This Creamy Shrimp Pasta recipe is hearty and delicious, with a smoky, spicy sauce that is simply divine and takes less than 30 minutes to prepare! This Cream Cheese Garlic Bread makes a great side!
If you're looking for a quick, easy dish that can work as both a main dish or a side for your weeknight dinner menu, look no further! This creamy shrimp pasta recipe is perfect for last-minute dinners because it's so quick to make, and the taste is creamy, spicy, and complex!
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😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- 30 minutes of prep and cooking time is all you need to make this delicious creamy shrimp pasta recipe!
- You can easily control the amount of spice to suit your preference.
- This is one of those pasta dishes that taste even better as leftovers!
🛒 What You Need For This Recipe
🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Shrimp: I recommend using large shrimp, de-veined and tail-off as that will save you an extra step!
- Pasta: I use spaghetti but you can use fettuccini, angel hair pasta, or whatever you prefer.
- Heavy Cream: You can also use half and half, sour cream, or cream cheese, though you may have to water the sauce down if it's too thick.
- Tomato: I use 2 on-the-vine tomatoes, you may only need one if working with larger tomato varieties.
- Onion: Yellow or white onion.
- Chipotle: I use ½ can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, but you can use the whole can if you want it spicier!
- Lime: Freshly squeezed lime juice really brings out the flavor of the chipotle and the shrimp!
- Cheese: I love cooking with asadero cheese because it melts so beautifully and complements all the flavors of this dish, but you can also use queso quesadilla or mozzarella.
- Spices: Onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, cayenne, salt, pepper. You can also add some Old Bay seasoning, cumin, red pepper flakes, etc.
- Butter/oil: I use unsalted butter (salted butter is also fine since we're only using 1 Tbsp) and extra virgin olive oil, but you can omit the butter if you prefer and add additional oil instead.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is always best, but minced if you must.
- Dry white wine: I used a Sauvignon Blanc but you can also use Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, or any dry white wine.
- Cilantro: Chopped cilantro for garnish. Fresh parsley can be substituted.
🍝 How to Make Creamy Shrimp Pasta
Step 1: Add pasta to boiling water along with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon olive oil. Cook according to package instructions, then drain noodles. Reserve ½ cup pasta water for the sauce.
Step 2: Defrost shrimp in water, then drain and remove tails, if necessary. Season with onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, smoked paprika, and ½ teaspoon salt.
Step 3: Heat a large skillet or pan, then add 1 tablespoon oil and butter and allow it to melt. Arrange shrimp in a single layer, cooking on each side over medium-high heat for 2 minutes or until shrimp are no longer translucent. Remove from pan and set aside.
Step 4: Boil tomatoes and onion until softened. Remove from water and peel off tomato skins, then blend until smooth along with ½ cup pasta water, chipotles in adobo, heavy cream, lime juice, and black pepper.
Pro Tip: Another option is to roast or broil the vegetables prior to blending them, rather than boiling them.
Step 5: Mince 2 cloves garlic and add to pan along with another 2 teaspoon of oil, toasting over low heat until fragrant. Deglaze pan with ¼ cup dry white wine, and allow liquid to cook down for 3-5 minutes. Add chipotle cream sauce and whisk until creamy.
Step 6: Bring sauce to a gentle simmer, then add asadero cheese and stir over low-medium heat until melted. Mix in pasta and shrimp.
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Step 7: Transfer creamy shrimp pasta to individual serving bowls and top with freshly chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.
🌿 Garnish Ideas
Need some ideas to enhance the presentation of your creamy shrimp pasta? Try these:
- Freshly chopped cilantro or parsley
- Fresh lime wedges
- A swirl of heavy cream or Mexican crema
- Red pepper flakes
- A sprinkling of asadero cheese, queso fresco, or cotija cheese
- Freshly diced tomatoes, red onion, jalapenos, etc.
- A drizzle of adobo sauce or chopped chipotle peppers
🌶️ More Chipotle Recipes
If you still have chipotles left over after you make this creamy shrimp pasta recipe, you can use them to make any of these tasty recipes!
- Cheesy Chipotle Chorizo Beans
- Chipotle Smoked Mac and Cheese
- Canned Salsa
- Chile Relleno
- Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Shrimp naturally have a great umami flavor, but you can enhance them by using a marinade or seasoning that complements them, such as Old Bay seasoning, garlic, chipotle, and more! You can also take advantage of fresh ingredients such as lemon juice, cilantro, parsley, etc.
When making a cream sauce, you want to stick to pasta shapes that hold the sauce well such as spaghetti noodles, fettuccini noodles, cavatappi, fusilli, rigatoni, and penne.
🥣 More Pasta Recipes
If you need more pasta recipe ideas, check out this yummy Greek pastitsio recipe, kielbasa pasta, or this easy pink pasta! If you're looking for a vegetarian recipe, try this creamy vegetable pasta.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- Make sure the veins are removed from your shrimp before cooking! You may have to devein them yourself if they didn't come that way.
- Use chicken broth instead of water if you need to thin out the sauce, that way it stays nice and flavorful!
- It's easy to overcook shrimp, so be careful! A couple minutes on each side is typically all you need.
- Store leftover creamy shrimp pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
🍽 More Past & Seafood Recipes
If you enjoy this creamy shrimp pasta recipe, check out these other related recipes!
📖 Recipe
Chipotle Creamy Shrimp Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb spaghetti noodles
- 1½ teaspoon salt (divided)
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (divided)
- 1 lb shrimp
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Sauce Ingredients
- 2 small on-the-vine tomatoes
- ½ small yellow onion
- 3½ oz chipotle peppers in adobo
- 1½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 medium lime (juiced)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 1 cup asadero cheese
Garnish
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro (optional)
Instructions
- Add pasta to boiling water along with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon olive oil. Cook according to package instructions, then remove noodles and reserve ½ cup pasta water for the sauce.
- Defrost shrimp in water, then drain and remove tails, if necessary. Season with onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, smoked paprika, and ½ teaspoon salt.
- Heat a large skillet or pan, then add 1 tablespoon oil and butter and allow it to melt. Arrange shrimp in a single layer, cooking on each side over medium-high heat for 2 minutes or until shrimp are no longer translucent. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Boil tomatoes and onion until softened. Remove from water and peel off tomato skins, then blend until smooth along with ½ cup pasta water, chipotles in adobo, heavy cream, lime juice, and black pepper.
- Mince 2 cloves garlic and add to pan along with another 2 teaspoon of oil, toasting over low heat until fragrant. Deglaze pan with ¼ cup dry white wine, and allow liquid to cook down for 3-5 minutes. Pour in chipotle cream sauce and mix thoroughly.
- Bring sauce to a gentle simmer, then add asadero cheese and stir over low-medium heat until melted. Mix in pasta and shrimp.
- Transfer to individual serving bowls and top with freshly chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.
Notes
-
- Another option is to roast or broil the vegetables prior to blending them, rather than boiling.
- Make sure the veins are removed from your shrimp before cooking! You may have to devein them yourself if they didn't come that way.
-
- Use chicken broth instead of water if you need to thin out the sauce, that way it stays nice and flavorful!
-
- It's easy to overcook shrimp, so be careful! A couple minutes on each side is typically all you need.
-
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
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