This easy Shrimp Pasta with Garlic Cream Sauce Tomatoes and Spinach is comfort food done right! The garlic cream sauce is deliciously rich and creamy.
Let’s make Mom a special dinner for Mother’s Day, shall we?
And let’s make it something comfort food-ish. Comfort food dishes are always at the top of my list. Today’s dish, my Swedish Meatball Pasta Bake and my Chicken Osso Buco are all faves you really need to try!
This Shrimp Pasta with Garlic Cream Sauce Tomatoes, and Spinach is one of my faves, so that’s what we’ll be having. And it’s even easy enough so you know who can whip it up for me all on his own while I relax and watch the show. Because when Tom cooks in our kitchen it’s always dinner and a show…lol.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
The pasta sauce is absolutely decadent. It’s creamy, smooth and cheesy.
The added blackening spice gives this dish loads of zesty flavor.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- shrimp
- blackening spice
- olive oil
- cavatelli pasta
- butter
- garlic
- all-purpose flour
- low-sodium chicken broth
- heavy cream
- grape tomatoes
- Parmesan cheese
- Italian seasoning
- kosher salt and pepper
- baby spinach leaves
The actual idea for this Shrimp Pasta with Garlic Cream Sauce, Tomatoes and Spinach comes to you all courtesy of my son Sean. Sean texts me photos every now and then of things he’s whipped up for himself for dinner and most of the time he’s got me drooling.
He made a pasta with a garlic cream sauce a few weeks back that looked incredible. I knew I’d have to share. I decided to add some shrimp, fresh grape tomatoes and spinach to make it more of a hearty meal. I also used a little blackening spice for the shrimp when I sautéed them to give the dish extra flavor.
Step-By-Step Instructions
First, toss your shrimp with some blackening spice. and then add to a skillet and cook for about 3 minutes, flipping halfway through, and then set aside.
Next up, you’ll cook your pasta al dente, and while the pasta is cooking you can make your cream sauce. You’ll melt the butter and add your garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Then you will add your flour, followed by the chicken broth, then your heavy cream and tomatoes. Once the sauce is thickened a bit you’ll add your Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper .
Remove from the heat and stir in your shrimp, drained pasta and spinach leaves, tossing everything until heated through the spinach leaves are wilted.
You’re going to love how rich and creamy the garlic cream sauce is, as well as the full on garlic flavor. And you can always use the sauce, but change up the other ingredients to your liking. Add chicken instead of shrimp, or maybe salmon or sausage. Change up the veggies to what you prefer if spinach and tomatoes aren’t your thing. The possibilities are endless.
What Goes with this Shrimp Pasta with Garlic Cream Sauce Tomatoes and Spinach
This dish is delicious with some chilled white wine. Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc work really well.
You could also serve with a side salad if you like.
I don’t know about you, but I can always use another quick and easy pasta sauce and recipe in my arsenal. I guarantee this is going to be one of your go-to sauces. It’s that easy and that good.
Time to break out the stretchy pants and dig in!
Please let me know if you give the recipe a try. And if you have any questions about the recipe, just drop a comment below. Enjoy!
A Few Cook’s Notes for Shrimp Pasta with Garlic Cream Sauce, Tomatoes and Spinach
I used grape tomatoes, which I halved, but you could also use a can of diced tomatoes, drained.
I love the added spinach, but if you’re not a fan, you can just omit, or maybe add another veggie. Broccoli would be delicious. I’d cut the broccoli into small florets and steam until just tender before adding to the pasta.
I used cavatelli pasta for this recipe because I like how some of the sauce gets into the crevices of the pasta.
More Delicious Pasta Recipes to Enjoy
Shrimp Pasta with Garlic Cream Sauce Tomatoes and Spinach
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 lb. shrimp, peeled, tail on if desired, deveined
- 1 Tbsp. blackening spice
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 8 oz. cavatelli pasta, or medium sized pasta, like penne
- 4 Tbsp. butter
- 3 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cups baby spinach leaves, packed and stems trimmed
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss the shrimp with the blackening spice until well coated. Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp to the skillet and cook for 3 minutes, flipping halfway through. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
- Cook the pasta in a pot of salted water al dente according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in the skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in the flour and cook for an additional minute. Whisk in the chicken broth until smooth. Add the heavy cream and tomatoes and continue whisking until the sauce begins to thicken. Add the Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and whisk until well combined. Remove from the heat.
