I have been known to like a little kick to my food. Â I love a burst of flavor and a little heat. Â The first time I had arrabbiata sauce was while I was in college and working at Olive Garden. Â I was pretty much in heaven. Â I loved that sweet tomato paired with the spicy crushed red pepper. Â Since then I have ordered this sauce at numerous restaurants and always enjoyed every last bite. Â I like it with shrimp - but feel free to swap out the shrimp for -Â pre-cooked chicken - or even ground beef or turkey for a flavorful meat sauce.
We are talking freezer meals this week on the blog.  So often we think of freezer meals as being tater tot casserole or something else yucky that we ate as kids.  But pasta sauce is an EXCELLENT freezer.  You can freeze nearly all of them with the exception of cream sauce (like alfredo) - that one is best made fresh.  But tomato sauces and pesto sauces freeze like a dream!
The easiest way to freeze these sauces is to just make up a big big batch! Â Double or triple the recipe and have one helping for dinner and freeze the leftovers. Â You should really use this method when making any freezable meal - skip the day of shopping and prep and just fill your freezer as you go!
I prefer to freeze these sauces in a gallon sized freezer bags - they store easily and require no cleanup.
To prepare this meal from frozen to ready - let the sauce thaw overnight in the fridge. Â Then transfer to a stock pot and simmer until heat through and shrimp is opaque and pink. Â In the mean time boil a noodle of your choice. I prefer penne, but this pairs perfectly with fettuccine and bow tie as well!
Top with a little parmesan cheese and you have a quick dinner with no fuss.
Spicy Marinara (Arrabbiata Sauce) with Shrimp
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ small onion minced
- 1 28 ounces can crushed tomatoes
- 2 15 ounces can tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
- ½ teaspoon chicken boiullon
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 12 large uncooked shrimp cleaned and de-veined
- splash of heavy cream
- 16 ounces cooked pasta penne
Instructions
- In a stock pot heat olive oil over medium heat.
- Add onions and garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Stir in crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce.
- Add basil, boiullon, parsley, and salt.
- Add shrimp to the mixture and bring to a simmer. Cook until shrimp is translucent and pink.
- Remove from heat and add a splash of cream. Stir until combined.
- Serve over cooked pasta.
- **For freezing, prepare to step 4, and add cream. Cool. Add shrimp and transfer to a gallon sized ziplock bag. When preparing from frozen - thaw overnight in fridge. Transfer to a stock pot. Bring to a simmer and cook until shrimp is opaque and pink. Serve over cooked pasta.
Erin V says
sounds delicious and looks beautiful- like Susan suggested, I'll top with red pepper flakes
Susan Kienzle says
Hi Kadee,
Your recipe (Spicy Marinara (Arrabbiata Sauce) with Shrimp) sounded sOOOO good as described, and being a spicy sauce lover like you, I was anxious to try it.
But looking through the recipe, I see no mention of any red pepper flakes or anything spicy at all.
did you forget to list the "spice" in the recipe?