Roasted Garlic and Shrimp Spaghetti
This Roasted Garlic and Shrimp Spaghetti will turn your weeknight dinner frown upside down. Heavy on the roasted garlic, with twirls of creamy spaghetti and topped with succulent shrimp, what can go wrong friends? Another weeknight or weekend win. This dish is simple for the weeknights but also special enough for sharing with friends and family. And vegetarian friends, feel free to enjoy without protein, it’s just superb on its own! And in case you may be interested in a vegetarian option, my Kale, Pistachio and Feta Pesto Spaghetti is so good! Save the recipe for later as another option.
This standout pasta dinner uses no cream to create the silky textured sauce. It’s simply the roasted garlic cloves, olive oil, parmesan cheese, magical pasta water and a little butter. A ounce of patience in roasting the garlic helps and I encourage you not to skip this step! The roasting of the garlic creates a subdued, almost sweeter flavor of the garlic which also works beautifully to thicken the sauce. Let’s get dinner started shall we?
How to Roast whole Garlic heads
If you are a garlic lover, this is a must. Roast whole heads of garlic to add onto bread as a topping, for this amazing pasta dish and even for salad dressings. If you have the garlic around long enough after roasting, you can add it to anything that you can imagine. My favorite way? Warm out of the oven smothered on a crusty warm baguette slice.
The whole process of roasting a head of garlic is very easy and takes about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Cut a piece of aluminum foil about a 10 inches and lay it flat. Take two bulbs of fresh garlic and cut about 1/2 inch from the top. You want to expose a little of the garlic clove tops. Discard the garlic tops. Drizzle generously with olive oil, sprinkle fresh thyme leaves or dried thyme, and a small pinch of kosher salt. Fold the foil around the garlic into a packet, place on a small sheet pan and roast for about 45 minutes or until tender and golden. Once cool enough to handle, remove the roasted cloves of garlic with a fork and set aside in a bowl.
Tip: You can roast the garlic using an outdoor grill. Follow the directions to place in the foil packets and preheat grill on low. Ensure the grill is not over 400ºF and roast for about 20-25 minutes. If the garlic burns, it will turn bitter and will become unusable and that would be bad. 🙁
Let’s make the Roasted Garlic Spaghetti
Start by cooking spaghetti as directed on the package instructions. If you are using gluten free spaghetti, remove about 1 minute before suggested cooking time. This reduces breakage.
While the pasta is cooking, chop 1 cup of flat leaf Parsley, either shred or measure out 1 cup of (already shredded) Parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon of butter, 1/4 cup of olive oil and get your spices ready as the dish comes together quickly once the pasta is cooked.
Once the pasta is ready to drain, reserve 1 cup of pasta water and set aside. Drain pasta and leave in colander. In the pot you cooked spaghetti in, add 1/4 cup of olive oil, roasted garlic, chopped parsley, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. Sauté until it’s hot and aromatic, crushing the garlic as you go, 1 minute or 2. Add 1/2 cup of cheese and 1/2 cup of pasta water. Continue to stir. Now add cooked pasta back into pot with the garlic and olive oil mixture. Add remaining parmesan cheese, and pasta water. Add 1 tbsp of butter. Toss gently to combine ensuring that the sauce completely covers spaghetti.
NOTE: If you are not a fan of shrimp, this spaghetti is equally delicious with chicken, salmon, and steak! You can use the same simple spice blend mentioned for all three types of protein.
Easy sautéed or grilled Shrimp for the perfect addition
The shrimp recipe can stand alone and for that matter, so can the Roasted Garlic Spaghetti. I grilled the shrimp but you can easily throw these on a skillet (and honestly easier and faster) on cook them up!
How to sauté shrimp
Use 1 pound of thawed, peeled deveined shrimp. Preheat a skillet on medium heat. Pat the shrimp dry to remove any excess water. Place in bowl and add 1/2-1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/2 tsp of garlic salt, 1/2 tsp of paprika, and 1/4 tsp of pepper. Add the juice of half a lemon. Toss until the shrimp is evenly coated. Feel free to adjust spice level.
Add shrimp to the hot skillet and cook for about 4-6 or until shrimp is completely pink and they start to curl. Remove from heat and serve immediately with the Roasted Garlic Spaghetti.
NOTE: The smaller the shrimp, the faster the cook times. For this recipe I used jumbo shrimp that are 16-20 pieces per pound.
How to grill shrimp
Use 1 pound of thawed, peeled, large, deveined shrimp. (NOTE: Extra large, and jumbo shrimp as best for grilling. If you have medium and smaller, opt for the sauté method) You will need garlic salt, sweet paprika, fresh lemon, olive oil, and pepper. Carefully pierce each piece of shrimp onto the skewer. I used to extra large skewers but you can use anything you have on hand. Once all the shrimp are on skewers, spray or brush on olive oil, sprinkle garlic salt, then sweet paprika and finally pepper. Season both sides of the shrimp skewer. Squeeze fresh lemon juice onto each skewer.
