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Spicy Shrimp Pasta in Garlic Tomato Cream Sauce - shrimp seared on stove top with crushed red pepper, paprika, and salt, then smothered in a spicy cream sauce made with chopped onions, minced garlic, crushed tomatoes and cream. Seasoned with basil and oregano. Delicious, creamy shrimp pasta recipe with lots of bold flavors!
This spicy shrimp pasta has everything you crave for in an Italian pasta: easy creamy tomato sauce made from scratch, seafood, spices (garlic, paprika, basil, oregano, crushed red pepper) - all of that over the perfectly shaped penne pasta. Simple recipe that you can make at home.
Penne is perfect for this pasta dish as it holds the sauce very well, and with every bite you will get not only pasta and shrimp but a generous scoop of spicy tomato cream sauce too! I've used gluten free pasta (brown rice penne) for this dish as well, and it was marvelous!
Whichever pasta you use, make sure to cook it al dente, then rinse it with cold water, drain it, and only then add it to the sauce. This will preserve the pasta structure and prevent it from getting mushy in a creamy sauce.
How to make spicy shrimp pasta with garlic tomato cream sauce:
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet on medium-high heat and cook shrimp on one side for about 1 minute, until shrimp turns pink on that side. While it cooks, GENEROUSLY sprinkle the top of shrimp with crushed red pepper, paprika and SALT to cover every single shrimp. Do not crowd the shrimp and don't skimp on spices:
Using spatula, turn the shrimp over to the other side and cook for 2 more minutes (on medium-high or medium heat):
Remove shrimp to a plate, being careful to leave all the oil in the skillet. To the same skillet, add chopped onion and minced garlic and cook on medium high heat in the olive that will have a nice reddish color from paprika and crushed red pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes until onions soften:
Next, add crushed tomatoes and chicken bullion cube dissolved in ¼ cup boiling water. Add basil and oregano, mix everything, bring to boil, reduce to simmer. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes, mixing occasionally and crushing all tomatoes into very small bites, until the garlic tomato cream sauce reduces just a bit. Season with more red pepper and salt, if needed.
Add heavy cream, while on simmer, and mix it in on very low simmer:
Almost immediately after you added cream and mixed it in on low simmer, remove the skillet from heat. Your garlic tomato cream sauce should look like this:
Add back the shrimp and pasta. Mix everything well to combine. Add more salt and pepper if necessary. Add more spices (crushed red pepper, basil, oregano), if needed. Gently reheat your spicy shrimp pasta.
Spicy Shrimp Pasta in Garlic Tomato Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound shrimp without shells, and deveined
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cube chicken bullion (I used Knorr)
- 1 tablespoon basil
- ¼ teaspoon oregano dried
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 8 oz penne pasta (for gluten free version, use brown rice penne)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add shrimp and cook on one side for about 1 minute, until shrimp turns pink on that side. While it cooks, sprinkle the top of shrimp with crushed red pepper, paprika and salt 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. And, don't skimp on spices. Using spatula turn shrimp over to the other side and cook for about 2 more minutes.
- Remove shrimp to a plate, being careful to leave all the oil in the skillet.
- To the same skillet, add chopped onion and minced garlic and cook on medium high heat in the olive oil that will have a nice reddish color from paprika and crushed red pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes, occasionally stirring, until onions soften.
- Add crushed tomatoes and chicken bullion cube dissolved in ¼ cup boiling water. Add basil and oregano, mix, bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes, mixing occasionally and crushing all tomatoes into very small bites, until the sauce reduces just a bit. Season with more red pepper and salt, if needed. In the end, while on simmer, add heavy cream, mix it in, and immediately remove from heat.
- In the mean time, bring a large pot of water to boil and cook pasta al dente according to the package instructions. Drain.
- Add back the cooked shrimp and cooked and drained pasta to the skillet with the sauce. Mix everything well to combine. Reheat on low simmer, if needed. Do not bring to boil or high heat as it might affect the sauce texture. Add more salt and pepper if necessary.
- When serving, I like to sprinkle the top of pasta with just a touch of crushed red pepper.
Notes
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.
LOVEEEE! I used cayenne in place of the paprika. Delicious!
Glad you liked it! 🙂
For sure will make again. Really good flavor I added some grated parmesan cheese.
Thank you, Randi, so glad you liked it! 🙂
Making tonight for our Valentines dinner!❤️❤️❤️
Enjoy! 🙂
It would be nice to say in the section of the listed ingredients to have “cooked”penne. I didn’t have time to read the story that was posted before the actual recipe.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I have corrected the recipe to reflect your point.
Holy moly. This is by far one of the best pasta dishes I've ever made. I used San Marzano tomatoes, while pricier, I feel like they made a huge difference. Thank so much for this recipe!! This is a keeper.
Thank you, Alexandra! So glad you liked the recipe! 🙂
Absolutely loved this dish - definitely a keeper.
So glad to hear that! 🙂
Really good! Very spicy lol this is a adult dinner I didn’t think about my daughter it was to spicy for her but the dish is really good !
I am glad you liked it! If it is too spicy, reduce the amount of spice or don't use it at all, it will still taste really good!
It said to ‘add back’ the shrimp and pasta. This confused me as I couldn’t find anywhere else in the instructions telling me if I should could the pasta separately or not. I’m pretty much a novice so these things have to be fairly clear. Was it there and I missed it? I just threw it in the pot uncooked with everything else.
Cook the pasta al dente and set aside. Add to the sauce afterwards.
Hi Julia,
Love this recipe! I've made it several times since I was lucky enough to find it. I coat the shrimp with lots of paprika and blackened seafood seasonings with the crushed red pepper before I even put it in the pan. Such an awesome kick! I have one question tho - do you have the nutritional information per serving? Thanks!
My husband and I both thought this was pretty bland compared to some other tomato-based sauces we’ve had - what about adding tomato paste or canned tomato sauce to beef up the flavor?
I checked to make sure I had all ingredients & was missing cream which I just borrowed from a neighbor but now that I'm getting started I'm reading 2 cans of crushed tomatoes?!? What size can ?!?!?!
It's 2 cups canned crushed tomatoes, not 2 cans.
Made this tonight and it's definitely a keeper! I used2 cans of diced Italian tomatoes and instead of cream used fat free condensed milk. My 95 year old Italian mom loved it!
Thank you! The fact that your 95-year old Italian mom loved it is a huge compliment to me! I just went to Italy this September for the first time, and Italians know how to make the best pasta ever!
Is it 2 cups of whole tomatoes crushed, I used crushed tomatoes and it came out like marinara sauce! Still good but would like to try again
It's 2 cups of crushed tomatoes, they can be either chopped or whole tomatoes, it doesn't matter. The sauce should come out as marinara sauce when you start making it, but then you add heavy cream and it becomes creamy! Add more heavy cream, if you wish.
This is yummy goodnessThank you for sharing! In place of one of the cans of tomatoes, rotel was used and gave an additional kick
I'd love to make this ahead, freeze and re-warm. Julia (or any of you other great cooks out there), do you think this would work without destroying anything?