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Ready in just 20 minutes, this delicious Prawn and Tomato Linguine recipe is the perfect Mediterranean-style pasta dish to enjoy on summer evenings. Bursting with flavour from fresh herbs, just-burst cherry tomatoes and lots of garlic, it’s elegant enough for an at-home date night, but simple enough for everyday!
This prawn pasta recipe is inspired by Desert Island Dishes guest Clodagh Mckenna. In her episode she shared with us that the dish she cooks most often is linguini with prawns, which inspired us to create our own perfect version — we like it with tomatoes and lots of basil.
Garlic and chilli are key to this and it’s all so simple and so good. We think linguine works particularly well and do try to get the best prawns you can. Clodagh recommended the Duchy Organic prawns from Waitrose and we can confirm that they are great!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s a delicious recipe that makes the best of sweet tomatoes, juicy prawns, fresh herbs and pasta.
- It all comes together with not many ingredients, and really quickly. With all recipes like this, success relies on using the very best ingredients you can afford!
- Whilst the base remains the same, it’s a great recipe to swap in other ingredients you may have in your fridge.
Ingredients
Full recipe can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, just scroll down!
Linguine – we like the bite using linguini adds here, but any long pasta shape you can twirl around your fork will work!
Raw prawns – Quality really matters here so if you can’t find fresh ones you’re happy with, choose good quality frozen ones instead. These are often peeled and frozen still on the boats so they tend to be quite fresh.
Fresh garlic – you don’t want to substitute with dried or powdered here as it won’t work with the freshness of the dish.
Dried chilli flakes – a generous pinch of dried chilli flakes add a gentle heat to this mellow sauce.
Cherry tomatoes – in the height of summer, good larger tomatoes, roughly chopped would also work. Ideally on the vine.
Fresh basil– this adds freshness and lovely speckles of green. Dill or parsleywould also work.
Olive oil – we like the flavour of extra virgin here, but a good quality lighter olive oil you’d usually use for cooking would be good too.
Substitutions and Variations
Vegetables – you can bump up the vegetables in this by adding a handful of spinach to the sauce or I also like it with thinly sliced courgette. Sometimes I spiralise a courgette and cook it for the last few minutes when cooking the linguine. Some thinly sliced red pepper would be nice in the sauce but it will take longer to cook.
Tomatoes – ideally you want to use fresh cherry tomatoes but if out of season, you could use a tin of cherry tomatoes. Buy good quality ones, you will notice the difference.
Prawns – any seafood that is very fresh and you can quickly pan fry will work with this recipe. Squid would be good, as would little clams which will open up and release their juices into the sauce as you cook them
Herbs – I also love to use parsley in this recipe instead of basil. Dill would also be delicious.
White wine – adding a splash of white wine will add sharpness and delicious flavour to this pasta. Add it in after you’ve added the tomatoes to the pan over high heat.
Add lemon – add the zest of a lemon with the tomatoes for a citrus flavour or finish the pasta with a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Here’s how to make Prawn Tomato Linguine
Here’s a step by step guide for what you need to do, but you can find the full recipe at the bottom of the page for detailed instructions.
ONE: Get your pasta onto cook in boiling salty water. Then start by butterflying your prawns – just slice a slit down the back of them to open them up a little. Pat them dry with kitchen paper and then season generously with Maldon sea salt
TWO: Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan. Fry the prawns for a couple of minutes on each side until they turn pink and take on a golden hue. Don’t overcook or they turn to rubber.
THREE: Remove from the pan and set aside. To the pan add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds before adding the tomatoes. Season well.
FOUR: Cook on high for a few minutes until the tomatoes start to burst. Squish them with the back of a wooden spoon. Add a ladle of pasta cooking water.
FIVE: Encourage the tomatoes to squish down and mix with the olive oil and pasta cooking water to create a delicious sauce.
SIX: Sprinkle in the chilli flakes and add the prawns back to the sauce.
SEVEN: Once the pasta is al dente, add it to the sauce. Toss it all together, and cook for another minute until the pasta is cooked. Stir in the basil.
EIGHT: Check the seasoning and serve! Add another drizzle of olive oil and some more basil leaves.
