Shrimp Penne Pasta
42 Comments
Posted: 06/28/25
Updated: 06/30/25
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This quick and easy Shrimp Penne Pasta, tossed in a rich garlic sauce, makes a delicious family-friendly dinner ready in under 30 minutes—perfect when paired with a side salad or roasted vegetables.
If you’ve been looking to switch up pasta night at your house I know you’re going to love this penne with shrimp. Where do I begin? First, it’s so easy and takes less than 30 minutes to make! I love the creamy garlic sauce and when you toss it all together you get a dinner that your whole family will love.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The shrimp and rich garlic sauce are the most delicious combination and when you add in penne, it tastes like heaven!
- Shrimp and penne pasta only takes 25 minutes from prep to plate but looks and tastes like a restaurant quality meal.
- Shrimp is a great source of protein for your next meatless Monday meal.
So deliciously creamy! Very easy to make and tastes like you worked all day!
Ingredients for Shrimp Penne Pasta
- Dry penne – I like to use penne pasta for this recipe, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Some of our family favorite short shapes are bowtie, orecchiette or fusilli. You can use a long pasta shape like spaghetti, linguini, or fettuccine.
- Garlic – Fresh cloves of garlic add so much flavor to this seafood dish.
- Butter – Butter offers the richest flavor and texture to shrimp penne pasta.
- All-purpose flour – Use this to thicken the sauce.
- Chicken broth – Adds a layer of depth to this dish that you can’t get by just adding water.
- Evaporated milk – Evaporated milk is what makes this sauce so rich and creamy.
- Shrimp – We use cooked shrimp in this recipe for simplicity. I like to buy frozen ones and thaw them by submerging them in cold water for about 20 minutes. You can also pop the frozen shrimp in the fridge and let them thaw all day. Just leave them in the package and when it’s time to make dinner they’ll be ready to go.
- Parmesan cheese – I don’t recommend substituting this for any other cheese. If you don’t have any on hand, skip this.
- Fresh parsley – Fresh chopped parsley adds some green color to this dish and lends a subtle flavor.
- Seafood seasoning – Old Bay is always our go-to seafood seasoning.
Can I Use Raw Shrimp?
Yes, you can use raw shrimp instead of pre-cooked ones. Make sure they are peeled, deveined and tails are removed.
Once you melt the butter and add the garlic, add the uncooked shrimp. Cook them for a few minutes on each side. Depending on how big they are you will want to cook them for two to three minutes on each side. Once they are pink and translucent, remove them from the pan and set them aside.
Continue with the rest of the recipe and then just add the cooked shrimp at the end.
Can I Use Regular Milk?
I like to use evaporated milk in this recipe because it helps make the sauce creamy and rich. I also like it because I can keep it stocked in my pantry instead of always having whole milk or cream in the refrigerator. You can substitute heavy cream for the evaporated milk or a combination of whole milk and cream (approximately 4 ounces of milk and 1 ounce of heavy cream would work well).
You could try using whole milk, but the sauce may not be as rich and the sauce might break, too, while you’re cooking it. If you try it with just whole milk (or another type of milk) let me know in the comments how it worked.
How To Make Shrimp Penne Pasta
Cook penne to al dente according to package instructions.
In a saucepan, melt the butter and saute the garlic in it. Add the flour and stir until combined. Slowly add the chicken broth and evaporated milk, stirring continuously until the mixture is smooth.
Add the parsley, shrimp, seafood seasoning, and cheese and stir until the sauce is creamy and the cheese is melted.
Drain the pasta and transfer it to a large bowl. Pour the sauce and shrimp over top and toss it all together to combine.
Serve this dish right away – it’s best served hot!
Storage and Reheating
Fridge: You can keep the any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Freezer: I do not recommend freezing this dish. The sauce will separate and will not likely reheat with the same consistency and texture.
Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop. When stored in the fridge, the sauce will thicken so add a splash of milk to thin it when you reheat it.
Creamy, buttery and garlicky, this shrimp pasta dish has more flavor than you can imagine in every single bite. Dinner guests will be so impressed with this simple dish.
Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag me on Instagram at @julieseatsandtreats or #julieseatsandtreats so I can see your yummy treat!
Shrimp Penne Pasta
Easy pasta dish with penne pasta covered in a creamy garlic sauce and shrimp!
