Coconut Shrimp Pasta
This easy recipe for toasted coconut shrimp pasta is a little bit sweet, a little bit spicy, and a whole lot of delicious. The perfect easy seafood supper!
Jump to:
- Why we love this recipe ❤️
- What is coconut milk? 🥥
- Ingredients you need 🍤
- Ingredient notes and substitutions 📝
- How to make this recipe 👩🏻🍳
- Recipe FAQs 🧐
- Equipment we used for this recipe 🥣
- What to serve with this recipe 🍽️
- Other shrimp pasta recipes we love! 🥰
- We want to know what you think! 🤔
- Coconut Shrimp Pasta
Why we love this recipe ❤️
This recipe takes one of my all time favorite appetizers – you know you love that coconut shrimp on the menu 🥰 – and turns it into a pasta sauce.
It’s a speedy pasta delight that blends coconut milk and lime juice to make an easy light sauce that you toss with shrimp and pasta and sprinkle with toasted coconut flakes and look at that!
You have a restaurant quality supper on your table in about 25 minutes. No reservation needed.
What is coconut milk? 🥥
Even though it looks like a glass of regular old milk, coconut milk is made by pureeing up the insides of a coconut, adding water and then straining it so that it is nice and smooth.
Now, you are also going to find “light” coconut milk next to the regular coconut milk (which is usually in the International Foods aisle of your supermarket) which is regular coconut milk with more water.
We love how it gives a smooth and silky texture to this sauce (and we love it in this recipe for coconut oatmeal too!).
Ingredients you need 🍤
Ingredient notes and substitutions 📝
- Coconut Milk: Look for this in the international aisle of your supermarket. Either full fat or light will work.
- Coconut: We like sweet flaked coconut in this recipe, but if you prefer unsweetened coconut that is fine too! Look for it in the baking aisle.
- Shrimp: We use extra large shrimp, but any size shrimp will work. Either fresh from the seafood counter or frozen and thawed will work.
- Scallions: These long green onions are in your produce section!
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
How to make this recipe 👩🏻🍳
STEP 1: Cook pasta according to package directions in salted water. Drain and set aside.
STEP 2: Put some flaked coconut in a large skillet over medium high heat. Stir until the coconut flakes are starting to turn brown (watch them carefully!) and then pour into a small bowl and set aside.
STEP 3: Add some coconut milk, red pepper, chopped scallions and lime juice to the skillet over medium high heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.
STEP 4: Add some peeled shrimp and cook until shrimp are just done, about another 2-3 minutes.
STEP 5: Add more scallions and the cooked pasta and toss until thoroughly coated with the sauce.
STEP 6: Divide your glorious among plates, garnish with lime zest, toasted coconut and more scallions if you like and serve.
Recipe FAQs 🧐
Coconut milk is made by pureeing up the insides of a coconut, adding water and then straining it so that it is nice and smooth. Light (or “lite”) coconut milk is regular coconut milk mixed with more water to give it a thinner consistency, along with being lower in calories.
Now, you don’t HAVE to take the vein (that dark line up the back of the shrimp) out, but lots of folks prefer their shrimpies that way. Pull off the shell by wiggling it apart at the bottom of the shrimp.
Once the shell is off, cut a shallow line along the top of the shrimp where the vein is, pull it out with the tip of the knife and…you’re done! Put the shrimp shells in a zippered plastic bag when you toss them out, because if they sit in your trash can for more than a few hours…well, I’ll let you use your imagination.
I am the self-appointed Queen Of Non-Spicy Things 👸🏻, so the red pepper in this recipe gives just a hint of spice. You can dial up the heat by adding a little more if you like! 🔥
You can definitely make the toasted coconut ahead of time, but everything else should be made right before you serve it up.
Pop your question in the Comments section under the recipe card and I will answer pronto!
Equipment we used for this recipe 🥣
These are some of my favorite kitchen tools! These are Amazon affiliate links, which means I get a little something if you buy through my links at no extra cost to you. (Which helps pay for all that bacon I keep buying! 😄) And I only share things I use and love. I’m so grateful for your support!
- Measuring Cup: We love these angled cups that show the measurements on both the inside and outside of the cup.
- Cutting Board: These sturdy, dishwasher-safe cutting boards come in all different sizes.
- Citrus Juicer: We love this handy juicer that catches every single seed.
- Food Scale: We use this for measuring everything from pasta to meat to flour.
- Large Pot: We have a lot of these but this is our fave!
- Large Skillet: We have a few of these in our cupboard but this is one of our faves.
- Measuring Spoons: These handy magnetic spoons are not on a ring, so you can just pick the one you need.
- Microplane Zester: This handy tool perfectly grates off the zest from lemons, oranges and limes. It’s also a handy tool for a quick grating of Parmesan cheese!
- Strainer: This classic version is just right for these potatoes and your favorite pasta recipe (one of ours is pasta with egg sauce!)
- Tongs: We have this essential kitchen tool in all sizes from short to extra long.
What to serve with this recipe 🍽️
We love adding a veggie or two to the side of this pasta recipe…maybe some whipped carrots or our favorite asparagus recipe. Or a salad tossed with this delectable bacon vinaigrette.
And how about some cheesecake brownies for dessert? (Yes please!)
Other shrimp pasta recipes we love! 🥰
We want to know what you think! 🤔
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section below the recipe card.
Coconut Shrimp Pasta
This easy recipe for toasted coconut shrimp pasta is a little bit sweet, a little bit spicy, and a whole lot of delicious. The perfect easy seafood supper!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 8 ounces linguine
- ½ cup flaked coconut
- 1 13.5 oz can coconut milk
- ½ teaspoon ground red pepper
- Juice and zest from 2 limes
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 scallions, chopped
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions in salted water. Drain and set aside.
- Put the flaked coconut in a large skillet over medium high heat. Stir until the coconut flakes are starting to turn brown (watch them carefully!) and then pour into a small bowl and set aside.
- Add the coconut milk, red pepper, half the scallions and the lime juice to the skillet over medium high heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.
- Add the shrimp and cook until shrimp are just done, about another 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the other half of the scallions, then add the pasta and toss until thoroughly coated with the sauce.
- Divide among plates, garnish with lime zest, toasted coconut (you can also garnish with more scallions if you like) and serve.
Notes
-
- Coconut Milk: Look for this in the international aisle of your supermarket. Either full fat or light will work.
-
- Coconut: We like sweet flaked coconut in this recipe, but if you prefer unsweetened coconut that is fine too! Look for it in the baking aisle.
-
- Shrimp: We use extra large shrimp, but any size shrimp will work. Either fresh from the seafood counter or frozen and thawed will work.
-
- Scallions: These long green onions are in your produce section!