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Creamy Tuscan-Inspired Shrimp

Tuscan-inspired shrimp with sun-dried tomato strips, spinach leaves, and half-and-half over pasta.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course lunch/dinner
Cuisine Italian
Servings 4 people
Calories 2652.2 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Large Pot For cooking pasta
  • 1 Large Skillet Preferably a deep one for sauce
  • 1 Colander For draining spaghetti
  • 1 Cutting Board
  • 1 Chef's knife

Ingredients
  

Main

  • 6 ounces spaghetti
  • 2 tablespoons salted butter
  • 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 pound shrimp
  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • ½ cup sliced fresh mushrooms
  • ½ cup white wine
  • 5 ounces oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes drained and cut into strips
  • 3 cups baby spinach leaves
  • 1 ¾ cups half-and-half
  • ⅔ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 teaspoons dried Italian herb seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon water Optional
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch Optional
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Instructions
 

  • Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain and keep warm.
  • While the pasta is cooking, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add shrimp and cook until are bright pink on the outside and the meat is opaque, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove shrimp and garlic to a plate.
  • Add onion and mushrooms to the hot skillet; cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add white wine and cook until reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Add sun-dried tomatoes and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Reduce heat to low. Add spinach and half-and-half; cook until spinach wilts, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning; simmer until cheese has melted, about 3 minutes.
  • If sauce is not thick enough, stir water and cornstarch together in a small bowl. Clear a spot in the center of the skillet and add cornstarch mixture to the center of the pan. Let it simmer while stirring the mixture quickly until the sauce thickens.
  • Add shrimp back to the sauce and cook until reheated, about 1 minute. Serve sauce over pasta. Top with parsley.

Notes

To achieve a truly restaurant-quality dish, focus on timing. Shrimp cooks very quickly, so removing it promptly after it turns pink prevents toughness. When building the sauce, ensure the white wine reduces sufficiently to concentrate its flavors before adding the cream. For a richer sauce, heavy cream can be substituted for half-and-half. If using dry sun-dried tomatoes, rehydrate them briefly in warm water before slicing. A squeeze of fresh lemon juice at the very end brightens the flavors and cuts through the richness, elevating the dish further. Don't forget to season generously with salt and pepper throughout the cooking process.