Prawn and Chorizo Pasta
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Whenever I’m craving a simple, comforting weeknight meal, I whip up this prawn and chorizo pasta. It’s made with a delicious, aglio e olio inspired sauce (parsley, lemon & garlic), quick-cooking prawns and al dente linguine. With each bite, you get spice from the chorizo along with a smokey flavour. Yum!
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
Vibrant Comfort Food – This prawn and chorizo pasta is the definition of comfort food with a silky, light sauce that comes together because of reserved pasta water.
Quick Weeknight Dinner – This chorizo and prawn pasta is ready in about 15 minutes, so it’s great for busy work days.
Incredible Flavor – Spicy, crispy chorizo, fresh lemon juice, chopped garlic, and smoked paprika come together to create the ultimate summer pasta dish. (I enjoy it in the winter too to pretend it’s summer)
Love pasta? Try these tasty recipes; Boursin Cheese Baked Pasta, Tagliatelle Carbonara and Chicken and Broccoli Pasta
Ingredients
King Prawns
I recommend using king prawns for this prawn and chorizo pasta. You can also use tiger prawns if you wish. You may need to adjust the cook time slightly. If you love prawns, try my garlic prawns.
Chorizo
You can use either raw or cooked chorizo for this chorizo pasta easy prawn dish. Both options will provide crispy chorizo bits. The only differences are the cook time and the size of the chorizo pieces. I also opt for spicy chorizo to add another layer of flavour.
Pasta
You can get creative here and use your pasta of choice. I like to go down the classic route and use linguine or spaghetti; they taste great with the sauce, prawns, and chorizo.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations/ Adaptations
Here are some easy adaptations for your prawn and chorizo pasta! Instead of using short pasta, I used linguine to make prawn and chorizo linguine. The sauce will still taste delish with longer noodles (like with other pasta recipes). Instead of only adding finely chopped parsley as a topping, consider including lemon zest if you’re a lemon lover.
For some additional heat, include red pepper flakes. Always start with a smaller amount of chili flakes and increase to your preference. Instead of shrimp/prawns, use chicken in this recipe. Any cut of chicken will work, from thighs to drummies and breasts. If you don’t like the flavour of chorizo, you can use another sausage instead. Salami works great with this pasta dish!
Love chorizo? You’ll love these recipes: Chicken and Chorizo Risotto, Chicken and Chorizo Pasta and Chicken and Chorizo Paella.
How to make prawn and chorizo pasta
- Start by slicing the chorizo into circles, then quarters (Image 1).
- Then add chorizo to a large pan over a low heat with 1 tbsp of the extra virgin olive oil (Image 2).
3. Gently fry, allowing the fat to render from the chorizo slowly. Fry for around 8 minutes, until the seasoned fat is rendered and the chorizo is crispy (Image 3).
4. Meanwhile, add your pasta to heavily salted (salty like the sea) boiling water. Set your timer to the packet time minus one minute (Image 4).
Once the chorizo is crispy, remove ⅓ from the pan to use as a garnish.
5. Add the sliced garlic and smoked paprika to the pan and stir together (Image 5).
6. Then add the uncooked prawns and chilli flakes and gently fry over a medium heat for 2 minutes (Image 6).
7. After around 2 minutes the paprika, king prawns and garlic will have cooked and bloomed together. Transfer two ladles of pasta water into the pan with the chorizo and prawns and stir vigorously (Image 7).
8. Once your pasta timer goes off, reserve a generous amount of pasta water and transfer the pasta into the pan with the chorizo/prawns. Also add the parsley, 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice at this stage (Image 8).
9. Stir everything together to ensure the prawns, chorizo, garlic and parsley are fully incorporated (Image 9).
10. Serve with the reserved crispy chorizo, an optional extra lemon wedge, a sprinkle of parsley and extra chilli flakes if you like things spicy (Image 10).
To make the meal more substantial, try serving one of my soup recipes as a starter ; Creamy Parsnip Soup, Green Chili Chicken Soup and Easy Carrot and Coriander Soup
Tips for the best results
Add veggies for more nutrients
You can easily add veggies like spinach or baby kale to this prawn and chorizo pasta for extra nutrients. Since the sauce is so flavourful, you won’t even be able to taste the extra veggies. That means your picky eaters will still enjoy the dish!
