Perfect for busy weeknights, family dinners, or even date nights, this Pesto Shrimp Pasta comes together quickly and is guaranteed to become a favorite! Easy one pot pasta dish that is ready in about 20 minutes!
The delicious Pesto Shrimp Pasta is all about the flavor combination of zesty pesto, white wine, garlic, pasta and mushrooms. Succulent shrimp pasta, bursting with flavor, is ready in just 30 minutes!
You will love how easy it is to make this pesto shrimp pasta in a few simple steps and with a handful of ingredients. The dish has a wonderfully bright and a creamy texture, making for an excellent addition to any dinner recipe. This is always my go-to pasta recipe as it’s perfect for any occasion. Not too rich, yet filling and comforting recipe.
Pesto, pasta and shrimp combination
Do you ever find yourself constantly whipping up pasta because not only is it delicious, but also convenient to prepare and requires little effort? The exact same goes for shrimp. Pair the two together in this easy pesto shrimp fettuccine pasta and you have a luxurious tasting meal that comes together at a moment’s notice.
For this pasta and shrimp combo, I’ve gone with a pesto shrimp because shrimp and pesto complement each other both in taste and texture. After making this shrimp fettuccine, I decided that both fettuccine, pesto and shrimp should become a weekly thing for us because it’s one of the best tasting shrimp pastas I’ve had.
How much pesto to use
The pasta here turned out to have an appetizingly warm color, not the usual greenish “pesto tint” since we only used ⅓ cup pesto and plenty of liquids, including white wine to offset the “green”.
Based on the reader reviews, you can go even lower on pesto (¼ cup) 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.
How to make shrimp seasoning
To make the BEST SHRIMP SEASONING, you’re aiming for that nice and UNIQUE FLAVOR that a good seafood restaurant usually has in their dishes. Without the accompanying cost. Let’s start by preparing seasoning mixture:
- 1 teaspoon ITALIAN SEASONING (thyme, oregano, basil – combined)
- ¼ teaspoon RED PEPPE FLAKES
- 1 teaspoon PAPRIKA
- ½ teaspoon SALT
What wine to use
PINOT GRIGIO. Use any dry white wine that you would normally drink. I used Pinot Grigio. Other good options include Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc.
DO NOT USE COOKING WINE. Unless you want to ruin the pleasure of eating Pesto Shrimp Fettuccine.
AMOUNT OF WINE. You won’t need much – only enough to deglaze when adding pesto. I used ¼ cup of wine. You can use up to ½ cup.
How to cook shrimp
- First, let’s put shrimp in a mixing bowl and rub in seasoning mixture. Mix well to make sure to COAT SHRIMP 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.
Cooking Tip: Make sure to HEAT the stainless steel pan before adding the oil – then add the shrimp.
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 not overcook shrimp
The key to successfully cooking shrimp is to not overcook it. If you cook shrimp for too long it will 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 you cook it, remove shrimp from the skillet.
Tips on cooking mushrooms on the stove top
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 the mushrooms right is the following.
- Use the large and hot pan
- Don’t overcrowd the pan with mushrooms
- Add a bit of salt to the mushrooms
- Resist the urge to move the mushrooms too soon. You want to get a little browning on the mushrooms by cooking them undisturbed for about 2 minutes.
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. Add basil pesto, deglaze with wine and add chicken broth.
On medium heat, mix everything to combine and reheat the shrimp. Remove from heat.
How to cook Fettuccine
Now bring a large pot of water to boil, add pasta and cook it according to instructions. Drain fettuccine, but do not rinse. This step can also be done ahead of time but I like my pasta fresh.
Add fettuccine 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! Now you are ready to dive into this Pesto Shrimp Fettuccine that tastes every bit as delicious as the finest seafood restaurant.
If you enjoy eating fresh seafood as much as we do, you might also like these dishes:
- Roasted Cajun Salmon
- Instant Pot Orzo with Shrimp, Tomatoes and Feta
- Garlic Shrimp Pasta in Red Wine Tomato Sauce
One of our favorite pasta recipes is this Cajun Chicken and Sausage Penne Pasta dish! It’s so unbelievably good that I cannot recommend it enough!
