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This shrimp pasta features creamy Mozzarella sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, and red pepper flakes. Easy weeknight dinner!
You've come to the right place for shrimp recipes! I've made all kinds of shrimp pasta through the years, such as creamy shrimp pasta with mushrooms and pesto shrimp pasta, and this recipe definitely stands out as one of my favorites!
This recipe features creamy Mozzarella sauce with sun-dried tomatoes and basil. If you enjoy these flavors but prefer a different type of protein as opposed to shrimp, you can try this sun-dried tomato chicken pasta or delicious scallop pasta.
Easy Recipe
This shrimp pasta a ridiculously easy recipe which makes it a perfect choice for a weeknight dinner. The recipe pretty much involves only 4 steps.
- First, the shrimp is cooked in olive oil with lots of garlic. And, while you do it, your kitchen will smell so good!
- Then, make the cream sauce by sautéing sun-dried tomatoes and garlic, adding cream, basil, red pepper flakes, paprika.
- Next, Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain.
- Finally, combine everything together: shrimp, pasta, and the cream sauce! YUM!
Substitute for half and half
- What is Half-and-half? To keep it simple, Half-and-half is the US milk product that combines half whole milk and half heavy cream to form a lighter cream.
- Substitute ½ cup of milk + ½ cup of heavy cream for 1 cup of half-and-half.
How to store and reheat shrimp pasta
- Store leftovers in an airtight container, refrigerated, for up to 4 days.
- To reheat, add a small amount of milk or chicken broth (or water) to shrimp pasta and reheat gently over medium-low heat until the sauce just starts to bubble. At this point, turn heat to low, and continue reheating the pasta, without simmering.
- Keep your eyes on keeping the heat medium or low. If reheated over high heat, the cream will separate.
Can you freeze it?
- The creamy sauce does not retain its texture well when frozen. Therefore, I do not recommend freezing the creamy shrimp pasta.
How to make it gluten-free
- Use gluten-free brown rice penne or any other type of gluten-free short pasta. You can use gluten-free lentil penne or gluten-free quinoa pasta.
- Cook gluten-free pasta according to package instructions. Then drain and rinse with cold water to prevent gluten-free pasta from getting mushy and sticking together.
Tips and Tricks
- Use sun-dried tomatoes in oil. They are usually sold in glass jars. Drain sun-dried tomatoes from oil as much as you can before using them in this recipe. Do use oil from the jar to saute shrimp with garlic.
- Be careful not to overcook the shrimp. Do keep in mind that it's really easy to overcook the shrimp which will make it tough and rubbery and not so tasty. That's why it's important to have all ingredients ready to go and make this recipe as fast as you can and serve it immediately! That way you won't give a chance to shrimp to sit around and cook in its own juices.
- Use short pasta (penne) - that allows the sauce to coat every single bite!
- Make sure to season the shrimp pasta with just enough salt to bring out of the flavors of basil and sun-dried tomatoes. Do not add too much salt but do not skimp on it, either.
Why this recipe works
It's so easy to overcook the shrimp. However, what is great about this recipe is that even if you do overcook the shrimp, you will hardly notice it as the shrimp will be coated in the most delicious creamy sauce that will keep the shrimp moist and tender!
More delicious shrimp pasta recipes
I cook a lot with shrimp and pasta, so if you want to try other recipes, check out these:
- Creamy shrimp pasta with mushrooms - this is one of the most popular recipes on my site!
- Spicy shrimp pasta in garlic tomato cream sauce - shrimp seared in olive oil with crushed red pepper, paprika, and salt, then smothered in a spicy cream sauce made with chopped onions, minced garlic, crushed tomatoes, and cream.
- Pesto shrimp mushroom pasta - basil pesto and mushrooms taste great with shrimp!
- Garlic shrimp alfredo in creamy four-cheese pasta sauce - shrimp served over creamy white cheese Italian pasta sauce.
Creamy Mozzarella Shrimp Pasta
Delicious shrimp pasta with mozzarella cheese alfredo sauce is made from scratch with sun-dried tomatoes, basil, red pepper flakes, paprika, and cream. You'll have a perfectly cooked shrimp: soft and tender and never dry or rubbery!
Ingredients
Pasta:
- 8 oz penne pasta (for gluten free version, use gluten free brown rice pasta)
Shrimp:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (drained from sun-dried tomatoes jar or just use regular olive oil)
- 1 pound shrimp (without shells, and deveined)
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Creamy Sauce:
- 4 oz sun-dried tomatoes (without oil)
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded (do not use fresh Mozzarella, use pre-shredded Mozzarella)
- 1 tablespoon dried basil (if using fresh basil you can add more)
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes crushed, add more to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon paprika
- ½ cup reserved cooked pasta water (or more)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
How to cook pasta
- Cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve some cooked pasta water. Drain the pasta.
