Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta

Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta is a copycat recipe to Carrabba’s Italian Grill recipe for Pasta Rambo that was popular around 2012. They no longer serve this classic shrimp pasta dish. Luckily you can still make it in the comfort of your own home any time you would like.

Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta is one of my favorite restaurant style fancy dinners that I make for special occasions. By now it might not come by a surprise that my family loves Carrabba’s Italian Grill. I have quite a few copycat recipes on Katie’s Cucina. From the reader favorite Carrabba’s Minestrone Soup to my take on Instant Pot Sausage & Rigatoni with Goat Cheese your Italian food loving heart will most definitely be content.

I love finding restaurant recipes, and then making them at home. Pasta Rambo was one of my favorite pasta dishes at Carrabba’s before they discontinued making the dinner. Shrimp, linguine, fresh mushrooms and wilted spinach all tossed in the most decadent homemade lemon butter sauce. What could be better? The lemon butter sauce is the star in this dish, and without it, well… it would be just any other pasta dish. Take the time to make the sauce. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Ingredients

• Unsalted Butter – The lemon is already naturally salty so make sure you use unsalted butter so the sauce doesn’t taste too salty.
• Onion – The onion gives another layer of umami to the sauce.
• Garlic Cloves – A few cloves go along way.
• Dry White Wine – You can use cooking white wine found for a few dollars in the grocery store near the oil section or use a white wine you like to drink–drink it with dinner.
• Lemon Juice – Key component and acid to balance out all the butter in the wine sauce.
• Olive Oil – You’ll need this to saute the mushrooms in.
• White Mushrooms – You can buy them pre-sliced or take the time to slice whole mushrooms.
• Shrimp – I like to buy them already peeled and deveined if possible.
• Spinach – I like to use fresh leaves and chop them so they don’t clump.
• Plum Tomatoes – I find plum tomatoes tastes best. Make sure to scoop out the seeds before dicing the tomatoes.
• Fresh Basil – Chop the basil just before serving.
• Salt & pepper – Prior to serving season the pasta with salt and pepper.
• Parmesan cheese – Top the skillet with freshly grated cheese.

Directions

If you ever wondered how to make shrimp pasta from scratch, I’m here to share you the step-by-step process.

For the Lemon Sauce

• For lemon sauce, melt one tablespoon butter in a skillet on medium. Stir in 2 tablespoons onion and 2 garlic cloves minced and let it cook for about 3 minutes. Add ⅓ cup wine and 3 tablespoons lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Cook until liquid reduces to two tablespoons, 3 minutes.
• Reduce heat to low. Whisk in remaining 11 tablespoons of butter one piece at a time. The butter should soften into an emulsified sauce in 3 minutes. Note: I like to use a silicone whisk so it doesn’t scratch my pan! Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. *Sauce can be stored at room temperature for up to two hours.

For the Shrimp Pasta

• Cook pasta in boiling salted water until al dente (follow the directions on the box).
• Heat one tablespoon oil in skillet on medium-high. Stir in mushrooms, 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl. Heat remaining oil in skillet. Stir shrimp until barely opaque around edges, 1-½ minutes. Stir in chopped spinach, 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, 1 minute. Return mushrooms to pan. Stir in lemon sauce and basil. Reduce heat to low. Stir sauce 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper.
• Drain pasta; return to pot. Stir in sauce. Serve with parmesan and fresh basil.

FAQs

Tips & Tricks

Here are a few of my favorite tips and tricks I’ve found helpful when making lemon shrimp pasta.

• Butter Sauce – Take your time and make the lemon butter white wine sauce. It is well worth the amount of stirring and makes this dish.
• Vegetable Substitutions – If you don’t like or have on hand spinach or mushrooms you could always add broccoli or even green peas.
• Pasta – This recipe pairs best with linguini; however, fettuccine or papperdelle would work. If you insist on using a different cut of pasta you could also use a penne or a bow tie pasta. The recipe is 100 times better when you use fresh pasta.

Carrabba’s Copycat Recipes

If you love Carrabba’s Italian Grill I think you’ll love these Carrabba’s Copycat Recipes that I’ve made over the years. Best of all you can enjoy them at home any day of the year!

• Carrabba’s Minestrone Soup
• Slow Cooker Sicilian Chicken Soup
• Sausage Lentil Soup
• Copycat Carrabba’s Chicken Bryan
• Instant Pot Sausage & Rigatoni with Goat Cheese
• Penne with Fenel Sausage Pomodoro
• Carrabba’s Copycat Pollo Rosa Maria
• Cavatapi Amatriciana

If you make this lemon shrimp pasta, I would be honored and love for you to take the time to leave a star rating and comment! I spend hours developing and testing these recipes, and always love to hear feedback and user experience!

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Originally published February 10, 2012 updated with new text on January 19, 2021.