Prawn Pasta Recipe {Creamy Garlic } : A Lover’s Weekend Treat

If you’re craving a dish that smacks of weekend indulgence but is feasible for a weeknight, this creamy garlic prawn pasta version is exactly what your dinner rotation needs. Imagine plump prawns (some call them shrimp), smothered in a luscious, garlic-infused cream sauce, tossed through perfectly cooked pastas that cling rather than pool in sauce. For pasta lovers, this is ridiculously rich, but balanced enough that you feel satisfied—not overstuffed.

It serves 4, comes together in about 20 minutes, and features techniques more often seen in restaurants but with a home-friendly twist. Drawing inspiration from French Chef Guillaume Brahimi, who trained in classical methods but maintains that flavor should always be achievable without needing Michelin levels of fuss. 

Ingredients & Key Features

Below are the essential components, and why each matters:

Also feature: cooking method (skillet/stove), use of pasta water (starch + water) for emulsification and sauce thickness. The sauce should be thickened so it clings to every strand or piece, rather than pooled on the plate.

Step-by-Step Recipe (serves 4)

Here is a detailed recipe you can follow, with pro-tips along the way.

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

• 250 g fettuccine or linguine (or penne/fusilli if preferred)
  
• ~300 g small to medium raw prawns, peeled
  
• 2 tablespoons butter (unsalted if you control salt elsewhere)
  
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
  
• ½ cup dry white wine (optional, but adds depth)
  
• 1 cup (≈250 ml) heavy / thickened cream
  
• ½ cup (≈125 ml) low-sodium chicken, fish or vegetable stock/broth
  
• ¾ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (~50 g)
  
• Fresh parsley, chopped
  
• Black pepper (freshly ground)
  
• Salt (if needed)
  
• Optional: lemon zest / chilli flakes for finishing
  

Equipment

• Large pot for boiling pasta
  
• Skillet (non-stick or heavy-bottomed)
  
• Measuring cups/spoons
  
• Grater for cheese
  

Instructions

1. Preparation & Mise en Place
   
   • Thaw frozen prawns (if using), pat dry.
     
   • Grate parmesan, mince garlic, chop parsley.
     
   • Bring a large pot of salted water to boil (for pasta).
     
2. Cook Pasta
   
   • Add pasta and cook per packet instructions minus 1 minute, so it remains slightly under-done.
     
   • Just before draining, reserve about 1 cup of pasta cooking water; it contains starch that helps thicken/emulsify the sauce.
     
3. Cook the Prawns
   
   • In skillet over medium-high heat, melt 1 tbsp butter. Add prawns, cook ~1½ minutes per side until opaque and just cooked through. Remove and set aside.
     
4. Build the Sauce
   
   • In same skillet, add remaining butter. Add minced garlic, sauté ~20 secs until fragrant (don’t let burn).
     
   • Add white wine (if using), simmer ~2 minutes until reduced.
     
   • Pour in cream + stock, bring to gentle simmer. Stir in grated parmesan until melted. Let sauce thicken slightly.
     
5. Combine & Emulsify
   
   • Add prawns back into sauce.
     
   • Add drained pasta + about ¼ cup reserved pasta water. Toss everything on the stove, stirring so sauce thickens, emulsifies, and clings to pasta rather than sitting in a pool. This step is crucial.
     
6. Season & Finish
   
   • Add parsley, black pepper, check salt (the parmesans, stock, butter may already add enough).
     
   • Optional: lemon zest, chilli flakes, or a small squeeze of lemon juice to brighten.
     
7. Serve Immediately
   
   • Dish into warmed plates. Top with more parmesan, fresh herbs. Best eaten fresh.
     

Timing

• Preparation: ~5 mins
  
• Cooking: ~15 mins
  
• Total: ~20 mins
  
• Serves: 4 reasonable portions
  

Nutritional Insights & Health-Friendly Twists

Calories & Macronutrients

• According to RecipeTin Eats, this creamy garlic prawn pasta version (serves 4) comes in at about 514 calories per serving.
  
• A lighter prawn pasta (less cream, more veg) might bring a version down to ~320-400 calories per serving, depending on pasta type and fat content. For instance, “Shrimp Pasta” entries show around 320 kcal when using less cream/fat.
  
• Another data point: one-cup of pasta with prawns has ~377 calories, 23.6g protein, 47g carbohydrates, and ~9.4g fat.
  

Health-Friendly Adjustments

To keep richness but lighten the load:

• Use lighter cream or half cream + half milk, or substitute part of the cream with low-fat stock.
  
• Increase vegetables: courgettes (zucchini), peas, spinach. Adds fibre, reduces calorie density.
  
• Use whole-grain pasta or bronze-cut with more texture (helps satisfaction).
  
• Moderate butter/oil and salt; omit or reduce salt if your stock or cheese is salty.
  

How Often & Portion Control

• Given richness, this dish is more suited to weekend or special-treat dinners, or for company, not necessarily for every night.
  
• Make sure portion is reasonable: roughly 1 to 1.5 cups cooked pasta with prawns and sauce per person.
  

Variations, Shortcuts & Restaurant vs Homemade Trade-Offs

Variations

• Spicy Chilli Prawn Pasta: add chilli flakes or fresh red chilli when cooking garlic.
  
• Lemon Prawn Pasta: finish with lemon juice and zest for bright flavour.
  
• Tomato Prawn Pasta / Ragu Style: swap cream for tomato base, or mix cream and tomato.
  

Shortcuts & Time-Savers

• Use frozen peeled prawns: thaw and pat dry. Actually quite practical. RecipeTin Eats
  
• Premade pasta sauce or jars can help, but you may lose freshness.
  
• Use dried herbs if fresh ones not available; fresh gives better colour/taste but dried still works.
  

Restaurant Tricks vs Homemade Practices

• Restaurants often use more butter, oil and salt to amplify . At home, you can scale back and still get great results. Eats notes that restaurant versions are “so good because they’re loaded with butter, oil and salt.”
  
• French chefs like Guillaume Brahimi emphasize technique (mise-en-place, high-quality ingredients, precision in timing) without necessarily being arteries-clogging. You can adopt those professional features at home on a simpler scale.
  

Tips, Troubleshooting & Pro Techniques

• Don’t overcook prawns: they go from perfect to rubbery quickly. Remove from pan once just opaque.
  
• Under-cook pasta by ~1 minute, finish cooking in the sauce with reserved pasta water: helps with emulsification and sauce each strand gets coated.
  
• Use pasta water: the starch in the water is a sauce-thickening secret; helps sauce cling. Without it, sauce tends to pool.
  
• Heat control: simmer gently once cream is added; high heat can cause separation.
  
• Cheese quality matters: freshly grated parmesan melts more smoothly, helps integrate.
  
• Storage & leftovers: store in airtight container in fridge; reheat gently on the stove with a splash of water or stock to loosen sauce. Cream sauces tend to firm up when cold.
  

Conclusion:

This creamy garlic prawn pasta is that perfect intersection of indulgence and practicality. It satisfies your craving for something rich, flavour-packed, and restaurant-worthy—but also doable in about 20 minutes at home. For lovers of seafood, pasta, and sauces smothered in garlic and cream, this dish delivers. It’s one you’ll turn to for cosy weekend dinners, for guests, or for midweek when you want a treat without hours spent in the kitchen.

By choosing reasonable amounts of cream and butter, using fresh ingredients (or high quality frozen), and mastering techniques like emulsification and pasta water usage, you balance indulgence and health. So next time you want something indulgent, luscious, and ridiculously satisfying for four, will you be making this prawn pasta or ordering out?