This Seafood Fettuccine Alfredo is the perfect comfort food meal in a creamy, cheesy sauce with shrimp, scallops, and mushrooms tossed with hearty noodles. Serve it as part of an elegant family night dinner or as a romantic dinner for two!
A Different Type of Fettuccine Alfredo
St. Valentine’s Day is this weekend and here’s a wonderful recipe for seafood fettuccine to make a romantic dinner at home instead of going out. It’s creamy, a little cheesy, and absolutely delicious!
Unlike the original fettuccine alfredo pasta dish that originated in Italy and consists of pasta coasted in butter and Parmesan cheese, my version has a few extras, like garlic, shallots, white wine, and heavy cream. I’m not going to lie. This is not a low calorie meal by any means. It’s full on fattening, but it’s also totally worth the spurge every once in awhile or for a special occasion.
This recipe is very adaptable and can easily be adjusted to personal preference. Make it a shrimp fettuccine alfredo using all shrimp or make it a chicken fettuccine alfredo by substituting out the seafood with bite-sized pieces of boneless chicken breast or thigh.
Make it a vegetarian pasta recipe by adding broccoli, red bell peppers, asparagus, or your favorite veggie. It’s an easy meal that takes less than 30 minutes to cook, yet looks and tastes like you spent all day laboring in the kitchen.
How to choose and prepare fresh seafood
A few tips about using fresh shrimp and scallops:
- Always make sure the seafood is as fresh as possible. Shrimp and scallops should smell of the ocean and not feel slimy. A shrimp’s shell should be tight against the firm meat and should not have any black spots on the shell or any yellowing. Scallops should be intact and whole; it’s not fresh if it’s tearing or falling apart.
- Buy dry packed scallops, if possible. Dry packed scallop contain no additives and have a natural color of ivory to beige. They cost a little more but they retain less water and don’t shrink when you cook them, like wet scallops do.
- Always rinse all seafood prior to using and dry well with a paper towel. Make sure seafood is completely dry before cooking so it will sear properly in pan and not steam.
Here is the extra piece of muscle that lies on one side of a scallop (the side-muscle). It’s a tough piece so remove and discard before cooking.
Make this seafood fettuccine alfredo for Valentine’s Day or anytime you want to create a special meal. Did you enjoy this recipe? Please let me know below and don’t forget to share it with your family and friends!
- 1 pound uncooked fettuccine noodles
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter , divided
- 2 tablespoons olive oil , divided
- 1 pound large shrimp , peeled and deveined, rinsed and dried well
- 8 large dry-packed sea scallops , peeled and deveined, rinsed and dried well
- 3 green onions , finely chopped
- 1 medium shallot , finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves , minced
- 8 ounces sliced button mushrooms
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
- salt and white pepper to taste
Cook fettuccine noodles until al dente, according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Once butter is melted add shrimp to skillet in single layer and sprinkle with salt and white pepper. Cook until shrimp turns pink on each side and just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove, place on plate, and set aside. Add another 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil to pan, once butter melts, add scallops in a single layer, sprinkle with salt and white pepper, and cook for 90 seconds on each side. Remove and place on plate with shrimp. Set aside.
Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter to pan with green onions, shallots, and garlic, and sauté for 1 minute. Add sliced mushrooms and sauté for 3 minutes. Add white wine, and reduce to half.
Reduce heat to medium-low, add cream and stir constantly until slightly thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in Parmesan cheese, taste sauce and add salt and pepper, if needed. Add scallops, shrimp and cooked fettuccine noodles, stir together until everything is well coated and heated through, about 2 minutes.
- Serve immediately and pass the extra Parmesan cheese!
I’m a big believer of not mixing seafood and dairy. But I def make an exception for alfredo! This recipe is great, love it. I also make it with cajun seasoning blackening it first. Both ways are wonderful.
Thanks Adam! Blackened seafood sounds great too. I pinned your recipe for the blackened chicken and am definitely trying that next time I make alfredo. Yummy!
Def use that blackening mixture for it. Such a good flavor. I swear you could put it on cardboard and it would taste great.
” It’s creamy, a little cheesy, and absolutely delicious”…the Holiday itself is a little cheesy, thanks Hallmark! I don’t need and excuse to treat the good women well and I certainly don’t need an excuse to eat this killer dish. Nice work Special K. Simple yet impressive. Great entertaining meal on its own, as a first course or a half portion paired with a great steak…Cajun Bone-in Ribeye. Boom!
Thank you B.Starvin and nice suggestion on the Cajun Bone-in Ribeye. I may use that idea for a future blog post…
Karrie, I love seafood fettuccine alfredo… my waistline, maybe doesn’t love it so much. However, this is a perfect dinner for a special occasion like Valentine’s Day, where calories don’t count! Your alfredo sauce looks creamy and seriously delicious… perfection! Cheers and Happy (early) Valentine’s Day!
Thanks Cheyanne! You are so right, calories don’t count on holidays. Yay for that! My Mom is making this recipe and serving it with your Cupid’s Pink Arrow cocktail tomorrow. I’m also making your cocktail this weekend, so a big cheers and yum! Happy Valentine’s Day!!
Can I make this a day ahead?
Hi Savannah, I recommended making this right before eating. To save time, you can prep and measure out all the ingredients and store separately, covered in the refrigerator, then it should only take less than 15 minutes to cook. Let me know how you like it!
Alfredo is my favourite dish! I would love to taste this version of alfredo, Karrie!
I have a question : can crab and or lobster be used instead of. scallops snd if so how would they be prepared and incorporated? I am deathly allergic to all bivalves – scallops, clams, muscles, oysters and including calamari, octopus, cuttlefish etc. but I would very much like to prepare this dish.
Yes, you can use whatever seafood you please! Just add the cooked seafood at the very end into the sauce. Lump crab meat is typically sold precooked and lobsters can be cooked by boiling, grilling, or steaming (or you can buy lobster meat precooked, but I prefer fresh for better quality). Enjoy!