Creamy Shrimp Alfredo with Linguine also known as Fettuccine al Burro has roots in Italian cooking. The pasta is butter and parmesan cheese. When the cheese melts it creates a rich smooth sauce that coats the noodles. Alfredo di Lelio is the originator of the recipe and made his home restaurant in Rome famous in the early 1900s. One of his innovations was to cook the dish at your table usually accompanied by a violinist.
The mixing of the butter and cheese became quite a presentation when prepared by di Lelio in his Rome restaurant. He considered an integral part of his day to mix every meal prepared in his restaurant daily. He would create the dish with a Fork and Spoon make of solid gold. The legend is that Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks dined at his restaurant and gave him the fork and spoon as a gift.
He was one of the first Rome restaurants to begin posting photos of famous guests dining on his noodles on the walls. Jimmy Stewart, Bob Hope, Anthony Quinn, Bing Crosby, Gary Cooper, Jack Lemmon, Ava Gardner, Tyrone Power, Sophia Loren are just a few to appear on the walls.
The recipe eventually crossed the Atlantic and became popular in New York and then spread across the U.S. It is still very popular and a standard dish in all Italian eateries across America. Usually, the American dish is prepared with some kind of meat and in this case, we have chosen Shrimp. Other popular choices are chicken, sausage, or other shellfish such as scallops.
The dish really took off in New York City around the year 1922. Many of the nation’s top critics, guidebooks, and recipe guides boasted about the taste of the dish. In 1966 the first dried Fettuccine noodles were put the U.S. stores and every package had the di Lelio Alfredo recipe which included cream and Swiss cheese as well as Parmesan and butter.
A current restaurant to recreate his meal is the Olive Garden chain and served with your choice of Chicken, Shrimp, or sausage. Quite a far step from the earl Rome tiny little home restaurant to the mega-chains of today’s world.
We hope you enjoy your meal and the recipe for Creamy Shrimp Alfredo with Linguine.

Creamy Shrimp Alfredo with Linguine
Equipment
- pot
- skillet
Ingredients
Creamy Shrimp Alfredo
- 1 Pound Raw Shrimp Raw
- 1 Pound Pasta Linguine
- 4 Cloves Garlic Minced
- 1 Haberno Pepper Diced Diced
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp Pepper Fresh Ground
- 1 cup Cream Heavy
- 6 cups Milk
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese Grated
- Fresh Basil Chopped
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.⠀
- Add garlic and chili, and sautee for about 1 minute, until just fragrant.⠀
- Stir in the shrimps and cook until pink, about 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper (to taste), then remove from the pan and set aside.⠀
- Pour the milk and heavy cream in, reduce the heat, and bring it to a gentle simmer. Season generously with salt and pepper.⠀
- Stir in the pasta and cook (on low heat), while stirring occasionally, until it gets to al dente (about 7-9 minutes). At this point, you can place the lid on, but remember to give it a stir every 2-3 minutes.⠀
- Return the shrimps to the pan and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, then mix to combine. (If the pasta is a bit too dry you can add 1/2-1 cup of milk and mix well to combine).⠀
- Serve immediately with fresh ground pepper and chopped basil
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was adapted from Blondelish