This simple, family-friendly pasta recipe from Twin Cities food blogger greens & chocolate is cheesy, garlicky and comforting, with bright notes of lemon. The shrimp cooks up fast, making this a perfect dinner for busy weeknights.

While my husband and I never ate a lot of pasta when it was just the two of us, it’s quickly becoming a staple in our regular rotation of weekly dinners. Both of our boys absolutely love “noodle night,“ regardless of whether it’s spaghetti, simple buttered noodles or alfredo sauce. I’m just thankful when they’ll eat something that’s not dipped in ranch, so…noodle night for the win!

When it comes to choosing sauces, I’m always a creamy sauce girl. I mean, how can you go wrong with butter, cream and cheese? You just can’t. And while creamy sauces might seem intimidating, I assure you they’re not. It’s as simple as combining some butter, milk and cheese.

Another selling point for cream-based sauces is that they don’t stain like tomato sauces do. When you’re feeding two small children, this totally matters. Spaghetti sauce night means undressing them both down to their undies before dinner. When I served this Creamy Lemon Shrimp Pasta, however, I didn’t have to whip out the stain remover immediately after dinner. Hallelujah.

Now, let’s talk about this impressive little dish. I mean, it does look impressive, right? Would you believe me if I said it was done in 25 minutes, TOPS? The thing that takes the longest is waiting for the pasta water to boil.

While you’re waiting for the water to boil and the pasta to cook, you’ll start on the rest of the dish by cooking the shrimp. Shrimp cooks really fast, so that part will be done in five minutes. Then you’ll sauté some garlic, slowly whisk in some milk, cream and finally Parmesan cheese. I also added some lemon juice and zest in this recipe for a bright pop of spring flavor. So delicious!

Just let it simmer for a minute or two, then throw in that cooked pasta and shrimp for one delicious dinner. I told ya it was easy.

If you’re not a fan of shrimp, you can definitely use a different protein like chicken, or just omit it altogether. You can also use whatever shape of noodle is your favorite. We love spaghetti or fettuccine noodles, for their slurpability. It’s another fun part of noodle night!