24 Seafood Pasta Recipes to Serve for Casual Dinners (2024)

From classics like salmon and shrimp to briny canned staples like sardines and anchovies, seafood offers so much versatility for dinnertime. You can prepare it in all the best ways—grilled, broiled, or sautéed—and then when it's added to pasta, it becomes something extra special. Our seafood pasta recipes, such as the Classic Shrimp Scampi that's pictured here, are a fabulous mix of everyday essential dishes and some extra-special recipes for entertaining.

No matter the occasion, these seafood pasta recipes will be the star of dinnertime.

45 of Our Best Shrimp Recipes

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Spaghetti With Shrimp, Kale, and Burst Tomatoes

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Take a break from the usual spaghetti with this shrimp-studded iteration. Traditional red sauce is replaced with bursting grape tomatoes, resulting in a fresh and effortless dish.

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Thai-Curry Shrimp Linguine

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Pantry staples come to the rescue for this seafood pasta dish. The sauce is delightfully simple, silky, and the star of the show; just heat curry paste and cilantro in a skillet, then blend with canned light coconut milk.

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Cream-Free Shrimp Alfredo

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In this take on the classic Fettuccine alfredo, we create a creamy sauce without the usual heavy cream using a clever combination of an egg yolk, unsalted butter, Parmesan cheese, and pasta water. It's revolutionary!

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Sea Scallops Over Shallot-Herb Pasta

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If you've never paired seared scallops with pasta before, now's your chance. Fragrant fennel, savory shallots, and plenty of fresh herbs build flavor in this family-friendly pasta dish.

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Pasta Peperonata With Tuna and Olives

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Nearly every color of the rainbow peeks out between strands of spaghetti in this briny meal. Use good quality olives and tuna, which will add rich flavor in every twirl of pasta.

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Pasta With Shrimp and Creamy Chipotle Sauce

Master this spicy dinner in just 30 minutes. Fennel is a light contrast to the bold heat found in the sauce, and its bright green fronds are a delicate garnish atop meaty shrimp and hearty short pasta.

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Pasta With Preserved Lemon and Anchovies

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No need to go to the grocery store for this 15-minute recipe. Everything you need is right in your own pantry—spaghetti, olive oil, garlic, oil-packed anchovies, and preserved lemon. Get ready for big-time flavor in a flash.

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Martha's Spaghetti alle Vongole

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Imagine that you're dining seaside in Italy, looking at the cerulean blue sea and multi-colored stucco houses. You're sipping on a fruity glass of Pinot Grigio and sharing a plate of garlicky seafood pasta. Martha's recipe for spaghetti with clams will transport you there.

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Seafood Linguine

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A dish dressed to impress, this luscious pasta is our take on the Italian pasta linguine ai frutti di mare. It features a variety of shellfish—small clams, mussels, sea scallops, shrimp, and squid, plus plenty of aromatics such as garlic, red pepper flakes, and parsley.

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Spaghetti and Shrimp Meatballs

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This recipe is a sweet upgrade to an Italian classic. You can make "meatballs" without meat. Simply pulse raw shrimp in a food processor with panko breadcrumbs, Pecorino Romano cheese, basil, and scallions. Then form the mixture into balls and poach in boiling salted water until cooked through.

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One-Pan Creamy Tuna Pasta

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Try this contemporary take on a classic—tuna noodle casserole. It's a 25-minute wonder recipe that calls for cooking butter, short spiral pasta such as cavatappi, broth, shallots, and water together. It's finished by tossing with blanched asparagus, arugula, Parmesan, lemon, and canned tuna.

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Pasta With Salmon, Broccoli Rabe, and Garlic

If the eye-catching contrast of dark green broccoli and pink salmon isn't enough to entice you in, then the flavor of this penne pasta dish surely will. Garlic and red-pepper flakes add classic Italian flavor in every bite.

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Orecchiette With Corn, Arugula, and Tuna

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With a rainbow of tomatoes, corn the color of sunshine, and peppery arugula, this pasta dish is bursting with seasonal flavor. And it all comes together in just 30 minutes.

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Mafaldine With Shrimp and Lemon

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Who wouldn't want to dig into a bowl of this fun ruffled pasta with a shrimp scampi-inspired sauce? All of the flavor comes from the sauce, which includes butter, white wine, shallots, red-pepper flakes, lemon, and crème fraîche.

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Salmon Noodle Casserole

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This is a kid-friendly dinner that represents comfort food at its finest. Instead of the traditional tuna, we've swapped in salmon, which is rich in fatty acids and omega-3s. Combine cooked pasta with a creamy sauce, lemon zest, dill, and chopped scallions, then bake until bubbling and golden.

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Spaghetti With Shrimp and Olives

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There's a secret ingredient in this punchy Italian-American pasta. Sure, there are shrimp and mixed olives along with juicy cherry tomatoes, but it's a little bacon that brings it all together. You'll also want plenty of Pecorino Romano cheese for serving.

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Pasta With Grilled Sardines and Bitter Greens

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Want to serve something different when you're having friends for dinner? Make this stunning pasta, which features bucatini, a hollow version of spaghetti that feels like an upgrade from everyday noodles. Sardines and dandelion greens make it feel totally out of the ordinary.

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Spaghetti With Tuna and Caper Sauce

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Briny and bright, canned tuna and capers are probably not ingredients that your family gravitates to every night, but this recipe could change that. It's an easy way to introduce your family to a delicious and innovative use of canned tuna.

