Garlic Lemon Shrimp Pasta
This fresh and flavorful Lemon Caper Pasta with Shrimp is a dinner you can have on the table in less than 30 minutes.
“Great recipe! Will absolutely make again.”
—Sally
When I was a kid, if somebody had tried to serve me pasta with no visible (red) sauce, I’m pretty sure I would have been like “um yeah, no way.”
Luckily, I’ve expanded my palate a bit from the days when Prego represented the finest pasta sauce the world had to offer.
Sometimes, especially in the winter, I still want a great meat sauce rigatoni or lamb bolognese that’s simmered all day, or a hearty piece of cottage cheese lasagna.
But often, my pasta cravings turn to something lighter and fresher, like salmon pesto pasta or Greek yogurt pasta sauce.
I love a well-crafted pasta dish with a combination of flavors and textures and just a light coating of simple sauce. This lemon caper pasta with shrimp is a flavorful weeknight meal that’s easy to make with pantry ingredients.
Lemon Shrimp Pasta Recipe Ingredients you’ll need
- pasta – I like linguine for this recipe (and my salmon pasta), but you could also use spaghetti!
- shrimp – I find that 26-30 count peeled and deveined shrimp are the perfect size for this lemon pasta with capers recipe. That size also works great for my shrimp fajita recipe!
- butter – unsalted butter will form the backbone of the sauce.
- lemon juice – freshly squeezed lemon juice adds acidity to this lemon caper pasta. You can use white wine instead if you prefer. Or, buy a whole bag of lemons and make my lemon smoothie or lemon curd cake, too!
- garlic – 4 cloves of garlic adds a ton of flavor to the sauce. Garlic lovers – don’t miss my garlic dip recipe!
- capers – there’s nothing else quite like the salty, briny taste of capers! Any extra capers from the jar can be spooned over a cottage cheese lunch bowl or used to make salmon piccata.
- red pepper flakes – I like to add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of these for a little heat (and to my roasted Parmesan broccoli, too!), but feel free to omit them for a milder version of this lemon caper shrimp pasta.
- salt – kosher salt is best for seasoning both the pasta water and the sauce of this shrimp and caper pasta.
- parsley – I love to add chopped fresh parsley for a little extra freshness. Basil would work well, too!
- Parmesan cheese – not everybody agrees with seafood + cheese together, but I do, sometimes. I like a little bit of Parm in my crab stuffed salmon recipe and on top of Cajun salmon pasta, and I think it works well as a garnish for this dish, too.
How to Make Lemon Caper Pasta with Shrimp
Start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil so that you can cook your pasta. Salt the water very well and cook the pasta according to package instructions for al dente.
Make sure you save some pasta water to finish your lemon pasta with capers! More on that below.
While the pasta is cooking, remove the tails from the shrimp, if necessary. Pat the shrimp very dry with paper towels and season it with salt.
In a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter, and then add the garlic and the shrimp. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes or until the shrimp are almost but not quite cooked all the way through.
Add the lemon juice, capers and red pepper flakes to the shrimp mixture, and continue cooking another minute or so or until the shrimp are cooked all the way through.
When the pasta is finished cooking, drain it and return it to its pot. Pour the buttery shrimp mixture over the pasta, add a little bit of pasta cooking water and the parsley, and toss everything together.
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The lemon caper pasta should be coated with a thin sauce. If needed, add a little more pasta cooking water to achieve this.
Divide the pasta between bowls or plates and serve it garnished with Parmesan cheese.
Save the pasta water when making Garlic Lemon Shrimp Pasta
Being an Italian grandma at heart, no matter what type of pasta I am making, I ALWAYS reserve a cup of pasta cooking water before I drain the noodles.
I do this because this water is kind of culinary magic! As the pasta cooks in the water, it releases excess starch (which is why the water gets cloudy as it cooks).
When you add a bit of this salty, starchy water to your lemon caper shrimp pasta, the starch acts as a binder and emulsifies the pasta and sauce together so that the noodles are perfectly coated in sauce.
The pasta cooking water trick works wonders for fettuccine bolognese and for this lemon pasta with capers, too!
Tips when making this Lemon Shrimp Pasta
- It’s important that you cook your pasta only to al dente in Step 1. It might feel a little toothsome if you take a bite, but it will continue cooking as you toss it with the shrimp mixture and pasta water in Step 5, and it will be perfect.
- Also be sure not to overcook your shrimp, as it can turn rubbery. Cook just until they are opaque and then remove from the heat.
- Feel free to stir in some baby spinach in Step 5. You’ll get a serving of veggies and maybe eliminate the need for a side dish!
What to serve with Lemon Butter Shrimp Pasta
My favorite thing to serve with a big plate of lemon caper pasta is a fresh salad tossed with either citrus salad dressing or feta cheese dressing.
