Garlic Shrimp Tortellini Recipe

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This garlic shrimp tortellini recipe strikes that perfect balance of indulgent without being glutinous. It’s loaded with good-for-you ingredients like shrimp, garlic and spinach while the cheese filled tortellini makes you feel like your feasting on a special treat.

Garlic shrimp tortellini can be made from start to finish in under 30 minutes. And with the protein, vegetable and starch all in the recipe, it’s also a great one dish dinner. All you need to serve along side of it is some good bread with olive oil or butter and maybe a green salad with vinaigrette.

About the Ingredients

Tortellini – one 12oz package of cheese tortellini such as Barilla.

Butter – a little bit to make the sauce and a little for sautéing the shrimp.

Garlic – you can never have too much garlic so use it every time you melt butter – a little for the sauce and a little for sautéing the shrimp.

Flour – to thicken the sauce.

Milk – any fat content is fine. We drink 1% so that’s what I used and the sauce is plenty creamy and rich.

Seasonings – nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Shrimp – fresh shrimp is best. You can also you frozen shrimp but defrost it first. The shrimp should also be cleaned, deveined and the tails removed. Tail-on shrimp may look prettier but no one wants to cut the tails off and stack them on the edge of their plate while they eat. That’s fine for a restaurant but for family dinner at home we remove the tails before cooking.

Frozen Chopped Spinach – one package, thawed and squeezed dry.

Recipe Substitutions & Variations

This garlic shrimp tortellini recipe is a great starting point for lots of different pasta and vegetable combinations. The sauce is similar to an Alfredo type of sauce (without all the cheese and heavy cream) so all you need to do is prepare a pasta according to the package directions, whisk up your sauce and then add your protein a vegetable. Some protein and vegetable substitute combinations for this garlic shrimp tortellini recipe are:

Chicken and asparagus tips.
Prosciutto, onions and peas.
Flaked salmon and zucchini.

Garlic shrimp tortellini with spinach in a light cream sauce.

How to Make Garlic Shrimp Tortellini

Begin by cooking the tortellini according to package directions. The tortellini will cook very quickly, in about 4 minutes, so boiling the water will be the longest portion of this step.

While the water boils, make the sauce. In a small sauce pan, melt the butter then add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Once the garlic is fragrant, whisk in the flour. Continue whisking for 2 minutes to cook off the raw flour flavor. Now add the milk and whisk continuously until thick and a sauce forms. Season the sauce with salt, pepper and 1/4 tsp nutmeg.

Sauté the shrimp in a separate pan in garlic and butter.

Drain the water from the pasta and return the tortellini to the pasta pot. Add the sauce and defrosted spinach to the tortellini. Heat everything until warm all the way through and add the shrimp and serve immediately.

Watch this quick video of How to Make Garlic Shrimp Tortellini

Frequently Asked Questions

How should you defrost shrimp?

Shrimp defrosts very quickly. Place the frozen shrimp in a bowl full of just barely cold to room temperature water. Do not use warm water because the shrimp may start to cook little. Let the shrimp sit in the water for 20-30 minutes and then drain them and pat dry. They should be ready to use.

Should I leave the tail on the shrimp when I cook it?

Leaving the tail on the shrimp looks nice but isn’t crucial to cooking delicious shrimp. When eating shrimp with the tail on things tend to get messy – cutting the tail off, little flecks of the tail break off, where to put the tail on the plate away from the food you’re eating. When cooking at home, my opinion is that removing the tails before cooking is best. It makes eating more enjoyable.

The Recipe for Garlic Shrimp Tortellini

The recipe is attached below for easy downloading and printing. If you test it out be sure to leave a note in the comments below. I’d love to hear what you thought and if you tried your own ingredient combination. Enjoy!

Garlic Shrimp Tortellini

Shrimp sautéed in garlic and butter, tossed with spinach in a light cream sauce.

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Active Time 20

Total Time 20

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

12 oz cheese tortellini
4 tbsp butter divided
2 tbsp minced garlic divided
2 tbsp flour
1½ cups milk
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 lb shrimp cleaned, deveined and tails removed
10 oz frozen chopped spinach defrosted and squeezed dry

Instructions

Cook the tortellini according to package directions and drain.
12 oz cheese tortellini
In a small sauce pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter then add 1 tablespoon of garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the flour and continue whisking for an additional 2 minutes.
4 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp minced garlic, 2 tbsp flour
Add the milk and whisk continuously until thick and a sauce forms. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
1½ cups milk, ¼ tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper
In a separate pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and add 1 tablespoon of garlic. Place your shrimp in the pan and cook for 3 minutes, flipping the shrimp half way through. The shrimp should be completely pink when done.
1 lb shrimp
Return the tortellini to the pasta pot. Add the sauce and defrosted spinach to the tortellini. Heat everything until warm all the way through and add the shrimp. Serve immediately.
10 oz frozen chopped spinach

Notes

If using frozen shrimp: Place the frozen shrimp in a bowl full of just barely cold to room temperature water. Do not use warm water because the shrimp may start to cook little. Let the shrimp sit in the water for 20-30 minutes and then drain them and pat dry.

Keyword pasta, seafood