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.
If you’re looking for a super easy spaghetti dinner, don’t miss my recipe for Cowboy Spaghetti. With ground beef, it’s hearty and popping with flavor.
It appears that shrimp and pasta recipes are very appealing to my readers. And along with my recipe for Spicy Shrimp and Polenta, these are our favorite shrimp fusion recipes.
I decided to feature a spicy shrimp pasta recipe for my latest recipe project. This time a little more on the wild and spicy side.
Keeping the pasta shape simple with spaghetti noodles, offers a nice platform for the creamy sauce and the spicy shrimp.
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.
Purchase good quality wild caught shrimp. Look for the label indicating that it’s wild caught American shrimp and not imported farmed. You’ll be amazed that American wild caught shrimp actually tastes like shrimp. Sweet, buttery and smelling clean and oceanic.
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.
If you liked this recipe, please leave a star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I always appreciate your feedback and hearing how everything went.
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Creamy Spicy Shrimp Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound Spaghetti
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil divided
- ¼ cup hot water from cooked pasta
- ½ 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
- ½ cup dry white wine Room temperature
- 2 cups Heavy cream room temperature
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ⅛ cup fresh parsley leaves chopped
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving ¼ cup of the cooking liquid. Return to the pot and toss with the ⅛ 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.
Made this last night and it was amazing!! One of the best recipes off Pinterest. There is only 2 of us so I halved the entire recipe and it was the perfect amount. Love love this one
Please, READERS, we can all see the recipe LOOKS delicious. No one cares, only DOES IT TASTE GOOD??? We all get so darned tired of reading how you want to make it…. So, MAKE IT, THEN REVIEW. Please, please, please!! By the way, I MADE IT, used whipping cream, it was SUPER-FANTASTIC-DELICIOUS!! So there!!!
It always strikes me as so odd the number of people who leave a gushing comment regarding the “beautiful picture” but nothing about having made the recipe (and probably won’t.) There’s a legion of armchair cooks out there. I am more interested in the comments from the people who make the recipe. Thank you. Maggie
I agree Maggie. I wish more people would comment about reviews. I’ll have to work on that.
Had high hopes for this, it looked so good, I cook from scratch every night & my dish didn’t even come close to looking like the picture. Followed the directions to a tee. Sauce started to curdle because of adding the lemon juice to it. My shrimp never fgot that color & if I would have keep cooking to try & achieve it , they would have been over cooked. There is no way you added 2 cups of half & half & have & not have your sauce look like a cream sauce. Yours almost resembles a roasted red pepper sauce. I had to throw it away it was so off puttin. What a waste of money. If you didn’t make the recipe as stated than you should say so, because by the looks of it you definitely did not
Hi Cathy
I can feel your frustration through your email. I too have been frustrated with recipes that just didn’t work.
First of all, I most certainly have made this recipe as with every dish that appears on my site. I’ve had several other friends and readers make this particular recipe without the half and half curdle issue that you had.
I so much appreciate this note. Half and half can be finicky. If added at too high of heat, it can curdle. Also, if the half and half is too cold, it may not mix with heat well.
Thanks to your note, I’ve gone in and changed the recipe to use cream. Higher milk fat and get along better with heat.
I most certainly want this recipe to be reliable.
You take THE best food pics. Even things that don’t sound good to me look appetizing!!!
Gosh! And thank you! Such a nice compliment.
Hmmm. The recipe mentions onions in the directions, but not the ingredient list. Also, reading the recipe instructions I’m doubtful the actual dish will turn out looking like the pics. When shrimp are added to liquid and cooked till they’re pink they definitely don’t look like your pictures of this dish. Weird.
Wow! I could eat this everyday! I’d like that!
Anything with pepper, garlis and shrimp has my vote. And oh yeah! Let’s not forget the cream!
I always buy wild caught Gulf shrimp and there really is a difference! The other stuff scares me. What a beautiful pasta creation, Lea Ann.
This pasta sounds absolutely divine!
Yum – I can almost taste it! Such beautiful pictures, of that gorgeous dish.
Gorgeous meal Lea Ann, whenever I need a southwest inspired dish this is where I come, love this!
Definitely on my must make list… looks divine ♥
The “boring” spaghetti looks absolutely divine in this shrimp dish… I love the combination of ingredients you’ve used here! We’re very particular about our shrimp here, too, and will be trying wild American Shrimp very soon! Thanks!
That looks perfect! Can’t wait to try it.
Everything looks wonderful, but those shrimp looks utterly divine!
Wow! That looks delicious!
Love shrimp. And pasta. And pairing them. Terrific looking dish — nice photos. And I’ll bet it tastes even better than it looks. Thanks!
Love the color you got on that shrimp and I’m so sorry the spaghetti screamed at you! LOL
Your dish looks delicious Lea Ann – good shots of it. I’ve switched to only wild caught US shrimp as well, and I’ll have to be on the look out for this brand.