How to cook shrimp
- Note: if using sun-dried tomatoes in oil (in a jar), make sure to drain sun-dried tomatoes from oil, before using them. Reserve 2 tablespoons of this drained oil for sauteing the shrimp as described below:
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil (reserved from the sun-dried tomatoes jar - see the note above, or use regular olive oil) in a large skillet on medium-high heat.
- Add shrimp with minced garlic. Cook the shrimp on one side for about 1 minute, until shrimp turns pink or golden brown on that side. While it cooks, sprinkle salt over the shrimp to cover every single shrimp.
- Make sure not to crowd the shrimp in the skillet, otherwise, moisture will form and shrimp won't sear right.
- After 1 minute, flip the shrimp over to the other side and cook for about 30 seconds or 1 minute more.
- The shrimp should be golden color or pink on both sides and not overcooked.
- Remove the shrimp to a plate, being careful to leave all the oil in the skillet.
How to make creamy Mozzarella sauce
- To the same skillet, add sun-dried tomatoes (drained from oil and sliced into smaller chunks, if needed) and more minced garlic.
- Saute sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil (remaining from shrimp) on medium heat, stirring, for 1 minute until the garlic is fragrant. The skillet should be hot.
- Add half and half to the hot skillet with sun-dried tomatoes and bring to boil.
- Add shredded cheese to the skillet, and quickly stir in while boiling. Immediately reduce to simmer.
- Continue cooking the sauce on low simmer heat, constantly stirring, until all the cheese melts and the creamy sauce forms.
- If the sauce is too thick, add a small amount of half-and-half or reserved cooked pasta water.
- Add basil, crushed red pepper flakes, paprika. Stir.
- Add ¼ teaspoon of salt gradually, stirring on low heat and tasting (you might need slightly less than ¼ teaspoon).
How to assemble shrimp pasta
- Add cooked pasta to the sauce, and reheat gently on medium heat.
- Add the cooked shrimp, stir it in.
- Taste, and season with more salt, if needed.
- If the sauce is too thick, add a small amount of half-and-half or reserved cooked pasta water.
- Let everything simmer on low heat for a couple of minutes for flavors to combine.
- Note: Make sure to salt the dish just enough to bring out of the flavors of basil and sun-dried tomatoes.
Video
Notes
- What is half-and-half? Substitute ½ cup of milk + ½ cup of heavy cream for 1 cup of half-and-half.
- If using sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil (in a jar), make sure to drain sun-dried tomatoes from oil, before using them. Reserve 2 tablespoons of this drained olive oil.
- Do not use fresh Mozzarella. Fresh Mozzarella is usually sold as a large ball or small balls in a brine or water solution. Do not shred fresh Mozzarella.
- Use Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella cheese. It is usually sold as solid blocks or as pre-shredded cheese in bags.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information
Creamy Mozzarella Shrimp Pasta
Amount per Serving
Calories
632
% Daily Value*
Fat
23
g
35
%
Saturated Fat
9
g
56
%
Cholesterol
330
mg
110
%
Sodium
1449
mg
63
%
Potassium
1335
mg
38
%
Carbohydrates
63
g
21
%
Fiber
5
g
21
%
Sugar
12
g
13
%
Protein
43
g
86
%
Vitamin A
720
IU
14
%
Vitamin C
18
mg
22
%
Calcium
444
mg
44
%
Iron
6.8
mg
38
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This is a very tasty dish. However, the ratios are way off. The mozzarella cheese to half and half is wrong. I used a pint of heavy cream instead of the half and half. It only took a 1/4 cup of cheese to make a great sauce. Had way too much pasta for this sauce as well as shrimp. I'll continue to use the base with my adjustments.
Cathy, I am glad you've enjoyed the recipe! Yes, if you use heavy cream instead of half-and-half, it will make the sauce much thicker and you will not need as much cheese. Also, the recipe uses 1/2 cup of reserved cooked pasta water IN ADDITION to half-and-half to make the sauce of just the right texture!
I made this for the first time and followed the ingredients to a T. It was soooo good and I loved the sun dried tomatoes and using the oil.I was a little sceptical about all the garlic and it would be overwhelming, but I was wrong. I didn’t use the real large cloves, so that might have helped make the shrimp and sauce perfect. The pasta water was a great suggestion because I don’t care for a thick sauce. My husband loved it and kept commenting about how good it was. Thanks for the recipe and tips.
Linda, I am so happy you've enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for sharing such a detailed comment and the 5-star review - I appreciate it! 🙂
Made this for dinner tonight. It was so yummy. Wonderful creamy and flavorful cause. Fabulous recipe.
Flavorful sauce is what was meant
Glad you enjoyed this! 🙂
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for the comment and the 5-star review! 🙂
Great recipe! Husband rated it a 10 out and of 10. The only thing that I changed was that I used oat milk instead of half and half and then used cornstarch to thicken the sauce. Probably was a bit heavy handed with the cheese also. Delicious.
Kate, I am glad you gave this recipe a try and enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing your changes (about using oat milk and cornstarch) - very helpful to other readers and me, as well. And I appreciate the 5-star review! 🙂
My husband and I really liked this recipe.
