Fast Food: Creamy Shrimp and Mushroom Pasta
October 18th, 2008 by katie
I love this recipe. It is so fast and easy yet so filling and rich. It is a company worthy dish on a weeknight time budget.
Creamy Shrimp and Mushroom Pasta
serves 4, prep 5 min, cook time 30 min
- 4-8 oz fettuccine or linguine
- 10 tbsp butter, divided (I know, but I’ve tried it with less and it’s just not the same)
- 8 oz fresh, sliced mushrooms
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 oz cream cheese, cut into small pieces
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped (you can use dried herbs if that’s all you have)
- 2/3 cup boiling water (from your noodle pot)
- 1 lb cooked shrimp (feel free to buy frozen-gasp!)
- Boil and salt a large pot of water and cook your pasta. I usually only use about half of an 8 oz box, preferring fewer noodles.
- While your pasta is cooking, cook your shrimp if necessary and reserve. If your shrimp are pre-cooked and frozen, quickly thaw them under running water.
- In a large skillet melt 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat and saute mushrooms until soft and brown. Season with salt and pepper.
- Reserve cooked mushrooms and melt remaining butter in the skillet. Add minced garlic, cream cheese, and herbs. At this point, I generally feel like something has gone terribly wrong. The cream cheese doesn’t really melt and starts to look almost curdled, don’t worry about it! It will all smooth out and be wonderful when we add the water. I promise.
- Simmer cream cheese mixture until well blended. Get a scoop of boiling pasta water from your noodle pot and mix it in, stirring quickly to smooth out the sauce.
- Keep sauce hot and add shrimp and mushrooms, mix well and simmer (stirring often) until everything is hot and thickened, about 10 minutes-you wont ruin this sauce by accidentally boiling it so don’t worry.
- Toss sauce with cooked noodles and serve.
Serve this with a good crusty loaf of garlic bread and a salad.
October 18th, 2008 at 9:05 am
Oh this looks like creamy goodness in a bowl. Thanks for sharing this. I happen to have some extra shrimp in the fridge.
October 18th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
I LOVE this. It was one of those moments where I opened the page, took one look at the photo and tried to jab a fork through the screen for a bite.
Sadly Steve does not feel the same about many creamy sauces. !)@(#*$&%^!!!
I do often make stuff on Sunday just for myself for lunches though. I’ll put this one on THAT list. Thanks Katie.
October 19th, 2008 at 8:36 am
Oh yes, I’ll take seconds please. Unfortunately, Thor announced that he’s gained 5 pounds since not riding regularly…
October 19th, 2008 at 9:33 am
You made my mouth water with this one and I just finished breakfast an hour or so a go! What a yummy picture to so off all the creamy goodness!
October 20th, 2008 at 8:55 am
I love a big heaping bowl of pasta. That picture makes me want to dig right in. The combination of mushrooms, shrimp and a creamy sauce is one of my favorites.
October 21st, 2008 at 10:53 am
Awesome picture, makes me want to jump right in with a fork!
October 25th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Shrimp and mushrooms are two of my favorite foods and this pasta with both of them looks great!
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:07 am
made this recipe tonight althought i also added lobster. Absolutely stunning, a new family favorite.
January 30th, 2009 at 2:39 am
This looks like a dish I’d order at a restaurant! I’d love to try this.
May 10th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
What if I hate mushrooms? What would you suggest substituting? The dish does look wonderful though, I can’t wait to try it.
I like broccoli or asparagus spears as substitutes. -Katie
June 14th, 2009 at 5:43 am
That looks good! The cream looks so yummy!
August 22nd, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Perfect weekday meal! Looks amazingly creamy and tasty!
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:27 pm
This looks awesome! I really want to make this dish, but I have frozen uncooked shrimp. What’s the best way to cook them for this dish?
I always use frozen, uncooked shrimp. I thaw them quickly under running water and then saute them in the same pan you will cook your mushrooms, etc.. They should cook in a few minutes, then proceed with the rest of the recipe!
-Katie
September 16th, 2009 at 3:05 am
Hi! will this be too creamy for someone with a low tolerance in the diary department?
It is a cream cheese and butter sauce, so you would have to judge that for yourself. If you don’t like creamy dishes then you could just adjust the amount of water you add to make the sauce thinner. On the other hand, if you are dairy intolerant then it would depend on whether or not you normally eat, or want to eat, cream cheese. -Katie
October 15th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
I just made this and it is delicious, but I couldn’t get my sauce to thicken up and get creamy like yours looks in the picture, it’s thinner than I’d like. I made no changes to the recipe. Can you give me any hints?
Hi Anna! I made this the other day too and I was surprised that the sauce seemed a little thin also. I used 8 oz of noodles whereas I think I normally (and probably in this photo) only use 4 oz. I adjusted the recipe to reflect a few things I did differently. -Katie
October 22nd, 2009 at 6:43 am
Hi again! The sauce appears to thicken quite nicely upon microwave reheating. The shrimp, however, just get tough. Oh well, still a delicious recipe!
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Made it! Loved it! Really quick and easy. Kinda fattening, but delicious!
December 13th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
This is the best recipe to ever happen to me.
January 14th, 2010 at 6:01 am
hi! just wana say, ur receipe is GREAT! its easy to make yet super delicious.. i just finished cookin it n i couldn’t believe i had made this from scratch, all by myself! however the serving for the sauce seems to be too lil. i planned to serve 4 but the sauce only allowed me for slightly more than 2.
anyway, thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!!
January 14th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
Hi! I loved this recipe with shrimp. Matter of fact, I liked it so much, I adapted it for a dinner party with a friend who is allergic to shrimp, and used chicken instead, and it was still wonderful! Yummy both ways!
January 17th, 2010 at 11:33 pm
Oh my goodness!! I’m bookmarking this! It looks amazing.
January 18th, 2010 at 2:38 am
YO MAN! Thanks for the recipe, I used this recipe for a date and everyone loved it! and it’s so easy to make! and especially REALISTIC. Try some old bay with the shrimp too. Good find my friend and thanks again.
January 27th, 2010 at 4:39 am
That looks nice…thanks for the recipe!