This is my copycat recipe from the Chirriboca Restaurant at the Lagarta Lodge in Nosara, Costa Rica. It has a Latin American flair, with the spice coming from chipotle paste. Think creamy spicy alfredo, delicious shrimp and pasta!
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I had this dish at Lagarta Lodge on a Friday, dreamt about it for days, and the next Friday I was busy in the kitchen duplicating it!
The sauce is to-die-for rich and creamy with just the right amount of heat from the chipotle paste, and it goes perfectly with the shrimp, penne pasta and add-ins of fresh tomato, corn and bacon.
You're going to want to add this to your arsenal of shrimp pasta recipes!
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Ingredients
- Shrimp
- Butter
- Heavy cream
- Parmesan cheese
- Bacon
- Corn
- Tomato
- Garlic
- Pepper
- Penne pasta
- Chipotle paste - I recommend this paste.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Melt the butter and cook the shrimp until just finished - about 4 minutes at the most.
Remove the shrimp and add the diced tomato. Sauté.
Add the heavy cream, heat to simmer, then add the parmesan cheese and cook until melted.
Add the remaining ingredients (except the shrimp) and the al dente pasta.
When the pasta has finished cooking, add the shrimp and heat until just warmed through, then serve.
Hint: Once you add the almost-cooked pasta to the sauce, the sauce will thicken. Here's when you can add additional heavy cream (and chipotle paste, if desired) if you want a more liquid sauce.
Variations
- Spicier - Add additional chipotle paste if you're looking for more heat!
- Chicken - Chicken breasts cut to bite-size pieces works amazingly well in this dish, too. As a matter of fact, the restaurant in Nosara offers it as another menu item.
- Extra sauce - Add more heavy cream if you want additional sauce to sop up with garlic bread.
Equipment
You'll need a large skillet or sauce pan to accommodate all the ingredients for this shrimp pasta recipe. No lid required.
Freshly-grated parmesan cheese will melt better than commercial grated cheese. It's also more economical to buy the bricks and grate them yourself than to buy the pre-grated fresh parmesan at the grocery store in the refrigerated section. Try out this really cool, really fast grater by Zulay (sponsored) (I LOVE mine!) and have that cheese grated in no time.
Storage
Shrimp in Chipotle Alfredo Sauce will keep in the refrigerator for 4-5 days in an airtight container, if it lasts that long. Because of the cream and cheese and butter combination, along with the shrimp, this shrimp pasta recipe won't stand up well to freezing, so I don't recommend it.
Top tips
Be careful not to overcook the shrimp. When you remove it from the butter, spread it around on a plate so the heat dissipates and it doesn't continue cooking from the retained heat. Add it back to the sauce at the very end, and heat it just long enough to bring it up to temperature. Overcooking will result in rubbery, tough shrimp - yuck!
Once you add the almost-cooked pasta to the sauce, the sauce will thicken. Here's when you can add additional heavy cream (and chipotle paste, if desired) if you want a more liquid sauce.
Related
In the mood for more pasta recipes? Try these:
📖 Recipe
Shrimp in Spicy Alfredo Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound penne pasta cooked and drained
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound shrimp raw, peeled and deveined
- 4 cups heavy cream or evaporated milk
- 2 tablespoons chipotle paste
- 2 cups freshly-grated parmesan cheese (try this really cool grater - I love mine!)
- ⅔ cup fried, chopped bacon
- ⅔ cup drained, canned sweet corn or frozen and thawed
- ⅔ cup chopped, fresh tomato cored and seeded
Instructions
- Cook the penne pasta to al dente (almost done), drain and set aside1 pound penne pasta
- Meanwhile, fry the bacon, drain, chop and set aside⅔ cup fried, chopped bacon
- Prep the tomato and cheese, drain the corn, and have them ready to go.⅔ cup chopped, fresh tomato, 2 cups freshly-grated parmesan cheese, ⅔ cup drained, canned sweet corn
- In a large skillet or sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and bloom for about 30 second.¾ cup unsalted butter, 3 cloves garlic
- Add the shrimp to the butter and sauté until cooked, about 3-4 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan and spread it out on a plate so it doesn't retain heat.1 pound shrimp
- Add the heavy cream (or evaporated milk) to the pan and heat to a gentle simmer.4 cups heavy cream
- Add the chipotle paste and stir until blended.2 tablespoons chipotle paste
- Add the shredded parmesan cheese and simmer until fully melted and incorporated into the cream sauce.
- Now add the corn, bacon and cooked pasta to the pan. Stir until blended and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the pasta has finished cooking. The sauce will thicken with the addition of the starchy pasta. Now is the time to add additional heavy cream (or evaporated milk) if you want extra sauce.
- Stir in the diced tomato.
- Remove from the heat and serve immediately. Garnish with chopped parsley, if you prefer.
Nutrition
Food safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw seafood
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
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