. Cook for 2 minutes per side until pink and just cooked through.
05 - Stir in the lemon zest and juice. Add the drained linguine and toss to coat, adding reserved pasta water a little at a time if needed to loosen the sauce.
06 - Remove from heat and toss in the chopped parsley. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
07 - Transfer to serving plates immediately, topped with grated Parmesan if desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It comes together faster than most takeout orders and tastes twice as good.
  • The garlic butter clings to every strand of pasta like it was made for it.
  • Shrimp cook so quickly that you can have dinner on the table before anyone gets impatient.
  • It feels fancy enough for guests but forgiving enough for a Tuesday night.
02 -
  • Don't skip drying the shrimp, I learned this the hard way when my sauce turned thin and watery.
  • Reserve that pasta water before draining, it's pure liquid gold for fixing a sauce that's too thick or dry.
  • Garlic burns fast, so have everything ready before you start cooking and keep the heat at medium.
03 -
  • Use a microplane to zest the lemon directly over the skillet so the oils go straight into the sauce.
  • If your skillet isn't big enough for all the shrimp in one layer, cook them in two batches so they sear instead of steam.
  • Toss the pasta in the skillet off the heat so the residual warmth coats everything without overcooking the shrimp.
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