On a medium hot grill, grill skewers for about 4 minutes on each side. Shrimp will be cooked when they have completely turned pink and are starting to curl a little bit. Remove from grill and serve immediately.
Serving suggestions
Divide the spaghetti into four large bowls and top with sautéed or grilled shrimp. Finish with a squeeze of lemon and add more cheese and parsley to taste. Serve with a simple tossed salad and some garlic bread.
Tips and substitutions
Yes, but for this dish, I prefer the flavor of a sautéed or grilled shrimp and not steamed. You can certainly add when you add olive oil to the pan to avoid additional grilling or cleaning up another pan.
Yes, you can use basil and it’s just as delicious.
For other sources of protein, you can use the simple seasoning I used for the shrimp.
Chicken: you can bake it, pan fry or grill it prior to starting the spaghetti as chicken has to cook thoroughly.
Salmon: I suggest pan frying or grilling after the spaghetti is made as salmon cooks quickly.
Steak: you can cook on the grill or skillet after you have made the spaghetti so it can be enjoyed at the appropriate cooked temperature.
Yes, however, I suggest adding the shrimp to the olive oil mixture for a minute along with the spices to capture the flavor. Otherwise, the shrimp will be bland.
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Roasted Garlic Spaghetti and Grilled Shrimp
July 5, 2022Equipment
- outdoor grill optional
Ingredients
Roasted garlic
- 2 heads garlic fresh
- 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 tsp thyme dried
Roasted Garlic Spaghetti
- 12 oz spaghetti dry
- 1/4 cup olive oil extra virgin
- 1 cup parsley, fresh chopped
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 cup pasta water reserved
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 lemon for serving
Sautéed or Grilled Shrimp
- 1 lb shrimp (16-20 count) fresh, jumbo
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1/2 tsp paprika ground
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- pinch pepper ground
- 1/2 lemon juice of
Instructions
How to roast garlic
- Preheat oven to 375ºF.
- Cut a piece of aluminum foil about a 10 inches and lay it flat.
- Take two bulbs of fresh garlic and cut about 1/2 inch from the top. You want to expose a little of the garlic clove tops. Discard the garlic tops.
- Drizzle generously with olive oil, sprinkle fresh thyme leaves or dried thyme, and a small pinch of kosher salt.
- Fold the foil around the garlic into a packet, place on a small sheet pan and roast for about 45 minutes or until tender and golden.
- Once cool enough to handle, remove the roasted cloves of garlic with a fork and set aside in a bowl.
Roasted garlic spaghetti
- Start by cooking spaghetti as directed on the package instructions. If you are using gluten free spaghetti, remove about 1 minute before suggested cooking time. This reduces breakage.
- While the pasta is cooking, chop 1 cup of flat leaf Parsley, either shred or measure out 1 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon of butter, 1/4 cup of olive oil and get your spices ready as the dish comes together quickly once the pasta is cooked.
- Once the pasta is ready to drain, reserve 1 cup of pasta water and set aside. Drain pasta and leave in colander.
- In the pot you cooked spaghetti in, add 1/4 cup of olive oil, roasted garlic, chopped parsley, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. Sauté until it's hot and aromatic, crushing the garlic as you go, 1 minute or 2. Add 1/2 cup of cheese and 1/2 cup of pasta water. Continue to stir.
- Now add cooked pasta back into pot with the garlic and olive oil mixture. Add remaining parmesan cheese, and pasta water. Add 1 tbsp of butter. Toss gently to combine ensuring that the sauce completely covers spaghetti.
Preparation of shrimp – sauté and grilling directions below
- SAUTE: Use 1 pound of thawed, peeled deveined shrimp. Preheat a skillet on medium heat. Pat the shrimp dry to remove any excess water. Place in bowl and add 1/2-1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/2 tsp of garlic salt, 1/2 tsp of paprika, and 1/4 tsp of pepper. Add the juice of half a lemon. Toss until the shrimp is evenly coated. Feel free to adjust spice level.
- Add shrimp to the hot skillet and cook for about 4-6 or until shrimp is completely pink and they start to curl. Remove from heat and serve immediately with the Roasted Garlic Spaghetti.
- NOTE: The smaller the shrimp, the faster the cook times. For this recipe I used jumbo shrimp that are 16-20 pieces per pound.
- GRILL: Use 1 pound of thawed, peeled, large, deveined shrimp. (NOTE: Extra large, and jumbo shrimp as best for grilling. If you have medium and smaller, opt for the sauté method) You will need garlic salt, sweet paprika, fresh lemon, olive oil, and pepper. Carefully pierce each piece of shrimp onto the skewer. I used to extra large skewers but you can use anything you have on hand. Once all the shrimp are on skewers, spray or brush on olive oil, sprinkle garlic salt, then sweet paprika and finally pepper. Season both sides of the shrimp skewer. Squeeze fresh lemon juice onto each skewer.
- On a medium hot grill, grill skewers for about 4 minutes on each side. Shrimp will be cooked when they have completely turned pink and are starting to curl a little bit. Remove from grill and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated online and should be used as a guide.
All content and photographs ©Claudia’s Table and claudiastable.com
