Have you ever had trottole pasta? Trottole pasta is a curly-cue pasta shape that looks like a tight coil. Its shape clings to pasta sauce, so you get a perfect distribution of pasta:sauce with every bite. This recipe for trottole pasta is topped with a spicy-ish shrimp marinara sauce. The shrimp marinara sauce is a tomato base, with optional spice, and some quickly cooked shrimp in it for protein. Top this pasta with fresh basil and Parmesan cheese, and you have dinner ready in less than 30 min!
What is trottole pasta?
"Trottole" is Italian for spinning tops.
Trottole pasta is a type of semolina pasta that is shaped like a tight coil/curly-cue, and kind of looks like a spinning top.
Where do you buy trottole pasta?
I picked up this bag of trottole pasta at Sprouts Market here in Los Angeles, but if you want to buy some elsewhere, you can get it here on Amazon or Target.
If you don't have trottole pasta, you can make this recipe with rotini or fusilli pasta - just any kind of twisty/curly shaped pasta.
How do you make a shrimp marinara sauce?
cook the shrimp first in a skillet with olive oil, then set aside 
sautee shallot with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, and then add in tomato sauce 
cook pasta in a big pot of salted water 
transfer pasta directly from pot to pan 
stir to combine and top with basil 
serve!
The full recipe is below for this recipe for pasta with a shrimp marinara sauce, but here are the steps.
In a big pot, bring a lot of generously-salted water to boil.
In a skillet on another burner, bring a tablespoon of olive oil to medium heat, and add in 1 lb of peeled and deveined shrimp. Cook for a short amount of time - 3 min total - just until pink. Transfer to a plate to the side.
Cook 1 thinly sliced shallot to the olive oil, and sautee a little until translucent. Add a pinch of salt and ⅛th teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
Pour in 14 oz of crushed tomatoes to the skillet and stir to combine.
Reduce the heat of the tomato sauce to a simmer while you cook the pasta to the pasta's directions - about 9 minutes.
When the pasta is nearly done, add the shrimp back into the tomato sauce, and test for seasoning: add more salt, pepper, or red pepper flakes to taste.
Then add in the cooked trottole pasta directly into the marinara sauce, just by using a spider sieve to transfer the pasta directly over from the pot to the skillet.
Stir to evenly coat the pasta, and finish with fresh sliced basil on top. Parmesan too if you like.
Enjoy!
FAQs
Can this pasta dish be made in advance?
- I would not make this recipe too far in advance - it's best hot out the skillet!
How is it stored? For how long?
- You can store this recipe and reheat the leftovers for 3 days.
Which ingredients (flavors) are dominant? How would you intensify, or mellow out these flavors?
- With this marinara sauce, you get a lot of tomato flavor. The shrimp is very mild, but a seafood flavor is there too.
What if i don't have trottole pasta? what type of pasta could I substitute?
- Feel free to use fusilli, cavatappi, rigatoni or any short/curly/tube pasta!
Can you easily modify this to be vegetarian? Vegan? Gluten-free? Keto? Low carb?
- To be vegetarian: if you eat fish, then the recipe is vegetarian friendly!
- To be vegan: you can omit the shrimp and then it's vegan friendly
- Low carb: use a low carb pasta like Banza, or sub in zoodles
- Keto: sub in zoodles
Can this be made spicy?
- Yes! Add more red pepper flakes
What kind of equipment is needed? Are there alternative cooking methods?
- You will need a big pot for cooking the pasta and a skillet to make the sauce.
- I personally use a spider sieve strainer to directly transfer pasta from the pot to the skillet
- If you don't have a skillet, you can make the pasta, then strain it and leave it to the side, then make the pasta sauce and, last, mix the pasta into the pot
What are the best side dishes for this recipe?
- How about a kale salad? Or a shaved brussels sprouts salad?
- Some roasted garlic bread would also be delish!
Is this recipe popular at specific events? times of the year? holidays?
- This is a super easy pasta recipe for dinner. It comes together very quickly, so you can make it on a weeknight with no stress.
More Pasta Recipes!
- Linguine with spring onion, peas, bacon and egg
- Rigatoni with vodka sauce
- Fresh cherry tomato pasta sauce
📖 Recipe
Trottole Pasta with a Shrimp Marinara Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb shrimp
- ¼ cup sliced shallots
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups crushed tomatoes
- 8 oz trottole pasta or fusilli, rotini, rigatoni
- ¼ cup sliced fresh basil
Instructions
- In a big pot, bring a lot of generously-salted water to boil.
- In a skillet on another burner, bring a tablespoon of olive oil to medium heat, and add in 1 lb of peeled and deveined shrimp. Cook for a short amount of time - 3 min total - just until pink. Transfer to a plate to the side.
- Add in 1 thinly sliced shallot to the olive oil, and sautee a little until transluscent. Add a pinch of salt and ⅛th teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
- Add in 14 oz of crushed tomatoes to the skillet and stir to combine.
- Reduce the heat of the tomato sauce to a simmer while you cook the pasta to the pasta's directions - about 9 minutes.
- When the pasta is nearly done, add the shrimp back into the tomato sauce, and test for seasoning: add more salt, pepper, or red pepper flakes to taste.
- Then add in the cooked pasta directly into the marinara sauce, just by using a spider sieve to transfer the pasta directly over from the pot to the skillet.
- Stir to evenly coat the pasta, and serve with fresh sliced basil on top. Parmesan too if you like.