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A white bowl filled with orecchiette pasta with shrimp in a vodka sauce garnished with shaved Parmesan and parsley.
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4.84 from 6 votes

Shrimp Pasta in Vodka Sauce

This Shrimp Pasta in Vodka Sauce cooks up quickly for a satisfying, utterly delicious 30 minute meal.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
0 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Main Course, Pasta
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 486kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 pound large or extra large raw shrimp peeled and de-veined (see notes below)
  • olive oil
  • 1 cup diced yellow onion
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or to taste
  • ½ cup good quality vodka
  • 28 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • ½ cup shaved Parmesan cheese
  • 1 pound orecchiette pasta or another short pasta like penne

Instructions

  • Rinse the shrimp with cold water and drain well. Pull the tails off. If very large, cut them in half.
  • Place a large pasta pot filled about ⅔ to the top with water over HIGH heat. Allow the water to come to a boil while you prepare the vodka sauce.
  • Coat a large sauté pan with olive oil  and place over MEDIUM heat. Cook and stir shrimp for a couple of minutes, just until opaque. Remove from the heat, transfer the shrimp to a dish and set it aside.
  • Coat the pan with a little more olive oil. Add the onion and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, for an additional minute.
  • Remove the pan from the heat and pour in the vodka. Return the pan to the heat and add the crushed tomatoes. Increase the heat to HIGH and bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat to LOW and stir in the parsley, cream, salt and pepper. Allow the sauce to simmer over LOW heat while preparing the pasta.
  • Boil the pasta according to the package directions. Drain well.
  • Add the shrimp and the well drained pasta to the vodka sauce and stir to combine. Remove from the heat. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Notes

Large (31 to 40 count) or extra large (26-30 count) raw shrimp work best for this recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 486kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 432mg | Potassium: 653mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 884IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 161mg | Iron: 3mg