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This Creamy Shrimp Pasta recipe is healthy and easy to make with simple ingredients. A Quick and simple shrimp and pasta dinner recipe that’s delicious and appetizing. Perfect weeknight dinner recipe for all to enjoy.
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A healthy pasta dinner recipe that is easy and quick to put together. This creamy shrimp pasta recipe is ready in just about 30 minutes, filling, delicious, and loaded with tender shrimp. Made with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach for some added nutrition, skimmed milk instead of heavy cream, and then topped with some chili flakes.
If you prefer to use a different protein like chicken instead of shrimp you definitely can. This creamy pasta recipe can be made with any meat you like. A great option would be chicken, or if you would like to keep it vegetarian go ahead and add more veggies and skip the shrimp.
Recipe Summary
- Easy and quick: This healthy shrimp pasta recipe is super easy to make and ready in 30 minutes.
- Healthy and nutritious: Made with healthier whole wheat pasta, spinach for added nutrients, and shrimp for healthy amounts of protein.
- Delicious: This shrimp pasta recipe is tasty and creamy without using any heavy cream. The sun-dried tomatoes add a nice touch and give it a flavor boost.
Creamy shrimp Pasta Ingredients
- Whole Wheat Penne: you can use any pasta of your choice. Try a healthier pasta option like chickpea pasta or lentil pasta.
- Jumbo Shrimp peeled and deveined
- Olive Oil or you may use avocado oil
- Fresh Garlic Cloves minced or pressed
- Sun-dried Tomatoes drained and chopped
- Sea salt and pepper, to your taste
- Baby Spinach: use fresh spinach or frozen
- Skimmed Milk: for a low-fat option. You can use any milk of your choice.
- Corn or Gluten-free Flour: as a thickening agent to thicken the creamy sauce.
- Dried Basil: you may use fresh
- Chili Flakes: optional to garnish
How to make creamy shrimp pasta
- Fill a pot with salted water and bring it to the boil. Add in the pasta and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until al dente.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.
- Add shrimps, dried tomatoes, chili flakes, dried basil and a pinch of salt. Cook until shrimps are pink, about 3-4 minutes, then set aside on a plate.
- In the same pan add milk and flour and cook whisking constantly, until sauce thickens(about 3-4 minutes). Season with salt and pepper to your taste.
- Add baby spinach and cook until just wilted about 1 more minute.
- Stir in the cooked pasta and shrimps and gently mix to combine. Enjoy!
Recipe notes and Tips
- You can make this creamy shrimp pasta with some light cream cheese to give it a more creamy taste and texture. Add about 1/4 cup of cream cheese in step 4 when you add the milk.
- Do not overcook the shrimp. If you do then the texture of the shrimp will be tough and rubbery. It does not take a long time to cook shrimp. Shrimp will be cooked through once the color changes to orange and it has curled up to form a C shape.
- For added flavor, top or garnish with some freshly shredded parmesan cheese.
- Do not overcook the pasta. It is best to cook it al dente because the pasta will continue to cook once mixed with the creamy shrimp sauce.
- We do recommend saving a bit of pasta water, about 1/4 cup to add it towards the end if you want to create a more saucey texture.
Commonly asked questions
There are many different ways to cook pasta. The most common one being in the water. If you would like to cook it in the chicken broth you can do so at medium heat. Add just enough broth to cover the pasta and once the broth has boiled and the pasta has cooked through you can go ahead and add the other ingredients.
Two types of sauce will work on shrimp pasta. You can either add a tomato base sauce like this homemade marinara sauce, or a creamy white sauce like this homemade Alfredo sauce.
Cooking raw shrimp for pasta is quite simple. First, you need to clean the shrimp well. Then you can simply saute the shrimp on a stovetop in a skillet with a bit of oil and your favorite seasonings. Sometimes basic salt and pepper is enough if you are adding shrimp to a creamy pasta sauce that is already packed with flavor.
More shrimp rEcipes
- Shrimp Creole Recipe
- Shrimp Burrito Bowl
- Easy Cajun Shrimp Recipe
- Shrimp Rasta Pasta
- Easy Shrimp Fajitas Skillet
- Creamy Tuscan Shrimp
- Healthy Shrimp Scampi
Pasta Recipes you may also like
- Easy Greek Cherry Tomato Pasta Recipe
- Chicken Alfredo Zoodles
- Creamy Wild Mushroom Pasta
- Healthy Pasta Primavera
- Taco Pasta Salad
- Chicken Artichoke Pasta
- Chicken Pasta Puttanesca
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Creamy Shrimp Pasta
Equipment
- non stick skillet
- cutting board
- Sharp Chef's knife
Ingredients
- 8 oz Whole Wheat Penne
- 1 lb Jumbo Shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 3-4 Garlic Cloves, minced or pressed
- 4 oz Sun-dried Tomatoes, drained and chopped
- Sea salt and pepper, to your taste
- 2 Cup Baby Spinach
- 1 ½ Cup Skimmed Milk
- 1 Tbsp Corn or Gluten-free Flour
- 1 Tbsp Dried Basil
- ½ Tsp Chili Flakes
Instructions
- Fill a pot with salted water and bring it to the boil. Add in the pasta and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until al dente.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.
- Add shrimps, dried tomatoes, chili flakes, dried basil and a pinch of salt. Cook until shrimps are pink, about 3-4 minutes, then set aside on a plate.
- In the same pan add milk and flour and cook whisking constantly, until sauce thickens(about 3-4 minutes). Season with salt and pepper to your taste.
- Add baby spinach and cook until just wilted about 1 more minute.
- Stir in the cooked pasta and shrimps and gently mix to combine. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So delicious. I used almond milk instead of cows milk and it no one could tell the difference.
That’s a great move! Glad everyone loved it
WOW! This recipe is amazed and taste is so good. It’s so easy to make this recipe and healthy. Thank you Rena! 🙂
Thank you, Rita. So glad you liked it. Makes me happy and I appreciate the positive feedback.
My entire family loved it so much that I have to make it every week now…
lol
XD
That’s great. So glad you guys loved it.
Made this last night , and was a bit with the family .. very delicious
Thanks Jennifer. Glad you and your family loved it.
I loved this recipe! So easy and fresh! I doubled the sauce ingredients and spinach because I like a lot of sauce my boyfriend said it was “restaurant quality” ❤
Thanks, Hun. Glad you liked it.
Looks delicious! Can I use any other type of milk…like almond or evaporated?
Any other milk will be fine. Not evaporated. You can use 2%
I tried to cook this recipe.. and wow.
It’s very easy to do (I’m a student and I’m not so good) and it’s very delicious.
I want cook it more time and other recipes too.
Thanks Rena!!
Thanks so Much, Helene. So glad you liked it.
Can i use regular 2% milk and regular I bleached all purpose flour for this recipe ?
Hello Ivana
Yes, you can use 2% and regular flour.