Restaurant-quality seafood pasta is easy to make at home. This Instant Pot Shrimp Scampi Pasta is a one-pot meal you can make in under 30 minutes!
When I lived in Boston, I’d splurge on shrimp scampi pasta at any one of the amazing Italian restaurants in the North End. If only I knew then how easy and inexpensive it is to make!
Electric pressure cookers like the Instant Pot and Ninja Foodi make it possible to cook al dente pasta, succulent shrimp, and a light garlic-wine sauce together, quickly. This Instant Pot Shrimp Scampi Pasta is a one-pot delicious meal that can be made in under 20 minutes.
My new cookbook, Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker Meal Prep Cookbook, is on sale now. As a thanks to all of my awesome blog readers, I wanted to share a few recipes in the cookbook here, too, on the blog as a sneak peek! This delicious recipe is one that my newsletter subscribers voted as one of the top three recipes they'd like to see as a sneak peek.
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🌟 Why this recipe works
Instant Pot shrimp scampi pasta is a restaurant quality dish that is so easy to make at home!
- You only need a few simple ingredients that are pantry staples and easy to find in any grocery store.
- This easy Instant Pot recipe can be made in under 30 minutes from start to finish.
- It's one of those elegant yet simple recipes that is perfect for a romantic date night dinner at home as well as a family dinner on busy weeknights.
🍤 Ingredient notes
Shrimp - For this recipe, I prefer to use the largest fresh shrimp I can find and afford. If you can find and afford Jumbo Shrimp, go for it! I usually keep a stash of raw, tails-on large frozen shrimp in my freezer. About 30 to 40 large shrimp work well in this recipe. But you know what? Bay shrimp works too! If using bay shrimp, you only need to add them for a minute or two maximum before serving; the cooking time is shorter for bay shrimp than it is for their larger shrimp brothers & sisters.
Pasta - Linguine is awesome. But you could also use fettuccine, spaghetti, angel hair pasta, or bucatini. Use a long pasta shape instead of a smaller type of pasta.
Unsalted butter - If you're dairy-free like me, use your favorite vegan unsalted butter. Otherwise, use whatever unsalted butter you have in the fridge. If you only have salted butter, you can skip adding the kosher salt in the recipe.
Shallots - For this recipe, shallots add a lovely milder flavor than yellow or white onions. But, if you only have a yellow onion in the house, that will work too.
Seafood stock or water - Use homemade seafood stock if you can, but store-bought is great. Otherwise, substitute vegetable stock, chicken stock or chicken broth. You'll need enough liquid to submerge most of the pasta.
Dry white wine - It bears repeating: cook with wine that you enjoy drinking. In a dish like this, the flavor of the wine makes a big difference in the final dish.
Lemon juice - fresh lemon juice adds that awesome zing at the end.
Basil - chopped fresh basil adds a layer of earthy flavors to the dish. If using dried basil, reduce the amount to ½ tablespoon.
Parmesan cheese - Gotta love the cheesy, nutty flavors parmesan adds to pasta dishes! If you're dairy-free like me, use your favorite grated Parmesan alternative.
Parsley - Sprinkling some chopped fresh parsley before serving is optional, but I really love the added herbs to finish this seafood dish.
Optional: serve with lemon wedges and red pepper flakes.
✅ Step-by-step instructions
Making this shrimp recipe is basically the same in whatever electric pressure cooker you use. Your unit's specific settings may vary: for example, Instant Pot has a Sauté function and the Ninja Foodi has a Sear/Sauté function. But the directions and cook time are the same.
Be sure to see the full instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of the post!
Step 1 - Select Sauté (Sear/Sauté). Set the temperature to HI and preheat for 2 to 5 minutes.
Step 2 - Place the butter in the pot. As the butter melts, add the shallot and garlic. Sauté, stirring often, for 1 minute. Add the wine to the pot and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits at the bottom of the pot. Cook until the liquid is reduced slightly, just about 1 minute. Cancel to end the sauté function
Cook the pasta
Step 3 - If you have an 8-quart electric pressure cooker, you likely don't need to break the pasta in half. If you need to, do it now, and place linguine in crisscross layers in the pot. Pour in the seafood stock and season with salt and pepper. Gently nudge the noodles to submerge them in the liquid as much as possible.
