If you love shrimp and pasta, this Bistro Shrimp Pasta is a must-try. I’m a huge fan of shrimp and this recipe feels gourmet without taking hours to make. It’s a simple yet delicious recipe that gets better with each bite. It’s bold with several textures that work together in harmony!
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Fried shrimp pasta is one of my comfort meals! It adds a subtle crunch that goes perfectly with the shrimp. I use mushrooms and tomatoes in this recipe as the softness balances the shrimp and they take on the flavors of the spices so well. The best part is the lemon cream sauce. It’s robust and bright!
If you like easy pasta recipes, you will love Marry Me Chicken Pasta and Spicy Italian Sausage Pasta.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s quick to make: This recipe is great when you’re short on time. Preparing and cooking takes about 35 minutes which is pretty impressive considering that it has so many layers of flavor.
- It transforms ordinary ingredients: Who knew you could take a simple shrimp and spaghetti and elevate it to a restaurant-quality meal? I didn’t realize it could taste so good!
- It tastes expensive: It doesn’t cost a fortune to make bistro shrimp pasta but it tastes like it does! Simple cooking techniques take budget-friendly items to create a real showstopper.
Ingredients
Everything you need to make the shrimp, vegetables, and cream sauce for this bistro shrimp pasta recipe is listed below.
For the shrimp and pasta
- Shrimp: Ensure you grab raw, deveined shrimp. You don’t want them to be precooked for this recipe and having them cleaned makes prep easier and faster.
- Egg and Buttermilk: These are combined to tenderize the shrimp and help the breadcrumbs to stick to them.
- Breadcrumbs: I like the spices found in Italian breadcrumbs for this recipe. If you prefer, you may use plain breadcrumbs and add your spice blend.
- Lemon: I only use the grated lemon zest for this. It adds citrus flavor without incorporating more liquid.
- Spaghetti: This is the traditional pasta used in this shrimp bistro pasta recipe. Feel free to use regular or whole wheat based on your preference.
- Shallots and garlic: These aromatics add so much flavor to the vegetables. I prefer shallots to onions for this because they are milder and sweeter.
- Mushrooms and tomatoes: I chose button mushrooms and cherry tomatoes—similar to the shrimp bistro pasta from the Cheesecake Factory.
- Basil: Fresh basil adds a bright flavor to the overall dish. Try parsley if you don’t enjoy basil.
- White wine: I add wine to the cooked vegetables for depth and acidity that makes the result even more vibrant.
For the sauce
- Butter: I use this to start the roux with the flour. I typically use salted butter but you may use unsalted butter. Adjust the salt level to taste before serving.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is perfect for making a roux to thicken the cream sauce. I recommend that you give it plenty of time to cook so you don’t have a raw flour taste in the final result.
- Garlic: You can’t have a great sauce without depth of flavor and garlic is perfect for that. I grate it directly into the sauce for a stronger taste and aroma.
- Heavy cream: If you want a rich sauce, heavy cream is awesome. Half and half will work if you want less fat in the dish.
- Lemon: Don’t be shy with lemon! It cuts through the richness of the cream so well. I use the juice from a whole lemon which amounts to a couple of tablespoons.
- Vegetable stock: This helps achieve the correct consistency of the sauce. It keeps it from becoming too thick without watering it down.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations
- Spicy Cajun: Incorporate some of your favorite Cajun spice blend into each layer of the recipe to add heat; the shrimp breading, veggies, and a pinch in the sauce! This will give you a delicious spicy shrimp pasta like the Cheesecake Factory.
- Alfredo-style: Whisk in some parmesan cheese to the cream sauce to make a tasty Alfredo version.
- Southwestern: Corn, black beans, chipotle in adobo, and lime juice give this dish a southwestern flair.
How to Make Bistro Shrimp Pasta
Here are all the steps you’ll need to make this copycat Cheesecake Factory bistro shrimp pasta. It’s very easy to follow, but I recommend that you have all of the ingredients gathered and measured before you start!
Step 1: Season the shrimp. Put your shrimp into a large bowl and toss them generously with salt and pepper.