I used chickpea pasta. Followed all the other directions, which I thought was well explained. I added a little Parmesan on top. Thank you delicious and fast.♡
Thank you so much for such a positive comment - I am glad you've enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Have made before with no issue. This time the cheese attached to the sd tomatoes. I ended up with no sauce and big balls of cheese with sd tomatoes in them
So sorry to hear about that! Here are some troubleshooting tips:
1) Makes sure to use low-moisture, part-skim Mozzarella cheese (it comes shredded in a bag) - not fresh Mozzarella cheese.
2) Make sure the liquid sauce is hot before you add the cheese - bring it to a brief boil. Then, reduce to simmer - the sauce should be simmering - which means it should be visibly boiling on low - but still you should see it boiling on the lowest setting you can get before you add the cheese.
3) Then, add the shredded cheese GRADUALLY - not dumping it all in the sauce at one time. Add it gradually, sprinkling it evenly all over the skillet. Stir, and sprinkle some more cheese. Stir again.
I've made a dish similar to this before and loved it, but this time it was lacking. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but got tired of tweaking it. My 20 year old loved it and I don't hate it I just did something wrong. Do you think my user of a cast iron skillet would affect it? What about Himalayan salt instead of table? Still it's good and you did a great job with presenting the recipe. The section by section breakdown made it easy to understand. Thank you.
Anne, thank you so much for such a generous and constructive comment! I don't think the use of a cast-iron skillet would affect it.
I would suggest the following changes:
1) Use more sun-dried tomatoes
2) Use more basil, and if using dried basil, taste it to see if it's got strong enough basil flavor. When I buy dried basil, I find there is such a wide range of flavor differences across various brands.
3) I think adding some heat, such as red pepper flakes, really helps.
4) And, yes, finally, under-seasoning the pasta with salt would affect the flavor. So, I would add just the right amount of salt, maybe, test it out on a small amount.
Hi, Do you use cooked frozen shrimp?
You can use frozen shrimp - but make sure it's completely thawed before using it in this recipe.
Just wanted to say thanx!
You're welcome! 🙂
I don’t like sun dried tomatoes. What could I substitute?
You can use roasted red bell peppers instead or mushrooms.
I just made this for myself, my husband and 17-year-old grandson. We thought it was amazing! It was very tasty. I did half heavy cream half milk because I didn’t have a half-and-half and it was perfect . Thank you
I am so happy you gave this recipe a try and enjoyed it! Thank you so much for such a positive comment - I appreciate it! 🙂
As others have stated, the cheese clumped up. I used half-and-half and pasta water. The flavor was also bland. I feel like this was a waste of cheese and shrimp. The sauce was not creamy, it was just one big gluey mess. I will not be using this recipe again.
I made this for my mom’s birthday dinner. Turned out awesome. I’ll be making it again for sure. I showed my friend a picture of it and he wants me to bring him some. He wants to switch lunches at work, like we are in elementary school. So funny. Oh yeah and his dad is a Chef
Wow, thank you for such a great and positive comment! So glad the recipe was enjoyed! And, I am flattered to hear about your friend wanting to switch the food with you. 🙂
Husband and I loved the recipe, came out great!
Glad you liked it! Thank you for the comment and the 5-star review! 🙂
I just left a comment for your recipe but noticed your last name after hitting send. I'm my family's genealogist and have ancestors with the last name spelled "Tow(e)" and believe it could be a variation of Tuohy. Do you live in the US or another country? I believe my ancestors were from Scotland or Ireland. I would love to hear back.
Oh. My. Gosh. This was amazing. My husband saw it somewhere (I assume Facebook) and told me to find it and cook it. Lol. Will definitely be in our meal rotation. Had everything measured out and ready and it came together quickly and with little effort. I did my happy dance when I was eating it.
Cindy, your comment made my day! So glad the recipe was enjoyed by both of you. And, thank you for taking the time to share such a positive comment!! 🙂
Made this tonight, first of all I definitely suggest having all of your ingredients out, measured and ready to go so I’m glad I read others saying that and followed suit. I used heavy cream instead of half n half and the mozzarella cheese still clumped up even though I stirred it constantly and turned it to simmer as soon as I added the cheese. I kept going as planned and just ended up scooping out a few big chunks of cheese and throwing it away. Wasn’t a huge deal. Otherwise it was super tasty, my husband and son loved it. I would make again.
Casey, so glad you liked the recipe. Thank you for such detailed and helpful feedback.
Did you use shredded Mozzarella cheese (not the fresh kind, right?).
My tip about the clumped-up cheese would be to keep stirring while the sauce simmers at a higher heat. Not exactly boiling but not barely simmering, maybe low-medium heat (higher than just simmering). And keep stirring at all times.
Very good dish. The only recommendation I would make would be to double the shrimp.
Yes! Doubling the protein is always a great idea in my book!