- Add the shrimp, drained pasta and spinach leaves. Toss until the spinach leaves have wilted. Serve immediately with extra Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Tom
Winner winner Shrimp dinner!! This was a 3 day event. Leftovers never tased so good. Being the husband of a food blogger has its perks!!
Mary Ann
Lol! I know you loved this one! Thank Sean, not me. The cream sauce was amazing!
2pots2cook
You are so great guys ! Totally agree: perfect healthy comfort food ! :-)
Mary Ann
Awww, you’re so sweet my friend!
Katherine | Love In My Oven
I loved reading Tom’s comment, haha. Lucky guy! There are definite perks for our partners with this food blogging business :) This looks wonderful!
Mary Ann
Awww, thanks Katherine!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
I love fall too! My fave season. Love the weather and love all the comfort food eats like this one! That combo is fabulous, Mary Ann! Perfect way to kick off the weekend with a glass of wine ;) Pinned! Have a good one!
Mary Ann
Thanks Dawn! You too!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers
Such a delicious skillet of goodness, with all my favourite flavours. Can’t wait to try this one :)
Mary Ann
Enjoy Jennifer!
Laura
Mary Ann, this is totally my kind of meal – easy to put together, all the food groups we all need, and completely delicious! Love a good pasta dish, and I alway need new ways to cook shrimp – love them so much!
Mary Ann
This one is pretty delish Laura!
Rahul @samosastreet
Looks absolutely delicious and so easy to make!!! Perfect for delicious weeknight dinner. I never used blackening spice. How does it taste
Mary Ann
Just a bit spicy. It’s a combination of onion and garlic powders, salt pepper, a smigde of cayenne, thyme, oregano and paprika. We love it!
Marissa
I adore autumn for the chilly weather, beautiful color and all of the comfort foods: soups, chilis and PASTA! Like this one – it has my name written all over it. So many flavors I love in one delicious dish!
Mary Ann
It’s so easy Marissa! Such a delicious comfort food dish for fall!
Winnie
I have been looking for a creamy pasta recipe and am so happy that I found your recipe! This pasta dish looks absolutely scrumptious! Saving this to make later in the week!!
Mary Ann
Enjoy it Winnie!
Kimberly
So delicious! Made for father who I’m visiting in Florida, recently lost my mom and she was the cook in the family , any homemade meal makes him happy and this recipe had him smiling!
Mary Ann
So happy you both enjoyed it Kimberly. So sorry for your loss. Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try and for following along.
Marcia King
Loved this recipe!! Tried it with broccoli and fire roasted tomatoes. Excellent! Wondering if you think sausage would also be good in place of shrimp?
Mary Ann
Yay! So happy you love it Marcia. Sausage would totally work. Great idea! Thanks so much for trying the recipe and leaving a comment! Have a great day!
Marcia King
I will let you know how it comes out. Husband is not a huge shrimp fan. I on the other hand, love all seafood.
Mary Ann
Great!
Susan Kirby-Cohn
Found this recipe and hands down, it is the BEST! Even better left over. All that awesome flavor absorbed by the pasta. Mmm good 👍🏻! Only change was that I had to make my own blackening seasoning and it was probably more than a Tbsp, but added a nice element of heat. This is now a family favorite. Thank you for sharing. 😋
Mary Ann
I’m so happy you enjoy it Susan! You’re so welcome. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment and for following along!
Carol
I can’t have dairy. Is there a non diary option for the cream?
Thanks
Mary Ann
Hi Carol. I’ve only tried this recipe with the heavy cream. Not quite sure if soy or almond milk might work?
Kathy Smith
Yes, yes,yes, I made this visit Kyle in NC. AMAZING 🤩 and very easy. I used pre cooked shrimp and just made sure they were warmed thru so as not to get tough! Used rigatoni, because that was what was in her pantry. A definite do again! Thanks Maryanne see you soon.
Mary Ann
So happy y’all enjoyed it Kathy! Can’t wait!