This Creamy Spicy Shrimp Pasta is simply spaghetti made heavenly with a white wine, Parmesan cream sauce. Then spiked with paprika, cayenne, thyme and garlic. Just add sauteed shrimp and you’ve got a beautiful dinner that you’ll want to make over and over again. Plus, a conversation about finding and buying quality shrimp and tips for pan frying shrimp.
It appears that shrimp and pasta recipes are very appealing to my readers. Due to the popularity of my Angle Hair Pasta with Shrimp and Creme Fraiche,
I decided to feature a spicy shrimp pasta recipe. This time a little more on the wild and spicy spicy side.
This might just be me, but one of my favorite things to do is go to a store that has a great selection of interesting pasta shapes and pick out something funky.
Which is exactly what I did when this recipe idea came to fruition. I wanted something nubby and thick, that could easily be stabbed with a fork. Something with nooks and crannies for a cream sauce to hide and seep into creamy nirvana. Something that would compliment the shape of a perfectly little curled up cooked shrimp.
After about 10 minutes on that pasta aisle, studying the tortellini and the ziti’s, that good old box of boring spaghetti screamed “hello creamy cheese sauce with shrimp”.
Done, decision made. Those little curly shrimp would look perfect on a simple bed of spaghetti that I could swirl into any shape I wanted. Perfect for my idea for spicy shrimp pasta recipe.
Tips For Buying Quality Shrimp
Before we get to the recipe, let’s talk about buying shrimp. And buying quality shrimp that tastes like shrimp.
Every Shrimp has a tail, but wild-caught American Shrimp have a story rich with flavor, history and adventure.
It’s about hard-working families who date back to when shrimp were harvested on wooden sailing vessels and peeled by hand. It’s a story of American jobs and livelihoods and an industry’s resilience against tough times.
Where Can I Buy Wild American Shrimp?
You’re probably asking, where can I buy wild American shrimp? You can have their Gulf shrimp shipped directly to your doorstop or take a look at their website for a list of local shops where you can purchase American shrimp. Nationally they indicate you’ll find it at Walmart, Sprouts and Whole Foods. There is also lists of regional markets and on-line sources who will ship direct to your door.
Tips for Pan Frying Shrimp
- Buy easy peel, deveined shrimp. After peeling, pat shrimp dry with a paper towel before adding to hot oil. I like to lightly season them with salt and pepper.
- Heat your pan on medium high heat before adding oil. When the pan is heated, then add oil.
- When oil is shimmering and hot, then add shrimp.
- Leave space between the shrimp in the pan. Don’t over crowd. This will insure a crispy sear.
- Cook until shrimp is starting to turn pink, and no longer wants to stick to the pan. Then turn.
- To know if shrimp are cooked properly: straight shrimp are undercooked, shrimp curled into a “C” are done, shrimp closed in a tight curl are overcooked.
- When searing, cook shrimp on medium high heat
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Creamy Spicy Shrimp Pasta Recipe
I hope you give this one a try and if you do, please come back and let me know how you liked it and give the recipe a star rating. Your feedback is valuable to me for developing future recipes.
More Creamy Pasta Recipes:
- Italian Sausage Ricotta Pasta Sauce
- Shrimp and Scallops with Orange Cream Sauce
- Pasta with Slow Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Cream
- Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce
And if you’re looking for more Seafood Recipes, don’t miss my Seafood Category. You’ll find the most popular seafood recipe on my site for Heavenly Halibut. Quick, easy and delish.
And if you’re looking for unique ways to use spaghetti noodles take a look at Spaghetti Nests with Tomato Sweet Basil Sauce.
And, don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter for more delicious recipes and cooking tips. Make it a delicious day … every day.
If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating in the recipe card below. And write a review in the comment section. I always appreciate your feedback.
Creamy Spicy Shrimp Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound Spaghetti
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1/4 cup hot water from cooked pasta
- 1/2 small onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1/2 cup dry white wine Room temperature
- 2 cups Heavy cream room temperature
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/8 cup fresh parsley leaves chopped
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Return to the pot and toss with the 1/8 cup olive oil and reserved cooking liquid. Cover to keep warm.