Cooking Tips
Frozen prawns: if using frozen prawns, make sure you defrost them in the fridge overnight then pat really dry with kitchen roll (otherwise they will be too). If you are in a hurry, place the prawns into a large bowl and fill with cold water. They defrost in the water and it should take about 10 minutes. Just change the water a few times as the frozen prawns make the water really cold and you need to bring the temperature back up a little with fresh water from the tap. Once they are soft, drain well and pat dry, as above.
Butterflied prawns: I always recommend butterflying prawns. It gives them more surface area so they have a better taste and texture. All you need to do is run a sharp knife gently down the back and carefully open up slightly. It adds a few minutes (at most) to the total time and is so worth it.
Dry prawns: don’t be tempted to skip the bit where you pat the prawns dry with kitchen towel. If they are damp, you will end up stewing the prawns and won’t achieve a golden hue.
Pasta water – this is a key ingredient here as the starchy water forms the base of the sauce when you mix it with the cherry tomatoes.
Frequently Asked Questions
I wouldn’t recommend reheating as the prawns often lose their soft texture. However, don’t waste any leftovers. Transfer to an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat in the microwave until piping hot all the way through or eat cold! Just remove from the fridge 20 minutes before eating so it loses its fridge chill.
Yes, any seafood that is very fresh and you can quickly pan fry will work with this recipe. Squid would be good, as would little clams which will open up and release their juices into the sauce as you cook them. Delicious!
Yes, absolutely. Just make sure they are fully defrosted before using – see cooking tips above.
There are a few ways to tell when prawns are cooked. The most obvious is their colour which will turn from a translucent/grey to a blushing pink colour. You will also see that the tail starts to curl slightly into a ‘C’ shape (be aware – if it curls too much, it is overcooked). The texture will feel slightly firmer, not soft and squishy like a raw prawn.
Absolutely. I like a long shape as I find the sauce coats each strand well but it would work with different shapes, even short ones.
No I wouldn’t recommend it as the pasta loses its texture when frozen then defrosted.
Other recipes you might like:
If you like this prawn and tomato linguine, you will like my Lemon Feta Orzo, Creamy Tomato Orzo Recipe and my Quick Courgette Pasta. Otherwise try my Tomato and Chickpea Pasta with Mozzarella or my Creamy Lemon Butter Pasta Recipe.
Lunch Recipes
Torta Pasqualina
Easy Dessert Recipes
Hot Cross Bun Bread and Butter Pudding
Easy Baking Recipes
Mini Egg Cookies
Easy Dinner Recipes
Asparagus Risotto (Risotto Agli Asparagi)
Made this recipe and loved it?
I would love love LOVE if you could leave a review in the comments… I love hearing what you thought, any changes you made, the stories behind what made you try my recipes. Also, if you share a photo on Instagram, please tag me @desertislanddishes, it makes my day to see you making my creations!
Prawn & Tomato Linguine
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 200 g frozen king prawns, defrosted if using frozen
- 400 g cherry tomatoes
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 small pinch of dried chilli flakes
- 200 g linguine
- Basil to serve
Instructions
- Get your pasta onto cook in boiling salty water. Cook it until very al dente – so about two mins less than the packet says. You want it undercooked by the time you add it to the sauce as you are going to finish cooking it in the sauce at the end
- Then start by butterflying your prawns – just slice a slit down the back of them to open them up a little – it gives them more surface area to soak up the sauce and takes two seconds but I always feel it makes a big difference. Pat them dry with kitchen paper and then season generously with Maldon sea salt
- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan. Fry the prawns for a couple of minutes on each side until they turn pink and take on a golden hue. Don’t overcook or they turn to rubber.
- Remove from the pan and set aside. To the pan add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds before adding the tomatoes. Season well. Cook on high for a few minutes until the tomatoes start to burst. Squish them with the back of a wooden spoon. Add a ladle of pasta cooking water and encourage the tomatoes to squish down and mix with the olive oil and pasta cooking water to create a delicious sauce.
- Sprinkle in the chilli flakes and add the prawns back to the sauce. Once the pasta is al dente, add it to the sauce. Toss it all together, and cook for another minute until the pasta is cooked. Stir in the basil. Check the seasoning. And serve.
- Add another drizzle of olive oil and some more basil leaves.
Straightforward to make and all my family loved it. I find the instructions from Margie are spot on and always turn out very well. In this case I used tinned cherry tomatoes which worked well, and added chilli oil at the end for those who wanted an extra kick.