Keto shrimp alfredo is a great option for a creamy dinner meal with zucchini noodles (zoodles), spaghetti squash or even miracle noodles. Buttery sautéed shrimp in this low carb, gluten free alfredo sauce that’s homemade and true to Italy!
A keto alfredo sauce is a true staple. Something that I have learned while dating is women love their pasta recipes. Fellas, an Italian restaurant you can’t go wrong! When starting the keto diet noodles are not something you can have. Yet, the sauces are actually fine for keto and low carb. Next, the question would be how to replace noodles on keto? Well, keep reading to find out!
How To Make Keto Shrimp Alfredo
Ingredients you’ll need first
- Shrimp
- Salt & Black Pepper
- Cooking Oil
- Keto Pasta Noodles (zoodles aka zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash, or a keto friendly brand below)
- Cream Cheese
- Heavy Cream
- Parmesan Cheese
- Parsley
- Nutmeg
- Garlic
- Butter
You’ll need these quick tips to avoid mistakes
- Use fresh parmesan it makes a world of a difference. It thickens the sauce better, more flavorful and melts as it should because it’s free of a non-caking agent.
- If using Palmini noodles don’t skip the step of adding into a milk based product and letting it soak for a while.
- If using any water based noodles like zucchini do not heat them up in your sauce. The water will leak into your sauce and destroy it. Heat the zoodles in a separate pan or bowl. Then add them into your sauce. Note, there may still be a presence of water from the noodles but you can control it better.
- Pat dry the shrimp before cooking. If not you’ll have a pan of boiling shrimp instead of searing them.
A chef’s method on how to cook shrimp
- First, a mistake I often see people making is starting out by cooking their shrimp in butter. Never do this with raw shrimp! We like a good sear and we like our shrimp cooked throughly. Butter and high heat don’t go well together because the butter will burn quickly.
- Lay the shrimp out between two paper towels and gently press down. This removes excess water for a better sear. You can see it when people don’t do this because it looks like a pan of boiling water when they are trying to cook their shrimp.
- In a pan on high heat, add a little of oil, you can even used ghee or clarified butter because it can withstand high heat. Season shrimp with salt and pepper and lay them in the pan giving each room, no crowding.
- After a while, you’ll notice the bottom portion turning pink, flip them. Cook about a minute or so then remove from the pan.
- Quick tip, once the shrimp if finished lower the heat and add butter to the pan. This is called “finishing with butter” where the shrimp have seared and you’re adding in that toasty butter flavor right at the end. Swirl the shrimp in the browning butter about 2-3 minutes then remove them from the heat.
Making the keto shrimp alfredo recipe
- First, make the alfredo sauce.
- Start by melting butter in a medium hot skillet or pot.
- While butter is melting add a tablespoon of minced garlic or chop about 4-5 cloves of fresh garlic.
- Next, once you have sautéed the garlic lower the heat and add in the cream cheese and parmesan cheese.
- Then, continue cooking until the cream cheese and parmesan cheese have formed into a melted ball of cheese. While you stir, make sure the parmesan has melted into the cream cheese. This will take about 5 minutes, the cream cheese will melt first since it’s a soft cheese. See notes above.
- Now, slowly pour in the heavy cream a little at a time while mixing. You will see the cheese start to thin out and the creaminess of the sauce will start to form. Make sure the heat is still medium low. It will not need to simmer, everything is already done at this point. Remove from heat.
- Next, lets’s season the keto alfredo sauce. Add in freshly chopped parsley. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Finally, add a touch of freshly grated nutmeg to taste. If you only have ground that is fine as well. See notes on how to add xanthan gum in the recipe card below.
- Now, follow the steps above to prepare your shrimp. Once all the shrimp is cooked lower the heat in the pan.
- Remove the shrimp and any keto pasta noodles you choose heat them and cook off any excess water for about 3 minutes.
- Lastly, add back in the shrimp with the pasta and the alfredo sauce on a low heat. Allow 5 minutes for these flavors to work together and stir constantly to prevent any burning on the bottom.
- Serve with chopped parsley, fresh cracked blacked pepper and parmesan cheese.