Don’t drain the oil from the chorizo
As the chorizo cooks, some of the fat will cook out into the pan. Don’t drain this oil; it helps create even more flavour in the sauce.
Avoid cooking the prawns for too long
Overcooked prawns are chewy and rubbery, so it’s essential to cook them for the right amount of time when making this chorizo prawn pasta recipe. They’re ready when they have just turned pink.
Need something sweet to finish your meal? Try my: Soft Flapjack Recipe, Mini Egg Cheesecake and Rocky Road
Serving Suggestions
This prawn and chorizo pasta is delicious alongside crusty bread or garlic bread. You can use the bread to soak up all the yummy sauce from the prawn chorizo linguine. You can also serve this yummy dish with a fresh, green salad for a boost of nutrients.
Here are some healthy side dishes to serve with the pasta: Sauteed Broccoli (in 10 minutes!), Parmesan Tenderstem Broccoli and Cavolo Nero with Garlic & Lemon
Storage and Reheat Instructions
If you have any leftover prawn and chorizo pasta, pack it into an airtight container once it cools. Then, store it in the fridge. It should last for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. Simply microwave the leftovers to heat them up.
This prawn and chorizo pasta recipe is best eaten fresh. So, I don’t recommend freezing leftovers, especially as prawns can become rubbery when reheated from frozen. However, you can freeze extra if you really need to. The dish will stay good in the freezer for up to four months. Allow the leftovers to defrost overnight in the fridge. Then, microwave in bursts of 30 seconds, stirring each time the microwave goes off.
Here’s some advice on reheating some other recipes using an air fryer; The Best Way to Reheat Chicken Wings in the Airfryer, The Best Way To Reheat Salmon and The Best Way to Reheat Baked Ziti
FAQs
My recipe is butter-less- so no, you can use extra virgin olive oil instead.
This is a fairly healthy dish already. However, you can add some veg if you want additional nutrients. Try mixing in spinach or baby kale. You can also swap out the pasta for veggie noodles to cut down on carbs.
Yes! Linguine for this prawn and chorizo pasta dish is perfect- but it really does work well with most pasta shapes. She’s versatile!
You can opt for mild chorizo if you don’t enjoy spicy recipes. It will still have a hint of heat, but it shouldn’t be overwhelming if you’re sensitive to it.
If you tried this Prawn and Chorizo Pasta, it would be mean so much to me if you could leave a review & a star rating to let me know how you found it! I love hearing about your experiences – it motivates me to keep creating more and more recipes for you guys 💛 Let’s get cooking! – Mimi x
Prawn and Chorizo Pasta
Ingredients
- 110 g chorizo, sliced into small chunks (£2.50/2)=(£1.25)
- 400 g pasta of choice (£0.75)
- 30 g fresh parsley, finely chopped (£0.60)
- 5-6 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced (£0.39)
- 200 g king prawns, uncooked & peeled (£3.70)
- Juice of ½ to 1 lemon, according to taste (£0.30)
Cupboard Essentials
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- Salt & Pepper
- Optional chilli flakes
Method
- Start by adding the chorizo to a large pan over a low heat with 1 tbsp of the extra virgin olive oil. Gently fry, allowing the fat to render from the chorizo slowly. Fry for around 8 minutes, until the seasoned fat is rendered and the chorizo is crispy.
- Meanwhile, add your pasta to heavily salted (salty like the sea) boiling water. Set your timer to the packet time minus one minute.
- Once the chorizo is crispy, remove ⅓ from the pan to use as a garnish. Add the garlic, smoked paprika, uncooked prawns and chilli flakes into the pan and gently fry over a medium heat for 2 minutes.
- Transfer two ladles of pasta water into the pan with the chorizo and stir vigorously. Once your pasta timer goes off, reserve a generous amount of pasta water and transfer the pasta into the pan with the chorizo. Also add the parsley, 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice at this stage. Stir to get everything incorporated.
- Serve with the reserved crispy chorizo, an optional extra lemon wedge, a sprinkle of parsley and extra chilli flakes if you like things spicy.
Notes
- Incorporate some vegetables such as spinach or baby kale into the prawn and chorizo pasta for added nutrients without compromising taste.
- Utilise the fat released from cooking chorizo to enhance the sauce’s flavour profile, avoiding draining it from the pan.
- Ensure prawns are cooked just until they turn pink to avoid a chewy texture, when overcooked.
Nutrition
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