Easy Instant Pot Shrimp Alfredo

Easy Instant Pot Shrimp Alfredo is insanely creamy filled with juicy shrimp & a fabulous homemade alfredo sauce. This quick and easy Instant Pot creamy pasta dinner also gets done in a jiffy.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American-Italian, Italian

Keyword: Easy Instant Pot Shrimp Alfredo, instant pot creamy shrimp alfredo, Pressure cooker shrimp alfredo, Shrimp Alfredo Instant Pot

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: people

Calories: 634kcal

Author: Meghna

Cost: $5

Equipment

Instant Pot DUO 6 quart

Ingredients

8 ounce Linguine Pasta **227 g. It's important to weigh the pasta.
12 Shrimp **colossal, jumbo or extra large. Use frozen thawed de-shelled, de-veined, tails intact or taken off.
1.5 tbsp garlic **minced
½ tsp Ground Black Pepper
4 ounce cream cheese **softened, Room temperature.
1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream **slightly warmed in microwave oven. Read NOTES below for healthy alternatives.
¾ cup Parmesan Cheese **shredded. Store bought or grate from a block.
3 tbsp Unsalted Butter

Liquid ( you can use store bought chicken stock)

2 cup water **warm
2 tbsp Better Than Bouillon **paste. Dilute this in the warm water to form an instant flavor packed chicken stock.

Instructions

Saute shrimp & garlic: Set the Instant Pot on SAUTE function & set it on HIGH heat. Add 2 tbsp butter and allow it to melt. Gently release the frozen thawed de-shelled, de-veined shrimp (with either tails on or off) and saute them until pink. Set the aside once the shrimp turn pink and opaque. Add 1 tbsp more butter, release the minced garlic and saute for 1 min.
De-glaze pot: Pour the chicken stock, add ground black pepper and de-glaze the pot very well scraping the sides and the bottom of the pot with spatula. This will help loosen any stuck food particles and shall prevent the BURN error. DO NOT rush this step! CANCEL the SAUTE function.
Layer Pasta: Break the linguine pasta into halves and add them in a bird nest or zig zag pattern in about 2-3 slots (refer the recipe video above or the step photos in the post). DO NOT dump the pasta all at once. Once you are done layering the pasta, gently push the down with the help of your spatula to coat them with the liquid. DO NOT stir or mix. It's perfectly ok if all the pasta strands do not submerge in the liquid, a nice coat would be good enough.
Pressure Cook: Secure the lid of the instant pot, seal the valve and PRESSURE COOK on HIGH for just 7 mins (al dente pasta). Once, the cooking cycle is over wait for natural pressure release for 10 mins and than release the rest of the pressure manually by moving the valve from the sealing to the venting position. When the metal pin on the lid drops open the lid carefully.
De-tangle cooked pasta: With the help of a pair of fork you need to de-tangle the cooked pasta strands and fluff them while doing so. It'll take a little bit of your time & patience. Once the cooked pasta strands are nicely de-tangled proceed to the next step.
Add dairy: Now, let's make the alfredo sauce. Slightly warm up the fridge cold heavy whipping cream in the microwave oven to stabilize it and than add it to the super hot pot. Give a quick stir to coat the pasta. Now, add the softened or room temperature cream cheese ( cut into chunks for easy mixing). Stir briskly until the cheese completely melts and incorporates into the dish. Hit the SAUTE function and set it on LOW heat. Gently simmer the alfredo sauce for 1-2 mins stirring often. TURN OFF the instant pot.
Add Shrimp & serve: Now, add the shredded parmesan cheese int 2-3 batches and stir briskly until the cheese completely melts and thickens the alfredo sauce. You need to stir every time you add the cheese and make sure that all of it melts thoroughly otherwise the cheese will clump up. At this stage if you feel like you need more sauce pour some more slightly warm heavy cream or half & half or whole milk to adjust the consistency of the alfredo sauce as per your liking. Transfer back the sauteed shrimp, gently fold them into the alfredo pasta and serve immediately with sprinkles of parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Linguine Pasta: Never ever dump the pasta all at once. They will clump together indefinitely and you'll have a hard time de-tangling the mess. Always add them in a bird nest pattern or zig zag pattern. Refer to the recipe video and check out how I did it. Also, do not mix or stir after adding the uncooked linguine pasta to the pot. You just need to gently press down the pasta with your spatula to coat them with the liquid.
Stabilize the fridge cold heavy whipping cream: Now, this is not mandatory but it certainly helps prevent the cream from going through a sudden temperature shock (when you add it to the hot ingredients in the pot) and than curdle or separate. If the heavy cream bottle is closer to the expiration date the fridge cold cream might curdle when you add it directly to the super hot instant pot. Do warm it up a bit in microwave oven to stabilize the cream.
Room temperature/softened cream cheese: If your cream cheese is softened it'll make the blending/mixing process a breeze. The cheese will melt fast into the alfredo sauce and you do not have to stir forever to help melt the cheese!
Alfredo sauce consistency: The alfredo sauce consistency is totally a personally preference. We do not prefer a soupy alfredo recipe ever, so today's recipe won't give you a lot of extra sauce. You'll just have enough but not excess! If you prefer soupy alfredo dishes than do add more heavy whipping cream or a few dashes of whole milk or half and half. You can always control the consistency of the sauce.
Skinny/Healthy alfredo sauce: For a healthier alfredo sauce you may sub the heavy cream with half and half or whole milk, skip or reduce the amount of cream cheese. In that case if you feel that the sauce is too runny or thin you can add 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water to form a slurry and than add this to thick the sauce. Add this slurry before you simmer the alfredo sauce (mentioned in steps above).
Shrimp: DO NOT use frozen shrimp directly, you need to thaw them first. Also, you can either take the tails off or keep them intact just like we did. I feel that the tails add a good depth of flavor because we sautéed the shrimp first. However, it's your choice. You can also increase the amount of shrimp and use more than stated in this recipe. We sometimes overload the dish with shrimp when feel like.
Can I double the recipe? Yes, you certainly can. Double all ingredients. The cook time would remain the same.

Calorific details are provided by third party application & are to be used as indicative figures only.

Nutrition Facts

Easy Instant Pot Shrimp Alfredo

Amount Per Serving

Calories 634 Calories from Fat 549

% Daily Value*

Fat 61g94%

Saturated Fat 37g231%

Trans Fat 1g

Cholesterol 258mg86%

Sodium 749mg33%

Potassium 182mg5%

Carbohydrates 6g2%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 2g2%

Protein 18g36%

Vitamin A 2228IU45%

Vitamin C 3mg4%

Calcium 438mg44%

Iron 1mg6%

* Read our privacy policy - Calorie information is provided as a courtesy only and should be leveraged as an estimate rather than a guarantee.Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition