As a child, my mother made us shrimp alfredo on a weekly basis. More times than not, the alfredo sauce came from a jar, but there were also times when our mother graced us with a homemade alfredo sauce. There are hardly words for the difference between what you can whip up in a few minutes and the jarred stuff. I sometimes have a hard time comprehending why others have never even attempted to make their own alfredo, or any dinner dish for that matter. But I feel it’s because they don’t know what they’re missing out on. They may think it’ll take too long, cost too much, or not taste nearly as good as the kind you get from the store. But really friends, it’s exactly the opposite.
Not only is this shrimp alfredo creamy and dreamy, it’s also inexpensive to make and takes less than 20 minutes to prepare. That’s great news for anyone with a busy schedule or a tight budget (and I just so happen to have both).
I always try to get wild-caught shrimp for a few reasons. First, they’re raised in their natural environment and aren’t raised on some farm (like this one or this one). Second, they aren’t fed a solid diet of corn. And lastly, you can’t beat the quality! No one raises a creature better than mother nature.
I made my own pasta noodles for this recipe, but you can just as easily use pasta from the store. Simply cook to package instructions.
Here’s the recipe:
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter
- 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1½ - 2 cups milk
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 lb. frozen cooked and peeled shrimp, thawed (I prefer wild-caught)
- 1 (16 oz) box linguine pasta noodles, preferably organic
- Cook pasta to package instructions. Drain and let cool.
- Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper.
- Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, so thin with milk if cooked too long.
- In a large frying pan on medium heat, sear shrimp on each side for 1 minute.
- In a large bowl, toss noodles with alfredo sauce and seared shrimp. Serve.
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
yum! love a good alfredo and yours looks super creamy and delicious. thanks for the inspiration and ideas margaret!
Vicki @ FiveSpotGreenLiving says
Thanks for linking up to the Natural Living Monday and Healthy Meal Planning linkup! My kids love alfredo AND shrimp so this will be a great recipe to try. Great photos!
Maggie says
Love afredo and shrimp! The recipe looks so simple and delicious. I love to make fresh pasta when I have time, and they taste so good. Wild caught shrimps? Never tried yet but sound soooooo good!