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I love making this creamy sun dried tomato pasta when I want a quick and flavorful meal. It comes together in just 30 minutes. The sweet & tanginess of the sun dried tomatoes mixed with cream make a wonderful silky sauce for the pasta.
If you love creamy tomato based pasta, check out my Fiesta Chicken Pasta or One-Pot Homemade Hamburger Helper recipes.
Ingredients needed for this recipe:
Pasta- I like to use bowtie pasta for this creamy sun dried tomato pasta recipe because it adheres to the sauce super well. Plus it’s pretty cute to look at, ha!
Dairy- You’ll need butter, heavy cream and parmesan cheese. I love using these three in pasta to make a super creamy, silky smooth delicious sauce. If you can’t find heavy cream, heavy whipping cream will work just fine.
Seasonings- I like to keep it simple with the seasoning because the sauce is already decadent. I use salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, paprika and red chili flakes for a little kick.
Aromatics- I love using garlic, shallots and basil help to add depth of flavor and brightness to this dish.
Protein- I love to use shrimp for this because it cooks super fast. Usually I will buy a large bag of frozen shrimp and thaw some beforehand. The recipe calls for 1 pound but you can use 1/2 a pound.
Sun dried tomatoes & tomato paste- I highly recommend to use sun dried tomatoes that are jarred in oil. I like to use this because the jarred sun dried tomatoes will already be soft. Since they are dehydrated, if you buy the ones not in oil, they will have to soak in water to soften them up. Plus you can use the oil in the jarred ones. Any tomato paste will do.
Spinach- I like to add some kind of greens in the dish and spinach is perfect. The recipe calls for 1 cup of spinach but you can honestly add way more than that. We know how spinach likes to shrivel up haha.
The full recipe with measurements is below on the recipe card.
How to make creamy sun dried tomato pasta:
First I like to bring water to a boil then cook the pasta to al dente. I reserve some of the pasta water to add to the sauce later so it’s not too thick. It helps the sauce to cling to the pasta better and emulsify the fat and cheese.
While the pasta is cooking, start cooking the shrimp in a little of the oil from the sun dried tomatoes.
Remove the shrimp from the pan and start making the delicious sauce. Cook all the aromatics together with the sun dried tomatoes, tomato paste and chili flakes. Deglaze the pan with white wine, heavy cream and add in the spinach.
Once everything is nice and thick add in the shrimp and the pasta.
Remove from the heat and add in the parmesan cheese and top with the basil. Serve immediately. I like to serve it with some steamed baby broccoli on the side.
Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz pasta
- 1 lb Shrimp , cleaned and shells removed
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Pepper
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp paprika
- 2 tbsp butter, unsalted
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 shallot , minced, medium size
- 4 oz Sun dried tomatoes , in oil drained, ½ the jar, chopped
- 1 tbsp tomato paste,
- ½ c white wine, Pinot Grigio or sauvignon blanc
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup baby spinach
- ½ c parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 3 tbsp Basil , chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Save ¼ cup of starchy pasta water on the side when finished.
- While the pasta is cooking, start on the shrimp. Season the shrimp with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and paprika. Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Once hot, add 1 tbsp of the oil from the sun dried tomatoes. Add in the shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes per side, remove and set aside.
- In the same skillet turn the heat to medium and add in the butter. Once melted add in the garlic, red pepper flakes, sun dried tomatoes and shallots. Sautee for about 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Next add in the tomato paste, cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Add in the white wine, scrape off any brown bits on the bottom of the pan and let simmer until the liquid is reduced by half.
- Pour in the heavy cream and give everything a good stir. Add in the spinach and stir to incorporate.
- Reduce the heat to a little under medium, let this come to a simmer, stir every few minutes and let the liquid reduce to about half.
- Turn the heat to medium high and add in the reserved pasta water, stir and let that simmer for 2 minutes. Now add in the shrimp and pasta. Toss in the sauce. Until everything is coated and the sauce is super creamy.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the parmesan cheese. Serve topped with the chopped basil for garnish.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This turned out great, it works even when the pantry is running on fumes (see below). My partner who is a pasta snob also reviewed it highly. I’ll be adding it to my shrimp rotation.
Emergency substitutions:
– No shallots; I used dehydrated chopped onion bits
– No wine; I used chicken broth as suggested plus a splash of white vinegar
– No fresh garlic, I used powder
Thank you Michelle! I’m so glad you and your partner liked it.