Step 2: Add eggs and buttermilk. Whisk the eggs and buttermilk until smooth and pour the mixture onto the shrimp. Allow them to marinate while you move to the veggies!
Step 3: Prepare the other ingredients. Chop and slice all the mushrooms, tomatoes, shallots, and herbs.
Step 4: Saute the shallots. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Drizzle in some olive oil and add the shallots. Cook them for 2-3 minutes or until they start to soften and caramelize.
Step 5: Cook the mushrooms and add tomatoes. Add the button mushrooms and another tablespoon of olive oil. Sauté the mushrooms for 2 minutes, then add the halved tomatoes.
Step 6: Start the cream sauce. Grab a second skillet and melt butter over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and let it cook for about 30 seconds before you pour in ¼ cup of heavy cream and veggie stock. Once it’s smooth, remove it from the heat and grate in 2 cloves of garlic.
Step 7: Add remaining ingredients and simmer. Pour in another ¼ cup of heavy cream and place it back over the heat. Whisk until it’s creamy and then add the lemon juice. Remove it from the heat a second time and grate in the remaining garlic. Put it back on the heat and add the last of the heavy cream. Finish with basil, lemon zest, and ground peppercorns.
Step 8: Cook the tomatoes. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and allow the tomatoes to stew with the mushrooms. Once everything is tender, pour in white wine and let it cook for 30 seconds. Then, add some minced garlic and lemon zest.
Step 9: Cook the pasta. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook your spaghetti according to the package directions. Then, drain it and put it back into the pot.
Step 10: Toss the vegetables and spaghetti. Pour the sautéed vegetables into the pot with the cooked pasta and toss until they are combined.
Step 11: Coat the shrimp. Toss the shrimp in the Italian breadcrumbs until they are fully coated.
Step 12: Pan-fry the shrimp. Heat the skillet over medium-high heat with olive oil. Fry the shrimp for one minute per side or until golden. Zest more lemon over them after you flip!
Step 13: Add sauce and basil. Pour the cream sauce in with the pasta and vegetables and add ribbons of basil.
Step 14: Top with shrimp and serve. Serve with fried shrimp on top and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Use battered shrimp to cut back on time: If you want to omit some steps, use a frozen fried shrimp instead of making it yourself. It still tastes good with the other ingredients.
- Try a different pasta shape: You aren’t stuck with only spaghetti. The Cheesecake Factory dish was made with spaghetti but linguine or even penne would make great substitutes.
- Fully thaw the frozen shrimp: Fresh or frozen shrimp work in this recipe. If you use frozen, it must be thawed and dry before you season it or the extra moisture will make them soggy.
If you love recipes like this spicy shrimp pasta, you may also enjoy this Cajun Shrimp Scampi.
Storage Directions
- Storing: Place leftovers in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You may freeze the leftovers for up to 1 month.
- Reheating: This is best reheated in a small saucepan over medium-low heat just until the food is warmed through. You may microwave it but keep a close eye on the shrimp because they can become tough quickly.
- Make Ahead: Feel free to take care of some steps in advance to make dinnertime easier. Marinate the shrimp, cook the pasta, prep the veggies—all of this will save you time when you’re ready to cook!
Serving Suggestions
- Make a fresh side like a simple garden salad or mixed green and fruit salad.
- Bread is great for soaking up the extra sauce. Homemade dinner rolls and air fried frozen garlic bread are awesome choices.
- If you want to add even more vegetables to this dish, try roasted broccoli and carrots.
- A simple yet satisfying dessert to serve after this meal would be these luscious caramel cheesecake bars or a classic slice of cheesecake.
Recipe FAQs
If the shrimp is too wet, the breading won’t stick to it properly. This also can happen during cooking. Do not flip the shrimp too early or the breading will come off in the pan.
Overcooked shrimp are unforgiving! They become super chewy and rubbery. They don’t take longer than 2-3 minutes per side.
Sure! Purchase them without the tails or remove them before you cook or serve them. It’s entirely up to you!
More Delicious Shrimp Dishes
Do you like to see more shrimp dishes? Here are some recipes you may also like to try.
