Fettuccine with Shrimp & Herb Sauce

This is a 20-minute fettuccine dinner that leans on a creamy herb soup mix for a shortcut sauce that actually works. The soup mix simmers with milk until thickened, then shrimp and green peas cook right in the sauce for a few minutes before everything gets tossed with hot pasta and grated Parmesan.

It’s not fancy, but it’s fast and satisfying on a weeknight when you need dinner on the table with minimal effort. The soup mix brings a baseline of herbs and creaminess that you’d normally need six ingredients to build from scratch.

Don’t overcook the shrimp. Three minutes in the simmering sauce is all they need. They should be pink and just curled, not tight and rubbery.

Chef Tips

• Use partially thawed shrimp, not fully frozen. Fully frozen shrimp drop the sauce temperature and take longer to cook, which can make the sauce too thick.
• Toss the hot pasta with the sauce immediately. The starchy noodles absorb the sauce better when they’re fresh from the pot.
• Add a splash of pasta cooking water if the sauce gets too thick after tossing. It loosens things up without diluting the flavor.

Variations

• Swap the peas for broccoli florets, adding them a minute before the shrimp so they cook through.
• Use a different soup mix flavor like roasted garlic or mushroom for a different sauce base.
• Add a pinch of red pepper flakes and a squeeze of lemon juice for brightness and a little heat.