Bring a bit of the Mediterranean in to your life with this Prawn and Chorizo Pasta. Ready in just over 10 minutes, it's a quick and easy weeknight meal that is still impressive enough to wow dinner guests with. Garlicky prawns and smokey chorizo in a simple spicy tomato sauce stirred through spaghetti. Pasta perfection!
Prawns and chorizo are a classic combination that you will find on any good tapas menu. It's always one of the first things we order when we are in Spain (that and churros), as the simple flavour combination of the smokey chorizo and garlicky prawns is just something we crave when travelling.
We took that classic tapas combo and mixed it in to a simple and spicy tomato sauce and then stirred some spaghetti in to it for a more filling meal. This is such a light and fresh spaghetti dish - definitely a winner for a warm spring/summer evening.
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Why should you try it?
- Ready in under 20 minutes
- Impressive dish for a special occasion
- Easy to adapt
- High protein
Ingredients
- 140g spaghetti
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 50g diced chorizo
- 1 red pepper, diced
- Half a red onion, peeled and diced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 0.5 teaspoon red chilli flakes (or more to taste)
- 140g cooked king prawns
- 200g tomato passata
- 2 tablespoon tomato puree
- 3 tomatoes, chopped (or 9 cherry tomatoes)
- Juice and zest of half a lemon
- A pinch of sea salt and black pepper
- Rocket and parsley for serving
Step by step
One: Add the spaghetti to a pan of boiling water and simmer according to pack instructions, until al dente.
Two: Chop the vegetables.
Three: Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the onions and red pepper over a medium heat for 5 minutes.
Four: Add the chorizo, garlic and chilli and gently cook for 2 minutes.
Five: Add the prawns and cook for 2 minutes.
Six: Add the passata, tomato puree, lemon juice and lemon zest and salt and pepper, stir and gently cook for 2 minutes.
Seven: Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 2 more minutes.
Eight: Drain the pasta (reserving a tiny bit of the water) and stir in to the tomato sauce (with the reserved pasta water).
Nine: Mix well.
Ten: Divide in to bowls and top with rocket, parsley and some extra black pepper and chilli flakes.
Watch our web story for a quick how-to on making this Prawn and Chorizo Pasta.
How much chorizo to use
I think this might be the first chorizo recipe we have posted. It's not something we cook with a lot, because of the fat content, but it adds so much flavour to a dish.
Because it has such a strong flavour, you don't need to use a lot of it. Just enough to get a taste, rather than being the main flavour.
If you are heading to Spain any time soon, or a Spanish deli, then pick up some authentic chorizo and dice it yourself rather than buying it diced from a supermarket.
Adding cheese
You wouldn't usually have fish and cheese together, so we haven't finished the pasta with a sprinkling of cheese (although you could). But, if you want to add some creaminess to the dish, or you have found that you have added too many chilli flakes and need to cool the dish down, then stir in a big spoon full of creme fraiche being mixing the pasta in.
Best pasta to use
You don't have to use spaghetti to make this dish, and any pasta will work well. But we found that the tomato sauce clings really well to spaghetti and it's nice for the only chunky bits of the dish to be prawns and chorizo, rather than pasta shapes.
But, you can use any pasta you like. Don't buy spaghetti specifically for this dish if you have some other shapes in your cupboard. Just note that cooking times might vary.
Cooking in advance and reheating
I would say this is a dish that is best cooked just before you plan to eat it. The prawns should be cooked fresh and spaghetti is never really the same when reheated. This dish takes less than 15 minutes to cook, so even cooking it from scratch makes it an easy weeknight meal.
FAQs
If you want to lower the carbs in this dish, then swap half the pasta for some courgette (zucchini) ribbons. I wouldn't suggest making a total swap, as pasta is a main part, and a delicious part, of the dish.
You could even by some lower carb pasta alternatives like a bean pasta, but it might make the whole dish a little more mushy.
The prawns and chorizo really are the stars of this dish, but that doesn't mean you can't make some vegetarian swaps. You can get some great vegetarian style chorizo now, so that's a simple swap and then choose a meaty vegetable like mushrooms to swap with the prawns, or tofu to keep the protein up. Cooking time will pretty much be the same too.
Speaking of vegetables - give this dish a green vegetable boost by stirring in some spinach or chopped kale a few minutes before the sauce it ready. It will add some extra colour to it too.
