This shrimp fettuccine dish is like a sultry song that seeps into your soul and warms you up all over. It's perfect for a date night in, or for any night ending in the letter "y."
We love pasta. We can't quit, won't quit pasta.
In college, the sorority sisters (the little liberal arts college sorority was NOT the typical large school kind of sorority, We feel compelled to explain here) entered me into a talent competition. The talent: eating a pound of pasta in one sitting.
We weighed less than 100 pounds at the time (don't freak out: We'm 4'11") and We loved to eat back then as much as We love to eat now. And pasta? Pasta was the soul food.
So We sat on that stage and ate a pound of pasta while the other acts went on in the middle of the stage next to me.
We tied for second place.
Because, come on: who in their right mind can (and would) eat a whole pound of pasta in one sitting? We can, and We DID.
Shrimp Fettuccine
So let's talk about this shrimp fettuccine pasta dish. It came about because We wanted to make penne alla vodka but didn't have penne and also, We don't do heavy whipping cream anymore.
But We had:
- fettuccine
- tomatoes
- vodka
- shrimp
And this luscious little deliciously devil of a dish is the result.
This shrimp fettuccine pasta comes together fairly quickly. So it's a great meal to make on a busy weeknight! But, it's also hearty and special enough to grace your big family Sunday supper table too.
Make the vodka sauce
To make the rich vodka sauce, you start by melting butter in a large saucepot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until softened, which takes about 4-5 minutes.
Add tomatoes to the pot and stir. Slowly add the vodka, the milk or dairy-free milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Stir the sauce gently as you add each ingredient.
Bring the heat up to high and bring the water to a boil. Then lower heat to low-medium and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Shrimp Fettuccine Cooking Tips
Use canned stewed tomatoes for the sauce. Canned stewed tomatoes give this dish a nice rich, deep, simulated slow-cooked tomato flavor. If you use regular canned diced tomatoes, that would give this dish a brighter flavor.
Use frozen or fresh shrimp. We used frozen shrimp, which We thawed prior to including in this dish. But you can use raw shrimp as well; simply be sure to adjust your cooking time as noted in the recipe.
Sub out the protein if you prefer. If you don't like shrimp, you can easily make this without and have it as a vegetarian pasta. As for chicken or pork, We honestly don't think it would be the same with any other meat. It might, however, be tasty with meatballs. If you try that, please do let me know how it tasted!
More 30-Minute Meal Recipes
- Creamy Vegan Pasta with Crispy Mushrooms
- One Pan New Orleans-Style BBQ Shrimp and Scallops
- Simple Shrimp Tacos
- Immunity Boosting Chicken Soup
- Pork and Peanut Dragon Noodles
Shrimp Fettuccine with Vodka Tomato Sauce
By Marlynn Schotland Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 20 mins Total Time: 30 mins Servings: 4 people This is an simple pasta dish with big flavors!Ingredients
- 12 ounces fettuccine
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2 cups onion
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 28- ounce can stewed tomatoes, or 2 14.5 ounce cans
- 1/4 cup vodka
- 1/2 cup 2%/lowfat/or skim milk – OR non-dairy milk of your choice, We use almond milk
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 pound shrimp, deveined, peeled
- Optional garnish: 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley and/or freshly grated parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Begin to boil the pasta water in a large stockpot and cook according to package directions.
- Melt butter in a separate large pot over medium-high heat and saute the onions and garlic until softened, which takes about 4-5 minutes.
- Add tomatoes to the pot and stir. Slowly add the vodka, the milk or non-dairy milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest, stirring gently as you add each ingredient.
- Bring heat to high and bring the water to a boil, then lower heat to low-medium and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Add shrimp to the sauce. If you are using raw shrimp, you'll need to cook it in the simmering pasta sauce for another 5-7 minutes, until it's simply cooked. If you are using thawed, fully cooked shrimp, you'll simply need to let it heat up and mix in with the sauce for about 3 minutes.
- Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and gently fold the pasta into sauce until it's nicely covered in sauce.
- Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and/or freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
DAIRY-FREE: Make this dairy-free by using almond milk or coconut milk instead of regular milk. PROTEIN SUBSTITUTIONS: Instead of shrimp, you could use veggies such as broccoli, spinach, peppers. You could also add meatballs or use a thick white fish such as cod.Nutrition
Calories: 554 kcal, Carbohydrates: 82 g, Protein: 39 g, Fat: 5 g, Saturated Fat: 1 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1 g, Trans Fat: 1 g, Cholesterol: 256 mg, Sodium: 630 mg, Potassium: 1092 mg, Fiber: 6 g, Sugar: 13 g, Vitamin A: 483 IU, Vitamin C: 23 mg, Calcium: 240 mg, Iron: 5 mgNutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What type of pasta sauce do you prefer? Are you a white cream sauce kind of guy/gal? Or do you prefer to go big and bold with a red tomato-based sauce?
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