This delicious Pesto Shrimp Fettuccine in Mushroom Garlic Sauce is all about the flavor combination of zesty pesto, garlic, pasta and mushrooms. The best part of the dish is the perfectly cooked shrimp that is sweet and tender and decadent pasta to go with it!
Perfectly cooked mushrooms is the essential parts to this Pesto Shrimp Fettuccine dish. Heat is what gives you browning for the mushrooms as well as using plenty of oil to help quickly evaporate any water that mushrooms will sweat out.
All you have to do to cook them right is use the hot pan, don’t overcrowd it, add a bit of salt to the mushrooms and resist the urge to move them too soon. You want to get a little browning on the mushrooms by cooking them undisturbed for about 2 minutes.
The pasta here turned out to have an appetizingly warm color, not the usual greenish “pesto tint” since we only used 1/2 pesto and plenty of liquids to offset the “green”. Based on the reader reviews, you can go even lower on pesto and still get a great taste out of this shrimp and mushroom fettuccine dish!
I was never a fan of “green” pesto recipes, especially when it comes to pasta. Who likes green pasta anyways?
This pesto shrimp fettuccine also doesn’t leave you with a leafy grassy flavor from the basil, instead you get perfect balance of taste and color.
SKILLET USED IN MAKING THIS PESTO SHRIMP PASTA RECIPE
I used 12 inch All Clad Stainless Steel Skillet. It’s well-built high quality stainless steel skillet, but it’s a bit pricey. It’s the most expensive skillet I own:), but it’s well worth it. It’s very large at 12 inches, has a helper handle, oven safe, comes with a lid and cooks food perfectly even!
Another great option (and a cheaper one too!) for a large stainless steel skillet is this 12 inch Cuisinart Stainless Steel Skillet . It’s moderately priced, dishwasher safe, oven safe and has a helper handle, but no lid. It has over 3700 positive reviews on Amazon!
Seasoning is VERY IMPORTANT here. You’re aiming for that nice texture and flavor that a good seafood restaurant usually has in their dishes. Let’s start by preparing seasoning mixture:
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning (thyme, oregano, basil – combined)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cooking Tip: Make sure to heat the stainless steel pan before adding the oil – then add the food.
Steel expands when hot and contracts when it comes into contact with a cooler temperature, which is why foods stick to the surface if the surface is cold. By adding oil to the pan when it’s hot, the steel becomes static, resulting in a temporarily nonstick surface! 
How to season and cook shrimp.
Put shrimp in a mixing bowl and rub in seasoning mixture. Mix well to make sure shrimp is coated well. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shrimp to the hot pan and cook for about 3 minutes, turning once midway, until shrimp is pink and cooked through.
The key to successfully cooking shrimp is to not overcook it. If you cook shrimp for too long they’ll get tough. Shrimp cooks quickly and as soon as the flesh changes from opalescence to opaque, they’re done. It should be only 2 or 3 minutes depending on the size. Once done, remove shrimp from the skillet.
Add second tablespoon of olive oil to the now empty skillet. Once the pan is hot, add sliced mushrooms and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and cook, stirring, until mushrooms release liquid and reduce in volume and get soft, for about a minute or two.
Add minced garlic for the last few minutes, when mushrooms are almost ready.
Now it’s time to add cooked shrimp that we removed earlier back into the pan. Next add 1/2 cup basil pesto and 1/2 cup chicken broth.
On medium heat, mix everything to combine and reheat the shrimp. Remove from heat.
Now (can also be done ahead of time but I like my pasta fresh) bring a large pot of water to boil, add pasta and cook it according to instructions. Drain the pasta, but do not rinse.
Add pasta to the skillet with mushrooms and shrimp, and stir until pasta is fully coated in sauce. Reheat well on low heat (you can also cover the pan with the lid to retain the heat). Done!
If you enjoy eating fresh seafood as much as we do, you might also like this Roasted Cajun Salmon.
This delicious Pesto Shrimp Pasta is all about the flavor combination of zesty pesto, garlic and mushrooms. The best part is the perfectly cooked shrimp that is sweet and tender.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil more if needed
- 1 lb shrimp peeled and deveined
- 10 oz white mushrooms sliced
- 1/2 cup basil pesto
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 cup sodium free chicken broth (adjust salt if not sodium free)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning (thyme, oregano, basil - combined)
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- chopped fresh basil
- 10 oz fettuccine pasta (use gluten free for gluten free version)
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Put shrimp in a mixing bowl and rub in seasoning mixture. Mix well to make sure shrimp is coated well. Add to the hot pan and cook for about 3 minutes, turning once midway, until shrimp is pink and cooked through. Remove shrimp from the skillet.
- Add second tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet. Once the pan is hot, add sliced mushrooms and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and cook, stirring, until mushrooms release liquid and reduce in volume and get soft, for about a minute or two. Add minced garlic for the last few minutes, when mushrooms are almost ready.
- Add back the cooked shrimp. Add 1/2 cup basil pesto and 1/2 cup chicken broth. On medium heat, mix everything to combine. Remove from heat.
In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to boil, add pasta and cook it according to instructions. Drain the pasta, but do not rinse.
Add pasta to the skillet with mushrooms and shrimp, and stir until pasta is fully coated in sauce. Reheat well on low heat (you can also cover the pan with the lid to retain the heat). Season with more salt if necessary.
- Serve with additional red pepper flakes, if desired.
Recipe source: Juliasalbum
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Forgot the mushrooms =( Wasn’t horrible. Would make again!!
My family and I loved this dish. It was delicious and very easy to make.
I”m glad that you found it easy!