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My seafood pasta has a silky lemon garlic cream sauce that is to die for! It’s loaded with tender shrimp, scallops, and mussels. It’s the perfect date night dish!
Reasons This Recipe Is a Total Catch
- Super Creamy Sauce: You’ll love the rich lemon garlic cream sauce that clings to every bite of pasta and seafood.
- Beginner-Friendly: You don’t need advanced seafood skills for this dish. If you can boil pasta and simmer a sauce, you can make this seafood pasta!
- Three fan-favorites, one simple recipe. Mussels, scallops, and shrimp all cook up fast, so you get maximum flavor with minimal effort.
Seafood Pasta Ingredients
- Shrimp: Buy large shrimp that are peeled, deveined, and tail-off to save time. If not, peel off the shell and tail, then slice ¼ inch along the back to remove the dark vein (the intestinal tract). Avoid shrimp that smell like ammonia or feel slimy.
- Scallops: Choose firm, dry scallops, similar in texture to a pork chop. Avoid any that look wet, shiny, or feel mushy. To prep, rinse them in cold water and pat dry.
- Mussels: Buy extra since some will be cracked or dead. Good mussels smell like the ocean and have tightly closed shells. Rinse in cold water (don’t soak them). Scrub off dirt and pull off the stringy “beard” near the hinge right before cooking.
How To Make Lemon Garlic Seafood Pasta
This is one of the simplest seafood pasta recipes you can make, and a perfect place to start if you’ve never cooked with shellfish before. Make garlic bread and some asparagus or maybe a salad, and dinner is served!
- Cook Pasta: Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook noodles according to package directions. Reserve 2 cups of pasta water. Drain the remaining water from the pasta and set aside.
- Cook Shrimp and Scallops: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add scallops and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the shrimp, season with salt and pepper, and cook until no longer pink. Remove the scallops and shrimp and set aside on a plate.
- Cook Muscles: Add the reserved pasta water to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the mussels, reduce to a simmer, and cover. Let the mussels steam for 5 minutes. Discard the ones that didn’t open and set aside with the shrimp and scallops. Discard the leftover pasta water from the pan.
- Make Sauce: Returning to the same pan over medium heat, add the unsalted butter and melt. Add the cloves garlic, heavy cream, chicken broth, and cream cheese. Stir the sauce mixture until the cream cheese has melted and is smooth and creamy.
- Thicken Sauce: Add parmesan cheese and the lemon juice. Simmer over medium-low heat until the sauce thickens.
- Stir and Serve: Stir in the cooked seafood and pasta and heat through. Garnish with fresh parsley and additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Alyssa’s Pro Tip
Frozen Seafood Tip: Fresh is best, but frozen seafood works in a pinch. Just thaw and drain it well before using for the best texture and flavor.
Storing & Reheating Leftover Seafood Pasta
Seafood pasta makes great leftovers, if you’re lucky enough to have any!
- In the Refrigerator: Let it cool, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3–5 days.
- Reheating: Warm it on the stovetop with a splash of water. Cover with a lid and toss occasionally until heated through.
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Creamy Lemon Garlic Seafood Pasta
This easy seafood pasta is packed with shrimp, scallops, and mussels in a rich lemon garlic cream sauce.
Ingredients
Seafood and Pasta
- 12 ounces linguini noodles
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ pound scallops
- ½ pound large peeled and deveined shrimp
- 2 cups reserved pasta water
- ½ pound mussels
- salt and pepper
Creamy Lemon Garlic Sauce
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- ¼ cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
- juice of a lemon
Instructions
Seafood and Pasta
- Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook 12 ounces linguini noodles according to package directions. Reserve 2 cups of pasta water. Drain the remaining water from the pasta and set aside.
- In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon unsalted butter. Add ½ pound scallops and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add ½ pound large peeled and deveined shrimp, season with salt and pepper, and cook until no longer pink. Remove the scallops and shrimp and set aside on a plate.
- Add the 2 cups reserved pasta water to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Add ½ pound mussels reduce to a simmer, and cover. Let the mussels steam for 5 minutes. Discard the ones that didn't open and set aside with the shrimp and scallops. Discard the leftover pasta water from the pan.
Creamy Lemon Garlic Sauce
- Returning to the same pan over medium heat, add ¼ cup unsalted butter and melt. Add 3 cloves garlic, 2 cups heavy cream, 1 cup chicken broth, and 4 ounces cream cheese. Stir the sauce mixture until the cream cheese has melted and is smooth and creamy.
- Add ¼ cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese and the juice of a lemon. Simmer over medium-low heat until the sauce thickens.
- Stir in the cooked seafood and pasta and heat through. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Notes
Updated June 6, 2025
Storing and Reheating: Once cooled, store seafood pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for 3–5 days. Reheat on the stove with a splash of water, covered, until warmed through—toss occasionally.
Nutrition
Calories: 728kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 27gFat: 48gSaturated Fat: 29gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 214mgSodium: 556mgPotassium: 489mgFiber: 2gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 1784IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 160mgIron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!
Make It a Meal
Love this seafood pasta and want to turn it into a full-on feast? Pair it with a few sides and, of course, dessert, to really wow your guests. They’ll be asking for every single recipe!
5 star on taste!!! Really a great combo of flavors
2 star on order of directions and execution. IMO it was exactly opposite. Boil water and put on hold Cook sauce first, then seafood then pasta and mix it all together in a large Skillet.
Volume of sauce to noodles was a little less than I like, I’d add half as much again next time. It wasn’t clear if you use the butter/broth the seafood was cooked in with other sauce, I didn’t but if I had it would have been thinner, and possibly too seafood tasting. Not sure. I added jalapenos and some finely diced onion to mine for a spicy garlic flavor.
How should the garlic be included in the sauce? I assume minced??? The directions don’t specify.
Thanks.
I made this recipe, it was delicious, I did find that there was an error in the directions where it says to add the shrimps and cook until no longer pink, the minute shrimps hit heat they turn pink. Also to make the sauce do you use a different saucepan to make the sauce or do you use the same saucepan and combine all the ingredients with the juices that are also in it? It’s not very clear the way it’s written!
Hi Nellie, thank you for your comment. I apologize for things being confusing. Step 2 should say- In a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat add the butter. Add the scallops and cook for 2-3 minutes then add the shrimp for the last 1-2 minutes until fully cooked and pink. Remove and set aside on a plate.
And yes, you cook everything in one pan.
Was the water after cooking the mussels supposed to be dumped? It wasn’t in the directions and it’s taken an awful long time to reduce this sauce.
The sauce should be cooked separately in a different saucepan and the only liquids used should be heavy cream and chicken broth. Did you cook this in a separate pan?
Delicious recipe. My wife loved it. Only used half a lime and a little sugar to taste but the dressing really elevated the dish. Thanks
Not sure how you make the Lemon garlic sauce without garlic! Otherwise, it looks like it’ll be pretty good!