Want to make an impressive meal without the fuss? Healthy Shrimp Scampi Pasta is a simple 30-minute recipe that tastes like an elegant restaurant dish.
The heat wave here in SoCal finally broke in the past few days, and boy am I happy to be able to actually cook in my kitchen without melting.
I know fall is right around the corner, but I can’t let go of my favorite summer/spring flavors just yet. The bright lemon and white wine sauce that is the base for this Healthy Shrimp Scampi Pasta is light and complex. And I bet you have most of the ingredients already on hand!
A healthy twist on the classic dish
There are thousands of scampi recipes out there. I think my version stands out because I’ve made small ingredient tweaks here and there to add more nutritional value into the mix.
Most scampi recipes rely on butter, and usually lots of it. Did you know that there is 7 grams of saturated fat in every tablespoon of butter? Saturated fats can increase your risk of heart disease.
Instead, I use light butter like Earth Balance whipped butter spread, which is dairy free and has only 3 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon. It’s not ideal, but it’s a better option.
I also cut back on the typical amounts of white wine and oil. Instead, you’ll use the startchy pasta water, lots of garlic, and a little bit of red pepper flakes to create a simple sauce that is still packed full of flavor.
The last tweaks I made were increasing the amount of shrimp per serving and using whole wheat pasta. This gives you more shrimp per serving, increasing the protein, fiber, and whole grains, which keep you full longer.
Once you get the hang of the base recipe, you can add in sauteed veggies to bulk it up even more. In fact, my Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta recipe is pretty much a version of scampi with asparagus mixed in. So good!
Now you can indulge in a buttery, lemony, garlicky pasta dish without viewing it as a “splurge” meal!
Ingredient substitutions
If you don’t like shrimp, you can use any other kind of fish–scallops, salmon, halibut. etc. If seafood isn’t your thing, use boneless skinless chicken breasts instead.
A lot of people don’t like to cook with alcohol. If that the case for you, use 1/2 cup of chicken stock with 1 tbsp of white wine vinegar added in. That should give you some of the flavor and tang of the wine.
I love using white wine in this because then I just serve the leftover bottle with dinner. Place your pan of scampi in the middle of the table and serve family style. Eating outside is even better.
More Quick and Easy Pasta dishes
I’d love to hear from you if you make this recipe! It makes my day when you share your pics on Instagram and tag me (@litecravings). Don’t forget to use #litecravingsrecipes to make sure I see it. If I don’t get a chance to scroll through my tags quickly enough, I won’t see your post. I always make a point to look through the hashtags, though, so I’ll see it there.
Healthy Shrimp Scampi Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs shrimp, shells removed and deveined
- 12 ounces whole wheat linguini
- 2 tbsp light butter, like Earth Balance whipped
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine, like Chardonnay*
- 1/2 cup reserved pasta cooking water
- 1 tsp kosher salt, divided
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2-4 tbsp lemon juice, plus extra lemon wedges for serving
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (from the refrigerated section)
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil pasta according to package direction, making sure you salt your water before adding the pasta. Don't forget to measure out 1/2 cup of the pasta water before you drain your noodles. Set pasta and reserved cooking water aside.
- In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, add in 1 tsp olive oil. Add shrimp and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt and cracked pepper to taste. Saute shrimp, flipping once, until almost cooked through, about 2-3 minutes total. Remove shrimp to a plate and set aside.
- In the same skillet, over medium heat, add butter and remaining tsp of olive oil. Saute garlic and red pepper flakes for 30 seconds, then add in white wine and pasta water. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until liquid has reduced by half, 7-10 minutes.
- Add remaining 1/2 tsp of salt to liquid. Add shrimp and its juices back to the skillet, then add in the cooked pasta. Toss everything together over medium heat until sauce starts to absorb into the pasta, around 2-4 minutes.
- Remove skillet from heat. Add lemon juice, starting with just 2 tbsp. Add parmesan cheese and parsley, continuing to toss everything until most of the liquid is absorbed and the cheese has melted. Taste the pasta, adding more lemon and salt/pepper as desired.
- Serve with lemon wedges and extra parmesan and parsley.
This dish is beyond delicious and hard to stick to 1 serving. I love the lemon buttery taste and surprised not much butter is used in the recipe, considering it’s got a delicious buttery taste.
Geri every new recipe I try of yours continues to blow me away. My family is convinced I’m a real chef!
Wow, Teri, thank you so much for the sweet words! Reviews like yours give me motivation to keep creating. ❤️
Another great recipe, thanks Geri! I used a funky shaped pasta that was 6 points per serving. We got 8 servings and I tracked it at 8 points per serving.
We did add Italian seasoning and I added a few sprays of I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter spray because the pasta we used soaked up so much sauce.
This was really simple and delicious! The flavors were perfect.
Delicious! My husband kept raving about it! Win win
Made this tonight and 10 stars out of 5! It was SO good! Trader Joe’s didn’t have that butter so I reduced the butter to two tablespoons instead. They were also out of asparagus so I used their fresh green beans and just steamed them a bit longer. Will make this again!
Omg yay!! This makes me so happy! Love that you were able to make it work with what you had on hand.
Roughly what is the portion measurement?
3/4 cup pasta and 2/3 cup shrimp
Love this recipe, made it twice with some of my own tweaks. For one I used basil instead of parsley because it gives the pasta a slightly sweeter taste that tastes so good with the lemon butter sauce. I also added more lemon juice at the end than the 2 tbsp. Also added the lemon juice to the sauce at the end and then added everything back into the pot so that the spaghetti wouldn’t be flaccid. All in all a wonderful recipe. Thanks for sharing!!
Hi Nidawi – thanks for sharing your modifications – so happy to hear that you were able to enjoy it and tweak it to suit your tastes!
I made this recipe today for family. It is beyond delicious. Great buttery garlic flavor! I used chickpea linguine. Will definitely make this again,
Yay!! Thank you, Tom.
I made this for the family tonight and it was an instant favorite!