Prawn Pasta in Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

5 from 7 votes

This shrimp pasta in creamy sun-dried tomato, basil and garlic sauce comes together in less than 20 minutes.

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time20

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: British/Italian

Keyword: prawn pasta, shrimp pasta

Servings:

Cook pasta according to package directions in a large pot filled with salted water.
While the pasta is cooking, add the sun-dried tomato pesto to the pan together with minced garlic and briefly stir for 30 seconds over low heat. Add double/heavy cream and stir to combine, bring to a simmer, then add prawns and fresh basil, add salt and pepper to taste. (If prawns are frozen, you can cook them from frozen.) Bring the sauce to a boil, then take off the heat immediately after the prawns turn pink.
Drain the pasta and add directly to the pan with the sauce, add some of reserved pasta water if the sauce is too thick. Toss to combine and serve immediately.

I used raw, frozen shrimp/prawns in this pasta. I didn't even need to defrost them first, adding them directly to the tomato sauce while still frozen. It works because they will only take a couple of minutes to cook.
But I've also made this with cooked prawns or shrimp as well. Just toss them into the sauce at the same time as the cooked pasta. They will warm through as you combine the pasta and sauce. Add them earlier than this and you can end up with overcooked, rubbery shrimp!
It really does matter which pasta shape you use! Long, flat strands of pasta become perfectly coated in a sauce like this, and will be the best choice. Fortunately, it's also forgiving so lots of different shapes can work.