Fettuccine Alfredo with Garlic Butter Shrimp
Best easy weeknight pasta recipe that only takes a few minutes to make
Prep Time 6 mins
Cook Time 10 mins
Total Time 16 mins
Course Pasta
Cuisine Italian / American
Servings 4 people
Calories 620 kcal
The Shrimp
- 1 pound Rock Shrimp (Use what you can find)
- 1/2 stick Butter
- 1 tbsp Garlic
Alfredo Sauce
- 4 oz Cream Cheese / half of a package
- 2/3 cup Pimento Cheese or Cheddar Cheese / or use what you like
- 1/2 cup Half & Half Milk
- 1/4 cup Spam or Bacon / 2 pieces of bacon
- 1 tbsp Minced Jalapeno Pepper
- 2 tsp Fresh Ginger
- 2 tbsp Fresh Parsley
- 2 tbsp Pecorino Romano
Pasta
- 1 bag Dry Fettuccine / use as much or as little as you like
- Fresh Pasta (look below for How-To-Recipe
Cooking the Shrimp
STEP 1In a medium pot, using medium heat, add-in 1/2 stick of butter and 1 tablespoon of minced garlic and salt and pepper, add to taste. Once the garlic is cooked, ( once the garlic is cooked, the garlic should give off a nutty sweet aroma) then add-in the shrimp and stir combining all ingredients. After cooking the shrimp for 2 to 3 minutes (par-cooked) take them off the heat and set aside. We will heat them back up to perfection when we plate the pasta. SHRIMP COOKING TIP: Par cooking the shrimp first allows the shrimp to slowly continue cooking, only needing a quick reheat before plating. Secondly, this tip will help you with your kitchen timing.
Making the Alfredo Sauce
STEP 1Begin by dicing the Spam or bacon into small pieces and getting that into a large skillet on medium-high heat. You'll want to use a skillet large enough for all the Alfredo sauce and pasta.Chop up half of one jalapeno or Serrano and cook with the Spam. Temperature closer to medium than high heat. I use the bottom portion of the pepper to lower the amount of spicy/heat. STEP 2Once the Spam/bacon is cooked, add-in the cream cheese and "half and half" (cream cheese: use half a package 4 oz) and melt 80% of the way,( use more cream cheese if you wish ), once close to fully melted, then add-in the second cheese, either pimento cheese (recipe below) or cheddar cheese, Pecorino Romano or Parmesan Romano. The reason you add the pimento cheese after the cream cheese has melted is the cream cheese takes a longer amount of time to melt. Add salt and pepper to taste, at least 1 tsp of salt. Use the "half and half" to control the thickness of the sauce. Have it ready to add more if needed.Half & Half is a milk product that includes both whole milk and heavy cream 50% to 50% parts.Recipe LINK for Pimento Cheese follows below STEP 3Grate in some fresh ginger (optional) Ginger goes well with shrimp/seafood.Add chopped fresh parsley and grate some lemon zest into the sauce. Lemon zest, about 1 teaspoon or less. You could add some of the Pecorino Romano now if you like. Usually for finishing on top of the dish. Turn the heat off on the sauce before cooking the pasta and finishing the cook on the shrimp. You can add more half & half if the sauce tightens up too much.
Cooking the Pasta and Finishing Tips
Finishing Cooking The Shrimp & Plating
Keyword Fettuccine Alfredo with Garlic Butter Shrimp