Copycat Olive Garden Shrimp Primavera Pasta

5 from 8 votes

Copycat Olive Garden Shrimp Primavera Pasta

Copycat Olive Garden Shrimp Primavera Pasta is a great restaurant recipe to make at home! A light tomato pasta with lots of vegetables including mushrooms, bell peppers, and red onions with seafood. Dairy free.

Cook Time30

Total Time30

Cuisine: American, Italian

Course: Main Course

Servings: servings

Calories: 626kcal

Equipment

Large pot
Knife
Cutting board
Measuring spoons
Spatula

Ingredients

1 pound large shrimp deveined and peeled, see note 1
1 pound penne pasta or shape of choice
½ green bell pepper sliced
½ red bell pepper sliced, see note 2
½ yellow bell pepper sliced
½ cup red onion sliced
4 ounces crimini mushrooms cleaned and sliced
28 ounces diced tomatoes
2 Tablespoons olive oil divided
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic minced
¼ teaspoon salt
parsley dried or fresh, for garnish, if desired
Parmesan cheese for finishing, as desired

Instructions

In a medium pot, heat 1 Tablespoon oil over medium heat.
2 Tablespoons olive oil
When hot, add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt. Cook until fragrant, about 30-60 seconds.
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, 3 cloves garlic, ¼ teaspoon salt
Add the diced tomatoes and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 15 minutes while completing the other steps. Stir occasionally. Add water if needed if sauce gets too thick.
28 ounces diced tomatoes
Meanwhile, heat a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil.
When boiling, add a Tablespoon of salt and cook as per package direction to al dente. When done, reserve 1 cup of pasta water and drain. Set aside.
1 pound penne pasta
Prepare your vegetables. Trim and slice your peppers, mushrooms, and onion.
½ green bell pepper, ½ red bell pepper, ½ yellow bell pepper, ½ cup red onion, 4 ounces crimini mushrooms
Heat a large skillet (or wait and use the pasta pot after draining) with a Tablespoon of oil over medium heat.
When hot, add the vegetables with a pinch of salt and cook to just soften, 2 minutes. You do not want to overcook the vegetables. They should be starting to soften but still crisp.
At this time, add the tomato sauce to the vegetable mixture along with the raw shrimp. Cook the shrimp in the sauce, approximately 2-3 minutes.
1 pound large shrimp
Remove from heat. Add the pasta and stir to combine. Use the reserved pasta water if needed to loosen the sauce.
Serve immediately with parsley garnish and Parmesan cheese as desired.

Notes

You can use any size shrimp as desired. Ensure they are peeled and deveined before cooking.
You can adjust pepper colors as desired - this is just the "classic" Olive Garden combination. For example, use one whole red bell pepper instead of 1/2 red and 1/2 yellow.

This is not a heavy sauce pasta. It is a much lighter tomato sauce, just like they served it in the restaurant. If you want a heavier sauce, use one 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes and one 15 ounce can of tomato sauce. Or you can add a 15 ounce can of tomato sauce to this recipe.

Nutrition