Instant Pot Shrimp Scampi Pasta—spaghetti, lemon juice, garlic buttery sauce and tender bites of shrimp all tossed together to create a flavorful dinner that will impress your friends. The secret is that it doesn’t take hardly any effort at all!
Instant Pot Shrimp Scampi Pasta
This was one of those meals that my kids and I LOVED (unfortunately Greg is allergic to shrimp so he could not partake). The flavor is so poppin’ even with just a few ingredients. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
A few notes about the recipe:
- Use frozen shrimp or else they will get overcooked. Even though the recipe only uses a 1 minute pressure cook time it’s still too much time for fresh shrimp. I bought a bag of frozen, peeled, de-veined shrimp at Winco that worked perfectly.
- Don’t skip the lemon zest. Although it is only a teaspoon or less of zest it adds a lot of flavor. I use a small grater* to grate the lemon peel. You can also use a microplane*.
- Use spaghetti or angel hair. Because the timing with the delicate shrimp is very important with this recipe spaghetti is the pasta you will need to use. The thin strands of spaghetti noodles cook in the same time the shrimp need to cook.
- Criss cross the pasta. To avoid clumping criss cross the spaghetti noodles instead of laying them all one way.
What Should I Serve with Instant Pot Shrimp Scampi Pasta?
Garlic bread or garlic Texas toast are good choices. A green dinner salad on the side completes the meal.
More Instant Pot Seafood Recipes You’ll Love…
- Instant Pot Crab Dip
- Instant Pot Fish Tacos
- Instant Pot Lemon Butter Garlic Salmon with Homestyle Vegetables
- Instant Pot Shrimp and Grits
- Easy Instant Pot Jambalaya
- Instant Pot Tuna Casserole
- Instant Pot Cajun Sausage and Shrimp Pasta
- Instant Pot Clam Chowder
- Instant Pot Teriyaki Salmon and Rice
Instant Pot Shrimp Scampi Pasta
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 minute (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 16 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Description
Spaghetti, lemon juice, garlic buttery sauce and tender bites of shrimp all tossed together to create a flavorful dinner that will impress your friends. The secret is that it doesn’t take hardly any effort at all!
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 8 oz spaghetti, broken in half
- 1 pound frozen peeled, deveined, tails off shrimp
- 3 green onions, sliced
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to the sauté setting. When the display says HOT add in the butter and melt. Add in the olive oil. Add in the garlic and sauté for about 60 seconds. Add in the chicken broth and bring to a boil.
- While broth is heating add in the lemon juice and zest, cayenne, kosher salt, pepper. Once broth comes to a boil turn off the pot.
- Add half of the spaghetti in one direction and then the other half of the spaghetti in a criss cross pattern.
- Dump the shrimp on top of the spaghetti.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 1 minute.
- Once the time is up let the pot sit for 5 minutes and then move valve to venting to release remaining pressure.
- Toss the pasta to evenly coat it with the sauce. If you want you can thicken the sauce with a cornstarch slurry. Turn your Instant Pot to the sauté setting. In a small bowl stir together 1 Tbsp of cornstarch with 1-2 Tbsp of water, until smooth. Then pour the mixture into the Instant Pot. The cornstarch mixture will thicken up contents of pot quickly.
- Add in the green onions. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Recipe adapted from Food Network.
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. Make in the 8 or 3 quart pot with no changes.
Use frozen shrimp or they will overcook.
- Category: Shrimp
- Method: Instant Pot
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
The times given for cooking were perfect. I added chopped red onion to the garlic in the saute phase because I didn’t have green onions. Once the broth came to a boil I added cut-in-half grape tomatoes. Then I followed the rest of the recipe exactly., except had to use red pepper flakes instead of cayenne. At the end I sprinkled on parsley flakes and did follow other suggestions to let fresh baby spinach wilt in the residual heat. A little parm-reg after plating; perfect! Very easy and well received by everyone!
★★★★★
Yum! So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the 5 stars.
This was so good. It worked well with only 1 T. each butter and olive oil and only 1/2 tsp. kosher salt. I only had a 12 oz. bag of shrimp and it was enough. Also added about 4 oz. frozen spinach on top of the frozen shrimp. The two of us polished it off in one sitting.😊
★★★★★
I love the idea of spinach!
Have made this twice over the last several months. Delicious. Love the idea of adding fresh spinach! Thanks!