If you try this recipe and love it please leave a star rating in the recipe card below or even better, drop a review in the comment section, I always appreciate your feedback. Be sure to follow along with me on Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube for more easy recipes!
Bistro Shrimp Pasta
Ingredients
Shrimp
- 2 pounds shrimp
- 1 egg whisked
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup Italian bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- grated lemon peel
Pasta
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 1 shallot
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 cups button mushrooms
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup basil
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sauce
- ¼ cup salted butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 lemon
- ¼ cup vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons chopped basil
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked peppercorns
- Pinch salt
Instructions
- Place a large pot over medium-high heat and bring 4 cups of salted water to a boil. While it's heating, prepare the vegetables and sauce.
Prep the Shrimp
- Add shrimp to a large mixing bowl and toss with salt and pepper to season.
- Whisk eggs and buttermilk together and pour over the shrimp. Set aside and let them marinate while you work on the rest of the recipe.
Cook the Vegetables
- Prep the other ingredients needed in the recipe. Finely slice the shallot. Cut cherry tomatoes in half. Slice button mushrooms into quarters. Slice basil into ribbons.
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and sliced shallots.
- Season with a pinch of salt and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes for shallots to caramelize.
- Add the mushrooms and drizzle the remaining tablespoon olive oil over the top of the vegetables.
- Sauté for the mushrooms for 2 minutes.
- Add the halved tomatoes and stir. Simmer on low heat while preparing the sauce.
Prepare Sauce
- Heat a second frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the butter and cook until melted.
- Add the flour and whisk in the butter.
- Cook for 30 seconds. Pour in ¼ cup of the heavy cream. Whisk until smooth. Remove from heat.
- Take 2 garlic cloves and grate over the sauce. Return to heat.
- Pour in ¼ cup more of the heavy cream
- Whisk until incorporated.
- Add juice from 1 lemon and whisk. Remove from heat, grate remaining 2 garlic cloves into the sauce and return to heat.
- Pour in remaining ½ cup of cream and whisk well. Cook for 3 minutes. Lower the heat to simmer. Zest the lemon over the sauce and stir in chopped basil, cracked peppercorns, and a pinch of salt. Keep at a simmer.
- When the water boils, add the pasta and cook according to the package directions.
- Add the white wine to the pan of sautéed vegetables pan and use a spoon to scrape up any browned bits on the pan. Cook at least 30 seconds to let the alcohol burn off, then add the minced garlic and lower the heat. Juice the lemon into the pan. Stir and let simmer.
- Drain pasta and add back to the pot. Pour the pan with shallots and mushrooms into the pasta (juice and all).
- Toss to coat all the pasta. Set aside the pot with pasta and cover to maintain temperature.
Cook Shrimp
- Add Italian bread crumbs to a shallow bowl and add the shrimp.
- Toss the shrimp in the bread crumbs to coat.
- Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the hot pan. Carefully add shrimp in a single layer. Pan fry for 1 minute. Zest the lemon over the shrimp as they cook.
- Remove the pan from the heat and turn the shrimp over. Return to the heat and pan fry for 1 more minute.
Put It All Together
- Stir the sauce and pour over the noodles.
- Add the uncooked ribboned basil to the pot.
- Stir it to coat the noodles and vegetables with the sauce.
- Serve up in a bowl and top with shrimp and fresh grated parsley.
- Eat and enjoy!
Notes
- Allow the shrimp time to cook and brown before you flip them to prevent the breading from falling off.
- Store leftover shrimp bistro pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- This dish may be discontinued, but you can use this copycat recipe to make it yourself!
Nutrition
This post was originally published in February 2022. It's been updated with new images and content.
Alexis says
Everyone loved this recipe and wanted more. I should have made a double batch and will next time. I think we all agreed it tasted better than the version at the Cheesecake Factory mainly because it tasted so fresh. Thank you for an excellent copycat recipe. Now we don’t need to go to the Cheesecake Factory any more! Thx
Karin and Ken says
I’m so glad you liked it! We love the recipe around here! Thank you for taking the time to let me know! It always makes my day when someone enjoys one of our recipes. Especially recipes that we really love ourselves. Take care and all the best. Karin