Sun-dried tomatoes, nutrient-rich spinach, and fiber-filled sweet potato noodles make up this Creamy Tuscan Shrimp With Sweet Potato Noodles recipe. This dish is creamy, yet light. It’s satisfying and good for you. It’s a perfect weeknight meal!
They say life is a combination of magic and pasta. I can’t say I disagree. Pasta is amazing and I absolutely love it. It’s so versatile and goes so well with everything. The creamy sauce and fresh pasta cooked al dente is the epitome of comfort food...
While devouring a plate of delicious pasta is something I still enjoy from time to time, I also try to recreate my favorite pasta recipes and make healthier versions. Nothing wrong with pasta, especially homemade pasta every now and then, but if you’re trying to follow a healthy diet, it’s good to know it’s actually not hard to substitute regular pasta with veggie noodles.
That’s why the spiralizer is one of my favorite kitchen gadgets. You can turn pretty much any vegetable into nutrient-rich, low-calorie noodles. Zucchini, yellow squash, sweet potato, even carrots make great veggie noodles! Like in my 15 Minute Healthy Shrimp Scampi Recipe.
Substitute pasta with sweet potato noodles for this Creamy Tuscan Shrimp With Sweet Potato Noodles recipe and enjoy a plate of this creamy, delicious comfort food knowing that you are adding a ton of nutrients to your meal.
WHAT IS TUSCAN SHRIMP?
Creamy Tuscan Shrimp is a cooked shrimp dish that highlights the savory sauce. The sauce is creamy, garlicky, and contains spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. What more can I say, other than it’s one of my fave ways to enjoy heart-healthy shrimp. This recipe is loaded with flavor and doesn’t take a whole lot of time to throw together. I like that about the dish, too!
IS TUSCAN SHRIMP HEALTHY?
Just like any other recipe, there are simple, easy ways to make the dish healthy and better for you. It all comes down to the ingredients. By choosing whole ingredients and avoiding over-processed, store-bought, ready-made ingredients, you are in complete control of your nutrient and calorie intake.
Remember, shrimp is a high-protein food and known to have benefits for the heart. It's called a brain food, too. Shrimp has antioxidant properties and omega-3 fatty acids. Sweet potatoes are full of fiber and nutrients like beta-carotene and Vitamin A. They are low on the glycemic scale, meaning they help maintain healthy blood sugar levels.
RECIPE SUBSTITUTIONS FOR CREAMY TUSCAN SHRIMP AND SWEET POTATO NOODLES
To make this Tuscan Shrimp healthy, I...
- substituted regular pasta with sweet potato noodles, which are rich in vitamins C and D as well as iron and magnesium
- used sweet potato noodles, which are not a grain and are definitely not made from over-processed flour
- made the creamy sauce lusciously creamy by using arrowroot starch mixed with a little almond milk, low sodium chicken broth, and parmesan cheese to create the creamy texture without having to add a ton of unnecessary calories or fat
HOW TO USE FROZEN SHRIMP
This recipe for Creamy Tuscan Shrimp With Sweet Potato Noodles can be made with either fresh or frozen shrimp. Deciding to make this incredibly yummy dish at the last minute? It’s entirely possible:
- Take the frozen shrimp from the bag and place in a colander
- Run cold water over the shrimp for about 5 minutes
- Toss the shrimp occasionally so that the water reaches all of the shrimp
- If you want to to give the shrimp a head start before doing this, place the unopened bag in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes first
- Don’t use hot water at any point in the thawing process
HOW TO STORE TUSCAN SHRIMP
Creamy Garlic Tuscan Shrimp is best served hot, straight from the pan. If you want to make it ahead of time or you’ve got some leftovers you’d like to have for dinner, transfer the finished dish into an air-tight container and place in the fridge. I suggest you mix it in with the sweet potato noodles when you’re ready to serve it to get it nice and combined.
CAN I FREEZE TUSCAN SHRIMP?
Freezing your Creamy Garlic Tuscan Shrimp is an option, too. Although, by freezing it and then thawing it, it’s likely the sauce will lose some of its creamy, rich texture and might get a bit grainy. That’s why I definitely prefer serving my Creamy Garlic Tuscan Shrimp fresh and steaming hot. You can also successfully freeze sweet potato noodles, but I recommend freezing them before cooking them and then just following the easy steps to cooking them once you've thawed them and you're ready to eat -- they'll hold up much better that way.
