Iconic Marry Me Shrimp Pasta | Best Pasta Recipe Ever
Author: 
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: American
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4-5 Servings
 
Ingredients
  • Penne pasta - 250 gms
For shrimps:
  • Shrimp - 400 gms, peeled and deveined
  • Italian seasoning - ½ tsp
  • Paprika / red chilli powder - ½ tsp
  • Salt and pepper to taste
For sauce:
  • Butter - 2 tbsp
  • Extra virgin olive oil - 2 tbsp
  • Garlic - 6 to 7 cloves, minced
  • Onion - 1, medium, finely chopped
  • Tomato paste - 2 tbsp
  • Sun-dried tomato - 4 tbsp
  • Italian seasoning - 2 tsp
  • Paprika/Kashmiri chilli powder - 2 tsp
  • Dried basil - 1 tsp
  • All-purpose flour - 2 tbsp
  • Heavy cream - 1 cup
  • Parmesan cheese - 70 gms, grated
  • Fresh Spinach - 2 cup, shredded
  • Vegetable stock or water - 2 cups
  • Fresh basil leaves to garnish
  • Salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Cook the penne pasta in salted boiling water in a saucepan until they are 80 percent cooked i.e. al dente. Do not overcook the pasta as they will continue to cook in the sauce at a later stage.
  2. Once pasta is al dente, after about 10-12 minutes on medium flame, reserve 2 cups of pasta boiling water for later use and drain the remaining water out by transferring the pasta to a colander placed inside your kitchen sink.
  3. Rinse the pasta under cold running water to stop them from further cooking from the remaining heat. Set it aside to let all the water drip off while you cook the shrimps and prepare the marry me shrimp pasta sauce.
  4. Take the cleaned shrimps in a mixing bowl and add Italian seasoning, paprika, salt and pepper. Give a quick toss to coat each shrimp evenly on all sides.
  5. Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauté pan, which has high sides (we will use the same pan to cook pasta sauce later, so choose a big pan which can hold all the pasta.)
  6. Once the oil is moderately hot, add the shrimps and cook them on medium-low heat for 3 to 4 minutes stirring in between until they turn pink and opaque. Do not overcook them.
  7. Take out the shrimps into a bowl and set aside. Place the sauté pan back to heat and add the butter and olive oil to it. Let the butter melt completely.
  8. Add the minced garlic and chopped onion to the pan and sauté them on medium heat until the onion softens and becomes translucent. Garlic will also become very fragrant.
  9. Now add the tomato paste and sun-dried tomatoes to the pan and give a good mix so that tomato paste is completely melted with the aromatics.
  10. Next it’s time to add the spices and seasoning. Add Italian seasoning, paprika, dried basil and salt to taste. Give a nice stir to distribute everything evenly.
  11. Now keeping the vegetable broth or water handy, add the all-purpose flour and toss it with the aromatics and spices. It will tend to be sticky; just bear with it for a couple of minutes.
  12. After about a couple of minutes, add the broth or water. Give a gentle stir to mix everything evenly. Let the liquid come to a gentle simmer on low heat.
  13. It’s time to add the heavy cream to the sauce. Pour the cream gently while stirring with a spatula at the same time to ensure the cream doesn't curdle and gets evenly mixed in.
  14. Once the sauce becomes thicker and comes to a gentle simmer again, add the grated Parmesan cheese and give a good stir. The cheese will start melting almost immediately, thickening the sauce even more.
  15. Add the roughly torn spinach leaves and let them simmer in the sauce for 5 to 6 minutes until they wilt down.
  16. If the sauce turns too thick, add a couple of ladle full of reserved pasta water and let it come to a simmer.
  17. Finally it’s time to add the cooked pasta and the sautéed shrimps to assemble your marry me shrimp pasta! After adding both the cooked ingredients, you have to be very very gentle while stirring.
  18. Leave the pasta and shrimps in the sauce to simmer for 5 to 6 minutes allowing them to absorb all the irresistible flavors and convert into something absolutely phenomenal!
  19. Your delicious marry me shrimp pasta is ready! Garnish with fresh basil leaves and serve it with another sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan! Enjoy!
Recipe by Flavor Quotient at https://flavorquotient.com/2025/12/iconic-marry-me-shrimp-pasta/