Spicy Seafood Pasta with Tomato Butter Sauce

$7.00 recipe / $1.75 serving
by Beth - Budget Bytes
4.67 from 15 votes
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It’s almost Thanksgiving and we’re all about to pull our hair out, right?? But in the middle of all this madness, we still need to eat. So, I reached into my pantry today to make up a quick pasta dish using leftovers I had on hand. This Spicy Seafood Pasta with Tomato Butter Sauce is a hybrid of my Spicy Shrimp Tomato Pasta and 5-Ingredient Butter Tomato Sauce. Both of these recipes are great bases that can be customized to accommodate leftovers, like the 1/2 pound of frozen seafood mix from Trader Joe’s that I had in my freezer. :)

A skillet full of Spicy Seafood Pasta with Tomato Butter Sauce with a wooden fork twirled in the pasta and parsley on the side.

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What is “Frozen Seafood Mix”?

This frozen seafood mix is a combination of shrimp, scallops, and calamari that I got at Trader Joes, but I’ve recently seen a similar product at Aldi. It cooks up quickly in a skillet, straight from the freezer, which is super convenient. The liquid left in the skillet after the seafood cooks lends a light and fresh seafood flavor to the tomato butter sauce. If you can’t find a “seafood mix” you can do this with just shrimp.

Make it Spicy or Mild

I added a pinch of red pepper flakes for a kick, because I gotta have my red pepper, but you can leave that out and have a nice rich and mild tomato sauce instead.

Serving Sizes

I only used a half pound of pasta for this dish, so the four servings are 2oz. of pasta each. A lot of people find 2oz. to be on the small side so you can either use 12oz. of pasta total to up each serving to 3oz. or just make sure to serve this pasta with a nice salad and some garlic bread. And, if you have it, a wedge of lemon squeezed over top is always nice with seafood.

A bowl of Spicy Seafood Pasta with Tomato Butter Sauce viewed from the front, garnished with parsley, and a gold fork wound up in the pasta.
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Spicy Seafood Pasta with Tomato Butter Sauce

4.67 from 15 votes
Spicy Seafood Pasta with Tomato Butter Sauce is a simple go-to weeknight dinner that can be made with pantry staples. 
Spicy seafood fettuccine twirled with a fork.
Servings 4
Prep 5 minutes
Cook 45 minutes
Total 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 Tbsp butter, divided ($0.44)
  • 8 oz frozen seafood mix* ($4.00)
  • 4 cloves garlic ($0.32)
  • 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes ($1.49)
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional) ($0.02)
  • 8 oz fettuccine ( $0.50)
  • 1/2 tsp salt ($0.03)
  • Handful fresh parsley (optional garnish) ($0.20)
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Instructions 

  • Add 2 Tbsp butter to a large skillet and place over medium heat. Once the butter is melted and sizzling add the frozen seafood mix. Stir and cook until the shrimp have turned pink and opaque (3-5 minutes). Be careful not to overcook the seafood. It should still be soft and supple. Remove the seafood from the skillet to a clean bowl and set it aside.
  • Mince the garlic and add it to the skillet with two additional tablespoons butter. Sauté the garlic in the butter and the juices from the seafood for 1-2 minutes, or just until it has softened and becomes very fragrant.
  • Add the can of whole peeled tomatoes with their juices and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional). Use a spatula or spoon to break the tomatoes into pieces. Let the skillet come up to a simmer over medium heat, then turn the heat down to meidum-low. Continue to simmer the skillet, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Continue to break the tomatoes into smaller bits every time you stir.
  • After simmering the sauce for about 15 minutes, bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Cook the pasta in the boiling water for 7-10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain the pasta in a colander.
  • Once the sauce is finished simmering, add 1/2 tsp of salt. Stir to combine, taste, and adjust the salt more if needed.
  • Add the cooked seafood back to the skillet along with any juices that may have accumulated in the bowl. Also add the cooked and drained pasta. Toss the pasta and seafood in the sauce until everything is evenly coated. Top the pasta with a handful of chopped fresh parsley, if desired.

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Notes

*This “seafood mix” is a frozen mix of shrimp, scallops, and calamari that can be found in the freezer section of Trader Joe’s.

Nutrition

Serving: 1ServingCalories: 413.75kcalCarbohydrates: 52.58gProtein: 19.88gFat: 12.9gSodium: 721.85mgFiber: 3.63g
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Overhead view of a bowl of Spicy Seafood Pasta with Tomato Butter Sauce, a gold spoon on the side and gold fork in the pasta.

How to Make Spicy Seafood Pasta – Step by Step Photos

Seafood Mix being cooked with butter in the skillet.

Start by melting 2 Tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the butter is hot and sizzling, add 1/2 lb. of frozen seafood mix (shrimp, calamari, and scallops) to the skillet. Cook and stir the seafood until the shrimp turn pink and opaque. This doesn’t take long, about 3-5 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the seafood. Remove the seafood from the skillet to a clean bowl and set it aside.

Seafood mix removed from the skillet, Cook Garlic in Butter in the skillet

There should be a considerable amount of liquid left in the skillet from the seafood (that’s all FLAVOR yay!). Add 2 Tbsp additional butter and 4 cloves minced garlic to the skillet. Cook the garlic in the butter for 1-2 minutes, or just until it softens a touch and starts to smell really good.

