25 Shrimp Pasta Recipes to Make Tonight

Updated February 11, 2020
Credit: Jennifer Causey

Whether you're looking for something creamy and comforting (like this Cajun Shrimp Alfredo or this Pasta with Shrimp and Tomato Cream Sauce) or something light and healthy (this low-carb Zoodles with Shrimp and Green Goddess Dressing is totally crave-worthy), our easy shrimp pasta recipes have dinner tonight covered. 

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Cajun Shrimp Alfredo

Credit: Jen Causey; Prop Styling: Christina Daley; Food Styling: Sarah Epperson

Cajun Shrimp Alfredo Recipe

Kick up the weeknight dinner routine with this easy (and cheesy!) Cajun Shrimp Alfredo. Incredibly creamy and offering a mouthwatering Cajun kick, this just-spicy-enough pasta dish delivers major flavor with minimal effort. We opted to keep it classic using fettuccine noodles, but any pasta shape will work great! 

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Creamy Pesto-and-Shrimp Penne with Peas

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Creamy Pesto-and-Shrimp Penne with Peas Recipe

Pre-peeled shrimp, frozen peas, and store-bought pesto makes this flavorful pasta come together in minutes. Instead of buying the jarred, shelf-stable version, choose the kind found in the refrigerator case (we like Bear Pond Farm Premium Basil Pesto). It tastes fresher and more like homemade.

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Pasta with Shrimp and Tomato Cream Sauce

Credit: Caitlin Bensel; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Anna Hampton

Pasta with Shrimp and Tomato Cream Sauce Recipe

Smaller tomatoes, like cherry or grape, have brighter, fruitier flavors than larger ones. Look for colorful selections such as the orange Sun Gold and the purple Black Cherry. Cherry tomatoes need only a few minutes in a hot pan before they soften and release their naturally sweet juices.

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Soba Noodle-and-Shrimp Bowls

Credit: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Soba Noodle-and-Shrimp Bowls Recipe

This healthy, colorful meal is packed with fresh ingredients and a hint of heat. For busy weeknights when you’re craving Asian takeout but want something a little lighter, this 35 minute recipe is exactly what you need. Don’t ignore the instruction about patting the shrimp dry before putting them in the skillet.

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Shrimp, Sausage, and Black Bean Pasta

Credit: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke

Shrimp, Sausage, and Black Bean Pasta Recipe

Add a little Cajun flair to your pasta dinner this week. We’ve added shrimpand Andouille sausage to our Slow-Cooker Black beans to mix textures and flavors to this pasta dish. We like the fun, twisty shape of the casarecce pasta because it captures the sauce well, but any short pasta will work in this recipe.

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Easy Shrimp Scampi with Basil

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Lydia Pursell; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Easy Shrimp Scampi with Basil Recipe

Create a quick meal around two of the season’s favorite ingredients – fresh basil and succulent shrimp. Remember to reserve a cup of pasta cooking water before you drain the cooked linguine. The starchy, salty liquid brings the wine, butter, and lemon juice together into a bright and silky sauce.

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Zoodles with Shrimp and Green Goddess Dressing

Credit: Kelsey Hansen; Food Styling Karen Ranken; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

Zoodles with Shrimp and Green Goddess Dressing Recipe

Using a blend of spiralized summer squash and zucchini “noodles,” this light and bright summer entree is as refreshing as they come. We absolutely love the fresh flavors this simple green goddess dressing packs into the dish; any leftover dressing would be great for dipping veggies into for an easy snack.

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Orzo Salad with Shrimp and Lemon Dressing

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Orzo Salad with Shrimp and Lemon Dressing Recipe

This simple shrimp and orzo salad is tossed with seasonal veggies and a bright, tangy dressing. Delicious at room temperature or chilled, it also makes a tasty lunch the next day if you have leftovers. You’ll need three cups of vegetables for this dish, but you can adjust the amounts of asparagus, sugar snap peas, and English peas.

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Pasta Primavera with Shrimp

Credit: Jennifer Causey; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Pasta Primavera with Shrimp Recipe

Many healthy eaters are quick to cut pasta out of their diets, but dishes like this have plenty of good-for-you benefits. This Pasta Primavera is filled with colorful veggies and light shrimp, and the homemade sauce isn’t heavy like its jarred or cream-filled counterparts.

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Spicy Shrimp Noodles

Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Spicy Shrimp Noodles Recipe

These superfast bowls satisfy with filling brown rice noodles and fresh shrimp. If you can’t find brown rice noodles, substitute your favorite whole-grain linguine or fettuccine.

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Pesto Shrimp and Broccoli Fettuccine

Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Pesto Shrimp and Broccoli Fettuccine Recipe

Put your knife away—store-bought pesto and precut broccoli florets mean no chopping required. Your Dutch oven pulls triple duty in this recipe by cooking the pasta, blanching the broccoli, and bringing the whole dish together, all in one pot.

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Simple Lemon, Shrimp, and Prosciutto Pasta

Credit: Jennifer Causey

Simple Lemon, Shrimp, and Prosciutto Pasta Recipe

Salty, umami-packed prosciutto complements the sweet shrimp and tomatoes in this streamlined 20-minute main.

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Veggie Noodles with Shrimp and Pistachio Pesto

Credit: Jennifer Causey

Veggie Noodles with Shrimp and Pistachio Pesto Recipe

Many healthy eaters are quick to cut pasta out of their diets, but dishes like this have plenty of good-for-you benefits. This Pasta Primavera is filled with colorful veggies and light shrimp, and the homemade sauce isn’t heavy like its jarred or cream-filled counterparts.

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Shrimp Scampi

Credit: Time Inc. Video Studios

Shrimp Scampi Recipe

Elegant dinners don't have to take a long time and a ton of effort—this one only takes 10 minutes. 

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Shrimp and Leek Spaghetti

Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Shrimp and Leek Spaghetti Recipe

Light and lemony, this pasta provides nearly a third of your daily fiber goal. Thanks to prepeeled shrimp and frozen peas, it’s the epitome of weeknight-fast. Dress it up with a glass of crisp white wine.

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No-Cook Shrimp Noodle Bowl with Peanut-Ginger Sauce

Credit: Kelsey Hansen; Food Styling Karen Ranken; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

No-Cook Shrimp Noodle Bowl with Peanut-Ginger Sauce Recipe

Picking up already steamed shrimp from the seafood counter of your favorite grocery store is a great time saving trick—and it can help keep your oven turned off during the summer months. Thus, these no-cook noodle bowls are packed with fresh flavors and textures, but take mere minutes to assemble.

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Tagliatelle with Shrimp, Tomato-Anchovy Sauce, and Chiles

Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Tagliatelle with Shrimp, Tomato-Anchovy Sauce, and Chiles Recipe

Garlicky tomato sauce gets an umami boost courtesy of flavor-packed anchovy fillets. Garnish with fresh basil, some sliced Fresno chile, and copious amounts of Parm for a simple yet satisfying dish.

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Spaghetti Squash Shrimp Scampi

Credit: Jennifer Causey

Spaghetti Squash Shrimp Scampi Recipe

Spaghetti squash is a favorite ingredient for those seeking a lower-carb, gluten-free alternative to pasta. If you’ve cooked it before, you’ve likely cut it in half lengthwise to form two “boats.” And while that method works just fine, it disregards the way the strands grow inside the squash—in circles around the width of the squash.

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Cacio e Pepe with Sauteed Shrimp

Cacio e Pepe with Sauteed Shrimp Recipe

Our favorite peel 'n' eat seafood gets new life with one kitchen-friendly formula: Shrimp + Starch + Sauce = Delish

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Pasta with Shrimp in Tomato Cream

Credit: Greg Dupree

Pasta with Shrimp in Tomato Cream Recipe

Use this recipe to start your own loving tradition. You can add your own touches, such as swapping in whole-grain pasta for a nutrition boost or trying goat cheese in place of feta. If you don’t have dry vermouth on hand, you can substitute dry sherry or a dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc or unoaked Chardonnay).

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Shrimp and Ramen Stir-Fry 

Shrimp and Ramen Stir-Fry  Recipe

The college student's standby gets a serious upgrade in this tasty stir-fry supper. Using quick-cooking, packaged ramen noodles (minus the seasoning packet) as a base, simply bulk them up with frozen shrimp, veggies, and a quick and flavorful homemade sauce to create a weeknight-friendly dinner. Added bonus: The leftovers make for an excellent next-day packed lunch. 

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Spinach Pesto Pasta with Shrimp

Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez

Spinach Pesto Pasta with Shrimp Recipe

Pesto is a great big-batch sauce for using up a mix of herbs and greens, but it tends to go army-green if made ahead. We quickly blanch spinach and basil to preserve the color without diluting flavor, then bump up the green with fresh parsley. A little chopped tomato adds moisture and mild acidity.

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Creamy Lemon Orzo with Peas and Shrimp

Credit: Jennifer Causey; Food Styling: Catherine Crowell Steele; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine

Creamy Lemon Orzo with Peas and Shrimp Recipe

We apply the risotto cooking method to pasta instead of rice for an easy, comforting main dish. It also saves time--just 15 minutes compared to the 20 to 30 minutes required for risotto. We recommend serving this main with Caramelized Baby Carrots.

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Spaghetti with Shrimp and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller

Spaghetti with Shrimp and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes Recipe

You can make this without the shrimp. Sauté garlic in the skillet as directed, and add the pasta water and parsley, omitting shrimp. If you omit the shrimp, also toss in 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese. Roasting cherry tomatoes intensifies their flavor without a lot of fuss to make this spaghetti easy and full of flavor. 

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Kale Pesto Pasta with Shrimp

Credit: Jennifer Causey

Kale Pesto Pasta with Shrimp Recipe

Making pesto out of leafy greens is a great way to pack lots of veggies into each serving of pasta. While traditional pesto uses basil, a kale pesto is equally hearty and fresh, plus it's loaded with antioxidants and protein. Make the pesto in advance if you're short on time and store it in the refrigerator, although it's best eaten the day of.

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