Extra tips
- You wouldn't usually serve cheese and fish together, but if you want some creaminess in this, then stir a little creme fraiche in to the sauce before serving.
- This dish has a little kick of spice to it, but it's not overpowering. Feel free to increase the amount of chilli flakes used.
- Increase your greens by stirring some spinach or kale in to the sauce a few minutes before it is cooked.
- Chorizo has such a strong flavour that you don't need to use a lot of it.
- A splash of red wine would add lots of extra flavour to the sauce too.
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Recipe
Prawn and Chorizo Pasta
Ingredients
- 140 g (5 oz) Spaghetti
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 50 g (0.5 cups) Chorizo - diced
- 1 Red bell pepper - diced
- 0.5 Red onion - peeled and diced
- 2 Garlic clove - crushed
- 0.5 teaspoon Red chilli flakes - or more to taste
- 140 g (5 oz) Raw king prawns
- 200 g (1.33 cups) Passata
- 2 tablespoon Tomato puree
- 3 Tomatoes - chopped
- 0.5 Lemon - (juice and zest only)
- 1 pinch Sea salt and black pepper
- Rocket and parsley - for serving
Instructions
- Add 140 g Spaghetti to a pan of boiling water and simmer for 10-12 minutes, until al dente.
- Heat 1 tablespoon Olive oil in a frying pan and cook 0.5 Red onion and 1 Red bell pepper for 5 minutes.
- Add 2 Garlic clove 50 g Chorizo and 0.5 teaspoon Red chilli flakes and gently cook for 2 minutes.
- Add 140 g Raw king prawns and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add 200 g Passata, 2 tablespoon Tomato puree, juice and zest of 0.5 Lemon and 1 pinch Sea salt and black pepper, stir and gently cook for 2 minutes.
- Add 3 Tomatoes and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Drain the pasta (reserving a tiny bit of the water and stir into the tomato sauce (with the reserved pasta water).
- Mix well.
- Divide into bowls and top with Rocket and parsley and some extra black pepper and chilli flakes.
Notes
- You wouldn't usually serve cheese and fish together, but if you want some creaminess in this, then stir a little creme fraiche in to the sauce before serving.
- This dish has a little kick of spice to it, but it's not overpowering. Feel free to increase the amount of chilli flakes used.
- Increase your greens by stirring some spinach or kale in to the sauce a few minutes before it is cooked.
- Chorizo has such a strong flavour that you don't need to use a lot of it.
- A splash of red wine would add lots of extra flavour to the sauce too.
Dianne
I have just cooked your pasta dish and it was delicious..only thing I added was peas and a little more passata as I love a lot of sauce !!
This will definitely be on my list in the future.
Ps The chorizo was from Spain !!
Lesley Taylor
Just found your website and tried this yummy recipe, fantastic .
My son who has some dissabilities is learning to cook and he made a great job of this super recipe, he found your pictures really helpful, thank you
Dannii
Thanks so much for leaving this comment. We are really happy that you all enjoyed the recipe and that your son found the photos helpful. We hope you find some other recipes to enjoy :)
John
It was great - have added a bit more chorizo and more chilli flakes as I like a bit more kick but really flavoursome
C Larkin
Love this! Really easy to make and very tasty. This recipe is a keeper. I was cautious with the chilli flakes for my husband and daughter’s sake, so only added 1/2 teaspoon. It had enough kick for them but, as suggested, I can add more at the end for me and my son. I also used cooked prawns just a little later on in the recipe.
Dannii
So glad you all enjoyed it. It is a favourite here too.
MJ
Such an easy recipe to follow and incredibly tasty. Thank you.
Dannii
Happy to hear that you enjoyed it.
A Fearnley
Excellent recipe, I added two tablespoons of creme fraiche - delicious.
easy to make ready in less than 20 minutes.
All the family loved
Dannii
Yay! Love the idea of making it creamy with creme fraiche.
Irina
I always experiment with pasta recipes. Your recipe is a keeper! Thank you!
Sophie
Anything pasta is my kind of thing. I will try the low-carb version for sure!
Emmeline
This looks so delicious!! Love seafood pastas and the addition of chorizo is always a good idea ;) And so quick?!
Heidy L. McCallum
I made this recipe and let me tell you it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! The entire family loved this pasta recipe and we will be making this again very soon!