This Crispy Shrimp Scampi Pasta with Parmesan & Peas is a crispy, slightly spicy, cheesy, lemon-y and buttery shrimp pasta dish that elevates shrimp scampi by using buttery crackers instead of a panko crust. Perfect with a glass of white wine and a light salad.
Shrimp Scampi Pasta
My favorite shrimp scampi dish is an Ina Garten one that I saw her make probably a half dozen years ago. Baked in a dish, it is an indulgent, beautifully presented plate. My biggest hesitation in bringing it into our normal rotation is that it calls for 12 tablespoons of butter and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. That is one tablespoon shy of 2 full cups of fat! As much as I love it, every time we eat it I feel a pit in my stomach just knowing that.
This recipe has half the fat and is just as crispy and indulgent. It’s a bit more involved than some of my five-ingredient or one pan meals like the Chicken with Garlic and Peas in White Wine Sauce or the Chicken and Brown Rice Vegetable Casserole, but it is an absolutely delightful meal!
A Relatively Lighter Shrimp Scampi Pasta Dish
Look, I am not one to claim that my recipes are low fat or that I don’t use butter and oil… I mean c’mon you’ve seen the Ice Cream Burger and the Oreo Cookie White Chocolate Cookie Pies. The difference is those recipes are treats, eaten in small portions every so often. I am a strong believer in enjoying your food and balancing it with lots of healthy meals around the indulgent one and a healthy addiction to your exercise of choice. For me, that is my spin addiction. But even I sometimes have to make alternate versions just so I can actually sit down and enjoy my meal, otherwise, I’d be eating 1/16th of the recipe because in my head all I can think about is butter. Thhhhhhaaaattttt being said, I know this is still not a “light” or “low fat” dish… just a delicious one!
How to Make Shrimp Scampi Pasta
For parmesan shrimp pasta, we start with the pasta. Set pot of salted water to boil. (I use about a tablespoon of salt to the water). Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan and add crushed buttery crackers. Cook until crackers are crisped and browned. 
Remove from pan and reserve in small bowl. Add pasta to boiling salted water and cook one minute shy of directions on the box. Wipe frying pan clean with paper towel. Add salt and pepper to taste on the shrimp. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic and crushed red pepper in the pan on medium high. 
Cook shrimp for 2 minutes on each side, until just cooked through. 
Remove shrimp from the pan. (save yourself from making another plate dirty, just set the shrimp on top of the cooked buttery crackers. They are all going in the same pan in just a minute anyway!). Drain the pasta. Add white wine to the pan and whisk with the olive oil for a few seconds until it just comes to a boil. Turn off the heat and add in the butter. Whisk until the butter is combined. Add the pasta to the pan with the shrimp and mix.
Add in the frozen peas, Parmesan cheese, and buttery crackers, toss again. Top with fresh parsley if desired. 
Don’t worry, I still love you Ina 😉
Ingredients
- 1 lb thin spaghetti
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 lb 21-25 count raw shrimp , peeled and deveined with tail on
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 lemon , zested and juiced
- 4 tbsp butter , divided
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 20 buttery crackers , crushed into pieces and crumbs
- 6 oz shredded parmesan cheese
- 12 oz frozen peas
Instructions
- Set pot of salted water to boil for the pasta. (I use about a tablespoon of salt to the water).
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan and add crushed buttery crackers.
- Cook until crackers are crisped and browned.
- Remove from pan and reserve in small bowl.
- Add pasta to boiling salted water and cook one minute shy of directions on the box.
- Wipe frying pan clean with paper towel.
- Add salt and pepper to taste on the shrimp.
- Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic and crushed red pepper in the pan on medium high.
- Cook shrimp for 2 minutes on each side, until just cooked through.
- Remove shrimp from the pan. (save yourself from making another plate dirty, just sit the shrimp on top of the cooked buttery crackers. They are all going in the same pan in just a minute anyway!)
- Drain the pasta.
- Add white wine and lemon (juice and zest) to the pan and whisk with the olive oil for a few seconds until it just comes to a boil.
- Turn off the heat and add in the butter.
- Whisk until the butter is combined.
- Add the pasta to the pan with the shrimp and mix.
- Add in the frozen peas, Parmesan cheese and buttery crackers, toss again.
- Top with fresh parsley if desired.
Nutrition
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Can the cracker crumbs be made ahead of time?
Yes you can.
They are good for 3 months in an airtight freezer safe container.
This is very good. It is an interesting mix of textures. We loved it and will make again.
Made this week and was thrilled! I’m a novice chef at best and a little more uncomfortable with seafood. I used Argentinian red shrimp and added a little red chili flakes at the end. Will make again very, very soon. Thank you for a quick and easy meal!! (PS – was not dry at all for me!!)
Wonderful flavor, but DRY DRY DRY! I only cooked 12 oz of pasta instead of the full pound, then only added about 3/4 of that. It was still way to dry.
Hi Vicki, I’d love to troubleshoot with you here. This is a recipe I’ve made for almost 15 years for clients and family. Between the white wine, the lemon juice, butter and oil you should have *about* 1/2-2/3 of liquid to toss the pasta with. That being said, the dish should be coated, but it’s not a “sauce” so it won’t be too wet, think more like a flavored oil. Was yours so dry it tasted just like dry pasta? If so did you cook down the liquids or would you say you had roughly that much liquid to start?
