Creamy Tomato Garlic Butter Shrimp

4.94 from 32 votes

Creamy Tomato Garlic Butter Shrimp

Linguini pasta gets a delicious make over with this 15-Minute Creamy Tomato Garlic Butter Shrimp! A quick and easy flavourful dinner in minutes!

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time4

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Garlic Butter Shrimp, Tomato Garlic Butter Shrimp

Servings:

Author: Karina Carrel

Ingredients

10 ounces linguini dry weight, or any pasta
1 yellow onion medium, diced
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
6 cloves garlic minced
1 pound raw jumbo shrimp prawns, peeled and deveined
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon salt divided
3 cup passata or marinara sauce
1/2 chicken bullion cube crushed, or 1 teaspoon stock powder
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
1 teaspoon ground black pepper divided
1 pinch granulated sugar
2/3 cup milk or half and half or heavy cream
1 handful parmesan cheese grated, to serve
1 pinch fresh parsley to serve

US - Metric

Instructions

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente, according to package instructions. Before draining, reserve about 1 cup of pasta water, then drain and set aside. While the pasta cooks, prepare the shrimp and sauce.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened and transparent. Stir in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant.

Keep an eye on the garlic here. If it browns too much, it can turn bitter.

Add the shrimp, basil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook for about 2 minutes on one side, then flip and cook for another minute.

The shrimp does not need to be completely cooked through yet. It will finish cooking in the sauce, which helps keep it from turning rubbery.

Pour in the marinara or passata, then add the crushed bouillon or stock powder, parsley, pepper, sugar, and remaining salt. Stir well and let the sauce heat through for about 1 minute.

If you’re using marinara, taste the sauce before adding more salt since some jars are already quite seasoned.

Reduce the heat to low and stir in the milk, half and half, or cream. Cook for another minute, or until the shrimp is opaque and cooked through. Avoid letting the sauce boil hard once the dairy is added. Stir the drained pasta through the creamy tomato sauce and toss until evenly coated.
If the sauce is thicker than you like, add a small splash of the reserved pasta water until it reaches the consistency you want. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Notes

Jumbo shrimp work best, but medium shrimp are fine too. Smaller shrimp will cook faster, so reduce the cooking time as needed.
Either works. Marinara is already seasoned, while passata gives you more control over the final flavor. Taste before adding extra salt or sugar.
Heavy cream gives you the thickest sauce. Half and half or milk can also be used for a lighter version.
Linguini is great here, but spaghetti, fettuccine, or another long pasta will work too.
Try eating alongside a piece of Cheesy Garlic Bread.

Storage and Reheating

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator within 2 hours of cooking. Cooked shrimp can become unsafe if it sits out too long because bacteria grow quickly at room temperature. I’d eat leftovers within 3 days.

Reheat only the amount you plan to eat. Warm it gently in a skillet over low heat with a splash of milk, cream, or water, or microwave in short intervals until heated through.

Try not to keep cooling and reheating the same batch. Each time food warms up and cools back down, it has another chance to spend too long at an unsafe temperature, and shrimp also gets tougher each time it’s reheated. If it has been left out for too long or you’re unsure how it was stored, it’s safer to throw it away.

Happy cooking Xx

If your raw shrimp smells strongly fishy or like ammonia, or feels unusually slimy, don’t cook with it. Fresh shrimp should have a mild smell, so when in doubt, throw it out.

Nutrition