I love making this creamy sun-dried tomato pasta when I need a quick, flavorful meal. It comes together in about 30 minutes. The sweet-tangy sun-dried tomatoes blended with cream create a silky sauce that clings beautifully to pasta.
If you enjoy rich pasta dishes, try my other recipes like Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta, Fiesta Chicken Pasta, or One-Pot Homemade Hamburger Helper.
Ingredients needed for this recipe:
Pasta — I prefer bowtie pasta because it holds the sauce well and looks appealing, but any pasta you like will work.
Dairy — This sauce uses butter, heavy cream and Parmesan cheese for a rich, silky texture. Heavy whipping cream is an acceptable substitute if needed.
Seasonings — Keep it simple: salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, paprika and red pepper flakes add flavor without overwhelming the sauce.
Aromatics — Garlic, shallots and basil add depth and brightness to the dish.
Protein — Shrimp is a great choice because it cooks quickly. The recipe calls for 1 pound, but you can use 1/2 pound if you prefer less.
Sun-dried tomatoes & tomato paste — Jarred sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil are ideal because they’re already soft and you can use some of the oil for cooking. If you buy dry-packed tomatoes, soak them to rehydrate. Any tomato paste works for the concentrated tomato flavor.
Spinach — I add baby spinach for greens. The recipe uses 1 cup, but you can add more since spinach wilts down considerably.
The full recipe with measurements is included in the recipe card below.
How to make creamy sun-dried tomato pasta:
Start by boiling water and cooking the pasta to al dente. Reserve about 1/4 cup of the starchy pasta water to loosen the sauce later — it helps emulsify the fats and cheese so the sauce clings to the pasta.
While the pasta cooks, cook the shrimp in a bit of the oil from the jarred sun-dried tomatoes until pink and just cooked through, about 2–3 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
In the same skillet, reduce heat to medium and melt the butter. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, chopped sun-dried tomatoes and minced shallot. Sauté for about one minute, stirring constantly to release the aromatics.
Stir in tomato paste and cook briefly, then deglaze the pan with white wine, scraping up any browned bits. Let the wine reduce by about half.
Pour in the heavy cream and stir to combine. Add the spinach and cook until it wilts into the sauce. Lower the heat slightly and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and reduces by roughly half.
Turn the heat up to medium-high and add the reserved pasta water, simmer for a couple of minutes. Return the shrimp to the pan along with the drained pasta and toss everything together until the pasta is well coated and the sauce is luxuriously creamy.
Remove from heat and stir in freshly grated Parmesan. Garnish with chopped basil and serve immediately. I like to serve this with steamed baby broccoli on the side.
Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta
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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
- 4 oz sun-dried tomatoes, in oil, drained and 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
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Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Reserve ¼ cup of starchy pasta water.
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While the pasta cooks, season shrimp with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and paprika. Heat a skillet over medium-high and add 1 tbsp of oil from the sun-dried tomatoes. Cook shrimp 2–3 minutes per side, then remove and set aside.
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Reduce heat to medium, add butter, then garlic, red pepper flakes, sun-dried tomatoes and shallot. Sauté about 1 minute, stirring constantly.
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Add tomato paste and cook for 30 seconds, stirring.
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Pour in white wine, scrape up browned bits, and simmer until the liquid reduces by half.
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Stir in heavy cream and add the spinach, mixing until the spinach wilts into the sauce.
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Lower the heat slightly and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reduces and thickens.
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Increase heat to medium-high, add reserved pasta water and simmer 2 minutes. Add shrimp and pasta, tossing to coat everything in the creamy sauce.
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Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan. Serve topped with chopped basil.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should be used only as an approximation.
Additional Info
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