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.
Oh fall, how do I love thee?? So many ways to count!
First off, the weather here at the beach this fall has been beyond fabulous. We’ve been enjoying beautiful sunny days, gorgeous blue skies and comfortable temperatures for pretty much all of September and October. A rainy day here or there, but Mother Nature has really been good to us.
Second, comfort food season! And boy, oh boy, have we been enjoying all the stick to your bones, cozy up to the fire kinda comfort food.
How about you guys? What’s been on your menu? More soups perhaps? Chilis? Pasta?
We enjoy comfort food dishes all year long actually, but definitely more so during the fall and winter months. For some reason, I don’t feel as guilty enjoying them during the colder months.
Today’s idea for Shrimp Pasta with Garlic Cream Sauce, Tomatoes and Spinach is coming 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 sauteed them to give the dish extra flavor.
You’re going to love how smooth 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.
I don’t know about you, but I can always use another quick and easy pasta sauce and recipe in my arsenal for comfort food season. 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! Enjoy!
A Few Cook’s Notes for Shrimp Pasta with Garlic Cream Sauce, Tomatoes and Spinach Recipe:
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.
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.
- 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
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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.
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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.
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Add the shrimp, drained pasta and spinach leaves. Toss until the spinach leaves have wilted. Serve immediately with extra Parmesan cheese, if desired.
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!!
Lol! I know you loved this one! Thank Sean, not me. The cream sauce was amazing!
You are so great guys ! Totally agree: perfect healthy comfort food ! :-)
Awww, you’re so sweet my friend!
I loved reading Tom’s comment, haha. Lucky guy! There are definite perks for our partners with this food blogging business :) This looks wonderful!
Awww, thanks Katherine!
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!
Thanks Dawn! You too!
Such a delicious skillet of goodness, with all my favourite flavours. Can’t wait to try this one :)
Enjoy Jennifer!
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!
This one is pretty delish Laura!
Looks absolutely delicious and so easy to make!!! Perfect for delicious weeknight dinner. I never used blackening spice. How does it taste
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!
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!
It’s so easy Marissa! Such a delicious comfort food dish for fall!
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!!
Enjoy it Winnie!
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!
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.
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?
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!
I will let you know how it comes out. Husband is not a huge shrimp fan. I on the other hand, love all seafood.
Great!
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. 😋
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!