
This pasta is so good, I could eat it the next three nights! The shrimp is sauteed in butter and olive oil and seasoned with paprika and crushed red pepper. The sauce is as simple as taking a jar of your favorite marinara sauce and adding a little heavy cream to it. I wasn't quite sure what to name this dish, cause I used two different recipes that I found and kind of made up the measurements of each of the ingredients. One title had the name Betsy in it, and penne wouldn't work because I used rigatoni pasta. Spicy Rigatoni with Shrimp it is. Sometimes, combining two different recipes is the way to go. One could have more seasoning than the other but have the same type of ingredients. Think the only thing that could possibly make this even better, is some bacon or pancetta.
Tomorrow is Friday, finally and I am looking forward to it. Cook, clean, eat repeat. That is how my weekends roll.
How to make Penne Alla Betsy
To print the full recipe please see the recipe card below.
Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook the penne until al dente (firm yet tender). Drain and set aside.
Begin by peeling and deveining the shrimp and rinsing them under cold water. Season the shrimp with paprika and crushed red pepper.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. When the pan is hot, add the shrimp. Stir and cook on both sides until just starting to turn opaque, about 2 minutes. Remove to a plate and allow to cool slightly.
In a large skillet over medium heat, add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the garlic and onion. Stir to combine and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes.
Pour the wine into the pan if using. Stir and allow it to evaporate about 45 seconds. Pour in the marinara sauce and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to low. Pour in the cream. Mmmm. Stir well to combine; reduce the heat to simmer.
And now for the fun part: remove the tails from the shrimp, chop the shrimp into medium-size pieces and add them to the sauce a long with the cooked pasta. Stir gently to combine.
Other Recipes to Try
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If you’ve tried this Penne Alla Betsy or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out. Snap a picture and upload it to Pinterest.



Spicy Rigatoni alla Shrimp
- Cook Time: 40 min
- Total Time: 40 min
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Description
This pasta is so good, I could eat it the next three nights! The shrimp is sauteed in butter and olive oil and seasoned with paprika and crushed red pepper.
Ingredients
- Salt
- 1 pound penne pasta
- 1 ½ pounds large shrimp
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- ½ cup white wine, optional or chicken broth
- 1 16oz jar of marinara sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp of Paprika
- ½ tsp of crushed red pepper or more depending on how spicy you like it
Instructions
- Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook the penne until al dente (firm yet tender). Drain and set aside.
- Begin by peeling and deveining the shrimp and rinsing them under cold water. Season the shrimp with paprika and crushed red pepper.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. When the pan is hot, add the shrimp. Stir and cook on both sides until just starting to turn opaque, about 2 minutes. Remove to a plate and allow to cool slightly.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the garlic and onion. Stir to combine and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes.
- Pour the wine into the pan if using. Stir and allow it to evaporate about 45 seconds. Pour in the marinara sauce and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to low. Pour in the cream. Mmmm. Stir well to combine; reduce the heat to simmer.
- And now for the fun part: remove the tails from the shrimp, chop the shrimp into medium-size pieces and add them to the sauce a long with the cooked pasta. Stir gently to combine.
- Category: Easy
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 314
- Sugar: 2
- Fat: 18
- Saturated Fat: 9
- Unsaturated Fat: 6
- Trans Fat: 1
- Carbohydrates: 20
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 25
Keywords: penne alla betsy

Jenna says
Hi Tee, I updated the recipe instructions!
Tee says
The recipe never mentioned when to add the pasta, but I added it after the sauce was almost reduced. I only had medium shrimp so I used those instead and I didn’t cut them.
I added shrimp and a little Cajun seasoning to the sauce since the shrimp were a bit bland.
Also the recipe asked for marinara sauce but in the recipe it said tomato sauce...I worked it out and it was good
Jenna says
Thanks Karen!
Karen says
Tried this last week, making it again today. My husband and I absolutely loved it!
★★★★★