Shrimp Tomato Spinach Pasta in Garlic Butter Sauce - a delicious Italian pasta dish with lots of fresh ingredients!
I absolutely love combining shrimp, pasta, and tomatoes. My long-time favorite is spicy shrimp pasta with garlic tomato sauce. Seafood, vegetables, and pasta are definitely a winning combination!
Why make shrimp tomato pasta
- This recipe is a great way to use up a bunch of fresh tomatoes you might have sitting around in your kitchen!
- It's a healthy, Mediterranean style recipe. This shrimp pasta is packed with healthy ingredients. I am talking about fresh vegetables, such as tomatoes and spinach.
- It's a vibrant and colorful recipe that makes a beautiful presentation!
- You can easily make this pasta gluten free by using gluten free noodles.
What makes this recipe work?
- In this recipe, the tomatoes are only slightly cooked. This preserves their freshness and shape.
- The shrimp has rich flavor thanks to paprika and crushed red pepper.
- The garlic butter sauce is refreshing and comforting. It's made with fresh tomatoes, fresh spinach, minced garlic, olive oil, and butter.
This recipe became a favorite in my household. It disappeared quickly from the skillet as everybody went for seconds. And, it's so easy to make!
When you cook the shrimp and garlic in olive oil, the shrimp will smell and look so good! You will be tempted to eat half of it before finishing up this recipe! 🙂
Resist the temptation! I promise you will be rewarded with the best garlic shrimp tomato pasta you'll ever taste!
And, if you want something more creamy, I recommend my very popular shrimp pasta with creamy mozzarella sauce. If you like mushrooms, you'll love creamy shrimp pasta with mushrooms.
How to make shrimp tomato spinach pasta
1) First, saute fresh shrimp in garlic, butter, and olive oil, until just pink on both sides. The shrimp will still be undercooked but it will continue cooking later.
2) Sprinkle the shrimp generously with salt and paprika, as you're cooking it.
3) Then, add chopped fresh tomatoes and cooked spinach along with garlic and crushed red pepper to the skillet with shrimp.
4) Mix everything well. Remove from heat (while you cook the pasta). You don't want to overcook the shrimp and tomatoes - they will continue cooking in the next step.
5) Cook fettuccine pasta in boiling water, according to package instructions. Drain.
6) Next, add cooked and drained pasta to the skillet with shrimp, spinach, and tomatoes, along with some lemon juice and more butter.
7) Heat up your shrimp tomato spinach pasta, and season with salt and red pepper flakes. Stir constantly until the shrimp is cooked through, and all ingredients are heated through.
8) Top with grated Parmesan cheese, when serving.
Enjoy this Shrimp Tomato and Spinach Pasta!
Shrimp Tomato Spinach Pasta in Garlic Butter Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb shrimp , fresh, uncooked, shelled and deveined
- 5 tomatoes , medium size, fresh, chopped into large cubes
- 1 cup spinach cooked
- 5 garlic cloves , minced
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ lemon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper or more
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 10 oz fettuccine pasta
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese grated, for serving
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil, until melted.
- Add fresh shrimp and half the minced garlic. Make sure the shrimp is not crowded. Cook for 1 minute on one side until pink on that side.
- While the shrimp is cooking, generously sprinkle paprika and salt over uncooked side of the shrimp.
- Flip the shrimp over and cook for another 1 or 2 minutes until pink on the other side.
- To the skillet with shrimp, add chopped fresh tomatoes, cooked spinach, and the remaining amount of minced garlic. Add ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper (or more). Mix everything well, remove from heat while you cook pasta.
- In the meantime cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water to prevent pasta from cooking and getting mushy.
- Add cooked pasta to the skillet with shrimp and vegetables with 1 or 2 tablespoons of butter.
- Add freshly squeezed lemon juice. Depending on the juiciness of your lemon, it could be ¼ of a small lemon or ½ lemon. Don't add too much lemon juice.
- Season with salt and more crushed red pepper. Warm up on medium heat until the shrimp is cooked through, and all ingredients are heated through.
- To serve, top with grated Parmesan cheese.
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.
Laura McCormick
Looks delicious..trying this tonight
Julia
Enjoy! 🙂
Jan mc
Stellar recipe. Tasty, quick and simple. As many do, changed a bit based on what I had: roasted peppers for tomato, splash of white wine, half the butter. Will make as written next time. Thanks!
Julia
So glad you made the recipe and liked it! Your additions sound delicious! 🙂
Jan
Made this for the second time but I added some white wine to the sauce... absolutely awesome dinner!
Julia
Thank you! Yes, adding white wine to the sauce is a great idea!
Miriam
I cooked this for lunch with asparagus and grape tomatoes served with blanched brussel sprouts on the side... everybody loves it...
Julia
So happy to hear that! 🙂 Using asparagus and grape tomatoes is a great idea!
Deb
So Good! I used grape tomatoes and cooked them for a little longer (I removed the shrimp while I cooked the tomatoes down). I did add some white wine at the end. The only thing I would say is once it's done, just let it cool stirring every now and then. It allows the pasta to get coated with that good sauce.
Julia
So glad you liked this recipe! Great idea to use grape tomatoes and add some white wine in the end!
Sandy
My family loved this! I added a pound of steamed asparagus and my fam voted for that instead of spinach! Lovely recipe!! A real do-over!
Jax
Just found this recipe, just made it, just gobbled it down and just got a HUGE thumbs up from my hubby. Wowee what a delicious dish!
Rachel
My hubs accidentally bought crooked shrimp. How would you adjust this recipe?
Julia
Just follow the recipe as is, just reheat the shrimp quickly for about 1 minute in step 1 (instead of cooking it).
Lea magruder
Made this tonite just like recipe calls and added little white cooking wine. It is amazing. I will be making it again.
Julia
Thank you so much! So glad you liked it! The addition of white wine is a great idea!
Wendy
Delicious...even better after 1-2 days....flavorful!
Julia
Thank you, Wendy! I am glad you enjoyed it! This recipe is definitely flavorful!
Cherisse
This was awesome. So good!!! Wish I had doubled the recipe!
Julia
So glad you liked it! Thank you for stopping by!
Catherine
This is an awesome recipe that became a favorite the first time I made it. It's such a delicious blend of flavors and very quick to make.
Two things I changed because it's faster and seemed more sensible to me. I started the pasta first so that it was done as I put the shrimp in the pan, drained it, but did not rinse and added it immediately to the shrimp mixture. I also did not pre-cook the spinach. I used fresh baby spinach, chopped up some. I added it at the same stage as the fresh tomatoes. It came out perfectly cooked, not overcooked.
The spices and sauce are perfect just as written. This neal is colorful, smells great and tastes even better. Thank you so much for this beautiful dish.
Deebi27
As I have made 5- 6 of your amazing meals, tonight Shrimp, Tomato & Spinach Pasta in Garlic sauce! I know it will be yummy!
Jayvenes
I made this for Sunday dinner and it was very good.
Jeanne
Hubby found this recipe online yesterday and I tried it for dinner. We loved it. I thought it was a little too spicy for me and thought I might cut down on the chili flakes but I just had it again for lunch today and it tasted even better! The spiciness mellowed out and the
pasta absorbed all of those wonderful tomato juices and garlic flavor. I'm wondering if I should just make it a day ahead and warm it up like I did for lunch. I will definitely be making it again for sure.