Cheese and Shrimp Pasta Bake

Name: Cheese and Shrimp Pasta Bake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: 3 fresh Anaheim chiles; 4 tablespoons olive oil (divided); 1 white onion (diced); 3 pounds ripe on the vine tomatoes (washed and quartered); 4 garlic cloves (finely chopped or pressed); 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt (or to taste, divided, plus more to season shrimp); 1 6- ounce can tomato paste; 1 teaspoon crushed dried chiltepín chiles (chile de árbol, or red pepper flakes); 1 pound short and small pasta (such as rigatoni or shells); 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 2 pounds large shrimp (peeled and deveined); Freshly ground black pepper (to taste); 2 cups Mexican crema; 1 cup grated asadero or quesadilla cheese (can also substitute with Monterey Jack or Muenster); 1 1/2 cup grated Oaxaca cheese; 1/2 cup grated añejo cheese or parmesan; 3 to 4 scallions (white and light green parts thinly sliced, for garnish)

Cazuela de Pasta con Camarones y Queso

Recipe Yield

8 servings

Cooking time

1 hour 10 minutes

Rate this recipe

5 from 9 votes

Ingredients

3 fresh Anaheim chiles
4 tablespoons olive oil divided
1 white onion diced
3 pounds ripe on the vine tomatoes washed and quartered
4 garlic cloves finely chopped or pressed
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt or to taste, divided, plus more to season shrimp
1 6- ounce can tomato paste
1 teaspoon crushed dried chiltepín chiles chile de árbol, or red pepper flakes
1 pound short and small pasta such as rigatoni or shells
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 pounds large shrimp peeled and deveined
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 cups Mexican crema
1 cup grated asadero or quesadilla cheese can also substitute with Monterey Jack or Muenster
1 1/2 cup grated Oaxaca cheese
1/2 cup grated añejo cheese or parmesan
3 to 4 scallions white and light green parts thinly sliced, for garnish

To Prepare

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Place the Anaheim chiles on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Put under the broiler for about 10 minutes, flipping a couple times in between, until charred on all sides. Immediately transfer the charred chiles to a plastic bag and seal tightly to sweat them for at least 5 minutes. Take the chiles out of the bag, let cool slightly, then peel off the skin and remove the stems and seeds. Coarsely chop the chiles and set aside.
Heat an oven-proof heavy bottomed skillet or casserole over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil and heat until the oil is rippling. Add the onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until it is translucent and starts to brown at the edges.
While the onion is cooking, add the tomatoes to a blender. Pulse in the blender until the tomatoes are crushed but are still a little chunky. Set aside until ready to use.
Add the garlic and chopped Anaheim chiles to the pan with the onion, stir, and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook for another couple minutes until the garlic starts to brown. Add the tomato paste, stir it into the vegetables, and let it cook and season for another minute. Pour in the crushed tomatoes from the blender and stir making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to scrape up any browned bits. Season with the remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt and the crushed dried chiles. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes until the sauce has thickened and is flavorful. Turn off the heat when ready.
Set a rack on the upper third of the oven and preheat to 450°F.
Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package instructions for al dente. Drain and set aside.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Melt the butter and the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. When melted, sizzling, and hot, add the shrimp in a couple batches and season with salt and pepper to taste. Saute a couple minutes until the shrimp are just cooked. Transfer the shrimp to a bowl or plate and repeat with the remaining shrimp. Chop half of the shrimp, leaving half whole to top the pasta.
Add the pasta to the sauce along with the chopped shrimp and the crema and toss to coat. Top with the remaining whole shrimp and cover with the grated asadero, Oaxaca, and añejo cheeses. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the top is bubbling and golden brown. Sprinkle the top with scallions.

Comments

68comments inCheese and Shrimp Pasta Bake

Cecilia Bernal

Jan 26

Pati, I made this dish today. It came out delicious. Bought everything it required. I love this dish. I always watch your cooking series when it comes out. It was not difficult to make. You made it easy to follow the instructions. Also my husband loved the dish.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Jan 27
  
  Yay! So happy you guys loved this pasta as much as I do!
  
NoNo

Sep 29

This should be one of your outstanding dishes, am trying it soon! Kudos from El Paso!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Oct 05
  
  Let me know how you like it 😉
  
Lisa Prendez-Ridino

Sep 26

Pati! This pasta dish brings me so much happiness and tonight I’m with my best friend and we are going to make this dish together! Thank you for this amazing recipe! More please:)

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Oct 05
  
  So glad you made this pasta Lisa, how did you guys like it?
  
Theresa

Sep 12

Just watched Pati make this on TV. Looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it!

What could I substitute for the Mexican Crema? Heavy Cream, half & half?

