Ideas for family dinners don't get much easier or convenient than cooking dried pasta and pairing with a ready-made pasta sauce in a jar. Popular with the kids, easy for toddlers to chew, and enjoyable for the grown-ups, too, gluten-free pasta makes an easy-to-serve-to-everyone idea that satisfies picky eaters who may not like the taste or texture of bean, lentil, nut, or pea-based pasta alternatives. Our penne with pink sauce recipe uses pantry staples to create a creamy, slightly sweet and savory pasta sauce that merely requires you to open a jar and heat the sauce. We love the puce-colored pasta paired with shrimp, but you could also serve this pink sauce pasta with seafood, chicken, pork, roasted veggies, or straight-up with a dusting of finely grated parmesan cheese.
Penne with Pink Sauce & Shrimp Recipe
Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 box gluten-free pasta (we used Barilla)
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil
- 1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 jar Primal Kitchen Pink Primavera Sauce
- 2 Tbsp. heavy cream or full-fat unsweetened coconut milk
- 2 Tbsp. parmesan cheese, finely grated (if desired)
- 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper*
- 1 Tbsp. parsley, chopped
*If serving penne to young children, you may want to leave off the pepper.
Instructions
- Bring 4–6 quarts of water to a rolling boil. Add 1 tsp. salt, or to taste.
- Add dried pasta to the water, stirring gently. Cook for 9 minutes for al dente pasta, and 10 minutes for softer pasta.
- Meanwhile, cook the shrimp. Add avocado oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is warm, add shrimp. Cook until just starting to turn pink, about 2–3 minutes, then turn over and cook for another 2–3 minutes on the other side. Season with 1/2 tsp. salt, and remove from heat.
- When cook time is complete, remove the pasta from the heat and drain. Add drained pasta back into pot, and place back on the burner. Pour entire jar of Primal Kitchen Pink Primavera Sauce along with the heavy cream or coconut milk into the pot, and stir. Heat for 1–2 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve.
For a kid's plate: Serve the penne with pink sauce plain with a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese.
For an adult's plate: Serve the penne with pink sauce with cooked shrimp, a bit of freshly cracked black pepper, and some chopped parsley.
Nutrition info (per serving) for penne with pink sauce and shrimp*:
Calories: 368
Carbs: 53 grams
Fat: 12 grams
Protein: 15 grams
*Includes 5–6 large shrimp per serving.
Nutrition info (per serving) for penne with pink sauce and parmesan cheese:
Calories: 290
Carbs: 53 grams
Fat: 7 grams
Protein: 6 grams
Nutrition info calculated using Cronometer.
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