How to Make Pasta Puttanesca with Shrimp: Easy and Delicious!

My take on pasta puttanesca is a little different that your average. Obviously, my version is pasta puttanesca with shrimp, not chicken or without any specific protein. But also, I am omitting anchovies just because they are difficult to find here and they are not my favorite. Next, I am skipping a super tomatoey sauce and instead, I am using sundried tomatoes, keeping with the salty briny theme of the capers and olives.

In actuality, I didn’t really think of this dish as a puttanesca until I took a hard look at the ingredients and noticed that it had all of the puttanesca-esque ingredients. Of course the olives, capers, olive oil, and a tomato component are all featured in this recipe. But, I consider the sauce to be much lighter than the typical tomato sauce you find in a puttanesca. So, it’s my usual recipe spin!

Try this pasta puttanesca with shrimp next time you are craving something a little different than your classic pasta with a red sauce. The saltiness of the ingredients plays well with the shrimp and the light sauce from the olive oil and pasta water is super simple and satisfying for a quick weeknight meal.

Serves 4-6

Suggested Wine Pairing:

I don’t have any specific science behind this, but I paired this with a Spanish Rioja and it was the perfect pairing!

Ingredients:

1 pound of shrimp, peeled and deveined

16 ounces of linguine

1/4 cup of olive oil

5 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons of capers, chopped

1/2 cup black olives, chopped

1/2 cup of sundried tomatoes, chopped

1/3 cup of parmesan

1/4 cup of parsley

1 cup of pasta water

Instructions:

1. Start by getting your water boiling for the pasta. Add the salt once the water is boiling and cook the pasta as according to the package instructions.
2. Meanwhile, preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the oil and saute the garlic for about 2 minutes. Then add the capers, olives, and sundried tomatoes.
3. After about 2 minutes, add the shrimp to the skillet with salt and pepper. Allow the shrimp to cook through for about 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to low.
4. Once the pasta is al dente, add the pasta to the skillet with the cup of pasta water. Toss to combine, adding the parmesan and parsley. To serve, add the pasta to bowls and top with any extra parmesan and parsley.

If you like this, be sure to try my shrimp scampi!