Shrimp Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes

Name: Shrimp Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 45 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 8 ounces spaghetti alla chitarra, regular spaghetti or pasta of choice; 8 ounces shrimp, cleaned, bottom shell intact; 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided; 8 ounces spring onions (3-5) or 1 medium white or yellow onion, finely chopped; 2 1/4 pounds fresh tomatoes (about 30 cocktail/compari tomatoes) or plum/roma tomatoes; 2 pinches hot red pepper flakes; 1 tablespoon butter; Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper; Basil leaves, as needed

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This Shrimp Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes is a wonderful summer recipe with the sweetest, most flavorful fresh tomato sauce you'll ever have.

Overhead view of a rustic bowl of shrimp spaghetti on a textured, light colored surface.

Why You Should Make This Pasta

This recipe is a slight twist from a recipe taught to me by a wonderful chef (my favorite ex-boss) from Rome. My nonna's fresh tomato sauce is near and dear to me, but his recipe is mind-blowing. The secret to the tomato sauce is cooking onions low and slow until they're sweet and caramelized, but still light in color.

Honestly, the shrimp is just a little bonus here. I love this fresh tomato sauce with or without the shrimp. As far as the pasta goes, traditional spaghetti works great, but spaghetti alla chitarra (of the guitar) is even better. This pasta is cut with a special tool with strings resembling guitar strings. The texture and shape of this pasta is very unique, and definitely worth a try if you can ever get your hands on it!

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Straight on close up view of a group of compari tomatoes with water droplets on them.

Ingredient Notes

Pasta- I really love using spaghetti alla chitarra but you can also use regular spaghetti, linguine, fettucine, penne, farfalle or fusilli. This pasta sauce works well with so many different pasta shapes!
Shrimp- Fresh is always best. I like keeping the tails on for presentation. For a vegetarian version, omit the shrimp.
Tomatoes- In my area, cocktail or compari tomatoes are the sweetest, best variety for this type of preparation. You can also use roma or plum tomatoes. Just make sure they're as ripe as possible!
Onions- I was originally taught to make this recipe with spring onions because they're so sweet and delicate, but obviously they only have a short growing season and are not widely available. Any kind of white or yellow onion would be a good substitute.

Overhead view of a pot of fresh chunky tomato with onions with a wooden spoon inside.

Recipe Steps

The first thing to do is prepare the sauce. Start off by sautéing the the onions. Cooking them over low heat for a longer period of time will give them a sweet, caramelized flavor. Add a pinch or two of red pepper for some mild heat.

Meanwhile, blanch and peel the tomatoes. Cut a small 'x' through the bottom of each tomato. Place tomatoes in boiling water for a few minutes or until the skins start to peel away. Then shock them in an ice water bath to stop the cooking process.

Once cooled, peel the tomatoes and discard the skin. You can also remove the seeds, but I don't find that necessary for a good final product. Any bitterness they impart is totally negligible and the juices help add some body to the sauce. Chop up the peeled tomatoes and add them to the onions. Allow it to simmer at least an hour or until it's thick and flavorful.

When the sauce is ready, place a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. While the pasta cooks, sauté the shrimp in a large pan. Finish off the pasta in the sauce and add the shrimp along with some butter. I rarely use butter in tomato sauce, but it really balances out the acidity of the fresh tomatoes and gives the pasta a great glossy finish.

Slightly angled view of a bowl of spaghetti and shrimp with fresh tomato sauce.

Tips and Recipe FAQs

Plan ahead. You can do several steps of this recipe in advance. You can either make the entire tomato sauce in advance or get certain steps out of the way. Sauté the onions one night, store them in the fridge and reheat them the next day before adding the tomatoes. Or, blanch and peel the tomatoes in advance. You can even prepare a double or triple batch of this amazing tomato sauce and freeze it for future meals.
In order to avoid overcooking the shrimp, slightly undercook it when you first sauté it. That way, when you add it to the pasta and sauce later on, it will be cooked just the perfect amount.

Why do they leave the tails on shrimp in pasta?

There's a few reasons to leave the tails on shrimp in pasta. It looks more attractive and the shells do impart some flavor into the sauce. The pasta is much easier to eat without them, however, so most home cooks may prefer to remove them.

How do you thicken a sauce of fresh tomatoes?

Fresh tomato sauce thickens by simmering until the water evaporates and the flavors concentrate. Some fresh tomato sauces are cooked quickly while others cook slowly for a longer period of time.

Overhead view of a bowl of spaghetti, shrimp and tomatoes on a rustic, cream colored surface.

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