This easy shrimp pasta recipe is a great choice for when you’re in the mood for Italian food on a weeknight. I came up with this recipe by combining some favorite pasta recipes that I’ve made forever: garlic shrimp, pasta primavera, pasta with broccoli…. And the sum really is greater than the parts. I love Italian food and the saucy, cheesy staples like lasagna, canneloni, manicotti. But sometimes I don’t really want to eat something so heavy and those dishes do require more prep time. So this pasta recipe fits the bill. I also like to add a side salad to make a great and balanced meal. Oh and garlic bread!
So, my cooking has evolved over the years. Early on, I cooked quick and easy meals that had lots of ready-made elements and processed foods. You know! Those recipes with canned mushroom or chicken soups? Don’t get me wrong – I still use convenience foods, but I try to make that a rare occurrence. Once the kids were born, I switched to homemade fresh ingredients and also jumped on the the low-fat bandwagon that we’ve probably all been on. Recently, about 4 years ago, we decided to avoid meats as much as we could. That lasted for about two years. Now I’m where I want to be: cooking homemade dishes, while avoiding processed ingredients, but using meat and fats in moderation. That’s my mantra these days: ‘Everything in moderation.’ I say all this because this pasta recipe has butter! I’ve tried making it with just olive oil, and it’s still good, but the butter really adds a lot of flavor. Hope you like it!
Garlic Shrimp Pasta Ingredients
Garlic Shrimp Pasta Stages of Cooking
Garlic Shrimp Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb shrimp peeled and deveined
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 8 oz spaghetti
- 4 Tbsp olive oil divided
- 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 1/2 cup sliced bell peppers
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp minced garlic
- 4 green onions sliced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
- 1/2 tsp hot red pepper flakes or to taste
- 1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Season shrimp with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside.
- Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Saute the mushrooms, broccoli and bell peppers. (I prefer to saute each vegetable separately so as not to crowd the pan.) Set aside.
- Melt butter and remaining olive oil over medium heat.
- Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Make sure not to burn the garlic.
- Add the green onions and saute for 1 minute.
- Add shrimp, salt, black pepper and red pepper to the pot. Saute until shrimp turns pink, about 3 minutes.
- Add sun dried tomatoes, pasta, and vegetables and toss carefully till heated through, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice.
- Transfer to serving dish, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on
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Kimberly H
Great tastes and easy to make… Thanks for sharing.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Kimberly, thank you for commenting. I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Lin
Loved it!
Erica Schmidt
Pasta is definitely my definition of comfort food! Love shrimp and all the veggies too. Pinning for later, thanks for sharing!
Paint the Kitchen Red
I hope you get to try it out – let me know how you like it.
Mariana
I love the way you display the individual ingredients with photos for this recipe. It seems less intimidating!
This dish has all the ingredients I love in my pasta! Buon Appetito!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks for the feedback. I will try and continue to do that, knowing it’s helpful. Enjoy!