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
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 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.
Norma
Everything came together perfectly, this will definitely be one of my go to dishes. Husband loved.
Julia
Norma, thank you for the rave review! ❤️
Binh
I understand your recipe calls for no oil sun-dried tomatoes. How much of a change would it be if I'd substitute using CALIFORNIA SUN DRY Sun-Dried Tomatoes Julienne Cut with Herbs (blended oils)? I'm depleting my pantry so I'm wondering.
Julia
It shouldn't change the recipe much at all. I would drain as much oil as possible. Then, I would skip the requirement of using 2 tablespoons of olive oil to cook the shrimp, and instead add your sun-dried tomatoes together with shrimp and garlic and cook them altogether since the sun-dried tomatoes will add the oil necessary for cooking the shrimp and garlic. And the rest of the recipe is unchanged. Enjoy! 🙂
Mary Kay Sones
Absolutely fabulous!!
Julia
Thank you, Mary Kay!
Candace Howell
This is fantastic! I used heavy cream with pasta water instead of half and half. Using the shredded mozzarella at room temp helped it blend better. I used the oil from the sun dried tomatoes to cook the shrimp and garlic. My friends loved it. I’ll make this again.
Julia
Candace, I love your detailed and helpful comment with so many great tips! ❤️
➡️ Yes for using shredded mozzarella at room temperature! VERY IMPORTANT! I would take it out of the fridge and place the amount of cheese you need to use on a plate or in a bowl at least 30 minutes before starting this recipe to let the cheese come to room temperature. It makes blending it with the sauce so much easier!
➡️ Yes for using oil from sun-dried tomatoes to cook the shrimp and garlic!
Jackie
We enjoyed this dish and will certainly make it again.
Julia
Thank you for this wonderful feedback and 5 stars! ❤️
Machaka
It was delicious! I’m new to sun dried tomatoes so trying to decide if I like them. Maybe I didn’t use enough salt… not sure but the cream is soooo creamy!! Thank you!
Julia
Machaka, thank you so much for trying this recipe even though you were unsure of sun-dried tomatoes. I am glad the sauce came out creamy!!
Sharon
Delicious. My family liked it too. I had never used sun dried tomatoes in oil but they worked really well in this recipe. Thanks so much!
Julia
Sharon, I am so glad this recipe turned out well! Thank you for taking the time to share this positive feedback! ❤️
Christine Chen
I just made the pasta and am eating it now. It's so delicious. The sauce works very well. I did add quite a bit of salt to adjust to my taste 🙂
Julia
Christine, I am so glad this pasta dish turned out well! 🙂 Adding just the right amount of salt is so important to help bring out all the flavors together in any dish!
Karen
Love this recipe. I made it for supper using dehydrated tomato’s we grew last year. I added some corn as well. It is quick and easy. Thank you for sharing your recipe with us!
Julia
Karen, you are very welcome. Good to know this pasta dish worked well with dehydrated tomatoes and corn - thank you for sharing this feedback!
Jim
I made the recipe and all went well except that the mozzarella cheese did not actually dissolve into the “sauce”. It melted and remained a molten blob no matter how much I stirred. It was almost like it was an oil and water thing where the two just didn’t mix. I used a brick of mozzarella and hand grated it. Maybe cheese already shredded has an anti-clumping agent in it that acts as an emulsifier to help it blend into the sauce?? Just speculating….
Julia
Jim, that's a bummer. Here are some troubleshooting tips:
1) Next time, try using heavy cream instead of half-and-half. Sometimes, the sauce will not turn creamy when there is not enough fat in the sauce.
2) Make sure the cheese is at room temperature. Before you start making the recipe, take the amount you need out of the fridge, shred it, and set it out on the counter to warm up. Just bring the cheese to room temperature before adding it to the sauce. This is important to make sure the cheese is not refrigerator cold.
3) Bring the sauce to a stable simmer (but not boiling violently) for about 3 minutes before adding cheese - this is done to warm everything up. Then, scatter the shredded cheese (use only half of it) in a thin layer evenly all over the sauce across the whole cooking pan surface (don't just dump the cheese in one spot). Then, stir it in on a low simmer, slowly, and patiently until it melts. Do not let the sauce violently boil - just gently boil (simmer). Add the remaining cheese in a similar fashion if the sauce is still thin.
