Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta

This recipe promises lemony shrimp with bucatini and that’s exactly what you get. In 25 minutes. Bucatini.

Don’t get me wrong, I also love spaghetti and capellini. The choice of bucatini for this recipe is almost imperative though. You can’t slurp bucatini as quickly as the other long pasta. Each bite requires a bit of work. The bucatini captures more of the lemony flavour, makes the enjoyment last longer, and makes it a more fun experience. This is useful when you’re trying to eat mindfully and consume smaller portions.

The flavours in this dish are simple. They’re fresh, and complementary, while providing the illusion of richness to the palate. By richness, I mean the creamy texture of the pasta and sauce without the use of cream.

I did use two tablespoons of butter and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. I feel that I could have reduced this amount to one tablespoon of each fat and then just used a second tablespoon of olive oil to finish the dish. In fact, when I plated, there were a couple of extra tablespoons of fatty sauce in the bottom of the pan that got recycled to a topping.

Where the lemony flavour is concerned, I liked that the lemon juice addition was done in two parts. I served this pasta on a platter with a quarter lemon chunk for each person to drizzle as per taste. For me, the total amount was perfect but my husband enjoyed the option to not add more to his plate. There were oohs and ahhs and even some chewing with eyes closed amongst the five of us.

The shrimp-pasta-cheese ratio was perfect. Served ours with a tomato and caper salad and a mellow Chenin Blanc. This one’s a keeper!

This is one delightful, easy, and quick pasta; one of the best I’ve made in a while. The shrimp are tender, the lemon pops, and the Parmesan and parsley are perfectly balanced. I did use the red pepper flakes, they added just a whisper of heat.

I had 16/20 shrimp so I cut them in half for better distribution throughout the dish. I might add more garlic next time just because I always do! I love the brightness of fresh parsley added at the end. I added 3/8 cup of pasta water at the end for a lusciously silky sauce.

I did make this again with linguine fini, and it was even better with a lighter noodle! Me being me, I also added a few more cloves of garlic. Whatever pasta you have on hand will be delicious with this lemony sauce.

I love all things lemon, so I knew that I would be making this lemon garlic shrimp pasta recipe the moment I saw it.

I must say, that despite all of the lemon zest, (I used 2 teaspoons), and the 1/2 cup of lemon juice listed in the recipe, although delicious, the pasta was still not “lemony” enough for our taste. I ended up using the zest of another lemon, as well as its juice, to bring it up to something that knocked our proverbial socks off. Our feet, at that point, were indeed bare.

After boiling for 8 minutes, my pasta was al dente. Since it was going to continue to cook a bit in the in pan with the shrimp, lemon zest, and juice, I did transfer it at that time to the other skillet. I am glad that I did, because the pasta in the final dish was just what it should be, tender, but still having that al dente bite.

I added about 3 tablespoons of pasta water to the sauce, even though I questioned if that would be necessary.

Where the pasta water did come in handy, was the next day while heating up leftovers. I learned a long time ago to save some pasta water whenever I make pasta. I just dip a glass Pyrex measuring cup into the pasta pot, capturing boiling water, before taking the pasta out, or draining it. I pour that into a glass jar, and save it as long as I have the leftovers that we may be eating, and I use it as needed.

This lemon garlic shrimp pasta is a quick, simple, and flavorful recipe that can be made on a weeknight but has the luxuriousness of a weekend dish. The dish is rich in bright flavor and comes together in a cinch. Prep everything in advance because once you start cooking, dinner will be on the table quick.

I served this with a simple arugula salad. Next time I would finish it with more lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil. Nice on its own. Would also be a good base recipe.

This was a lovely bright dish that was easy to prepare. The flavour of the lemon really shines here and the Parmesan makes a lovely unctuous light “sauce” that coats the pasta. A beautiful, bright summer dish!

This was a good sized serving for 4 people. I resisted the urge to add crumbled feta but maybe next time!

This pasta recipe scores high on both flavor and ease of preparation. The lemon infused pasta and shrimp are delicious and could easily be served as the main course with guests even though it comes together as quickly as a weeknight dish in terms of ingredients and preparation. We just loved the fresh lemon flavor with the sautéed shrimp, pasta, and Parmesan cheese. Each ingredient contributes to a wonderful pasta dish that we will certainly be adding to our regular list of shrimp dish favorites.

The preparation is easy, the only task requiring any effort is cleaning and de-veining the shrimp. I really appreciated the detailed instructions for preparing the shrimp in terms of rinsing and drying, and removing the shell and tail section and cooking time. Everything was specified completely and easy to follow.

We enjoyed this dish with freshly made crusty sourdough bread which worked well to scoop up sauce on the bottom of the serving dish. A wonderful meal.

Lemon garlic shrimp pasta is a delicious recipe to have on hand. I love how easily you can get a satisfying, appealing, and tasty dish on the table in no time.

This dish feels rich and indulgent and was nicely balanced by a side of garlicky Swiss chard.

There are no photos of this pasta dish because there was no time. It vanished. This spectacularly easy pasta is savory and satisfying. I think it would also be a crowd pleaser, which is why it’s going on my list for summer entertaining.

I felt like the amount of lemon juice was perfectly balanced with the heat from the crushed red pepper. The choice of bucatini gives this dish an extra bit of bite. I happened to like that very much.

I may prefer the parsley to be roughly chopped vs whole leaf, but it’s true my parsley from the garden was a bit tough. Use your own judgment based on the herbs at hand.