Storing keto shrimp alfredo for later
In the recipe card below I stress the importance of xanthan gum for storing. A common problem is the sauce will separate when reheated. This is because xanthan gum was not used to stabilize the sauce and keep everything together. This keto shrimp alfredo will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days and it will freeze well with the use of xanthan gum. If you freeze without using it, you’ll have a mess on your hands. It’ll still taste good though.
Variations of keto alfredo
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is Shrimp Keto?
Shrimp is protein packed, delicious in butter and at 100g, zero net carbs. The downside is shrimp has very little fat but we take care of that by cooking it in butter and creamy sauces such as this keto shrimp alfredo. Yes, shrimp is keto friendly!
Can I do a non-dairy substitute?
A great dairy-free option would be coconut milk in the place of the heavy cream. Things like vegan cream cheese and parmesan cheese can work but you’d have to get them to melt together. That’s where it gets tricky.
Noodles For Keto Pasta Recipes
There are quite a few brands now but I will list some below. In these photos I used Palmini but I have experience with Liviva as well. Note, they all have their own flavors.
- Zucchini Noodles
- Spaghetti Squash
- Palmini
- Liviva
- Miracle Noodles
What to eat with keto shrimp alfredo
Keto Shrimp Alfredo
Keto shrimp alfredo is a great option for a creamy dinner meal with zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash or even miracle noodles. Buttery sautéed shrimp in this low carb, gluten free alfredo sauce that's homemade and true to Italy!
Ingredients
- 8 ounces raw shrimp
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (salt to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon oil and butter for cooking
Alfredo Sauce
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoon minced garlic
- 5 ounces Pamesan Cheese
- 2 ounce cream cheese
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum (see notes below)
- nutmeg to taste
Instructions
Alfredo Sauce
- Set pan to medium high heat
- Add butter then minced garlic. Once garlic has browned lower the heat to medium low and add in cream cheese and parmesan cheese
- Continue to stir cream cheese and parmesan until they have both melted evenly. The cream cheese will melt quickly but the parmesan will take longer. It will look like a thick pool of cheese.
- Once melted slowly pour in heavy cream while stirring while pouring and making sure it's coming together with the cheese. The thick pool will begin to thin out and resemble an actual sauce.
- Remove from heat, add in chopped parsley. In a small bowl to the side add in salt, black pepper and xanthan gum. Mix them together. With the bowl in one hand and a whisk in the other pour in the seasoning and quickly whisk it in. Whisk for about 5 seconds. See notes below.
- Lastly, taste for salt and pepper. Grate fresh nutmeg to taste or slowly add in ground nutmeg until desired flavor is reached.
Shrimp Alfredo
- Nutrition values below do not include the noodles. Only the alfredo sauce and shrimp
- Pat dry shrimp between two paper towels and press lightly to release excess water. Season with salt and black pepper
- In a pan on high heat add a little oil then place shrimp in pan without crowding them. Cook in batches if need, shrimp cook very quickly. Pan should smoke lightly, if smoking too much turn down the heat.
- When shrimp start to turn pink (1-2 min) flip to the other side and finish cooking. Remove all the heat from the pan and lower the heat.
- Whatever keto pasta noodles you choose, place them in the pan on medium heat to heat up and cook out excess water. Once they start to look dry add in shrimp and alfredo sauce then turn the heat to low.
- On a low heat continue mixing around to prevent burning and allow the flavors to work together for 5 minutes.
- Serve and garnish with chopped parsley, cracked black pepper and parmesan cheese.
- *nutrition facts are for sauce and shrimp only because the noodle vary in calories and fiber.
Notes
Xanthan gum does nothing for flavor. However, it keeps the sauce together when you go to reheat it. Mixing with the salt and pepper is important because if you add it alone xanthan gum will clump together. Mixing with something else and then quickly whisking prevents this. Once again, the xanthan gum is not for flavor but stabilization.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Keto Shrimp Alfredo
Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
Calories 744.5
Calories from Fat 481
% Daily Value*
Fat 53.4g82%
Saturated Fat 33.7g211%
Trans Fat 1.8g
Cholesterol 375.4mg125%
Sodium 1146.8mg50%
Carbohydrates 6.7g2%
Sugar 5g6%
Protein 56.9g114%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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