★★★★★
Thanks so much for the 5 stars!
Delicious! My husband cannot stop raving about the flavor of this dish. Definitely will make again. I added baby spinach after it was finished. The heat wilted the spinach. Perfect!
★★★★★
Love that idea of adding spinach!
Used frozen, uncooked, no tails shrimp. Followed the directions as written. Delicious. I will definitely make this again.
★★★★★
Thanks for your 5 star review!
I am so glad that I read a few recipes and went with yours! Many times I see recipes for IP pasta that give misleading directions. The one common instruction is to cook pasta for 1/2 the time recommended on the box. But that would make it far too done, especially when cooking shrimp. Your recommendations to cook for 1 min on HP and 5 mins NR, and using frozen shrimp were right on the money!! Totally delicious! Super easy! Adding this to my repertoire. Thank you for sharing this winner of a dish.
★★★★★
I’m so glad you liked it and that is worked out for you!
Do I need to buy raw frozen shrimp or cooked frozen shrimp?
I used uncooked
This is amazing and so fast and easy! Quite some time ago I ordered something very similar in a restaurant and have tried to create it many times – always with tons of ingredients, usually a sauce that is creamy and tricky and needs lots of attention on the stove top or it won’t turn out. And this is it – less is more! I will never try another recipe again when I’m craving a buttery lemony pasta. Thank you.
★★★★★
I should also mention that I followed this recipe exactly, but used 37-45/lb size shrimp that were precooked but frozen, and the 1 minute cook time with 5 minute release worked perfectly for the pasta as well as the shrimp.
I love it when that happens!
If I double the pasta but not the shrimp, should I double all the other ingredients? (Broth, butter, oil, lemon?)
You’ll definitely want to double the broth. And as for the other ingredients you can double those too but you can also play it by ear and add to taste.
Excellent! I used 12 oz small frozen cooked, peeled, deveined, tails-off shrimp because it was all that was available. I used a little less lemon zest and lemon juice, red pepper flakes instead of cayenne, and angel hair pasta. .I prepared it all exactly as written, even with the pre-cooked shrimp, although I cooked it 5 minutes, natural release 5 minutes because we don’t like al dente pasta. It turned out great!
★★★★★
So glad to hear it! Thanks for the 5 stars!
Finally got to making this last night and it was a huge hit! I used Barilla angel hair pasta, and it worked perfectly with one minute at pressure and five minutes resting. I used very low sodium chicken broth and cut the salt to a teaspoon. Threw in some frozen peas I had fully thawed at the end once I opened it. No excess liquid, just super flavorful pasta and shrimp! Next time I may swap the peas for baby spinach that I’ll let wilt once I open the pot. Thank you!
★★★★★
I love these ideas Emily! Thanks for the 5 stars.
Delicious and easy! I followed the steps except for minor changes like: 1. reducing the salt by half because I used the Real Salt brand 2. using brown rice spaghetti noodles requiring 15-16 minutes on the stove and 3. jumbo deveined shrimp with shell ON (I think the shells impart a lot of flavor and only takes less than 10 minutes of extra work to peel afterwards).
Next time, I would cook for 2 minutes and NPR 5 minutes since the noodles and shrimp were slightly underdone. If you want to go the gluten free route, I highly recommend the ‘Tinkyada Pasta Joy Ready’ brand as it is one of the few I have tried that doesn’t get mushy.
★★★★★
Thanks for your tips!
We love this recipe and it’s ready in a blink. I was using cooked deveined tail-on shrimp and following the recipe exactly as prescribed and it all turned out very well. However, the only part I struggled with was trying to pull off the cooked shrimp tails before serving to our family. The shrimp were very hot coming out of the IP which made it a challenging task. Next time, I’ll either use raw shrimp in the IP or cook the shrimp separately in a pan and add to the Instapot after the spaghetti is cooked and warm them up. This recipe is great to serve to company, too.
★★★★★
Thanks for the 5 stars Beth!
I’m making this now and it didn’t come to pressure. I added more liquid and it still won’t come to pressure. I feel like it’s scorched and isn’t going to come to pressure under any circumstances. This is the 1st time this has happened to me and I have 9 hungry people staring at me. I did double the recipe, but it’s nowhere near max fill 😞
I have frozen cooked shrimp in my freezer. I see that 2 other people used these by putting them into the pot for 5-10 minutes after venting. To do it that way, should I defrost the shrimp first or put them in still frozen?
