Truth be told, my husband isn’t a fan of seafood unless it’s fish and fried. So, when the girls and I are craving shrimp, he will fend for himself. Last week was one of those nights when one of my daughters and I wanted this Bang Bang Shrimp Pasta.
The shrimp is sauteed with garlic, red pepper flakes, and other spices then gently tossed with spaghetti noodles and a spicy sauce. The Bang Bang Sauce is a creamy concoction of mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, and sriracha sauce. It’s spicy yet not too hot, of course you can bump up the heat by adding more sriracha.
This meal comes together in the time it takes to cook the pasta – it’s perfect for busy evenings when dinner needs to be done fast or for a last minute, “what do I make for dinner” idea. Of course, if you aren’t a shrimp fan, by all means substitute chicken.
Leftover Pasta Tip:
Recently, I had some leftover spaghetti noodles from a meal the night before. I whipped up half of the bang bang sauce, set it aside and worked on the pasta. In a skillet, I melted two tablespoons of butter, added some minced garlic, paprika, and pepper along with some thawed cooked shrimp. Saute the shrimp till hot and coated with the garlic butter.
I heated the leftover pasta up by dropping it in a pot of boiling water for a couple of minutes, drained it and then added it to the skillet. Toss it all together with the bang bang sauce and I had myself a delicious meal.
How to make Easy Bang Bang Shrimp Pasta
Easy Bang Bang Shrimp Pasta
Ingredients
- 12 oz of spaghetti
- 1 1/2 lbs of medium shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tsp paprika
- Black pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
For the Sauce:
- ⅔ cup light mayonnaise
- ½ cup sweet chili sauce
- 2 - 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp sriracha sauce
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- ⅛ - ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix all 'sauce' ingredients together then set aside. Use more (or less) sriracha sauce according to your heat level.
- Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, return to pot, and cover to keep warm.
- Place the uncooked shrimp in a medium bowl and add olive oil, paprika, 3 cloves of minced garlic, and black pepper. Gently toss to coat all of the shrimp.
- Heat a large skillet on medium high heat and then add the coated uncooked shrimp.
- Stir constantly while cooking until no longer pink about 10 minutes.
- When shrimp is cooked through, combine it with the spaghetti in the pot and 2/3 of the sauce - toss to coat well. Top with dried parsley.
- Use the leftover sauce to top off your portion of the meal.
Notes
You may also enjoy Bang Bang Chicken Pasta, Easy Shrimp Scampi, or Shrimp Alfredo Pizza
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Can quinoa be substituted for pasta?
Keitha, I don’t see why not!
How many servings does this have?
Andrea, it will serve about 4 people generously!
Thanks for sharing. This recipe would have been out of the park delicious had it not been soooo hot. I’m not sure what caused it to be so hot, the pepper flakes or the sriracha sauce but OMG, we all ate it and loved the flavor but our lips were on fire, and I like some heat. Next time, I’ll leave out the pepper flakes and hope all goes well, lol.
Oh goodness, Jessica! I can relate to the “spiciness” of meals such as this. I’m not a seeker of the “heat” but this one was okay with us. Instead of omitting the red pepper flakes, try decreasing to 1/8 teaspoon and also gradually adding the sriracha sauce by the teaspoon to you hit your comfort level of “heat”.
I’m looking forward to making this for dinner tonight 🙂
Hi Laurie, thanks for trying the recipe! Hope you enjoyed it.
How does this meal reheat with the mayo sauce? Is it good as leftovers?
Hi Brandie, I couldn’t tell you about reheating it as we’ve never had leftovers! However, most recipes that I have cooked with mayo (casseroles as an example) reheat wonderfully.
It reheated fine…. just like a cheese sauce, it got oily/ buttery…. but then it almost feels like just a spicy butter sauce next day…. the flavor was still there…. didn’t disappoint!!!
Thanks a lot for sharing such a fantastic recipe. Looks perfect delicious. I really like to appreciate. I have never made it before, as it seems like a large and daunting task, but I am going to go ahead and get some and try it out now! I am also so much impressed by your glorious images. It’s really awesome.
Thanks again.
Can I omit the sweet chili sauce?
You could replace it with salsa, but I’m thinking omitting it altogether wouldn’t leave a tasty sauce for the shrimp.
Very good & easy will be making it again
I’m glad you enjoy the recipe, Curt! Thank you for stopping by to let us know.
As my son said after seconds – “you knocked it out of the park”. It was delicious, thank you for sharing!
Mimi, that’s wonderful! I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed the recipe.
I’m anxious to try this dish tomorrow evening for dinner. It sounds wonderful. Thank you for sharing.
This recipe was so easy to do!!! The longest part was waiting on the noodles to cook!!!! The sauce took minutes…. shrimp never takes much to cook, I did add chicken too ….. family loved it and coworkers loved the leftovers!!! I will be making this again!!! Thank you for the easiest dinner too make ever!!!!
Ohhh! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! I’m especially glad to hear that it reheated well, too! Thanks for the feedback!
We had this last night and I had it again today and it was fabulous both times. Thanks for sharing the recipe. We will definitely be making it again!
So glad you enjoyed the dish, Julie! Thanks for stopping by to let me know.
Can’t you just use yum yum sauce for a sub of the mayo based sauce for an even quicker fix?
I’m sure you can!
What do you refer to sweet chili sauce?
Hi Elizabeth, the sweet chili sauce I use can be found in the international aisle at the grocery store. I like this brand found at Walmart, but it’s other stores as well. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Thai-Kitchen-Dipping-All-Purpose-Sauce-Sweet-Red-Chili-6-57-Oz/29945783
I made this dish this evening….changed NOTHING… was amazing, will make again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the dish and thank you for sharing how it turned out!
Lisa, thank you soooo much for this easy and DELICIOUS recipe! It was a huge hit at my house!
Thank you for your recipe! So easy to make with ingredients we have on hand at home. My family liked it but they commented that the taste of the mayo was a little strong. Can the Mayo be substituted with nestle cream?
Hi Jackie, I have never used nestle cream, so I’m not sure. I say try it and see!
I made this for the first time today but it won’t be the last time. Just delicious. Very easy to made and it can be re-warmed and is still great. Thanks for sharing.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the dish, Nelda!
Can’t wait to try this Sunday. Having about 20 people over including our Pastor and his wife . Making bangbang chicken for them 2 the rest of us are having bangbang shrimp.
I made this tonight for dinner and …OH MY GOD…It was awesome!!!!!! I didn’t have any sriracha sauce in the house and I substituted chipotle sauce. I can’t wait to throw a dinner party and serve this. My friends will be over the moon!
Ohh! I bet that chipotle sauce was so good in this!
Great recipe! I was skeptical at first but I made it and it was easy and had great flavor! Thank you!! Definitely will make this again!