This Creamy Parmesan Basil Shrimp is a restaurant quality dish you can make at home! Creamy luscious sauce envelops plump shrimp, perfect for serving over pasta, or make it keto and serve with spaghetti squash instead!
The best creamy shrimp recipe
If you are looking for the best creamy shrimp recipe, this is it. Oh my goodness, you guys. So much flavor in this creamy basil sauce – all the best flavors, like garlic, Parmesan, butter, cream. Yes, this is the good stuff, and at least as good as you would get at a restaurant. This Creamy Basil Parmesan Shrimp is perfect for a date night at home, but quick and easy enough to serve on a weeknight.
We served this creamy shrimp over pasta, but it is also the perfect keto shrimp recipe. So to keep it keto and low carb, skip the pasta and serve it with veggies – like spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles (zoodles), or cauliflower mash.
Should you cook with shrimp with the shells on or off?
This is a personal preference. I usually buy frozen, peeled shrimp – so I cook them without the shells. But if you have shrimp with the shells, you can leave them on during the cooking and it will just add more flavor to the dish!
Should you leave the tails on or off when cooking shrimp?
Again this is a personal preference. I leave the tails on, but feel free to remove the tails before cooking if you prefer.
If you like this, you will love these other easy shrimp recipes
Easy Broccoli and Shrimp Stir Fry
Creamy Parmesan Basil Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds shrimp
- 3 tablespoon butter
- 4 large garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 yellow onion finely minced
- 3-4 ounces roasted red peppers thinly sliced.
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves plus more for garnish
- 1 cup fresh grated parmesan
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup white wine (or chicken stock)
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large non stick pan on medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Season shrimp with salt and pepper, then sear, 1-2 minutes on each side, until just pink. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- In the same skillet add 1 tablespoons butter. Add onion, garlic, peppers, paprika, red chili pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Sauté for about 5 minutes, until onions and peppers are softened.
- Add wine to deglaze the skillet and bring to a gentle simmer until reduced by half.
- Reduce heat to medium low. Add cream to the skillet and stir until a creamy sauce forms. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Add Parmesan, stir until melted into sauce. Stir in basil, simmer until wilted, 1-2 minutes.
- Add shrimp back to the skillet and reheat 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh basil and serve over pasta, zoodles, spaghetti squash.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Parmesan Baked Chicken Nuggets
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes Recipe
Chicken Scarpariello Recipe
Jose says
absolutely delicious, i used argentinian red ship, steer away from farm raised one the taste is awful remember they get fed pellets and the swim in their own pond filled with their feses always try wild caught
JLHH says
Very tasty. I added zucchini, fresh basil and sundried tomatoes. Thanks for the recipe.
Meghan says
So glad you liked it!
Shannon says
Loved it! Modified some ingredients/steps to reduce amount of cheese, used scallops and crab, added zoodles instead of preparing pasta. Made it a one pan dish. VERY flavorful. This is a keeper!
Meghan says
So glad you loved it!
Julie Peterson says
This amazing dinner was a hit!! I did add a tsp of cornstarch to the cream mixture to thicken it up! Was fantastic!! Absolutely making again!!
Meghan says
So glad you loved it!
Deborah says
This dish is amazing VERY DELICIOUS! We added mushrooms, and zucchini. We white pepper and salted the shrimp and served over cauliflower rice that i roasted in a pan.
So very good great way to use all the fresh basil from the garden. Will be making this again for sure.
Meghan says
I’m so happy to hear that Deborah!
Jamie says
Did not turn out well. The flavor was amazing, but the parmesan cheese turned stringy and gummy. It causes all my basil to lump up with it. Picked out cheese/basil lumps, added corn starch to thicken, and added more basil .
I used an expensive 100% parmesan cheese already grated. Del Gioioso.
I will try again with different brand of cheese even if oh have to grate it myself
Meghan says
Hi Jamie – I always recommend grating your own Parmesan when possible. Pre-grated cheese tends to have additives to keep with from clumping, which can make it melt weird. Buying a wedge of Parmesan and grating it with a microplane will usually give you better results. Plus it lasts longer, tastes better and usually ends up being less expensive.
Kathy VanDoozer says
Loved it!!! I didn’t have wine so used beer instead but it was still delish! I need to remember to get those little bottles of wine to keep for dishes like this🥰 Wine also keeps the cheese from being stringy and stretchy so you don’t have to lift your arm way up for a bite and have cheese all over!
Meghan says
I’m so glad it turned out well!
Marti says
I’ve had this recipe on my waiting list for a while and finally made it tonight. It was a hit with the entire family. Also good enough to make for company.
Meghan says
SO glad you loved it!
elaine graber says
Incredible!
Meghan says
So glad you love it Elaine!
Nancy Quinn says
Made this tonight. Only tweek was the addition of baby spinach. Served over fettuccine with homemade yeast rolls, absolutely fabulous.
Meghan says
Sounds wonderful, so glad to hear you loved it Nancy!
Jamie says
It was delicious. It tasted like I was in a restaurant eating it. I served my husbands with rice and myself with zoodles. I think next time I’ll do pasta. Soooo good.