Video
servings
Ingredients
- 3 cups dry penne
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup butter cubed
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 14.5 ounces chicken broth
- 5 ounces evaporated milk
- 1 pound cooked medium shrimp peeled and deveined
- ⅔ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons Seafood Seasoning Old Bay recommended
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Make sure not to over cook or your noodles turn to mush when you mix it with the pasta sauce!
- Meanwhile, in a large saucepan saute garlic in butter.
- Stir in flour until blended; gradually add broth and milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened.
- Stir in shrimp, cheese, parsley and seafood seasoning; heat through.
- Drain pasta and place in a large bowl. Add shrimp mixture; toss to coat. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 774kcal (39%), Carbohydrates: 101g (34%), Protein: 44g (88%), Fat: 20g (31%), Saturated Fat: 11g (69%), Cholesterol: 242mg (81%), Sodium: 1346mg (59%), Potassium: 521mg (15%), Fiber: 4g (17%), Sugar: 6g (7%), Vitamin A: 958IU (19%), Vitamin C: 15mg (18%), Calcium: 508mg (51%), Iron: 5mg (28%)
How To Serve Shrimp Penne Pasta
You can have the sauce and shrimp ready to go in the time it takes to boil the pasta so add some breadsticks, a simple salad, or some roasted vegetables on the side for a complete dinner.
More Great Recipes with Shrimp
- Tender, juicy shrimp filled enchiladas topped with a creamy sauce make Shrimp Enchiladas a great weeknight meal.
- Toss shrimp with butter and garlic and serve over your favorite noodles for an easy Shrimp Scampi.
- Cover all of the bases with Shrimp with Cheese Tortellini! Delicious cheese tortellini, shrimp and peas make a quick weeknight meal.
- Homemade sauce and coleslaw really elevate these Baja Shrimp Tacos that you’ve got to add to your meal plan this week!
DIANE BROWN says
GOOD RECIPE
Sarah Hill says
Thank you!
Kare says
Super delicious!
My 15 year old son cooked this for us. I’ve been sick in bed the last 2 days so he’s been our home chef, he did substitute fresh parsley for dry version, chicken broth with a mixture of water and chicken bouillon, and the seafood seasoning for Kinders lemon pepper and paprika powder since we didn’t have those ingredients.
I just LOVE how creamy this turned out, my kids lately haven’t been eating as much as during the panini and they went for seconds!!!
Courtney says
Love it!! Thanks for sharing. Love that this recipe was easy enough for your son as well.
Sandy says
Delicious…we loved it. I used condensed milk instead of evaporated and was concerned that it would be too sweet, but it was fine. I doubled the butter. Also used grated Parmesan and some shredded mozzarella and mixed up my own seafood seasoning (from a recipe I found on Pinterest) and used small shells for the pasta…they held the sauce perfectly.
Norman Rivkin says
can I freeze left overs?
Julie Evink says
I don’t think it would have the best results!
Sarah says
I want to try this, but what is 3 cups of pasta in ounces?
Jackie says
So deliciously creamy! Very easy to make and tastes like you worked all day!
Julie Evink says
So glad you enjoyed it Jackie! Thanks for commenting and rating the recipe!
Tina says
I made this recipe and although it turned out exactly like it was supposed to I was extremely disappointed when the first bite into my mouth tasted like chicken broth. There Has to be another way.
Nikki says
What if I don’t have Parmesan
Julie Evink says
Skip it or use a different type of cheese, but I would just skip it.
Diana says
Hi ! I’m planning on making this recipe for my husband’s birthday dinner . Do you happen to have the measurements for a party of 8. I see you have the amounts for a party of 6 or 12 but 12 is too much and I’m afraid the 6 is too little .
Thanks
Julie Evink says
Under the amount of servings if you hold your mouse there, a slider bar pops up and you can adjust the servings number.
Jan says
Hi Julie! I live in the frozen tundra too! : ) You are absolutely amazing. Your recipes inspire me, and get my culinary creativity flowing. Thank you so much for all the time, and effort you put into your blog. It is truly appreciated by all of us.
My question is about the seafood in your “Shrimp Seafood Pasta”. I am allergic to shrimp, and crayfish, but thankfully, I can eat other types of seafood, crab, lobster, and so forth. Have you tried using something other than ‘shrimp’ in this dish? I am looking for recommendations. What else would taste great in this entree?
Thank you! : )
Julie says
Thanks, Jan! I think crab or lobster would be great in this dish!