- In a large sauté pan, heat the remaining olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika, cayenne, thyme, and salt. Cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add the white wine and cook over high heat until nearly all evaporated. Reduce heat to medium low, add the cream, cooking and stirring occasionally until slightly reduced. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice and keep warm.
- In the meantime, toss the shrimp with some additional paprika. Heat oil in a pan and cook for 1 – 2 minutes per side. Set aside, cover and keep warm.
- Add the cooked pasta to the cream mixture and toss to coat. Cook until the pasta is warmed through, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add the Parmesan Cheese. Stir in some of the shrimp into the pasta mixture, reserving a few to garnish. Serve with more grated Parmesan, small pieces of parsley.
Notes
Nutrition
Spicy Shrimp Pasta … It’s What’s for Dinner
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
This is one to save. I love pasta and shrimp. My Italian background, we grew up having pasta once a week.
Can’t wait for the corn, peaches and cantaloupe. We get them here in Hutchinson. Yea!!!
The Pueblo green chili is something I would drive back to Colorado for. Road trip 🤪
Excellent pasta dish! We both loved it. I only had half and half so added some butter to make up for it.
Turned out great. I used smoked paprika so will have to get regular and try that. We surely will have this one many times again. Will have to make bread to get all that wonderful sauce.
love it!!!!!
Thanks for your note. This is the most popular pasta recipe on my site. I’m so glad you gave it a try and liked the recipe.
Tastes just like Oreganos.
I’m assuming Oreganos is a restaurant? I’d love to know where.
Made this dish today and it was absolutely delicious! The cream sauce was one of the best I’ve ever had. I undercooked the shrimp a bit which I usually do as I’m frightened of overcooking it, but the sauce was so good it didn’t really matter. Shall definitely be making this again. Thanks so much for sharing.
You don’t know how much I appreciate you letting me know about the Shrimp Pasta Recipe. I’m so glad you liked it.
It’s been awhile since I’ve made it … I think it’s time to enjoy it again.
That’s really smart about not over cooking that shrimp. They’ll continue to cook after they’re removed from the heat and the heat from the pasta will also cook them slightly longer.
Have a delicious week! And again, thanks so much for your note.
Made this for dinner tonight. For us it is comfort food, and it was just what what we needed. I am a high school teacher and my husband is a principal. The schools are all closed due to COVID 19 and stress is at an all time high. This dish with some homemade crusty bread and salad was perfect. Thanks so much for the delicious recipe.
Hi Melanie. I’m so glad you liked the recipe and especially for letting me know. It’s a favorite in our house. And doesn’t a chunk of homemade crusty bread make everything better? 🙂
I made this tonight, following the recipe exactly, and it turned out delicious! My husband and I both loved it! It sure had a spicy kick! I think I overlooked the shrimp, because it takes a while to turn them all over, and I burned the onions and spices but after combining everything, my mistakes weren’t noticeable.
Thank you so much for this recipe!
I just made this dish tonight and everyone loved it. There was just enough kick that the kids loved it too. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
Hi Vina, Fabulous! So glad you and your family liked the recipe. And thank you so much for letting me know.
Thank you so much for letting me know. So glad it was a hit.
I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious…! I have never seen my boyfriend eat a Meal so fast we loved it ? thank you for sharing the recipe
Hi Angel. Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know. — So glad that boyfriend enjoyed that pasta.
I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious…! I have never seen my boyfriend eat a Meal so fast we loved it ?
Very good. Husband like it too, which was a win win meal. I fixed with fresh corn on the cob, sounds weird I know, but it was good. Didn’t know when to use to the pasta water so I didn’t use it. It wasn’t missed. Good dish and will make again!!! Thanks for sharing.
In just a week or so, our Colorado Sweet Corn will be available. Our growing season is late. I’d eat that stuff with about anything. 😉 I just stir in the pasta water when mixing all of the ingredients together. Just adds starch and makes everything come together.
What do you do with the pasta water? The recipe never adds it back in.
This was delicious! I made it exactly to the recipe and thought it turned out great; definitely spicey but my husband and I love some heat so it was great. Will definitely make this again, thank you!