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Garlicky Shrimp Pasta With Chiles

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For a seriously spicy pasta dinner that comes together in about 20 minutes, try this shrimp dish. Thinly sliced fresh chiles are responsible for the fiery flavor—but the heat level is up to you.

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Spicy Clams With Spaghetti

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Make this romantic pasta dinner for two for dinner tonight. Clams are naturally salty, so taste the finished dish before seasoning with any additional salt.

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Spaghetti With Bay Scallops, Leeks, and Tarragon

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The anise-like flavor of tarragon and the freshness of lemon zest are a pleasing complement to sautéed leeks and scallops. Serve with spaghetti or any other long pasta.

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Greek-Style Pasta With Shrimp

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Shrimp, garlic, mint, and Kalamata olives transport you to the Mediterranean. Plain yogurt and lemon juice make a tangy, low-fat sauce for this gemelli pasta dish that is delicious served hot or cold.

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Linguine With Shrimp and White Wine

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Lemony white-wine sauce is the perfect complement to sautéed shrimp. This light dinner for one is ready in just 20 minutes.

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Pasta With Marinated Tomatoes and Lobster

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Featuring a combo of fresh basil and heirloom cherry tomatoes, this marinated lobster dish tastes like summer. It's also an excellent make-ahead recipe, thanks to the hands-off approach.

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24 Seafood Pasta Recipes to Serve for Casual Dinners (2024)

FAQs

What is the best pasta for seafood? ›

Linguine: Linguine is a classic choice for creamy seafood pasta dishes. Its long, flat shape allows it to hold the creamy sauce and mix well with the seafood. Fettuccine: Fettuccine's broad and flat ribbons provide a perfect canvas for rich and creamy seafood sauces.

What pairs well with seafood pasta? ›

Pair your seafood pasta with a red wine like Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Syrah to bring out the best in your pasta dish. White wine, on the other hand, is a great match with fish and other lighter white-fleshed seafood like clam strips.

How to eat seafood pasta? ›

If the pasta dish is not served with the shellfish still in the shell, you would eat it as you would any other sort of pasta. If it's served with the shellfish still in the shell, hold the shell with one hand and your fork with the other. Hold the shell on an angle.

Do you put cheese on Seafood Pasta? ›

In the Italian culinary tradition, some pasta sauces don't pair well with the addition of grated Parmesan or other cheeses; seafood is a prime example of this. This is mainly because the savory and robust flavor of the cheese can overpower the delicate taste of the fish.

What appetizer goes well with seafood pasta? ›

Some Fresh Balsamic Bruschetta

Your meal should start with a delicious appetizer. One of the most popular options to pair with seafood pasta is balsamic bruschetta. The balsamic vinegar has a lot of acidity to it, and it will pair perfectly with the delicious flavor of seafood.

What pasta shape is best for seafood pasta? ›

For Seafood Sauces

Thin, long cuts with a smooth texture best mimic the light and silky texture of seafood sauces and so we recommend long cuts like Linguine, Capellini (sometimes referred to as “angel hair”) and Thin Spaghetti.

What does seafood pasta contain? ›

This creamy Seafood Pasta recipe has pasta tossed in a simple homemade garlic cream sauce with plenty of shrimp, scallops, mussels, and clams. It only takes 20 minutes and is sure to satisfy any seafood lover! Looking for more seafood recipes?

How many days can you eat seafood pasta? ›

Information. Cooked fish and other seafood can be safely stored in the refrigerator 3 to 4 days. Refrigeration slows but does not prevent bacterial growth. Therefore, it's important to use food within recommended time before it spoils or becomes dangerous.

Why do restaurants leave tails on shrimp in pasta? ›

Because the shells, tail included, contain water-soluble compounds that accentuate the shrimp's umami taste and aromatic compounds that lend even more tastiness to the dish, slow-boiling is more impactful than a quick sauté.

How long can you eat leftover seafood pasta? ›

After a seafood dish has been cooked, leftovers are good for 3 to 4 days. Although frozen shellfish and fish can keep indefinitely, prolonged storage will deteriorate the flavor and texture of seafood.

How much pasta for 20 people? ›

If you're having pasta as your main meal, we'd suggest the following quantities: 100g of dried pasta per person. 120g of fresh pasta per person.

How to make pasta ahead for a crowd? ›

Pasta can be par-boiled until “al-dente”. Then, drain it, coat in a little olive oil, and seal it in zip-lock bags (restaurants do this in portions). It can stay in the fridge for a couple of days. You can save a little pasta water separately if you'll need it for when you make your sauce.

How many servings of pasta for dinner? ›

Most recipes call for one pound of pasta — which is a standard box or bag — to serve four to six people. It's far easier to eyeball this than fuss over specific measurements. I find that half the box, or a half-pound (eight ounces) of pasta, serves two to three people, depending on sauce and hunger level.

Why is linguine served with seafood? ›

Why is linguine served with seafood? Linguine, which means "little tongues" in Italian, is an elliptical-shaped pasta, a sort of cross between spaghetti and fettuccine. It originated in the coastal city of Genoa, where seafood is plentiful, and it's the ideal thickness for twirling this seafood-studded sauce.

What is seafood pasta made of? ›

This seafood pasta is a mix of shrimp, clams, mussels and scallops, all tossed together with spaghetti in a homemade tomato sauce. An easy yet elegant meal that's perfect for entertaining!

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