Living a few minutes from the Atlantic Ocean, I eat a lot of seafood. And I think pasta is one of the best ways to showcase fantastic fish and shellfish. My favorite pasta dishes come from the simplest techniques: a garlicky white wine sauce, maybe a touch of mascarpone or cream stirred in for richness...and always a little citrus and herbs.
These dishes are my all-time favorite seafood pasta recipes. They're the recipes friends ask me to text them after dinner. Whether you've got 15 minutes or 60...fresh scallops from the market or a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer, there's something here for you. Grab your pasta pot, save that starchy cooking water, and let's get into it.
1. Seafood Pasta with Garlic Wine Sauce
Scallops and shrimp get tossed in a garlicky white wine sauce that clings to every strand of pasta, and everything comes together in about 30 minutes. It's the dish I reach for when I want dinner to feel like a bit of a special occasion. Use your favorite seafood mix or whatever you have in your freezer.
2. Creamy Smoked Salmon Pasta
If you're in your Smoked Salmon Era like me, this is the pasta you need in your life. A spoonful of mascarpone stirred in at the end gives the sauce real richness, no heavy cream required, and it's on the table in 15 minutes.
3. Italian Shrimp Scampi Fettuccine
Butter, garlic, shrimp, pasta, and a crunchy layer of seasoned breadcrumbs on top. This one's inspired by a trattoria on the outskirts of Rome, where our AirBnB host Nino insisted we try it. A spicy kick of red pepper flakes keeps it from feeling one-note.
4. Creamy Pesto Shrimp Spaghetti
Twenty minutes, one pan, and a jar of store-bought pesto (bonus points if you have a batch of homemade pesto from your summer basil crop!). It's the dinner I made for years without a recipe because it was too easy to skip. Now I'm sharing it with you so we BOTH have shrimp pesto spaghetti in our back pocket!
5. Greek-Style Shrimp Linguine
This one's for the nights you want your dinner to transport you somewhere, in this case, a sun-drenched Greek kitchen. Feta, fresh dill, and bright lemon turn a simple shrimp pasta into something new, finished with a crunchy lemon-dill panko topping.
6. Pesto Pasta with Salmon
This is another throw-together dinner I make constantly, now actually written down with real measurements so you can nail it the first time instead of eyeballing it. A spoonful of mascarpone stirred into the warm pesto adds richness that you're going to love
7. Air Fryer Shrimp Gnocchi
The air fryer does all the work here, crisping the gnocchi outside while keeping the inside pillowy, and keeping the shrimp tender instead of rubbery. Toss it all in a no-cook creamy pesto and dinner's on the table in 15 minutes.
8. Sheet Pan Gnocchi
Pillowy gnocchi goes straight onto the pan without boiling, cherry tomatoes burst into a light sauce as they roast, and shrimp finish under the broiler so they stay tender. Thirty-five minutes, one pan, and it tastes like a full Mediterranean spread landed on your sheet pan.
9. Easy Shrimp Rasta Pasta
My Caribbean-inspired take on a classic cream pasta, loaded with color, veggies and perfectly spiced shrimp, all in one pan. If you can boil pasta and sear shrimp, you've got this one.
10. Shrimp Marsala Pasta
Everything that makes marsala sauce great, nutty wine, mushrooms, a silky finish, but built around shrimp instead of chicken. Toss it with pasta and a handful of parm and it's going straight into your regular rotation.
11. Shrimp Cannelloni with Spinach and Ricotta
Tender shrimp folded into creamy ricotta and spinach, stuffed into pasta tubes, and baked under a velvety sherry béchamel. This is the one I pull out when I want something that feels like a real occasion.
12. Creamy Tomato Lobster Pasta
A creamy tomato sauce gives the lobster more depth than a simple butter situation ever could. Use leftover lobster from a weekend boil, frozen tails from the store, or even langoustine or shrimp. Whatever you've got works here.
13. Creamy Pink Sauce for Lobster Ravioli
Store-bought ravioli, doctored up right. Shallots, garlic, fresh basil, and a creamy tomato base come together in 25 minutes into a sauce that makes the lobster ravioli taste even more indulgent than it already is.
14. Hazelnut Brown Butter Sauce for Seafood Ravioli
Store-bought ravioli meets a sauce that's almost stupidly simple: butter, browned until nutty, tossed with lemon, basil, parmesan and your seafood ravioli of choice. No cream, no fuss, just a handful of ingredients doing their job well.
15. Old Bay Shrimp Pasta Salad
Cook the shrimp right in the seasoned pasta water for less cleanup and more flavor in every bite, then toss everything in a zesty, creamy dressing. Perfect for cookouts, lazy lunches, or any night you don't want to turn on the oven, all in about 30 minutes.
Can I use frozen seafood in these recipes?
Absolutely, and honestly, I use frozen seafood more often than fresh. Shrimp, scallops, and most fish freeze beautifully, and quality frozen seafood is often fresher than the "fresh" seafood sitting in a grocery case for days. Just thaw it properly (overnight in the fridge, or under cold running water if you're short on time) and pat it completely dry before cooking so you get a good sear instead of a steam.
What should I serve with seafood pasta?
Some of these recipes are true one-pan affairs, with vegetables, protein, and carbs all built right in, so you don't need a thing on the side. For the ones that could use a little something extra, make a simple Tossed Salad (this Portuguese version is a favorite) or check out my Best Sides for Seafood roundup for more ideas.
What's the best pasta shape for seafood pasta?
Conventional wisdom is that long noodles like linguine or spaghetti are great for lighter, oil or wine-based sauces since they let the seafood shine without competing for attention. Short shapes like orecchiette or rigatoni hold up better to chunkier sauces. I'll sometimes match the shape to the size of the seafood too. But honestly, if you've already got a box of penne in the pantry, use it. We don't have to get too precious about it.
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