I was really surprised at how well this recipe turned out — and how easy it was to make. It goes directly into our family’s favorite pile!
The original recipe comes from All Recipes but I changed it a bit. Instead of fresh basil and oregano, I used dried. Instead of fresh mozzarella, I used shredded. And I was a little short on tomatoes so I upped the spinach. I think this recipe would even be good without the cheese. Very versatile.
The recipe calls for shrimp but you could use any protein source you like — or none at all. The kids really liked the creamy pasta. And I put out some meatballs and fruit too. They’re not into shrimp quite yet.
Enjoy!
Tomato Cheesy Pasta with Shrimp
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dry fettuccine pasta (used whole grain)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ sweet onion, diced
- 1 TBS dried oregano or 3 TBS fresh
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2-4 medium tomatoes, chopped
- 1 TBS dried basil or 3 TBS fresh
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups spinach leaves
- 1 pound cooked shrimp - peeled and deveined (or alternative protein sources -- cooked)
- 8 ounces shredded mozzarella, part skim
Instructions
- Cook fettuccine according to package directions.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and oregano and cook (and stir) until fragrant and golden. Mix in the tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Just before the pasta is done mix in spinach until it wilts and then stir in the shrimp and cook until heated through.
- Drain the pasta, spinach, and shrimp and then mix with the tomato mixture and mozzarella cheese.
For more easy recipes and tips on how to serve meals to kids, check out Maryann’s book The Family Dinner Solution: How to Create a Rotation of Dinner Meals Your Family Will Love
This is in my meal plan for next week!
I hope you like it!
Just finished enjoying this for dinner! Turned out great. Used frozen spinach from our summer CSA, canned diced tomatoes, and canned Trader Joe’s baby shrimp (very toddler-friendly). Loved the good amount of dried herbs it called for–what an antioxidant boost! Thanks for a delicious–and very quick/easy–recipe.
Melanie — Glad it turned out! This recipe is so versitile. I’ll try some of your suggestions next time!
Had it for dinner tonight, it was delicious! My 4 year old devoured the shrimp and left the pasta behind 🙂
Glad it turned out! I love hearing from readers trying recipes — and that their kids liked it too!
I’m a new reader of your blog. I love the recipes and am getting ready to try some of them. Wonder if you would consider adding nutritional information to the end of them? My main challenge with cooking is that I have little children but also a husband with heart disease who needs to eat low saturated fat and low sodium. It’s hard to find meals that a toddler will eat that are also heart healthy for him.
Thanks Angela! I do try to provide the nutrition information when I can. I will try to include it more often.