Super good! I couldn’t find gluten-free butter crackers, but I made some GF breadcrumbs (using bacon as the fat to toast them up), and I can’t say I regret the addition of bacon bits to the recipe 🙂
I don’t think I’ve ever regretted adding bacon bits to a recipe 😉
Way too much spaghetti for the amount of other ingredient. 1/2 pound would be reasonable
Made this tonight. Although flavors were wonderful with the peas which I had never had in scampi before I found it way to dry. Not enough sauce for a lb of pasta. Added some seafood broth to Dr it up. I think I would skip the crackers next time.
Made this yesterday and was great! Did not know where to add the lemon since it was not in the directions so I left it out. After reading the comments I see the lemon goes in with the wine. Bummer. Will add it next time I make this and see if there is a noted difference.
So sorry. I keep fixing it and the recipe widget keeps taking it out. I just edited it again so hopefully it sticks this time. Thanks for letting me know and so glad you still were able to enjoy it!
Oh my that looks delicious! I love meals that use real foods rather than processed!
hi, Thanks for the reply. I did pour the lemon juice with the wine. Great recipe. A keeper
Fantastic! So glad you enjoyed it!
This looks fantastic! Can’t wait to make this! Pinning for this weekend!
Wonderful! Thank you so much for the pin!
Shrimp is my favorite food in the world! This looks amazing I want to make this like now!
Thanks!
I need to try this SHRIMP SCAMPI PASTA WITH PARMESAN & Peas recipe, thanks for sharing
I love anything with shrimp in it. The parmesan and peas sound like they would compliment this dish well.
Thanks 🙂 I’m a huge fan of shrimp too.
I love the addition of peas and panko bread crumbs in shrimp scampi. I will have to try that next time.
Excuse me while I pick my mouth up off the floor. Another delicious food recipe!
Haha. I try 😉
This would be a much loved dish here in my home. We love shrimp, it is delicious! I have never tried to make this dish either .. your recipe is a great idea!
Your pictures are amazing! I would love to make this recipe for my family!
Aww thanks!
I love Shrimp Scampi. Can’t wait to try your recipe.
Hope you love it!
I don’t usually make anything with shrimp because my husband is the only one who likes it, but this would be perfect for him. I am pretty sure he’d be thrilled if I made this for him!
Sometimes I do shrimp for myself and chicken for my hubby and oldest. I break my one meal for the whole family rule because I want shrimp!
What a great way to put together the ingredients. I love that the pasta’s in there. This is a great summer dish.
Thanks!
This looks really delicious – whether it has a lot of butter or not! The peas make a nice, healthy touch.
Thank you 🙂
I love shrimp scampi, and your use of buttery crackers is brilliant! Beautiful photos.
Thanks!
I love Ina Garten’s recipes. She makes some great pasta recipes. Your recipe looks so appealing
Me too, I love her recipes. Usually I make them with no hesitation. Her filet with bleu cheese sauce is a tried and true favorite in our house!
I love a good pasta dish. This one sounds amazing and will be added to my recipe list!
Thanks!
I don’t make enough shrimp meals. This sounds great! I will have to give it a try.
I have the same motto when it comes to food and balance and even live by a quote from the great Julia Child – Everything in moderation, including moderation. This dish looks fantastic!!
Haha! I LOVE that! Leave it to Julia to be brilliantly simple about life like that.
You had me at shrimp! I love your use of crackers in this, too. Panko is nice but it tends to be a novelty I don’t always have on hand. But crackers? Those are always in stock! 😀
Yeah, I used them once on a whim and now I LOVE using them as the “crunchy” topping.
Oh my word…that looks delicious!!! I wish my family loved shrimp as much as I did so I could prepare meals like this at home more often! Yummy!!!!
Thank you!
Light summer shrimp pasta dishes are my favorite. I love the idea of using the crumbled crackers to give it extra crunch and texture. This looks great!
Thank you!
What happened to the lemon juice and zest? you forgot to mention them in the description of the recipe
They get added in with the wine, sorry about that! This recipe widget has been super glitchy and deleted that entry so I added it back in.
I’m on Team Peas! I know there are more glamorous veggies, but peas are one of my favorite. Can’t wait to try this & all the others in your new book.
Me too! I love them! I can’t wait for the book to go live this Monday! It is SO exciting!
Sabrina, what do you do with the lemon juice and zest? I’ve read the recipe four times and I cant find mention of it…
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It gets added with the wine. So sorry about that. Every time I update the recipe card, it doesn’t seem to want to stick. Just edited again so hopefully this time it does. Fingers crossed. Thanks for letting me know.
This looks so yummy. I have never made scampi at home. Thanks for the recipe.
Gorgeous photo! I love shrimp so this would be right up my alley
Thank you 🙂
You had me at shrimp scampi – a big favorite of mine! This is what defines comfort food for me – a hearty and delicious plate of pasta!
Me too! I love pasta, nothing is more indulgent for me 🙂
Simple and delicious. That’s how I will describe this dish. I won’t save this because this will be included in your ebook and that’s the one I want.
Aww how sweet! I am so excited about it coming out Monday (barring any Murphy’s Law type disasters!).
Scampi deliciousness, here I come! We live in Florida, and it’s all fresh seafood all the time. I can’t wait to put it to some deliciously good use!
Yes! With such fresh seafood it would be amazing!
We don’t eat shellfish, but I think I’m going to try this recipe with a nice firm fish like orange roughy. I think I’d get close to the same results. It looks fantastic!
Oh yes! It would be delicious. I also make it with chicken breast for my oldest.
That looks so good. I love a good shrimp recipe, and this looks like a great one. I love the addition of the peas.