Sometimes I’ll serve this pasta with a side of blistered tomatoes (or even toss them right into the pasta).
And in my opinion, our recipe for garlic bread is always a good move for this lemon pasta with capers, too! Finish the meal with vanilla bean creme brulee for an extra special touch.
Storing Leftover Caper Pasta Recipe
Lemon Caper Pasta with Shrimp is best eaten as soon as it’s made. But, if you have any leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Reheat in the microwave at 50% power, stirring frequently, until warmed through.
More Foxes Love Lemons Favorites
Lemon Butter Shrimp Pasta
Ingredients
- 12 ounces linguine
- 1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp 26-30 count
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt plus more for salting pasta water
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons capers
- ¼ – ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions for al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water, then drain pasta and return to pot.
- Meanwhile, remove tails from shrimp, if necessary, and discard. Pat shrimp very dry with paper towel. Sprinkle shrimp with salt.
- In large nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and shrimp; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until shrimp start to become pink and are almost cooked through, stirring frequently.
- Add lemon juice, capers and red pepper flakes; cook 1 minute or until shrimp turn opaque throughout, stirring frequently.
- Pour shrimp mixture over pasta. Add parsley and 1/4 cup pasta cooking water. Using tongs, toss to combine, adding more pasta water if needed to create a thin sauce. Serve pasta garnished with Parmesan cheese.
Notes
- It’s important that you cook your pasta only to al dente in Step 1. It might feel a little toothsome if you take a bite, but it will continue cooking as you toss it with the shrimp mixture and pasta water in Step 5, and it will be perfect.
- Also be sure not to overcook your shrimp, as it can turn rubbery. Cook just until they are opaque and then remove from the heat.
- Feel free to stir in some baby spinach in Step 5. You’ll get a serving of veggies and maybe eliminate the need for a side dish!
Great recipe! Will absolutely make again. Thank you.
I’m so glad to hear that, Sally. Thank you for leaving a review!
I don’t have parsley 😭
Would thyme and rosemary be odd?
I’ll probably add thyme regardless bc I love it
I actually found your recipe trying to figure out how to recreate my old bosses version he used to make us when business was slow, he used feta instead of Parmesan and I kind of remembered the main ingredients like the lemon, feta, capers and shrimp and I believe he used linguine too, but I couldn’t recall the way he seasoned it or what compromised the sauce. I assumed olive oil but felt like I was missing something, and duh! Butter! That makes so much more sense
Thank you for filling in the missing piece of the puzzle
When in doubt, it’s probably missing butter! Haha. I think thyme would be lovely here, Danielle!
This pasta was truly tasty and a great way to bridge the favorite foods of our family. I love pasta. You love lemon. Our daughter loves shrimp. Nice recipe.
I made this tonight, and it was almost perfect. I made the mistake of adding too many red pepper flakes, for us 1/4 teaspoon or even none would have been great. Next time my family requested no red pepper flakes. I loved the recipe, and will make again excepting the flakes. I did make with white wine and a extra garlic as well. I had dry parsley which worked as a perfect substitution. Great recipe, thank you!
So glad this was a hit, Carol!
Would this be a good recipe to add white wine to as well? If so, when would be the best time to add it? before the shrimp to reduce or afterwards?
This would absolutely be a great recipe to add white wine to, April. In fact, I’m wondering why I didn’t add it myself! Must have not had any in my fridge 😉 I would probably add it at the same time as the lemon juice, and maybe reduce the amount of lemon juice a little bit so there’s not too much liquid overall. Hope that helps. Enjoy!
I would add it at shrimp cooking phase before pouring capers, lemon juice, red pepper flakes etc…
I’m not at all ashamed to admit that I still think Prego is quite tasty from time to time 🙂 Way better than Ragu, that’s for sure 🙂
Looks fabulous! Of course, my kids still think Prego is the finest the world has to offer. 😉
Looks fabulous! Of course, my kids still think Prego is the finest the world has to offer. 😉
I’m not at all ashamed to admit that I still think Prego is quite tasty from time to time 🙂 Way better than Ragu, that’s for sure 🙂
Thanks Laura. Guess you’re not a tomato fan, huh? I’ve found that lots of people who think they don’t like tomatoes, still eat tomato sauce, which I think makes zero sense 🙂
I’m the total opposite, I have never and probably will never eat pasta with tomato sauce. This sounds awesome! I love the idea of adding pistachios!
I’m the total opposite, I have never and probably will never eat pasta with tomato sauce. This sounds awesome! I love the idea of adding pistachios!
Thanks Laura. Guess you’re not a tomato fan, huh? I’ve found that lots of people who think they don’t like tomatoes, still eat tomato sauce, which I think makes zero sense 🙂