No scale needed! This effortless, gut-friendly one-pot wonder cooks the penne right in its own savory sauce. Loaded with tender shrimp, garlic-infused oil, and fresh spinach, it delivers maximum comfort with minimal cleanup and zero high-FODMAP fuss. Ready in under 15 minutes!
🛠 Tools Needed
- 1 large skillet or pan (with a lid for simmering the pasta)
- 1 spatula or wooden spoon (for stirring)
- 1 measuring cup (standard cup or your favorite mug/cup to use as the measure)
- 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon
- 1 knife and cutting board (for chopping the spring onions)
- 1 colander or plate (to temporarily hold the cooked shrimp)
🛒 Ingredients
- Penne pasta: 2 full cups (approx. 200 grams).
- Frozen pre-seasoned garlic shrimp: Most packages are 250g or 500g. Use half of a 500g pack or 1 whole 250g pack (make sure they are fully thawed and patted dry with a paper towel).
- Fresh spinach: 3 large handfuls (spinach shrinks drastically, so don’t be afraid to fill up the pan).
- Spring onions: 2 pieces (washed thoroughly under cold running water).
- Olive oil: 1 to 2 tablespoons (for frying the shrimp and spring onions).
- Ready-made béchamel sauce: 1 barely filled cup (leave a small finger-width space below the rim).
- Philadelphia cream cheese: 2 generous, heaping tablespoons.
- Warm water: 1.5 cups (1 full cup + 1 cup filled just past the halfway mark).
- Herbs & Spices: About ½ to 1 teaspoon of dried basil and oregano, a pinch of dried dill, a pinch of ground nutmeg, and a pinch of white pepper.
- Flavor booster (instead of salt): A pinch of Aromat OR a small splash (about 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon) of Asian fish sauce.
🍳 Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prep the Spring Onions: Wash the 2 spring onions thoroughly under cold running water to remove any dirt. Place them on your cutting board. Using your knife, slice off and discard the very root ends. Chop the spring onions into thin rings. Important: Separate them into two piles—keep the white and light-green parts for cooking, and set the dark green parts aside on a plate for garnishing at the end.
- Cook the Shrimp: Place your large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the thawed garlic-seasoned shrimp and cook them for about 2 to 3 minutes until they turn pink and opaque. Using your spatula, scoop the shrimp out of the pan and place them on a clean plate, but leave the garlic-infused oil and juices behind in the pan.
- Sauté the Spring Onion: Turn the heat down to medium. Add the white and light-green parts of the chopped spring onions into the remaining oil and shrimp juices in the pan. Sauté (fry) them gently for about 30 seconds until they start to soften and smell fragrant.
- Add Pasta, Liquid & Flavor: Into the same pan, add 2 full cups of penne pasta, 1 barely filled cup of béchamel sauce, 1.5 cups of warm water, the dried basil, oregano, dill, ground nutmeg, white pepper, and your choice of Aromat or Asian fish sauce. Turn the heat up until the mixture comes to a gentle boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to low, put the lid on slain (slightly open), and let it simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Stir it regularly with your wooden spoon so the pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. (If it looks too dry while simmering, just add a small splash of extra water).
- Melt Cheese & Add Spinach: Turn off the heat completely. Drop 2 generous, heaping tablespoons of Philadelphia cream cheese into the pan and stir it well until it melts into a smooth, creamy sauce. Take your 3 large handfuls of fresh spinach and add them to the pan in small batches, stirring gently until the spinach shrinks and wilts completely into the pasta. (Taste the sauce here: if needed, adjust with a tiny bit more Aromat or fish sauce).
- Serve: Add the cooked garlic shrimp back into the pan and stir everything together gently so they warm back up. Spoon the pasta into bowls and garnish the top with the dark green parts of the spring onions that you set aside earlier.
Enjoy your meal (and your leftover bowl tomorrow)!
💡 Tips & Variations
- Protein Swaps (Low-FODMAP): Allergic to shrimp? Easily replace the shrimp with tender, juicy chicken thigh pieces (cut into bite-sized pieces, seasoned with a little garlic oil or allowed herbs, and sautéed first in the same way) or skip the protein altogether for a quick vegetarian meal.
- Cheese Lovers: For an extra decadent finish, serve your pasta with a generous sprinkle of shredded cheese on top right before serving.
- Garlic Flavor: Since the frozen shrimp are already seasoned with garlic, using regular olive oil for cooking ensures you get all that wonderful flavor without adding extra high-FODMAP ingredients.