This Lighter Shrimp Pasta Primavera recipe is ready in just 30 minutes, made with fresh veggies, yummy shrimp and the creamiest sauce!
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How to make pasta primavera with shrimp
- Cook the spaghetti until al dente.
- Sauté the veggies and shrimp.
- Whisk in the flour, lemon juice, milk and cheese.
- Add the sundried tomatoes and peas.
- Mix in the pasta and reserved pasta water.
- Toss until well mixed.
- Serve and enjoy!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Spaghetti – substitute spaghetti pasta with any pasta of your choice. I’ve seen primavera made with bowtie pasta and penne pasta.
- Reserved pasta water – the reserved pasta water helps to thicken the pasta sauce. If you forget to reserve excess pasta water, mix cornstarch or potato starch with water.
- Butter – in place of butter you can use margarine or a vegan butter substitute.
- Garlic – fresh garlic or jarred minced garlic will both work in this recipe.
- Red onion – white onion, sweet onion or yellow onion can be used in place of red onion.
- Shrimp – chicken breast or thighs would also taste great in this recipe if you aren’t a fan of seafood. You can leave the shrimp out entirely without replacement if you’d prefer to have a vegetarian dish.
- Broccoli – fresh or frozen broccoli will work for this recipe. If you aren’t a fan of broccoli, you can replace it with another vegetable of your choice like roasted Brussel sprouts, roasted cauliflower, roasted asparagus, etc.
- Lemon zest – if you’re in a pinch you can leave this out.
- Salt & pepper (to taste)
- Red chili flakes (optional)
- Flour – cornstarch or potato starch can be used instead of flour to thicken the pasta sauce.
- Lemon juice – fresh lemon juice or bottled lemon juice will work for this recipe.
- 2% milk – 2% milk makes the recipe lighter than if heavy cream was used. If you are in a pinch, feel free to use heavy cream or use your favourite non-dairy milk of choice.
- Parmesan cheese – grated Parmesan cheese or
- Sun-dried tomatoes – sun-dried tomatoes should be packaged in oil. You can substitute sun-dried tomatoes with roasted red pepper or semi dried tomatoes.
- Peas – fresh or frozen peas will work for this recipe.
What is pasta primavera?
Pasta primavera is a lighter pasta dish consisting of pasta and fresh veggies. It’s a great way to use up any veggies you may have sitting around in your fridge! I added shrimp to this version for some extra protein.
What to serve with pasta primavera
This recipe is super filling on its own and you’re already getting all your major food groups in one dish! That being said, I never say no to a bit of garlic bread on the side.
How to cook shrimp for pasta
The shrimp in this recipe cooks alongside the rest of the veggies so it’s super easy to make. If you’re using frozen shrimp, make sure to deshell and defrost them before sautéing in the pan with the rest of the veggies.
Storing and reheating
To store your leftovers, transfer the remaining pasta into individual servings in airtight containers and place into the fridge. The leftover primavera without the shrimp will last in the fridge for up to five days. If you have leftover shrimp with your pasta, you will want to eat the primavera within two days of storing.
When you're ready to enjoy your pasta, microwave in your glass container or transfer into a microwave-safe bowl and heat it up in the microwave for 1-2 minutes until warm.
Freezing this recipe
To freeze your pasta, wait for the recipe to cool completely then transfer it to an airtight container or a freezer bag. When you store your pasta, make sure to write the date that you're storing the paste to make sure you can keep track of its freshness. Once stored, your pasta will last in the freezer for up to three months.
When you're ready to enjoy the shrimp primavera, move it to the fridge hours before you're ready to enjoy or the night before to make sure it thaws. Once it has thawed, warm up the pasta in the microwave for 1-2 minutes or on the stovetop until fully cooked. After you've defrosted your shrimp primavera, you will not want to refreeze it so I recommend dividing your pasta into individual servings before freezing if you live alone.
More shrimp recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on storing any leftovers
- You can also freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months
Lighter Shrimp Pasta Primavera {30-Minute Meal}
Ingredients
- 1 lb spaghetti
- 1/4 cup reserved pasta water
- 2 tbsp butter
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
- 1 lb frozen shrimp deshelled and defrosted (about 35 shrimp)
- 1 head broccoli
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup 2% milk
- 2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes sliced (packedoil)
- 1/2 cup frozen peas defrosted
Instructions
- Heat a large pot of boiling water on high heat. When boiling, cook spaghetti for about 8 minutes until al dente, then drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta water.
- Meanwhile, defrost and peel shrimp and prepare veggies. In a large pan, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onions and sauté for 30 seconds. Add shrimp, broccoli, lemon zest, salt, pepper and red chili flakes, cooking for 2-3 minutes until shrimp starts to grow pink.
- Add flour, lemon juice, milk and cheese, whisking to get rid of lumps.
- Add sundried tomatoes and peas, cooking for another 3-4 minutes until sauce starts to thicken.
- Add pasta and a little bit of reserved pasta water, then cook on high for 2-3 minutes, tossing until well mixed. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Mandy says
Super quick, super delicious meal! Thank you for this one, the family really enjoyed it!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you guys enjoyed it 🙂
karma says
i ate it for lunch it was great i really recommend y’all to try it
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you enjoyed 🙂
Jenn says
Could you use precooked frozen shrimp? Would you reduce the cooking time?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Jenn – yes you can, but I would reduce the cooking time on the shrimp by a couple minutes.
Anne Campbell says
I am planning on making this recipe tonight, but I think I missed something. At what point do I add lemon juice? If I had to guess, it would be with the milk and cheese, so the mix does not curdle. Is that correct? The recipe looks so good-can’t wait to try it!
Thanks,
Anne
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Anne – sorry for the confusion, yes you do add it with the milk and cheese! This is one of my older recipes that I will be redoing soon, so I’m sorry for that missed ingredient in the steps!
Kaylan Shaw says
Is there any way to make this without parmesan cheese?
Taylor Stinson says
You really do need it for the flavour here unfortunately 🙁
Jennifer says
Do I buy raw or cooked frozen shrimp for this recipe?
Taylor Stinson says
Either or will do but I recommend frozen as it is cheaper. They will need to be defrosted, however.