Instant Pot Spaghetti With Shrimp Scampi

Easy, delicious Instant Pot spaghetti with garlic butter shrimp scampi and Parmesan is a dinner that can be on your table in 30 minutes. You can use fresh or raw shrimp in this recipe. 

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This Instant Pot Spaghetti shrimp scampi is a pressure cooker take on the classic Italian dish that combines spaghetti, shrimp, garlic, lemon, and butter (and sometimes white wine). 

Traditional seafood pasta does not feature Parmesan cheese, however, we do add it to our recipe to thicken the sauce and give it extra flavor and creaminess. You can leave it out. 

The shrimp is sauteed in the Instant Pot with butter, garlic and lemon zest and set aside. The spaghetti is cooked in chicken stock with the residual juices of shrimp, garlic, butter and lemon in the pot. The dish is finished with grated Parmesan incorporated into the pasta and the cooking broth, which becomes a delicious buttery, garlic sauce. 

This Instant Pot shrimp scampi spaghetti recipe is ridiculously easy and takes around 30 minutes from start to finish. Plus, you only need to clean one pot!

Shrimp - we used large frozen shrimp that’s already been peeled and deveined; you can use raw shrimp and peel it yourself. If using frozen shrimp, simply add it to a bowl of warm water and leave to thaw out for 10-15 minutes. Then, pat dry with some kitchen roll/paper towel.

For the scampi sauce - butter, garlic, lemon zest and juice, salt, and pepper.

Spaghetti  - Spaghetti #5 or #7 will work in this recipe; the thinner spaghettini #3 will require less natural release time, see notes below. We used 12 oz (340 grams) of spaghetti for 4 generous servings. 

Cooking liquid - Chicken stock and water; you can use store-bought stock, homemade or 1 stock cube to make 2 cups of water. Please note, we are using a 225 ml measuring cup, so you will need a total of 450 ml of chicken stock and 1 cup (225 ml) of water for this specific recipe.

To finish - a cup of Parmesan cheese, some cracked black pepper, chili flakes and lemon wedges. Fresh parsley or basil are optional but lovely to garnish with. 

• Spaghetti comes in different thickness and this affects the cooking time. We used spaghetti #7. If you’re using #5, the cooking time and release time should still work but if using thinner spaghetti #3, reduce the natural release time by 2 minutes.
• We recommend cooking the spaghetti to 'al dente' or to 90-95%, as it will continue to cook from the residual heat while you're mixing in the sauce at the end. 
• General recommendation for water to pasta ratio for the Instant Pot is 2 parts liquid for 1 part pasta, so for every 4 ounces of pasta, you need 8 ounces (1 cup) of water. If you're cooking 12 oz, you will need 24 ounces water or stock, or 3 cups, give or take a little.
• The cooking liquid becomes part of the sauce to coat the spaghetti so don’t drain it…although most of it will be absorbed.
• If you like more saucy spaghetti, feel free to add an extra ½ cup of hot stock to the pasta after cooking or some half and half.

How To Make Spaghetti Shrimp Scampi In Instant Pot 

You will find the full recipe with ingredients and nutritional breakdown in the recipe card below.

There are three stages to making this shrimp scampi spaghetti recipe in the pressure cooker. The first stage is to saute the shrimp in butter and garlic. The second stage is to pressure cook the spaghetti in the stock. The third stage is to finish the dish with Parmesan and return the shrimp back to the pasta. 

Let's break it down with step-by-step photos. You can use a 6-quart or 8-quart Instant Pot.

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Step 1. Pat dry the shrimp with some kitchen roll if it's slightly wet.

Step 2. Saute the shrimp in butter for 2 minutes, stirring once, then add garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and stir for an additional minute or so. Remove the shrimp and set aside, but leave all those little brown bits of shrimp and garlic stuck to the bottom of the pot (known as a fond).

Step 3. While on Saute, pour in the 2 cups of chicken stock. Use a spatula to scrape the bottom of the pot to remove the fond from shrimp and garlic and incorporate it into the liquid. This will prevent the pesky Burn notice and give our spaghetti lots of flavor.

Step 4. Break the spaghetti into halves and gently immerse in the stock, layering in different directions. Pour another 1 cup of water over the top and place a few dollops of butter on top. Don't stir the spaghetti but do press it down to make sure it's all covered in liquid.

Step 5. Secure the lid and set to HIGH for 5 minutes. Once the cooking is done, leave the Instant Pot on natural release for 5 minutes and then use the quick release.

Step 6. Open the pot. There will still be a little bit of liquid left. Stir the spaghetti and then sprinkle in the Parmesan cheese and return most of the pre-cooked shrimp and juices. Stir through. The residual heat will finish cooking the spaghetti and the shrimp and the sauce will thicken even more.

Step 7. Serve with a few extra shrimp on top and sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley or basil. 

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What To Serve With Instant Pot Shrimp Spaghetti

Here are some suggestions for what to serve with spaghetti shrimp scampi:

1. We love a little warm garlic bread on the side to soak up the delicious scampi sauce.
2. A simple green salad with a vinaigrette dressing can be a refreshing accompaniment to the rich and buttery sauce.
3. Roasted, steamed or baked vegetables asparagus, broccoli, or zucchini with olive oil, salt, and pepper can add some nutrition and flavor to the meal.
4. A crisp and light white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc, can complement the flavors of the dish.
5. You can serve extra lemon wedges on the side so everyone can add a little extra acidity to the dish. Chili flakes are also great for those who like extra heat. 

Storing The Spaghetti

The leftover spaghetti will keep for up to 2 days. It will thicken and get stuck together once cold so you need to reheat it with a few splashes of stock of water to thin things out. You can also stir in some marinara sauce to change things up the next day. This dish doesn’t freeze well.

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