An easy shrimp pasta recipe that's worth of company or data night, and easy enough for a weeknight. You'll love how light and flavorful this garlic butter shrimp pasta with spinach and blistered tomatoes is!
I think a lot of us overlook seafood for easy weeknight dinners because it seems like it will be fussy or difficult to cook. That really couldn't be further from the truth, though!
Shrimp, in particular, are one of my favorite weeknight proteins, because they cook up in a flash and can be bought with the prep work done for you.
The "Garlic butter" in this garlic butter shrimp pasta recipe sounds SO heavy, but I promise you it isn't.
This dish is fresh and delicious - it won't weigh you down and it's not overly doused in fat.
Ingredients for Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta:
- Shrimp ( around 22 shrimp/lb sized )
- Angel Hair Pasta
- Fresh Spinach
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Butter
- Garlic
- Olive Oil
- Parsley
- Red Pepper Flakes
Tips and Tricks for Making Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta
- Watch the pasta cooking time carefully - angel hair can overcook in a heartbeat. I find it's easier to undercook it slightly and then let it finish up in the pan with the sauce if necessary
- Use a splatter screen when cooking the tomatoes. These are technically meant for preventing grease splatters - but they will keep you safer from tomato bursts as well.
- Measure Garlic and Butter with your Heart. The two Tablespoons of Garlic and Butter I recommend here is a hearty amount, but a little more won't kill you if you're a huge garlic butter fan like I am.
The hardest thing about making this dish is ensuring you stay safe while blistering cherry tomatoes on the stove top. They can get feisty! Be sure to stand back while they are going nuts so that you don't catch any hot tomato splatter.
If you are looking for other easy weeknight dinner recipes, you might like these:
- Pesto Tomato Baked Chicken Breasts ( Made in one dish! )
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken Breasts
- Baked Salmon and Asparagus Foil Packets
Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces angel hair pasta
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 4 ounces cherry tomatoes or other small tomatoes
- 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¾ lb shrimp extra large ( about 20 shrimp/lb) peeled and deveined
- 8 ounces fresh spinach
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice juice from about ½ of a fresh lemon
Instructions
- Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Angel hair cooks quickly! Be sure to keep an eye on it.
- While the water is coming to a boil, put the olive oil into a large, hot skillet and swirl it around to coat the bottom of the pan. Carefully add the tomatoes and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. The tomatoes may bubble and spit at you! BE CAREFUL and don't hover over the pan. After 4 minutes, remove the tomatoes from the pan and set aside.
- Add the butter and garlic to the leftover oil in the hot pan the tomatoes were in. Salt and pepper the shrimp and add them to the pan as well. Cook the shrimp until you can see the tips of the tails just starting to turn pink ( about 2 minutes ), then flip them. Cook for another minute, or until the shrimp are cooked through, and then remove them from the pan and set aside with the tomatoes.
- Add the spinach and the crushed red pepper to the hot pan and stir to combine with the remaining butter/garlic mixture. Cook for several minutes, or until the spinach just begins to wilt. You may need to add a tablespoon or two of water to help the spinach wilt.
- Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and return it to the pot it cooked in. Add the tomatoes, shrimp, the wilted spinach, plus the freshly chopped parsley and stir to combine it all. Drizzle the lemon juice over it all and toss to combine.
Please share your thoughts on this recipe!