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The most delicious and vibrant Shrimp Spaghetti made with spicy ‘Nduja (Calabrian salami), zesty lemon and fresh parsley in a simple tomato sauce. This recipe is really easy to make and is full of flavour, ready in just 25 minutes!
If you love seafood pasta then this shrimp spaghetti is a must-try!
It’s loaded with flavour from sweet and juicy shrimp, spicy ‘Nduja, vibrant lemon and fresh parsley plus there’s a little added white wine….serve a chilled glass with it for the perfect dinner.
This recipe is super easy and ready in under half an hour. It uses very simple ingredients except ‘Nduja which if you can’t find can be replaced with chilli flakes!
See the recipe below including notes on ingredients, step by step photos, tips, variations and a video tutorial. For the full printable recipe scroll to the bottom or click the recipe link below.
Ingredients
See the photo below that shows you everything you need to make our Shrimp Spaghetti recipe plus some ingredients tips.
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Pin ItIngredient notes and substitutions
- Raw Shrimp (prawns) – use large shrimp/prawns and make sure to clean and devein them before using. Make sure they are raw and not pre-cooked (pink).
- Crushed tomatoes – make sure to use high-quality tomatoes I like to use Cirio or Mutti ‘polpa’ which is crushed tomatoes in the US or chopped tomatoes in the UK.
- Lemon – we only use the zest of the lemon so I recommend using unwaxed, organic lemons.
- ‘Nduja – see the photo above for what ‘Nduja looks like. It’s a soft, spicy salami from Calabria. You should be able to find it in Italian speciality food stores or online. If you’re in the UK you can find it in Tesco or Waitrose. If you can’t find it you could use 1 teaspoon chilli flakes instead.
- White wine – use a white wine that you’ll drink (don’t ever use cooking wine).
Step by step photos and instructions
Cook the Nduja – Add the olive oil to a large pan or skillet, add the Nduja and cook for about 1 or 2 minutes until it starts to melt (photos 1 & 2).
Cook the pasta – Add your spaghetti to boiling salted water and cook until al dente (8-10 minutes).
Make the sauce – Add the white wine to the Nduja and reduce by half then add the crushed tomatoes with a pinch of salt and pepper and simmer for around 10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked (photos 3 & 4).
Cook the shrimp – About 1 or 2 minutes before the spaghetti is ready add the chopped shrimp to the tomato sauce and simmer until they turn pink (photos 5 & 6).
Add the final ingredients – Then add the spaghetti along with the parsley, lemon zest and little pasta water (1-2 tablespoons) toss well until everything is combined and serve (photos 7 & 8).
Recipe tips
- Control how spicy you want it – ‘Nduja is a cured salami so like any other cured meat it doesn’t have to be cooked before eating. The spiciness can vary from brand to brand so taste a little first to see how much you’d like to add to the sauce.
- Make sure you use raw shrimp (prawns) – make sure the shrimp you buy are translucent and raw and not pink (cooked).
- Chop the shrimp or leave them whole – the shrimp are roughly chopped in this recipe but you can keep them whole if you prefer.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, frozen shrimp will work just as well and defrost relatively quickly. Once they’re defrosted you’ll need to devein and rinse them as you do with fresh ones.
Absolutely, long pasta works best here so try another long shape such as linguine or tagliatelle.
This pasta recipe is best served and eaten immediately although leftovers can be stored in the fridge for 1-2 days.
More delicious pasta recipes to try
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Step By Step Photos Above
Most of our recipes come with step by step photos, helpful tips and tricks to make it perfectly first time and even video!
Shrimp Spaghetti with Nduja and Lemon
Ingredients
- 14 oz spaghetti, (400g)
- 1 cup large shrimp (prawns), cleaned, deveined and roughly chopped (160g)
- 21 oz crushed tomatoes, (600g)
- 1 tablespoon ‘Nduja, (or use 1 teaspoon chilli flakes)
- ¼ cup dry white wine, (60ml)
- Zest of 1/2 lemon
- A large handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper, to season
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it well.
- Add the olive oil to a large pan or skillet, add the Nduja and cook for about 1 or 2 minutes until it starts to melt.
- Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente (around 8-10 minutes).
- Add the white wine to the Nduja and reduce by half then add the crushed tomatoes with a pinch of salt and pepper and simmer for around 10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked.
- About 1 or 2 minutes before the spaghetti is ready add the chopped shrimp to the tomato sauce and simmer until they turn pink, then add the spaghetti along with the parsley, lemon zest and little pasta water (1-2 tablespoons) toss well until everything is combined and serve.
Video
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hard for me to give this a 3* rating, as I’ve made so many dishes from you, that, till today are ALL 5*’s plus. But this one misses a bit….observations..
1. The zest of 1 lemon is too much and dominates the flavor profile.
2. Maybe it was my Nduja, but much more spice was needed to make the shrimp the star of this show.
3. Overall, the dish was bland and didn’t have your usual, “wow, this is so mazing” moment” (….see every pasta dish on this fabulous blog!)
4 I guess they all cant be winners, but this one is a pass for us going forward.
….made the aglio e olio for a late night snack last night after the disappointment of the Shrimp dish….oh my, 5*’s and more, like forever!
Hi Brian, sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy this one. I appreciate your feedback and will look into reviewing the recipe.
So, full disclosure, i rarely follow a recipe to the letter anymore. That being said, I didn’t deviate much- more nduja (because 1 TBS seems inconsequential), bought 1/2 lb of wild gulf shrimp which ended up being about 1 3/4 cups coarsly chopped. Made my own linguini (new cutter attachment- needs some trial-and-error to get the noodles to cut well) which was probably less pasta than 14 oz of dry spaghetti, but it didn’t come off as over-sauced. This recipe has much to offer, but one will want to tweak it to your tastes.
For me, the zest of one, store-bought lemon was a bit too much. I love lemon but added right at the end, it played a dominant flavor role. I used a third of a 8 oz chub of Nduja, based on pasta dishes I’ve made in the past using a full, 6 oz chub from a different producer. This had more heat than expected, but not too much for anyone who eats “spicy” food with any regularity. The nduja was not overwhelming. So, other than the lemon zest being too forward, this had a nice flavor. The issue is that the shrimp were almost superfluous. It would have tasted good without them and they didn’t shine in the dish the way I think they should. I would also add more parsley, especially if reducing the lemon zest.
Thanks so much for the review! We use 1 tablespoon of ‘Nduja because the one we use is very hot and we didn’t want to overpower the taste of the shrimp but it’s totally down to personal preference and how spicy the ‘Nduja is. We also loved the freshness from the lemon but again, it’s totally down to personal taste 🙂 thanks again for your feedback!