This chorizo and shrimp pasta combines two worlds, the spicy meaty sausage and the sweet taste of cooked shrimps. I’m using a little bit of cream cheese to make the pasta creamier and a few spices to enhance the flavors. It’s a great mid-week meal as it doesn’t take much time to prepare and cooks really fast. You just need to juggle boiling the pasta and making the chorizo & shrimp at the same time.
If you are looking for more pasta dishes to squeeze into your mid-week plan, check out my baked cannelloni with spinach and feta cheese recipe and my Mediterranean octopus pasta in tomato sauce.
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Why you should try my recipe
- Delicious pasta dish that everyone will enjoy.
- Ready in just 30 minutes.
- Easy to follow step-by-step instructions.
Ingredients & How-to
For this chorizo and shrimp pasta dish we are going to use one chorizo sausage, shrimps, pasta, half an onion, garlic cloves, cream cheese, olive oil, a bell pepper, ground nutmeg, sweet paprika, crushed pepper flakes or chilli flakes, salt & pepper. For full quantities check the recipe card down below. So let’s get started.
01. I start with preparing the vegetables. I dice the onion, chop the garlic cloves and cut the pepper into slices. I’m using a red pepper as it has a milder taste to green pepper but you are free to use whichever one you like. You could also use a couple of sweet mini peppers.
02. Moving to the pan, I turn the heat to medium high and when my pan gets hot, I add 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil. I add the shrimps or prawns and saute for a couple of minutes on each side. I’m using raw shrimps without the skin. You will notice that after a few minutes on each side, they turn pink. Then, I remove them using the tongs and set them aside for later on.
In the meantime I place a pot filled with water and a tablespoon of salt over the heat to get it ready for boiling the pasta.
03. I add a couple more tablespoons of olive oil and add the chopped onion to the pan. I saute the onion for 3-4 minutes until it’s soft and translucent. When the onion is ready, I add garlic, chorizo and pepper slices and cook them for 7-8 minutes. More oil and fat will come out as the chorizo is being cooked, so there is no need to add any water at this point.
04. By now, the water for pasta has started to boil and it’s time to add the pasta in. You could use any short pasta you like. I’m usually making this chorizo and shrimp pasta dish with fusilli or gemelli or farfalle pasta. I’m cooking the pasta al dente as we are going to cook it a couple more minutes in the pan with the chorizo and shrimps.
05. I add the spices to the pot with the chorizo and peppers, the sweet paprika, nutmeg, crushed pepper flakes, salt and pepper. You could also use chili flakes but I wouldn’t add too much as the chorizo is already spicy.
06. Now it’s time to add the sauteed shrimps back to the pan to combine all the flavors. I also add the cream cheese and half a cup from the boiling pasta water. I give it all a stir until it’s all combined and leave it cook for 4-5 minutes in medium heat.
07. The pasta should be ready by now. I reserve a little bit from the pasta water and then I add the pasta to pan with the shrimps and chorizo. I carefully combine everything with my spatula for a minute making sure that the pasta is coated with the sauce.
08. If needed you could add a little from the reserved pasta water, like a quarter of a cup. I leave the pasta for a minute to cook in the sauce while stiring and now our chorizo and shrimp pasta is ready to be served.
Tips
- Shrimps (prawns) cook fast and if overcooked become hard and chewy. Saute only for a couple of minutes on each side until pink and add them back to the pan towards the end.
- The chorizo is already spicy so you could leave the crushed pepper flakes out for a milder taste.
- Keep a little bit of the pasta water aside before draining the pasta.
- Cook the pasta al dente, as it will continue to cook in the pan with the sauce.
Substitutions
- You could substitute the cream cheese with half a cup of half-and-half (single) cream.
- You could use any short pasta that you have at home, like macaroni, fusilli, farfalle etc.
- Instead of a bell pepper, you could use 2-3 sweet mini peppers.
- Instead of shrimps, you could use raw prawns.
Serving suggestions
I like to serve this chorizo and shrimp pasta dish with some chopped fresh basil on top and some grated parmesan cheese. The basil is quite refreshing and compliments the spicy chorizo flavor. If you would like to pair this pasta dish with a salad, I recommend something simple like a Greek salad or my pomegranate, greens and goats cheese salad.
Storage
If you have any leftovers of the chorizo and shrimp pasta, you could store it in the fridge and consume within 2-3 days. Add a couple of tablespoons of milk and make sure it’s thoroughly warmed up before serving to enjoy the most.
FAQ
For this chorizo and shirmp pasta dish, it's better to use short pasta as it's easier to fork some pasta and chorizo or pasta and shrimp at the same time compared to long pasta like spaghetti. You could use rotini, fusilli, farfalle pasta or other pasta types with similar shape and size.
Chorizo and shrimp pasta has a lightly spicy taste so I would recommend something refresh with it like a simple tomato and mozzarella salad or a Greek salad.
Pair it With Recipes
Recipe
Easy Chorizo And Shrimp Pasta
This chorizo and shrimp pasta dish is ready in just 30 minutes. A creamy pasta dish with spicy flavors from the seasoning and the rich smokiness of Spanish chorizo with succulent sweet shrimps. A Mediterranean flavored dish that is going to become a favorite. Enjoy!
4 servings
5 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 chorizo sausage (150gr / 5oz)
- 250gr / 0.5lb shrimps
- 250gr or 2 ½ cups pasta
- 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ onion
- 1 bell pepper
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ cup / 4oz / 100gr cream cheese
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- ¼ teaspoon crushed pepper flakes
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Chop the onion, garlic cloves and cut the pepper into slices.
- Fill in a big pot with water and a tablespoon of salt. Put high heat to cook the pasta when it starts boiling.
- Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and saute the shrimps for 2 minutes on each side until pink. Take them out and leave them aside for later on.
- Add the chopped onion and saute for 3-4 minutes until soft and translucent.
- Add the chopped garlic cloves, pepper slices and chorizo slices. Stir and leave it to cook in medium-low heat for 7-8 minutes.
- In the meantime, add the pasta in the boiling water and cook al dente.
- Add the crushed peppers, nutmeg, paprika to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Add the shrimps and cream cheese to the pan. Add half a cup from the pasta water and stir to combine. Cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Drain the pasta and add it to the pan. Stir to combine for 1-2 minutes.
- Serve with grated cheese and some basil.
Notes
- You could use any short pasta type you have at home like rotini, fusilli, gemelli or farfalle.
- Instead of cream cheese, you could use a cup of half-and-half (single) cream.
Storage
You can store any leftovers of this chorizo and shrimp pasta in the fridge and consume within 2-3 days.
Nutrition Info (per serving)
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