Step 4 - Assemble the pressure lid, making sure the pressure release valve is in the Sealing or Seal position. Set to Pressure Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
Step 5 - An 8-quart Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi takes anywhere from 6 to 10 minutes to come to pressure. Then it starts cooking. Once the pressure cooking is complete, the unit will beep and switch to say "WARM" and start counting forward instead of counting down. When cooking is complete, QUICK RELEASE the pressure by moving the pressure release valve to the Vent position. Once the valve is all the way down, indicating that the unit has finished releasing all pressure, carefully remove the lid.
Add the shrimp
Step 6 - Select Sauté or Sear/Sauté and set temperature to HI. Add the shrimp to the top of the pasta and gently stir it into the pasta. The shrimp will cook in about 2 to 4 minutes; the shrimp will turn a brighter pink/orange when fully cooked. Drizzle lemon juice over the pasta and sprinkle in the basil and Parmesan cheese.
Plate the pasta and garnish with parsley. Serve with lemon wedges, red pepper flakes, and grated parmesan cheese, and a drizzle of olive oil, if desired. Enjoy!
👩🏻🍳 Recipe FAQs
This seafood pasta goes well with some crusty bread to soak up that amazing scampi sauce. Try my Air Fryer Garlic Bread, Garlic Parmesan Knots, or Homemade French Bread.
Wondering what wine to serve with shrimp scampi? Go for a white wine like a Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio or Pinot Gris.
Allow the seafood pasta to cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to two months.
To reheat, add a tablespoon of water or olive oil to individual servings and microwave in 1-minute increments until fully reheated.
⏲ Kitchen tools and equipment
Ready to start making this shrimp pasta recipe? Here's what you'll need:
Electric pressure cooker - They really do make the best shrimp scampi, in my opinion. I make this recipe in my Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL Pressure Cooker. You can also make this in an 8 quart Instant Pot.
If you make this in a 6-quart Ninja Foodi or 6-quart Instant Pot, be sure not to overfill the pot and keep all ingredients below the maximum fill line. Do NOT attempt to make this recipe in a 3-quart Instant Pot.
➡️ More Instant Pot recipes
Looking for more easy Instant Pot Shrimp recipes? Try our Instant Pot Seafood Jambalaya recipe! Or, try one of our many different Instant Pot recipes here.
Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you really loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!
Instant Pot Shrimp Scampi with Linguine
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 shallot minced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 12 ounces linguine or fettuccine
- 3 cups seafood stock or water
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pound frozen large shrimp between 30 and 40 shrimp
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped basil
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley optional
- lemon wedges, for serving optional
Instructions
- Select Saute (or Sear/Sauté on the Ninja Foodi). Set the temperature HI. Place the butter in the pot. Once the butter is completely melted, add the shallot and garlic. Sauté, stirring often, for 1 minute.
- Add the wine to the pot and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits at the bottom of the pot. Cook until the liquid is reduced slightly, just about 1 minute. Select Cancel (or hit Start/Stop on the Ninja Foodi) to end the sauté function.
- If you have an 8-quart Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi, you likely don't need to break the pasta in half. If you need to, do it now, and place linguine in crisscross layers in the pot. Pour in the seafood stock and season with salt and pepper. Gently nudge the noodles to submerge them in the liquid as much as possible.
- Assemble the pressure lid, making sure the pressure release valve is in the Sealing (or Seal) position. Select Pressure and set to HI. Set the time to 5 minutes. The Instant Pot will automatically start coming to pressure; on the Ninja Foodi, select Start/Stop to begin pressure cooking.
- Electric pressure cookers take anywhere from 6 to 10 minutes to come to pressure. Then it starts cooking. Once the pressure cooking is complete, the pressure cooker will beep and switch to say "WARM" and start counting forward instead of counting down. When cooking is complete, QUICK RELEASE the pressure by moving the pressure release valve to the Venting (or Vent) position. Once the valve is all the way down, indicating that the unit has finished releasing all pressure, carefully remove the lid.
- Select Sauté (or Sear/Sauté). Add the shrimp to the pot and gently stir it into the pasta. The shrimp will cook in about 2 to 4 minutes; the shrimp will turn a brighter pink/orange when fully cooked. Drizzle lemon juice over the pasta and sprinkle in the basil and Parmesan cheese.
- Plate the pasta and garnish with parsley and serve with lemon wedges, if using. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is a general estimate. Actual nutrition details may vary depending on the exact foods & brands you use to make this recipe. It does not take into account any substitutions, toppings, or optional ingredients.
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