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Okay I have to tell you, this recipe is a keeper. My husband is a meat and potatoes kind of guy and he always turns his nose up when he hears “whole wheat” or “light”. But he loved this one. He even took the leftovers for lunch the next day. I added a little extra garlic because we love it, but other than that, I followed the recipe exactly and it came out great! Thanks for sharing.
Homemade Garlic Alfredo Sauce.
Would you mind if I just stopped there? Sighh.
There’s more.
Butter.
Garlic shrimp.
Fire roasted tomatoes.
Whole grain penne.
Parmesan? Extra? Sure.
And don’t you forget about that homemade garlic alfredo sauce. I know you didn’t.
Bake it, eat it, eat it again.
Make a mental note to double the recipe next time.
Make another mental note to stop at the store for some minty gum. Or tell Siri to make your mental notes for you. Or tell Siri to make a mental note for Bjork.
Train Siri to recognize “Bjork” instead of “New Yhork”.
Give up on Siri and eat more baked penne.
{Light} Garlic Shrimp Baked Penne
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This light garlic shrimp baked penne has a delicious and lighter homemade Alfredo sauce, penne pasta, tomatoes, garlic, and shrimp. Easy and healthy!
Ingredients
- 1 lb. raw, deveined tail-off shrimp
- 4 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
- 6 ounces whole wheat penne pasta
- 1 can fire roasted tomatoes with garlic
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 6 ounces 2% evaporated milk (about half of a can)
- 1 ounce light cream cheese
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- salt to taste
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese for topping
Instructions
- In a skillet, melt 1/2 tablespoon butter and add 1 clove minced garlic. Saute for 1 minute or until garlic is soft and fragrant. Add shrimp and cook about 3 minutes on each side, until no longer pink.
- Cook pasta as directed until al dente. Drain and return to pan. Drain tomatoes and add to the pasta. Add cooked shrimp.
- In a small skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter and add 3 cloves minced garlic over medium-high heat. Saute for 1 minute. Add flour and stir until a soft, sticky mixture forms – about 1 minute. Add half of the evaporated milk and whisk until smooth. As it cooks, the mixture will start to thicken and bubble – when it does, add the rest of the evaporated milk. As the mixture thickens and bubbles again, add the cream cheese and whisk until smooth. As the mixture thickens, add the chicken stock to thin out the sauce. Season with salt to taste.
- Pour sauce immediately over pasta and mix gently. Pour into a small baking dish. Top with Parmesan cheese; bake at 375 degrees for about 10-15 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Notes
The sauce will start to really thicken within a few minutes of taking it off the heat. Make sure to mix it in with the pasta right away. When I made this, I used a 10×6 baking dish. You could also top this with seasoned breadcrumbs.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: baked penne, shrimp recipe, shrimp pasta
I think this big blue sky is the sign of a good week.
That, and Alfredo.
I made this tonight and it came out really good. Will definitely make again and may add a little spice. Perfect for dinner and leftovers the next day for 2 people. I entered the recipe on the weight watchers app and it only had 7 points
This is first meal of yours that I’m not a fan of . I have cooked a lot of your meals and i make them over and over again. This one i will not . I think it might be can of fire roasted tomatoes with garlic i didnt like . I only saw hunts brand . Feel like i would substitute it with something else .
Does the shrimp have to be thawed before cooking it? Because my plan was to make this tonight for dinner and I just put my shrimp in the fridge about an hour ago… :/ I blame it on pregnancy brain (so convenient!).
I often soak it in a bowl of cold water to help it thaw quickly – that is supposed to be the safest way to do it if you’re working with frozen shrimp. Luckily it doesn’t take long cause they’re so small. 😉
Delicious Loved it…and easy. Instead of Chicken Broth, I thinned my sauce with the juice I drained from the tomatoes! Pinked up the Alfredo sauce a bit – yummy!
The recipe says 6oz of pasta, is that right? Dose not seem like enough.
Yes, it’s lighter on the pasta, but you could always add a little more and just boost your sauce amounts.
Okay I have to tell you, this recipe is a keeper. My husband is a meat and potatoes kind of guy and he always turns his nose up when he hears “whole wheat” or “light”. But he loved this one. He even took the leftovers for lunch the next day. I added a little extra garlic because we love it, but other than that, I followed the recipe exactly and it came out great! Thanks for sharing.
Great! Glad to hear it Patrice! 🙂
Do you think it’s ok to make it the night before and bake it the next day?
I think it would be better baked right away. It could still work being made ahead but just not as good/fresh, especially because of the shrimp. I like them better right after they’re cooked.
This was delicious. I doubled the recipe and it turned out a bit soupy but the taste was great. Next time I will double the protein (I used 1 lb shrimp and 1 lb crawfish) and the pasta but keep the rest of the recipe intact. We all loved it and will enjoy leftovers tomorrow with lots of crusty bread to sop up the sauce.
Hi Lindsay,
Looks like an awesome recipe! I want to make it tonight! Can you please tell me what size can of roasted tomaotoes you used? I see two different sizes here in the grocery store. I from Canada by the way! Love your site and recipes!
Hi Sumali! Usually the can size I use is about 14 ounces.
I made this last night, my family could not tell it was a lightened up recipe! They loved it and are now fighting over who is having the leftovers for lunch! Thank you so much for posting this!
Thank you Pam!
I’ve made this twice now, and it’s fabulous! Thanks for sharing!
Aw, thanks for the comment, Anna! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Just wanted to let you know, I made this last night for my family for a special Valentine’s Day Dinner, and it was AMAZING! Everyone couldn’t stop raving about the dish and it was one of the best pasta dishes I have ever tried. I used linguine instead of penne, but that was the only change. Thanks so much for this awesome recipe and I know I’ll be making it again!
Yay! So glad it was a success for you! 🙂
This was incredibly scrumptious!! My boyfriend and I loved it. What a great recipe!
Pasta + shrimp = perfect combo!