Jim
Thank You!! I’ll give it a second try and follow your tips!
Julia
Enjoy!
Mary
Would fontina cheese instead of mozzarella work? Easier to melt and more flavor?
Kay
The space took on the color of the sd tomatoes which were black. It looks like a bowl of poop
Julia
Black sun-dried tomatoes? I usually use sun-dried tomatoes that are not dark in color - more of a bright, red color (usually in a glass jar, with olive oil). So the sauce usually has a pinkish, very light color. I would choose those sun-dried tomatoes next, for presentation purposes.
Laureen
I already have fresh Mozzarella in the fridge. Can I use this?
Julia
Laureen, you can't use fresh mozzarella in this recipe. Fresh mozzarella usually looks like balls in a tub of water or a log.
I used pre-shredded Mozzarella - you can also use a rectangular block of Mozzarella - it should be labeled as part-skim, low-moisture.
Sara
So good! The sun dried tomatoes add such a full bodied flavor to the shrimp and the pasta. One of my new favorites
Julia
Sara, glad you loved this recipe. Thank you for the comment and 5-star review! 🙂
Kiersten
I hope I'm doing this right I couldn't find an actual comment box we didn't use to crush red pepper I'm not big on any form of pepper to me it's spicy is there something else I can use so it's not so Bland it was really good but to me it was Bland but I say that about everything I cook that it could be better I'm just learning so I'm trying to figure it out
Julia
Kiersten, you can try adding Cajun spice (the non-spicy kind) or smoked paprika. Also, try adding chopped fresh basil. And, don't forget to season just right with salt to bring all the flavors together. Enjoy!
Mary
Made this tonight. Omitted the sun-dried tomatoes ( picky kid) and it was fantastic! Definitely going in our monthly rotation!
Julia
Mary, glad you tried it and loved it! 🙂 Thank you for such a positive comment and the 5 stars! 🙂
CJ
One more comment...I live in the high desert of NM and at 6000' some dishes take modifications. Definitely save at least a cup of your pasta water, as my cream & cheese sauce was so thick I needed more cream & all the cup of pasta water to thin it. But oh so oooy-gooey sauce for the collossal shrimp I had.
Thanks again!
Julia
Thank you for sharing such helpful feedback! It will be so helpful to me and other readers. I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe and found it comment-worthy! 🙂
Debra
This was a good dish but as it got cooler it was just too thick so to the remainder I added marinara sauce to make a cheesy marinara sauce. Very good
Julia
Debra, you are 100% correct - it gets quite thick as it cools. You can also add a small amount of milk or pasta water (or even regular water) on a low simmer to thin it out.
CJ
I made this last night as I was craving a pasta dish. I love the shrimp & sun dried tomato flavors together and the rest of the ingredients tasted like my fave pizza without the gluten. My husband & I are gluten free (for arthritis inflammation reasons), so I used a chickpea cavatappi pasta. This dish is so easy & simple, but so full of flavor. Made enough for us to have leftovers tonight! Yum-O!
Thank you!
Julia
Thank you so much for such a positive comment! I am so glad you stopped by (after making this recipe) to write this wonderful comment. This recipe is delicious with gluten-free pasta - I've tried that myself!
Socalparalegal
Loved the recipe. Added Campbell's cheddar cheese soup and butter instead of mozzarella cheese. The sundried tomatoes was an added surprise.
Julia
I love your creativity! Your additions sound delicious - sounds like it was a great flavor combo!
Kimberly
This was an excellent dish! Easy to prepare and beautiful to serve. Had a a batch of heirloom grape tomatoes which I halved and added for color and it was a great complement to the sun dried tomatoes and didn’t turn the dish too tomato-y. Yum!
Julia
Kimberly, I am glad you loved this recipe! Thank you for taking the time to write such a positive comment! 🙂
William
Fantastic. My wife and I loved it.
Julia
William, I am happy to hear that! Thank you for the comment! 🙂