And how about cooking with red wine?
Garlic Shrimp Pasta with Red Wine Tomato Sauce
Pesto Shrimp Fettuccine in Mushroom Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
Main Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb shrimp, (peeled and deveined)
- 10 oz white mushrooms, (sliced)
- ⅓ cup basil pesto
- 4 garlic cloves, (minced)
- ¼ cup dry white wine, (plus more if needed)
- ½ cup sodium free chicken broth, (adjust salt if not sodium free)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Seasoning Mixture:
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning, (thyme, oregano, basil – combined)
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- chopped fresh basil
Pasta:
- 10 oz fettuccine pasta (use gluten free for gluten free version)
Instructions
- 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 2-3 minutes on each side, 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 ¼ 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. Next add wine. Cook for 1-2 minutes and then add back the cooked shrimp.
- Add pesto and stir. Finally, add the stock and allow to reduce, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- 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 and stir until pasta is fully coated in sauce.
- Allow to warm for 2 minutes, and then portion and serve. Season with more salt and additional red pepper flakes, if desired.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only. This information comes from online calculators. Although whatsinthepan.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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Notes
I am single (not by choice) and was thrilled to find I could adjust the recipe to one serving. It has my favorite ingredients and lived up to expectations! Thank you for sharing!
That’s my favorite comment for the week!
Made today and it’s Awesome!
Has anyone made this using cast iron? I only have non-stick and cast iron and I worry about nonstick making the shrimp and mushrooms watery.
Both will be fine, but I would use cast iron because you will have easier time getting a nice color on it and definitely much easier time with liquid evaporating. And all on medium heat.
I made this last night and my partner has already requested it again! I had a question about the deglazing step. After cooking the mushrooms and adding the pesto, the mixture was rather wet and there was nothing on the pan to deglaze with the wine. Should I be cooking this at a higher temp? Cooked the mushrooms longer? Or was your mixture also wet at this step? Thanks for the great recipe. Looking forward to it again.
I removed the word deglaze to avoid the confusion! I am glad you enjoyed this!
I’m from the East Coast and we have a Wegman’s supermarket here. They have a Tomato Pesto Sauce in an 6.7 oz jar. it’s not green. It has a great taste. I’m going to try it in this recipe. It looks amazing.
I love Wegmans! I’ve been to it a couple of times and tried their sauce too! I think it’s a great idea!
This Pesto Shrimp Fettuccine in Mushroom Garlic Sauce is definitely my favorite! I added Kikkoman Soy Sauce, Ponzu Citrus for a more flavorful twist of taste. The family loved it!
Wow! Great combination with a twist!
The first time I followed the recipe exactly and it was a hit! But, of course, I can’t resist trying new things and, next time, tried adding drained, marinated artichoke hearts…it was delicious. Then I sliced some green Spanish olives and sprinkled those on top, omitting any added salt. Loved it! Thank you for such a wonderful recipe that works so well as is or allows me to ‘customize’ it for some variety!
Thank you Pam! Happy you found this recipe and made it with spanish olives! Trying new things every time is the way to go!
I just made this and it was a hit with my hubs and myself. Simple to follow instructions and ingredients. The results are sublime. Will be making this again. Hubs just told me again, “that was a good meal!”
A hit with the hubs is always the best review! Thank you so much for coming back and a 5-star rating!
Made this yesterday, wonderful! As there are only two of us I halved the recipe and it worked out well. Will definitely make this again.
This recipe turned out so good I love that there is no cream or butter used in it. I agree that pesto can be so over powering but there is only1/3 cup added.
there is a lot flexibility in this recipe. The next time I make this I will add some olives and a bit of parsley. My husband also liked this recipe. Thank you
So glad the recipe was a success. Thank you for your amazing review and a 5-star rating!