I would put in frozen. They will cook quick enough!
This is sooo delicious! I tried using larger shrimp because mine tend to over cook. It still seemed over cooked. Now I make it without shrimp until the end. I just toss in my already cooked, thawed, and tail removed. Perfect!
★★★★
Glad you figured out a way that works for you!!!
Can linguini be used instead of spaghetti? I looked at the box of linguini I have and it says it needs the same amount of time to cook as the spaghetti does.
nevermind, I made it today and it turned out great. I’d probably use a little less salt next time though. Mine was really salty.
Yes I think that would work fine. I would add 1 extra minute for linguine.
I made this tonight and it was fantastic! This was so easy and quick to make. I am not able to eat salt, so I did not put that in. Next time I make it, I would only squeeze half of the lemon. Loved the zest. This is another one of my favorites!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed it Ann!
Made some tweaks to turn this into a family favorite. Halved the butter, doubled the lemon, added diced onion & sauteed with butter. Used penne instead, cooked for 5 minutes and quick release. Added shrimp, spinach, & frozen peas. Sauteed for a touch, didn’t need to thicken. Topped with parmesan.
★★★★
Love these ideas!
OMG Such a Great Recipe! I tweeked mine as I had Shrimp, Scallops and Mussels! I also used Angel Hair Pasta It was so GOOD! This is definitely my new go to scampi!!
★★★★★
Your version sounds wonderful Vashiona!
This was very easy and very good. My daughter told me this needs to be our weekly Friday night dinner!
★★★★★
I’d eat this weekly too. It is so good!
This has become a staple on our weekly menu — thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
It’s a good one! Thanks for the 5 stars Lydia 😊
I liked it allot. Worked through a couple technical difficulties on my end like, I forgot to place the seal ring on the lid luckily I caught it in time. Had no lemon so I substituted a little lemon pepper in it’s place, it worked!! The cayenne pepper gives it that spicy bite which was pleasant too me and the lemon works really nice…overall I rate this recipe a 5. Good flavor perfect balance. P.s my noodles came out el dente because of my forgetfulness but this meal still turned out great. Thanks for sharing.
★★★★★
So glad to hear it all worked out in the end!
The shrimp I have are extra large. Do I need to adjust the cooking times?
They cook quickly I bet it will work just fine
Made this tonight, it is so good. The lemon was too strong for my taste, next time I’ll only zest half the lemon and see how that goes. The only 8oz package of shrimp I could find at my store was jumbo size, I see Karen used medium. The jumbo were fine. My only booboo was putting in too much broth. We use the Better Than Bouillon and I had hubby make up 2 cups so that he didn’t have to do any math LOL and then I forgot to remove a 1/4 cup of it. So I made the cornstarch slurry and we left some of the juice in the pan.
Glad it worked out in the end Robin!
If I wanted to add raw broccoli can I add on top of the shrimp and cook as directed?
You could do that. The broccoli (if it’s florets) may come out a little soft.
Karen, I have some frozen, cooked shrimp from Walmart, and I’m wondering if I could use it if I add after cooking, stir it in, close the pot for a few minutes, 5-10 or so to heat through. I could thaw before adding. Thank you, this looks delicious and I love scampi!
Yes I think that will work well!
AND! If I wanted to make without the pasta would I need to make any adjustments to the recipe?
If I wanted to make this with a gluten free spaghetti do you know if I’d have to make adjustments?
I think you are supposed to cook gluten free pasta for less time. And if you want to make it without pasta I wouldn’t bother pressure cooking it. You can just saute the garlic and then toss in a little broth to deglaze and then add in shrimp until cooked. No need to come to pressure.
Why was my pasta so gluey…. followed directions perfectly
I don’t know! That is sad. I’m sorry.
I agree. I have the 8 quart & 1 min was not long enough. I followed the directions to the T & it did not even defrost the shrimp, forget about the pasta being cooked. Going to go with a different method but keep the ingredients from this recipe because I like simple recipes. Going to try 5 min cook time on LOW pressure. Hopefully that’ll be good. Good luck
★★
Jen. I have not had much luck with cooking pasta in my instapot🥴… I’ve even increased broth by a cup , still not right…
We enjoyed this so much! I will definitely be making this again and again!
Your recipes have brought the “Joy of Cooking” again .
