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Make pasta night even more exciting with this Creamy Pesto Shrimp Fettuccini. It’s perfect for date night or a quick meal during the week! And it comes together in less than 30 minutes!

In our home, pasta night is a big deal! Whether we’re having this Cheesy Italian Sausage Pasta Bake or this Caramelized Onion & Sun-dried Tomato Vegan Pasta—every pasta night is always a huge hit. For this Creamy Pesto Shrimp Fettuccine dish, I used my easy Spicy Fresh Basil Pesto recipe, which definitely kicked this dish up a notch!

In my opinion, nothing beats freshly made pesto. And although it may sound intimidating, homemade pesto is very easy to make and can be easily stored for future meals. During the summertime, I usually have an excess of basil in my herb garden, and I end up making TONS of pesto!

spicy homemade basil pesto in a small white bowl with a wooden spoon, made with walnuts beautifuleatsandthings.com

If there’s no time to make your own pesto, you can certainly use store-bought pesto. When searching for a great store-bought pesto, I recommend choosing a refrigerated brand verses a shelf-stable pesto.

How to Make Pesto Pasta

Start by cooking your fettucine per the package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water for later. This will come in handy when thickening the sauce.

Place the uncooked shrimp into a large bowl and add in 2 tablespoons of the pesto. Toss to coat. Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place the shrimp in the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until the shrimp is pink and cooked through. Transfer the shrimp to a plate and set aside.

To that same skillet, add in the butter, heavy cream, pesto, lemon zest, lemon juice, and the reserved pasta water. Reduce heat to low and let the sauce simmer until it starts to thicken. Season with salt & pepper to taste and add in the fettuccine noodles and shrimp. Toss to coat and top with fresh basil and lemon zest before serving. Enjoy!

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

I’d love to know! Please let me know by leaving a review below. Or snap a photo and share it on Instagram; be sure to tag me @beautifuleatsandthings.

easy date night recipe for Valentine's Day pasta, pesto fettuccine pasta made with shrimp and fresh basil beautifuleatsandthings.com

Creamy Pesto Shrimp Fettuccine

Servings 4

Author Beautiful Eats & Things

Ingredients

12 oz fettuccine
1 lb large shrimp peeled & deveined
1/3 cup Spicy Fresh Basil Pesto
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons salted butter
¾ cup heavy cream or half & half
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon zest
Salt/pepper to taste

Instructions

Cook fettucine per the package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water for later. Drain the pasta and set aside.
Place the uncooked shrimp into a large bowl and add in 2 tablespoons of the pesto. Toss to coat.
Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place the shrimp in the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until the shrimp is pink and cooked through. Transfer the shrimp to a plate and set aside.
To that same skillet, add in the butter, heavy cream, pesto, lemon zest, lemon juice, and the reserved pasta water. Reduce heat to low and let the sauce simmer until it starts to thicken.
Season with salt & pepper to taste and add in the fettuccine noodles and shrimp. Toss to coat and top with fresh basil and lemon zest before serving.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes