Shrimp Cherry Tomato Pasta

Shrimp cherry tomato pasta is a light and flavorful pasty, with a light, cherry-tomato based sauce infused with delicious shrimp flavor. It’s a quick meal to whip together on a weekday night with layers of flavor and texture.

Jump to:

• ✅  Why Make This Recipe
• 🍎Calories and Nutrition – How to Make It Healthy 
• 📋 Ingredient Notes
• 📖 Substitutions and Variations
• 🔪 Step by Step Instructions 
• 💭 Recipe FAQs
• 💭 Expert Tips
• 🍽 Related Recipes
• 🍳 Recipe

✅  Why Make This Recipe

Quick and easy to prepare – Shrimp cherry tomato pasta doesn't require lengthy hours of prep; with a few key cooking techniques and high-quality, fresh ingredients, you can make this dish in under 20 minutes. 

Multiple depths of flavor – By using key cooking techniques, this dish has a deep umami flavor from the cherry tomatoes and the shrimp-infused sauce, resulting in a complex and delicious restaurant-quality flavor from the comfort of your own home. 

Balanced and healthy – This pasta recipe naturally has quite healthy ingredients - by portioning and modifying the ingredients, I’m able to make this pasta dish with ample protein and minimal calories. 

🍎Calories and Nutrition – How to Make It Healthy 

Shrimp cherry tomato pasta  is a great healthy pasta dish. A serving of this recipe is only 383 calories with 35 grams of protein, 17 grams of fat, and 43 grams of carbs.

Most of the calories in this dish come from the shrimp and the pasta. The tomato sauce, which tastes very rich and flavorful, actually has minimal calories. There are additional techniques used in this recipe to enhance the flavor of the sauce without adding any calories. 

Here’s what I did to make this healthy:

• Portion the shrimp – I used 6 ounces of chicken thigh, which gives a sizeable amount of lean protein 
• Portion the pasta – I used 52 grams of dried pasta for a portioned amount of carbs, which is only 180 calories. 
• Portioned high-fat ingredients carefully – I used ½ teaspoon of olive oil and ¼ tablespoon of butter as they are essential for achieving some of the techniques in this recipe.
• Sauce techniques –I meticulously slow-cooked the sauce, coaxing out the natural sweetness of the cherry tomatoes. 

For a detailed breakdown of each ingredient, their portioning, and how they make up the nutrition profile of this shrimp cherry tomato pasta recipe, you may refer to the table below:

📋 Ingredient Notes

To make the shrimp cherry tomato pasta, you’ll need the following key ingredients:

• Shrimp – I prefer to use bigger shrimp as they are more succulent and juicy, but any size shrimp work. In this recipe, I used size 16/20 shrimp.
• Cherry Tomatoes – Slow cooking these is what gives the delicious umami and sweet sauce. 
• Spices – Salt, pepper, fennel (optional). The fennel gives the dish another layer of flavor, but feel free to omit if you don’t have.
• Red Chili Flakes – Gives the dish a slight kick. You can also use calabrian chilies or omit if you prefer a non-spicy dish. 
• Parmesan Cheese – Gives the sauce a touch of creaminess.
• Pasta – Choose your favorite pasta variety to accompany the sauce. The best shape for this sauce would be either something short with ridges, such as this gemelli or rigatoni, or something long and wide, such as bucatini, or tagliatelle. These shapes have ridges and surface area to carry the sauce well. Avoid thin pastas like angel hair. 

See my recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.

📖 Substitutions and Variations

Shrimp stock substitute – Some recipes also call for using white wine instead of the shrimp stock. If you would prefer, you can sub the shrimp stock with white wine, or just use a store-made chicken stock. 

Chili substitutes – Red pepper flakes are a great substitute that is more commonly found in the average household. You can also opt to use Calabrian chilis if you prefer, or omit the spice altogether for a non-spicy dish.

Switch up the herbs – You can garnish with chopped parsley or basil to add a touch of freshness. 

🔪 Step by Step Instructions 

Prep the Ingredients – Deshell the shrimp, reserving the shells for the stock. Mince the garlic and onion. Cut the cherry tomatoes into halves. 

Cook the pasta – In a pot of salted boiling water, cook your pasta according to the time on the package directions, subtracting a minute (we will finish the pasta in sauce).

Make the shrimp stock  – Add the chicken stock and shells into a sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for about 5 minutes before straining the stock. Set aside. Note - if too much stock evaporates, you can add more water or chicken stock to deglaze.

Start the sauce  – Add the olive oil into a pan and add the garlic, onions, chili flakes, cherry tomatoes, and fennel. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 1-2 minutes, or until the aromatics become fragrant. Add the shrimp stock and bring to a simmer and cook for about 5-6 minutes until the cherry tomatoes have began to burst. 

Cook the shrimp – Add the shrimps in a single layer in the sauce. Cook for about 1-2 minutes each side.

Add the pasta – Add the pasta in and mix everything together, adding pasta water if needed to make the sauce coat the sauce completely. 

Garnish and serve – Turn the heat off and add the butter and parmesan cheese in, melting it with the residual heat to create a touch of creaminess in the sauce. Plate and garnish with basil and enjoy your delicious pasta. 

💭 Recipe FAQs

💭 Expert Tips

Save the pasta water – To help adjust the sauce to your desire consistency, save the pasta water and mix in as needed while you’re mixing the pasta and sauce together. 

Don’t overcook the shrimp – Ensure that the shrimp is not overcooked. If the shrimp finishes cooking before the sauce is reduced to the right consistency, remove the shrimp first and add them back in once you’re ready to mix everything together.

🍽 Related Recipes

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🍳 Recipe