I just got back from a week long trip of visiting family and friends.
Which basically means eating tons and tons of bad, bad food.
It’s ok, we do these things for those that we love.
So getting back meant serving my family something healthy and packed full of veggies, but also full of flavor. This was a win-win for my gang.
This whole wheat pasta dish is packed with zucchini, red bell peppers, spinach and shrimp, all tossed in a creamy garlic sauce. It’s so simple to throw it all together it might show up on our menu frequently.
Start off by prepping your veggies. {it just makes life easier}
Melt a tablespoon of butter in a medium-hot skillet.
Throw in the zucchini and onion, saute for about 5 minutes until the onion has softened.
In the mean while pour some whole wheat penne pasta into a pot of boiling water.
Back to the skillet, add the thinly sliced red bell pepper.
Dump in the minced garlic and let it cook for a minute.
Pour in 1 cup of chicken broth, and 1/4 cup of white cooking wine (or 1/4 cup more of chicken broth). Let it all simmer till it starts to slightly thicken, approximately 5 more minutes.
Drain your pasta once it’s cooked, reserving a little bit of pasta water. Add the spinach a handful at a time and mix until it wilts down. The hot water helps if the pasta gets too dry.
Back to our skillet…
Add 6 ounces of a low fat cream cheese.
Stir until smooth.
Add salt, pepper, and a few shakes of crushed red pepper flakes.
Finally throw in your cooked shrimp, and heat till warm throughout.
Combine the pasta and the veggies together and toss till coated.
Marvel at the beauty of this dish.
Healthy, yet very tasty!
Give it a healthy sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
I’m not kidding when I say that my oldest asked for this in her lunch the next day for school. {and she’s 6 years old!}
It’s that good!
Give your family a healthy meal tonight… they’ll need it once you see the sinful dessert I’m going to show you next!
{I always have an agenda}
HELPFUL PRODUCTS TO MAKE THIS RECIPE:
Creamy Shrimp and Veggie Pasta
Ingredients
- 12 ounces penne pasta
- 3 tbsp butter, divided
- 1 lb shrimp, peeled with no tails, uncooked
- 2 cups zucchini, cut into half moons
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- ½ onion, diced
- 3 tsp garlic, minced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ¼ cup white wine
- 6 ounces cream cheese
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp pepper
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 6 ounces baby spinach
- ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and add pasta. Cook according to package directions. Drain pasta, reserving a cup of pasta water for later. Set cooked pasta aside.
- Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and melt 2 tbsp butter. Season shrimp with salt and pepper and cook in butter just until heated through, careful not to overcook. Remove the shrimp from pan to a plate and keep warm.
- To the pan, add another tbsp of butter and saute zucchini and onion for about 3 minutes. Add the bell pepper and saute for an additional 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Stir in chicken broth and white wine, reduce heat to medium and let simmer till sauce slightly thickens. Add in the cream cheese, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and spinach and stir till smooth and creamy and spinach has wilted into sauce.
- Add in the cooked pasta and shrimp and mix together till heated throughout. Top with parmesan cheese when serving. Enjoy!
Nutrition
The best Pasta Shrimp I Eva had
This is by far the best creamy veggie shrimp pasta I ever had or made. Thanks so much for sharing ❤️
So glad you enjoyed it Lawana!
Fantastic! So glad you enjoyed it!
presentation is fabulous! gorgeous photos! I’m sure the taste is great
Would thisbe a good dish to make for a wedding shower, for about 85 people
Made this for dinner tonight and it was amazing!
Oh, and I’m a new vegetarian and so I made this with veggie broth and without shrimp and it was a perfect and healthy comfort meal! Will definitely be making it again!
Thank you Ann! It makes me so happy to hear when people enjoy my recipes! 🙂