This quick weeknight shrimp pasta is a family favorite! With shrimp, veggies, and a velvety Creole parmesan/pecorino sauce, it is a flavorful pasta that is delicious that even your picky eaters will enjoy. It only takes 30 minutes to make, using only one pot and one pan; that’s it!
I’m always looking for ways to make healthier dinners that don’t need a bunch of prep. I’m a mom first, which means I am short on time to make dinner during the week. No 3 course meals here on a school night! No way.
Mainly I was looking for a way to add tame veggies to a pasta that kids will actually eat, so I took spinach and bell peppers (which I always have on hand, so versatile, love them both!). I added that to a simple pasta sauce concept; think Cacio e Pepe but with Creole seasoning instead of pepper and some added butter. Butter is everything lol How that sauce is made is so simple that you can really take it and make it your own. Then I was thinking about adding chicken to this, which would be great! However, I make chicken all the time so I went with shrimp instead as it goes fabulously with Creole seasoning. To make it even easier I just went with prepped frozen shrimp. Literally open the bag and toss them in the pan, that takes like 3 seconds, score!
Let’s jump on in! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do 🙂
For my *TLDR* friends, the recipe is below the pictures!
Some tips/pictures before we get started:
I tend to have all of these ingredients on hand in my house. A few points on the dish and adjustments:
- The parsley and red pepper flakes in the photo are used for garnish at the end and not at all necessary; if you don’t have those it won’t affect the dish 🙂
- I chose spaghetti this time when making the shrimp pasta but the last time I made it I used linguine. Other pastas could be used as well, but if they have a shorter cooking time that may mean the pasta is done and sitting before the rest of the dish is ready. I would just keep that in mind if making that adjustment.
- Tony Chachere’s seasoning is a great quick Creole seasoning. If you have another that you prefer, that is totally fine. The thing to consider here: Tony Chachere’s has enough salt in it for the dish. If you are subbing out for another seasoning, you need to check the salt content as some do not contain salt. In that case you will need to add salt to the dish when you put the season on the shrimp.
- In this dish I use frozen shrimp; you don’t need to thaw it as shrimp cooks just fine from frozen. Just make sure you know the signs of cooked shrimp (pink, c-shaped, and firm when you touch it) and I highly suggest temping it to make sure it is cooked safely. Seafood needs to be cooked to 145F. You could also use fresh shrimp for the dish but that will add time to the prep portion of the dish. It is absolutely just as good that way!
- When salting your pasta water remember, *as salty as the ocean*! Realistically, that doesn’t mean dump the whole salt container in the water. It means add roughly 1 Tbsp of kosher salt per every 4 cups of water that you add to the pot. Pasta has no seasoning when it is made, so the only way for the pasta to be seasoned is by it absorbing some of the salt from the water. You don’t want to dump that whole container in there because your pasta will get over-salted.
Below is just a quick picture of how your peppers should look when they are cooked to “firm but soft”. The second picture is just a visual of how your food should look when you add shrimp and the seasoning to the pan.
When everything is cooked in the sauté pan (shrimp done, spinach wilted, garlic and peppers cooked through), a ladle of pasta water is added to the pan. This will help create our sauce. Think Cacio e Pepe style; in general, that’s the sort of sauce we are going for. When you add the shrimp mixture to the pasta, the cheese will be added. You can pre-gate it, but I tend to just grate it over the whole dish until it looks like a pile of snow. Then you toss it super quickly and well so that it melts into the pasta. You’ll do that twice to get a velvety soft cheese sauce which is just so so delicious!
Details
6
15 Minutes
15 Minutes
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Ingredients
1 lb Bag of Raw Frozen Shrimp (Peeled and De-veined)
3/4 Stick of Butter (6 Tbsp)
1 lb Linguine or Spaghetti
4-5 Mini Peppers or 1 Large Bell Pepper (Cut Matchstick Style)
Large Handful of Spinach
2 Garlic Cloves (Minced)
1 – 2 Tbsp Creole Seasoning (I use Tony Chachere’s)
About 2 Cups Parmesan or Pecorino Romano (Finely Grated)
Red Pepper Flakes and Parsley for Garnish
Directions
- Start your pasta water in a large heavy pot (Add about 1 Tbsp kosher salt for every 4 Cups of water) and warm a large sauté pan to medium heat.
- When sauté pan is warmed and water is boiling: add pasta to the water and cook according to directions on the package. Right when you put the pasta in the water, put your butter in the sauté pan and melt.
- Sauté your peppers until soft but not squishy, they will still be slightly firm. Then, add shrimp and sprinkle your Creole seasoning across the top of the shrimp.
- Add your spinach and garlic to the shrimp, and sauté until the shrimp is pink and cooked to temp (145 F). Pasta should be about done at this point.
- Add a ladle of pasta water (about 1/4 cup) to your shrimp mixture, this will help create the sauce. Drain your pasta, put it back in the pot and mix in the shrimp mixture.
- Finely grate cheese over the top of the pasta, a healthy amount (about a cup). Quickly toss, mix well. Repeat this step one more time. You should have a velvety sauce.
- Garnish with red pepper flakes, parsley, and extra parmesan/pecorino if you desire, serve immediately.
Note: This shrimp pasta can be stored in an airtight container for 1-2 days in the fridge.