Creamy Shrimp Pasta

By Rena Awada | Updated On March 17, 2024

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.

pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and shrimp in a skillet


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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.
close up of shrimp and pasta with sundried tomatoes and spinach on a skillet

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
top view of a round skillet with creamy shrimp pasta made with added spinach

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!
skillet with shrimp pasta recipe with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, shrimp and light cream sauce

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

Can you boil pasta in chicken broth?

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.

What’s a good sauce to go with shrimp pasta?

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.

How to cook raw shrimp for pasta?

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.

close up of creamy shrimp pasta in a pan with wooden spoon in skillet

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close up of skillet with penne pasta made wiyj sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, shrimp and light cream sauce

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skillet with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, shrimp, and pasta in light cream sauce

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top view of a round skillet with whole wheat penne pasta made with shrimp

Creamy Shrimp Pasta

Easy creamy pasta recipe made with shrimp, sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh spinach. Ready in just 30 minutes and packed with flavor.
4.53 from 40 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian
Diet: Low Fat
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
0 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 497kcal
Author: Rena

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

Nutritional facts:
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information is calculated using a nutrition facts calculator. It is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used
Note: The cream in this shrimp pasta dish is not heavy and too creamy like you would expect since we only used milk and flour. To get that creamy texture and taste, you can add some half and half, or some creamy cheese.

Nutrition

Calories: 497kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 293mg | Sodium: 1010mg | Potassium: 1293mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 1820IU | Vitamin C: 20.7mg | Calcium: 332mg | Iron: 5.9mg
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rita says

    5 stars
    WOW! This recipe is amazed and taste is so good. It’s so easy to make this recipe and healthy. Thank you Rena! 🙂

  2. Samantha says

    5 stars
    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” ❤

  3. Hélène says

    5 stars
    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!!

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