Add Whole Peeled Tomatoes to the skillet, break them up into pieces

Add a 28oz. can of whole peeled tomatoes (with juices) and a 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes to the skillet. Break the tomatoes up with a spatula or spoon. Let the mixture come up to a simmer, then turn the heat down slightly and let it continue to simmer gently for 30 minutes. Stir the mixture occasionally as it simmers, breaking the tomatoes up more as you go. The sauce may look a little white at first due to the seafood proteins, but it will change as it cooks. About 15 minutes into the simmer time, cook 1/2 lb. fettuccine according to the package directions.

Simmered sauce in the skillet with a wooden spatula

After 30 minutes the tomatoes should have broken down quite a bit more and the sauce thickened up a bit. Season the sauce with 1/2 tsp salt. Taste and adjust the salt if needed.

Return Seafood to the Sauce in the skillet

After the sauce is seasoned and the pasta has been cooked and drained, add the cooked seafood back to the skillet with the sauce. Make sure to pour in any juices that may have accumulated in the bowl. That’s more flavor!

Add Cooked Pasta to Sauce in the skillet

Add the cooked pasta, then toss everything together until the sauce evenly coats the pasta. 

Spicy Seafood Pasta with Tomato Butter Sauce in the skillet with a wooden pasta fork and parsley on the side

Sprinkle a little fresh chopped parsley over top to make it extra pretty! 

Close up overhead view of a bowl of Spicy Seafood Pasta with Tomato Butter Sauce with a gold fork and spoon on the side

Quick easy dinners are what I’m all about!

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Comments

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  1. This recipe was spot on!! ย Absolutely delicious. I didnโ€™t change the basicrecipe one bit. Loved the buttery yumminess. Iโ€™m a cheese fanatic, so I sprinkled the top with a Romano Parmesan blend. This is a true winner!!

  2. This is simmering now, and smelling wonderful. However, I’m finding the tomatoes rather hard to break up, and resorted to scissors. What’s the reason for starting with whole tomatoes?

    1. They usually use higher quality tomatoes for the canned whole tomatoes than they do for the diced, so you usually get a better flavor.

    2. I use my plastic potato smasher, it’s way easier! Just make sure youve got a good grip on the pan I almost pushed it right off the stove concentrating only on the mashing aspect

  3. This was really tasty, and I just used frozen shrimp. I also included some of the pasta water in the sauce – at first I thought I jeopardized the texture of the sauce, but it eventually evaporated and added a lot of flavor.

    1. Thanks for commenting- I like to include pasta water in my sauces as well! Now I know I can.

  4. Thanks for posting this recipe. I have all the ingredients but don’t know how to mix seafood with pasta. but thanks to you, you solved my problem by explaining every detail. And also I want to tell you I added mushrooms and cheese with it to make it more delicious.

  5. Thank you for posting this recipe! I used this a guide and inspiration since I had all the ingredients on hand but added a few things that I wanted to use up. I added sliced mushrooms and let it simmer then added spinach and nutritional yeast just a little before adding the pasta. The nutritional yeast gave the sauce such a creamy taste and a boost of flavor without the major calories! Thanks again!

  6. I love this recipe. I’ve made it twice now and it’s earned it’s own slot in my recipe box.

    My husband is a very picky eater and he adores this meal. I’ve made it once with a true “frutti di mare” and then the second time with just shrimp- both times it came out excellent. I also love that this recipe also teaches you how to make your own sauce from scratch. So you could take the principles or foundations of this recipe and easily tweak it for other ingredients on hand. I live by the ocean so seafood is easy and cheap to come by at my local farmers market but right now tomatoes are not in season SO it’s nice to have a way to use canned tomatoes in a pinch.

    I honestly wouldn’t change anything about the composition of this recipe. It’s spot on. If I follow the directions faithfully then I come out with an excellent dish that gets lots of compliments. It’s also a very cheap meal to make. It’s enough to serve us for two nights with a little bit of leftovers to take to work for lunch as well. Great budget find!

  7. I cooked this for my mom and I. We enjoyed it so much. It was so easy to make! Thank you.

  8. Because I already had some homemade pasta sauce and the seafood blend in the freezer, I splurged a little and bought capers and olives to make a puttanesca-type sauce! Thanks for the great base recipe, Beth.

  9. I just did this with a mix of frozen shrimp and scallops and it was absolutely delicious! I used diced tomatoes (because I’m lazy), doubled the crushed peppers and pasta, added some fresh black pepper, and it was so buttery and rich without being heavy. And so easy, too! Definitely going into the rotation.

  10. This looks impressive! And fast with things currently on hand. Thank you

  11. I like the heartiness of this dish. But, personally the dish needed a little more spice, so I mixed in about 2 teaspoons of sriracha which brought out the perfect amount of heat from the dish.

    Really quality pasta! Definitely going to add it into the normal dinner rotation, thanks for the post!

  12. Can I use plain marinara sauce or tomato sauce instead of whole tomatoes? I’m one of those weirdos that hates chunky tomato texture :)

    1. I used crushed tomatoes whenever recipes called for the whole peeled ones. I like a more consistent texture. It’s never affected the taste of any of my dishes :)

    2. I would do “crushed” tomatoes. They’re almost smooth without being too sauce-like.