Spicy shrimp, oven-roasted asparagus, and tomato chunks with an olive oil, garlic, and lemon zest sauce. Sprinkle some shredded parmesan cheese on top for added flavor!
Shrimp tail-on or tail-off?
Either? I’ve done it both ways and I prefer tail-off. It’s more of a hassle trying to rip off the tail while slurping your pasta. Or accidentally forgetting the tail is on and chewing into it…eww. But some like the tail on, that’s cool. No judgment! Do you!
Cooked or raw shrimp?
Ok, so you can go both ways. If you’re feeling like not in the mood to cook your shrimp and want to skip that step then go ahead and used the already cooked stuff and just warm it through enough so that it doesn’t over cook and get hard and become inedible. If you do plan on adding your own seasoning or the one mentioned in this recipe, you will need to use the raw shrimp so that you get a well cooked shrimp.
Can this be made into a vegan option?
YES! Take the shrimp and parmesan (or sub your fave parmesan cheese substitute) out of the equation and it makes for a delicious vegan meal. The chunky tomatoes and asparagus are great on their own with this pasta meal.
Can other meat be used?
Yes, of course! Grilled chicken pieces would work great with this as well. You can even do a mix of shrimp and chicken.
Step by Step Process
Start by prepping the veggies. Cut down the asparagus by removing the woody ends and chop the tomatoes into bigger chunks.
In 2 different roasting pans (or a cookie sheets) spread out your asparagus on one sheet and tomatoes on the other. Drizzle both with vegetable oil to coat and salt & pepper to taste. To the asparagus, I like to add the zest of 1 lemon, toss to coat.
Bake/roast (depending on your oven setting) at 400 degrees for approximately 10-15 minutes for the asparagus, which take less time because they are thinner, and 20-25 for the tomatoes.
While your veggies are baking/roasting, coat your shrimp with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper. Add your shrimp to a bowl and sprinkle all the spices in and toss to coat.
To a frying pan on medium-low to medium heat, add about 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (or oil of choice). Throw your shrimp in the pan spaced out enough so you are able to turn them. Cook approximately 2 minutes per side or until pink all the way through.
While your shrimp and veggies are cooking, get that pasta going. Cook about 250 grams of spaghetti according to the package instructions. Make sure to salt the water. It will flavor the sauce later.
In a separate pan, on low heat, add the olive oil and minced garlic. When it starts to bubble keep a close eye on it to make sure the garlic isn’t burning.
Swish or stir the olive oil and garlic around every minute or so. After about 10 minutes add ¾ cup of the pasta cooking water. Let that come back up to a simmer.
Add your pasta to the garlic sauce. Toss to coat.
You can roughly chop your asparagus or put in whole, your preference. I like cutting mine up into 3 pieces per asparagus.
To your pasta add the asparagus, tomatoes, and shrimp. Toss to combine. turn off heat.
You can top it with a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese.
Plate and enjoy!
Shrimp Pasta with Roasted Asparagus and Tomato Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 3–4 servings 1x
Description
Spicy shrimp, oven-roasted asparagus, and tomato chunks with an olive oil, garlic, and lemon zest sauce. Sprinkle some shredded parmesan cheese on top for added flavor!
Ingredients
For the Veggies:
- 1 asparagus bunch
- 2–3 medium roma tomatoes
- 1 lemon – zested
For the shrimp:
- 1 lb raw shrimp
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1 teaspoon of paprika
- 1 teaspoon pepper flakes
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Pasta & Sauce:
- 250 Grams spaghetti noodles (about ½ a package)
- ½ cup (or a whole head) of minced garlic
- ¾ cup olive oil good quality
- ¾ cup reserved pasta water
- Shredded parmesan cheese for topping (optional)
Instructions
For the Veggies:
- Wash and prep all the veggies. Cut down the woody ends of the asparagus and dice your tomatoes into a medium to large dice.
- Sprinkle the zest of 1 lemon, 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper to the asparagus
- 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper to the tomatoes.
- Roast/bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit
- 15 minutes for the asparagus
- 20-25 minutes for the tomatoes
For the Shrimp:
- Season the shrimp with the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, pepper flakes, salt, and. pepper.
- To a frying pan on medium-low to medium heat, add about 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (or oil of choice). Cook approximately 2 minutes per side or until pink all the way through.
For the Pasta & Sauce:
- Cook the spaghetti noodles according to the package instructions. Make sure to salt the water.
- In a separate pan, on low heat, add the olive oil and minced garlic. When it starts to bubble keep a close eye on it to make sure the garlic isn’t burning.
- Move or stir around every minute or so. After about 10 minutes add ¾ cup of the pasta cooking water. Let that come back up to a simmer.
- Add your pasta to the garlic sauce. Toss to coat.
Putting it together:
- To your pasta add the asparagus, tomatoes, and shrimp. Toss to combine. turn off heat.
- Top it with a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese, totally optional.
- Plate and enjoy!
Notes
- Shrimp tail on or off, it’s personal preference. Do what you like best! The rest of the shrimp shell should be removed if you are buying whole shrimp.
- Start with raw shrimp. Buying pre-cooked shrimp will just over cook in the pan. You can do pre-cooked shrimp if you don’t plan on seasoning it and toss in at the end when combining all ingredients, just to warm up.
- This could be made vegan by not adding the shrimp. The chunky tomatoes and crunchy asparagus do really well on their own with this pasta.
I gave it 5 stars although I am making it later this evening. I have been cooking a similar dish for the past 30 years and can pretty much tell by the recipe it will be fabulous. Since I saw no comments (why?) I thought to leave one encouraging all to try this recipe. I love the roasting of the asparagus and tomato chunks and how well seasoned the recipe ingredients are. Especially the seasoning for the shrimp and the addition of lemon zest when roasting the asparagus.
I think I will decrease amount of pasta water and add a bit of white wine and juice of 1/2 a lemon. Also using butter and olive oil when making garlic pasta sauce.
I will leave a comment tomorrow on my results! Thank you Mirna, for an inspiring recipe and the great idea of roasting the asparagus with lemon zest and the wonderful seasoning on the shrimp!
★★★★★
Thank you soo much! Yes, please let me know how it turns out!
Also, I’m going to make your version for dinner tonight, it sounds awesome!
Mirna!
Your recipe was fabulous! My husband LOVED it,, and he always says he loves whatever I cook…but you know how you can tell when someone REALLY loves it ?He asked for it again. I made it for a 2nd time. Again, perfect!
The roasted asparagus with lemon zest was elegant and the garlic sauce was perfect, I did not use dry white wine (nothing really to deglaze) and did not need it.
The seasoning on the shrimp before cooking was what really made this dish flavorful. My daughter and and her husband are coming to my home for the weekend and I cannot wait to make this for them!
Your recipe was perfect as you posted it and I hope others try it. I will be passing it along and I will be watching for any more recipes from La Saucy Kitchen. I look for hours sometimes for the perfect recipe -so happy I made the right choice with yours!
★★★★★
Susan, thank you for your kind words! This means a lot! I am so happy that you guys enjoyed!! Thank you for making my day!