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I made this the other night and it was so yummy! Thanks for posting. This will be a regular. So easy too and my kids loved it!
You guysss.
I’m looking at the world through Mexican-flavored glasses.
I may not definitely do not have the looks, the suave, or the rhythm whatsoever, but I swear I have Mexican flavors in my soul. Mexi-Italian fusion skinny fajita pasta? I’m telling you, it’s gotta be in my soul.
I did take salsa lessons once.
I would be lying if I told you it was just a teensy bit bad. Ay caramba.
Hey, remember when I was rejecting veggies? Things change fast around here.
Roasted vegetables are actually BETTER than chocolate. That’s right. I said it. And I take it back right this second but you know what I mean. You’re pretty much inside my brain right now.
Roasted veggies are sweet (in a veggie way), perfectly charred, and tender-crisp in that amazing healthy craving way. I likey.
And shrimpers never let me down. Never. Unless they have tails, because those are annoying to pull off while I’m shoveling in food with a fork in both hands. Annooooying.
This pasta is a big bowl of Mexican love: sauteed peppers and onions, garlic shrimp, creamy enchilada sauce, and Cotija cheese. Grab 2 forks and dig. in.
Skinny Fajita Shrimp Pasta
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Skinny shrimp fajita pasta made with fajita peppers and onions, sauteed shrimp, and penne with a light cream sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat pasta
- 9 ounces raw shrimp
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Mexican seasoning (I used about 3/4 tablespoon)
- 2 bell peppers, sliced thinly
- 1 onion, sliced thinly
- 2 ounces light cream cheese
- 6 ounces enchilada sauce (almost 3/4 cup)
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
- Place peppers and onions in a heavy duty skillet over medium-high heat. You don’t want to add too much oil or butter here (I didn’t add any at all) because you want the roasted, fajita-looking charred outside. Stir every so often, letting them sit long enough to get browned.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over high heat. Add garlic and shrimp; season with Mexican seasoning plus salt and pepper to taste. Cook until shrimp are no longer translucent and have a lightly pink/white inside and browned outside, about 4-6 minutes. Add enchilada sauce and stir to remove the yummy browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add pasta and peppers; stir to combine.
- With the pan over low heat, add the cream cheese and stir until melted. The pasta should be thick and creamy, but you can adjust it by adding more sauce or more cream cheese. Season with additional Mexican seasoning if desired.
Notes
I’ve used light sour cream in this instead of cream cheese, too. It tastes a little different but it works just fine. π
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Mexican-Inspired
Keywords: shrimp fajita pasta, skinny shrimp pasta, shrimp pasta
Eat a big bowl and have a happy weekend.
Oh my word. This looks like dinner next week to me!
I love that you will post a βskinnyβ recipe after those double chocolate muffins! Good balance. π I also totally agree about roasted veggies β a different but wonderful kind of sweet.
I will. Yes, I will. π
LOVE mexican food and flavors!! this looks so good!! i need to get my hands on cotija cheese too..i find it hard to find here!
Cotija is my favorite cheese of all time!! I have to go to a certain Cub foods to get it but I bet youβd find it if you looked at a few stores :). Totally worth it!
This looks awesome, and a good weeknight kind of a dish!
And I suck at salsa-ing too. My hips just canβt seem to loosen up enough, or something. Itβs quite sad.
Some things just arenβt meant to be. π
I LOVE every time thereβs something Mexican-inspired here! My husbandβs (then-boyfriend) roommates would make fun of us, because every Saturday we would go have Mexican foodβ¦ and we never noticed it!
Iβll have to take out the shrimp for the Mr. (heβs weird!) or maybe put it on the side, but Iβm trying this asap!
I feel the same way about the Mexicanβ¦ I have to check back to make sure Iβm not posting too many Mexican flavored recipes π
Oooo, I love Mexican-flavored glasses! This is my kind of meal. Love these flavors, Lindsay, great idea!
Thanks Cassie!
Well, Iβm not quite ready to give up chocolateβ¦ but roasted veggies are pretty great. This is a really fun spin on fajitas!
Thanks Emily! And donβt even think about giving up chocolate. Not even for one millisecond.
Letβs go out to Los Ocampo after work next week! After the inspiring (and, truthfully, mindset altering) article you sent to me, dinner is on me! π
Iβve always wanted to go there! YES! Iβm glad you liked the article. I loved it and Iβm not even a mom yet. π
Hi Lindsay! I recently started reading your blog and really enjoy it. Just finished eating this pasta for dinner and all I can say is HOLY YUM! Topped it with a little fresh cilantro leftover from making the stuffed Mexican stuffed sweet potatoes yesterday (fantastic, by the way). Thank you so much for the recipes and scrumptious photos, keep βem coming!
Oooh yay! So glad you liked it Haley!
I need to find this cotija cheese you speak of!!
Itβs worth a little cheese hunting. I swear I could eat a whole block of that cheese in one sitting.
Iβm game for any Mexican dish! This looks so flavorful, and itβs always a plus when itβs light! π
I try to balance out those muffins, ya know? π
I love fajitas and I love pasta. You read my mind before it even went there π Thank you!
Thank YOU Anna! π
Canβt wait to try this!
Saw this amazing dish over at Pinterest and had to come check it out. Canβt wait to try it.
I hope you love it! π We sure did.
Yummy! I love how simple this is! Looks fantastic π
Thank you Heidi!
Yum, this looks delicious! Love mexican food also, keep it coming π
That I can do!
I just made this is it SOOO GOOD!! my new favorite thing! Thank you!!
Yay! I love that you love it. π
Lindsay, this dish looks incredible! i love everything about it: cream cheese, roasted peppers, shrimpies, and ww pasta. Yum!
Why thank you Sally. π
I donβt see the Cotija cheese listed in the ingredients, or in the instructions??
This was soooooooooooo good!
Yay! Glad you liked it, Nicole!
Made this tonight for my family and it was a huge hit! Thanks for sharing!
I made this the other night and it was so yummy! Thanks for posting. This will be a regular. So easy too and my kids loved it!
My boyfriend and I made this last night. I added some diced chicken & sliced jalapeno, as well. It was fantastic!! And the real reward is that we had enough leftover for each of us to pack some for lunch today! Thanks for the recipe!!