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Garlic Shrimp and Sun-Dried Tomatoes with Pasta in Spicy Cream Sauce - a delicious, Italian-inspired seafood pasta recipe. If you want to make something different with shrimp, try this recipe! It's easy and you'll love it if you like sun-dried tomatoes.
There is lots of sauce in this seafood pasta. Be careful not to overcook the shrimp (which is easy to do). But even if you do overcook the shrimp, there is so much cream sauce, you won't even notice if the shrimp does get rubbery. That's the beauty of this recipe. Garlic Shrimp together with Sun-Dried Tomatoes is smothered in Spicy Creamy Sauce and served over fettuccine pasta. With everything spiced up with basil and crushed red pepper. Italian-inspired comfort food that's super easy to make!
How to make garlic shrimp pasta:
Start by cooking sun-dried tomatoes with minced garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then add shrimp, heavy cream, and spices:
Add the Parmesan cheese to melt it in the sauce, then add cooked pasta and mix everything in:
Adjust spices by adding more of basil, crushed red pepper, and salt:
Garlic Shrimp Pasta with Spicy Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 oz fettuccine pasta (use gluten free brown rice fettuccine for gluten free version)
- 1 lb shrimp (Use unfrozen uncooked shrimp. If you have to, you can use unfrozen cooked shrimp - it will work here too)
- 4 oz sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup half-and-half or whole milk
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese freshly shredded
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain (reserving some pasta water).
- 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 as described below:
- In a large skillet, saute minced garlic and sun-dried tomatoes (drained from oil) in 2 tablespoons of oil (reserved from the sun-dried tomatoes jar - see note above) for 1 minute until garlic is fragrant.
- Add shrimp, sprinkle with a small amount of salt, paprika, and cook on medium heat for about 2 more minutes.
- Add heavy cream, basil, and crushed red pepper to the skillet with shrimp, bring to a stable simmer, and make sure the sauce is hot. Whisk in half of the Parmesan cheese (½ cup) gradually into the hot cream, then stir on the lowest heat setting until the cheese melts. If the sauce gets too thick, add ¼ cup of half-and-half to thin it out. Add more Parmesan to the sauce if it's too thin. You don't have to use the whole 1 cup of Parmesan - it depends on how thick you want your sauce. Use half-and-half to thin it out if it gets too thick.
- Remove the sauce from heat. Add more salt, basil, and more crushed red pepper if desired, to taste.
- Add cooked pasta to the creamy mixture, add more salt, basil, and more crushed red pepper if desired, to taste. If the sauce is too thick, use the reserved pasta water to thin it out.
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.
Made this tonite! Yummy!!! Added 2 tbsps tomato paste & fresh basil instead of dried... Will definitely make this again!!!
Thank you, Elizabeth! So glad you liked this recipe! Fresh basil is always a great addition!
Love this website! Everything looks amazing.
Thank you, Hillary!
Can this be made up ahead of time and how would you serve it up for a large group of people?
I wouldn't make this ahead of time because the creamy sauce made with cheese will solidify in the refrigerator, and when you reheat it, it might not have the same texture as when it's first made. Also, with shrimp, I think it's always better to serve it immediately.
My sauce was so funny I couldn't even eat my meal with a fork. Why did that happen?
If the sauce was too runny, make sure all the cheese melted in the sauce by bringing the sauce to boil, stirring it all around the skillet with the cheese added, until the cheese melts, and you have a nice smooth sauce.
Sorry I would just like to add this recipe is amazing. We used spaghetti squash instead of pasta. I would def make it again
I would use milk instead of half n half. It thinkens too much also if using half n half a half cup of parm is needed.
Julia's recipes are fantastic!!!!
This is delicious & easy. I will make it again.
Thank you! So happy you liked it!
I absolutely can't wait to cook this tonight. I originally had another recipe from google, but I came across this photo and said to myself that I have to make this instead! I even had to go back to the store to grab these (your) ingredients. I'm so excited & alittle worried. I'd already bought heavy whipp for the previous recipe, will it be okay to sub heavy whipp instead of half/half or milk. Help!?!?!
Yes, you can use heavy whipping cream instead of half and half or milk, just halve the amount of Parmesan cheese. Use 1/2 cup of freshly shredded Parmesan cheese instead of 1 cup if you use 1 cup of heavy cream, otherwise your sauce will be too thick.
Just made and ate this pasta.. SO GOOD!! Like something from a restaurant. Definitely keeping this recipe for future use! Thanks 😀
Made this today & it was amazing and doubled the recipe. Only difference I made was I used half a cup of half/half and half a cup of heavy whipping cream. Just because I prefer heavy cream 🙂 Other than that this is one amazing recipe. Started to follow you on Pinterest for future recipes. Thank you for sharing.
I made this recipe tonight and it was amazing! wonderful flavor and so easy, I did not have any trouble with the cheese I whisked it in a little at a time and it melted easily. I used heavy cream instead of half and half and it thickened nicely, I did have to use some pasta water to keep it from getting too thick but it was a delicious recipe!
Yummity yum yum yummers! Used milk and added a tablespoon of cornstarch to thicken the sauce. Extra red pepper. And parmesan never ever melts for me, so next time it goes on top! Thank you for sharing this forever ago!
I am disappointed in this recipe. Following the steps exactly, the cheese clumped up on me and clung to the shrimp. The sauce was a runny mess instead of nice creamyness.
Nice recipe! Really enjoyed.