HOW TO MAKE CREAMY TUSCAN SHRIMP DAIRY-FREE
Creamy Garlic Tuscan Shrimp is traditionally made with LOTS of cream. But, if you want to skip the cream and make Creamy Garlic Tuscan Shrimp dairy-free AND still keep that lovely creamy texture (duh!), you can do it by swapping cream for almond milk. Just combine a tablespoon of unsweetened almond milk with arrowroot starch and combine until smooth. Then add it to the pan with the veggies and stir until the sauce thickens then put the shrimp back in the pan. You'll also need to replace the parmesan with nutritional yeast to be completely dairy-free. Easy peasy.
HOW TO MAKE CREAMY TUSCAN SHRIMP AND SWEET POTATO NOODLES VEGAN AND GLUTEN-FREE
This good-for-you recipe can be easily made vegan by switching out the shrimp for tofu, the chicken broth for vegetable broth, and the parmesan cheese for vegan cheese or nutritional yeast.
To ensure your meal of Creamy Tuscan Shrimp is gluten-free, carefully check the label when buying gluten-free products. Parmesan cheese, for example, does not typically contain gluten. But you’ll want to double check that the processing method did not contain gluten. Using sweet potato noodles takes care of any worry of pasta that has gluten.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH CREAMY TUSCAN SHRIMP?
Well, I love sweet potato noodles, of course! But if you’d like to vary the dish now and then, you could serve the shrimp with quinoa, whole pasta noodles, rice, or grilled veggies like parmesan roasted cauliflower.
MORE HEALTHY PASTA RECIPES
Whether it’s whole wheat pasta or pasta made from vegetables using my spiralizer, I love dishes with noodles! Zucchini noodles go great with shrimp (see below!) and the sweet potato noodles that I use in my Creamy Tuscan Shrimp dish are favorites, too. After all, sweet potatoes have so much goodness in them!
- Creamy Rosemary and Goat Cheese Chicken Pasta
- Healthy Pasta Primavera
- Healthy Minestrone Soup
- Spaghetti Squash Noodles
- Breaded Shrimp Meal Prep
- How to Make Zucchini Noodles (Zoodles)
- Easy Pan Seared Scallops
- 15 Minute Healthy Shrimp Scampi Recipe
Creamy Tuscan Shrimp With Sweet Potato Noodles
Equipment
*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Ingredients
For the Sweet Potato Noodles:
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 large sweet potato, spiralized
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- ⅛ tsp. garlic powder
For the Creamy Tuscan Shrimp:
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 lb. large shrimp, deveined, tails removed
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- ½ cup low sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup sun-dried tomato, sliced
- 1 ½ cups plus 1 tbsp. unsweetened almond milk, divided
- 4 cups baby spinach
- ½ cup parmesan, grated
- 1 tsp. arrowroot starch
- 1 tbsp. fresh Italian parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Peel and then spiralize the sweet potatoes into noodles using a spiralizer.
- In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the sweet potato noodles, sea salt, black pepper, and garlic powder, and cook until almost tender.
- To make the tuscan shrimp, in a separate skillet, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about one minute.
- Add the shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes per side, until cooked through and pink. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Once fully cooked, remove the shrimp from the pan, and set aside.
- Into the same pan, add the yellow onion, and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until tender.
- Add the chicken broth, and allow to reduce slightly, stirring frequently, for 4-6 minutes.
- Add the sun-dried tomatoes, and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until softened.
- Add the almond milk, and bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
- Add the baby spinach, and allow to wilt in the sauce.
- Add the parmesan cheese, and stir until the cheese melts and is smooth.
- Combine the remaining tablespoon of almond milk with the arrowroot starch and stir until smooth. Add this to the pan, and stir to combine. Stir until the sauce thickens, approx. 2 minutes.
- Add the shrimp back into the pan, and the parsley, and stir through.
- Serve over the prepared sweet potato noodles.
Video
Nutrition
This post contains affiliate links for products I use regularly and highly recommend.
Taylor Henderson
Going to try to do this for my mom. Do you think cashew milk would do well? Has anyone tried cashew milk/cream?
Jen Moderator
Hi Taylor! Just spoke with Lacey on this and we both agree...cashew milk should go fabulously in this recipe! Thank you for your comment and please let us know how it goes... -Jen
Dustin
Delicious!