Judy says
Huge hit for Father’s Day dinner! So much flavour. I increased the red pepper flakes a smidge only because we like a little heat. And next time I might use a lighter cream just to lighten the sauce a little…not sure, jury is still out on that LOL. Served it on my homemade pasta and a side of homemade dinner rolls made with cheese, roasted red peppers, garlic & Italian seasoning. Flavour explosion & so filling! Definitely will be making again.
Meghan says
Yay! I am so happy it was a hit!
Joanne says
How many servings is this recipe?
Meghan says
Hi Joanne – it makes 4 servings.
Priscila R says
Just made this recipe for my family, no wine, chicken stock instead,removed bell peppers before serving for the kids choice. Turned out delicious,everyone loved it. So creamy!
Meghan says
So glad you loved it!
Jill says
This was so good, restaurant quality!!! Made per recipe and wouldn’t change a thing. Thanks for sharing this.
Meghan says
I’m so glad you loved it!
Renie says
I made this for lunch and my grandson loved it! I only had 8oz of whipping cream so I subbed the rest with whole milk mixed with a little bit of cornstarch and at the end I added frozen peas. yum-o! This one is a keeper.
Meghan says
So happy you loved it Renie!
Lori jo says
Made this tonight with turkey absolute sausage and it was amazing!
Could I substitute a non-dairy milk for the sauce? I’m lactose intolerant and would like to make it again without the pain.
Meghan says
Hi Lori – I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I haven’t tried a non dairy version so I can’t be sure. You could give it a try, but I don’t think it will be as thick and creamy.
P.Paige says
I absolutely loved it. With this quarantine, I was missing seafood dinners. I complemented it with some cheddar biscuits. Thanks for the awesome Recipe
Meghan says
Hi Paige, I am so happy you loved it!
Zoemc says
Great recipe! Only part of my crew will eat seafood, so I used chicken breasts instead. I forgot the red pepper flakes and used half and half instead of heavy cream. I realize that makes it a different dish altogether – but it turned out great!
Meghan says
I am so happy to hear it was a hit!
Christine S. says
Delicious! Had to substitute the yellow onion with a whole shallot but it still came together wonderfully. We enjoyed it over spaghetti and plan to cook it again 🙂 Thank you!
Meghan says
So glad you loved it Christine!
Janine Waite says
Looks so yummy. I can’t wait to make this recipe!
Janice says
It is so hard to find recipes every single person on my family loves and this got 10 out of 10 tonight for all!
Meghan says
Yay! I am so happy to hear that!
Marta says
I’m about to make this recipe but the store didn’t have fresh basil leaves. I’m using fresh spinach instead. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Derrick says
Phenomenal! I’m a very novice cook and this was simple and delicious. I just used water to deglaze the pan before adding the cream and the sauce was still amazing.
Meghan says
So glad you loved it Derrick!
Dave yonkey says
Easy to prepare and absolutely delicious. I used white wine and was thoroughly pleased with the flavor of the sauce.
Meghan says
So glad to hear that!
S. G. says
Yummy and amazing! We not eat after 19:00, but I my wife take an extra portion!
But…
– The next time I’ll take one half or quater amount of parmesan. Couse it not a cheese in conventional mind, it’s a seasoning.
– Better to “Taste and adjust seasoning” after adding parmesan, not before.
– roasted red pepper,
paprika powder,
red pepper flakes … too many similar ingedients. The next time I’ll not use red pepper flakes.
And again, it’s delicious!
Meghan says
So glad you loved it!
Bailey says
This was one of the best meals I’ve ever made! Absolutely delicious!
Meghan says
Yay! So glad you loved it Bailey!
Marianne Brizio says
Simply Amazing. Not my go to spices, which is not easy for me. SO good I couldn’t believe it!
Robin says
Added andouille sausage as well and served over angel hair pasta. So good! The sauce was delicious.
Meghan says
Sounds delicious, so happy you loved it!
Annika says
I used one package of regular frozen
shrimps and one package of shrimps with herbs. I also used smoked paprika to add some more flavor. It was sooo delicious!!
Meghan says
So happy you loved it!
Pam Vanette says
Definitely will cook this again. I only had sweet red pepper relish- was delish!
Will pull the tails off while preparing the sauce next time.
Meghan says
So happy you loved it Pam!
Marianne Brizio says
Absolutely amazing. Not the ingredients I normally use. And I am still eating it two days later loving it
Meghan says
So happy you loved it Marianne!
Lynn Hunt says
Everyone loved it!
Meghan says
So happy to hear that!
Kathy Sutton says
This was amazing! Will be making this again and again. My husband loved it! Would be an impressive company meal too!
Meghan says
Yay! So happy you loved it!
Samantha Ponce says
This recipe was amazing! Even my 6 year old ate it up. I added spinach and orzo to it and it came out even better. The whole pot was gone.
Meghan says
So happy you and your family loved it. Thanks Samantha!
Andy Charkiss says
I loved this dish! So delicious.