I have sent your pre order for Your Cook Book to my children with strong hints for my Christmas gift!
Thank you and enjoy your Holiday Season & stay Safe.
★★★★★
Ahhh, thanks so much Erin!!! You are a joy.
What should the cook time be if you double the recipe?
Same cooking time https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/how-to-double-instant-pot-recipes/
I made this and I’ve got to say this is a great recipe. Loved it !!!
★★★★★
So glad to hear it Jan! 😊
I made this for supper we loved it! Thanks again, Karen, for another great tasting recipe that takes very little effort!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed it Lucie!! 😊
If I want to cut in 1/2 do I keep liquid and time the same? There is just 2 of us, always have way to much.
I would do 1 cup of broth so it will be sure to come to pressure.
My husband who is second generation Italian was very skeptical about this recipe. Made this tonight and he did nothing but rave about it. He looked at me in amazement. I made it just as written with the exception of the cayenne. We don’t have that in our spice cabinet so I substituted red pepper flakes.
★★★★★
Oh this is such a fun comment to read. Thank you for sharing!
Fixed this for supper tonight. Delicious! But it is too salty. I would totally recommend cutting the amount of salt in half. Aside from that, we totally enjoyed it. This is the first time I’ve used my IP on any other setting. Your directions are so good. I love the step by step. Thank you!
Now I’m hooked!
★★★★★
Hi Beverly did you use kosher salt or table salt?
Kosher
I would give this a 5 star rating, but that’s a LOT of sodium. I’m assuming the sodium level is mostly from the chicken broth. Has anyone tried substituting low sodium chicken broth to get the sodium level to an acceptable level?
Other than that, the other ingredients make it sound like a good recipe.
★★★
The sodium is mostly from the kosher salt. Cut the amount of salt in half. That’s what I would do!
I fixed this today and it was delicious and easy to fix. If I were to double the recipe, would you need to change any of the times.
★★★★★
You can keep the same time!
I made this for my wife and in-laws as I don’t eat shrimp, and they loved it! So easy and there were no leftovers…. added to my regular IP recipes now. Thanks Karen 👌
★★★★★
Thanks so much! I’m glad they liked it!
I see from the photos you are using RAW frozen shrimp. I can only get cooked frozen shrimp from Costco where I live. If I use that would I just add them AFTER the pasta is cooked and let them sit in the pot with cover on for a few minutes? Thanks for your advice. Looking forward to trying this.
That is exactly what I would do! Should work great!
if you do that do you need to thaw the shrimp first?
No not all the way but I would just set them out while the other food is cooking so they can start thawing a bit
WOW! What a great, different way to eat pasta. We loved it. The ratios of liquid, pasta and protein are perfect. There was no extra liquid to either waste or absorb in my 8 qt. IP Duo.
★★★★★
Nice! So glad to hear it Rich!
I’m sad I used raw shrimp and it wasn’t cooked all the way when I followed exact directions. I did double the recipe. I had to put it back on for an additional minute to cook and it used up a lot of the liquid.
★★★
Could I double the shrimp and sauce and keep the pasta the same. Looking forward to making this.
★★★★★
Yes you could!
We love this recipe. I made it last night. Yum yum yum. It was so easy and so good. I added frozen peas and carrots after it finished, put the lid on and left it for 5 min. Done! This will be made often in our home. Thank you for a great recipe.
★★★★★
So glad you liked it Gail!
I’ve already sworn using the IP as my only method of spaghetti now (especially with meatballs!!) and we LOVE scampi in this house, so I will definitely be trying this one!! 😀
★★★★★
Valerie I think you will love it. We sure did!
Karen, what if I want to cook the pasta outside of the IP and add it after? How can I do that?
You probably won’t need or want to pressure cook it then. I would just cook the shrimp in a pan with butter and garlic until pink then toss with the pasta.
What if I wanted to add asparagus and tomatoes like the Olive Garden version? Could those be added to the instapot with that cook time or would I have to cook them seperate and then add them in after?
They’d probably get overdone. If you do add them I would put them on top of the shrimp. Or you could cook separately.
Anne
★★★★★
Sorry Greg is allergic to shrimp. I am allergic to most shellfish: lobster, clams, scallops, crabs, etc. but not shrimp for some reason, so I am looking forward to trying your Shrimp Scampi!
★★★★★
It’s a bummer for sure! Hope you like it!