Any mainstream cheeses I could use, or are the ones listed available at a regular grocery store? TIA

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Sep 20
  
  A great substitute would be sour cream Theresa, and for the topping, just use any melty cheese that you like, for example Mozzarella 🙂
  
JC Riley

Jul 29

cant wait to assemble this winner thanks

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Aug 20
  
  Hope you’ll enjoy it!
  
JC Riley

Jul 29

Yummmmmmmooooooooo!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Aug 20
  
  Yay!
  
Ida

Jul 08

Thank you so much for sharing your recipes without requiring credit card info or signing up for a annual membership. I enjoy your happy spirit and bright smiles while you are on these culinary adventures.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Nov 06
  
  It is my pleasure Ida, thanks so much for your message!
  
Ann

Jun 21

This recipe is very well written. It’s very precise and easy to follow every step. I’m going to try this dish, but I wonder if I can find crema and Oaxaca cheese?

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Jul 03
  
  Try your local Hispanic or Latin Market Ann; if still you don’t find them you can substitute with sour cream and mozzarella cheese 🙂
  
Rose Prince

May 30

Dearest Pati, I just have to tell you, that my husband absolutely loves watching your show with me! The only bad thing is that it makes him so hungry for everything you make, that he always wants me to get in the kitchen and make the latest thing we watched. We just saw you make the Shrimp pasta bake and he said he wants me to make it for his birthday dinner (which is in a couple of weeks), along with the chick pea pound cake. I promised I’d make it for him, but I couldn’t find the recipe for that pound cake on your website. Can you tell me how to find it? Because he really wants that for his birthday cake. Thank you for all your delicious recipes. You are a very talented cook. I’m a retired caterer, so I know what I’m talking about! Love you, Pati!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Nov 25
  
  Hola Rose! I am so sorry I saw your message this late! I hope your husband had a great birthday, and here is the recipe for the Chickpea Poundcake, maybe for Christmas? Hugs to both.
  
Drina

Aug 27

Absolutely fabulous! I added scallops with the shrimp and it was wonderful. Your recipes are great! Recipe I will cook often.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Sep 05
  
  Yay, so glad you liked this pasta so much Drina!
  
Lindsay

May 21

Would a cast iron Dutch oven be OK for this recipe? I don’t have a skillet that is oven proof for that high temperature.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  May 25
  
  Absolutely Lindsay, go for it 😉
  
Ron & Mike Seitz

Mar 18

!Hola! Pati, great recipe that we thoroughly enjoyed and will make again. We are Expats now living in Ajijic, Jalisco and don’t get CreateTV where we used to watch you, so now we rely on your website for recipes. Keep the great recipes coming for all to enjoy! Luckily we have great fish mongers here Lakeside so will be making more of your seafood recipes along with others. Muchas gracias.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Mar 18
  
  Thanks to you guys! Ajijic is such a great place, keep cooking and having fun 😉
  
Jim & Georgia

Nov 27

Dear sweet Pati, I finally tried this recipe, and used chiltepins for the first time! Wow! The richness of flavor – yum! We grow lots of veggies in our backyard, including Anaheim and pablano chiles, tomatoes, tomatillos and so much more. This recipe came together fast, thanks to home canned tomatoes and a husband who harvests the chiles by fire-roasting, peeling and chopping all the extras at the end of the growing season. Then we squeeze them into ice cube trays, bag the cubes and have them ready in the freezer to use throughout the year. We cut the recipe in half and I used only the Dutch oven to fry the shrimp and make the sauce, a one-pot meal. Love that, and the dish was fabulous!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Dec 28
  
  This is awesome Jim and Georgia! Awesome way to preserve your chilies, bravo!
  
Sheila

Nov 05

My family and I love this recipe. I love making it for our Sunday dinner. Thank you for the lip smacking, eyes rolling to the back of the head awesome food. It makes my day when that happens.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Jan 02
  
  You made MY day with this comment, thanks so very much Sheila!
  
Johnny

May 05

A very good and tasty recipe. I’ll make it on week-end. Thanks a lot.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  May 10
  
  Yay, hope you enjoyed the pasta Johnny 😉
  
teeveedee

Apr 25

Absolutely wonderfully yummy dish. The recipe itself is a bit involved; this is not a quick, spur of the moment dish. Take your time with it and enjoy the process, the pay off is well worth the effort.

I do have one issue with the recipe above; Pati does not specify the dimensions of her cooking dish. Whatever it is, it must be large to accommodate those ingredients. I use a 10″ wide, 3″ deep cast iron skillet and it strains to hold 2/3 the specified quantities.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Apr 25
  
  So glad you liked this pasta, and thank you so much for the observation, very useful for everyone 🙂
  
Nora Keough

Feb 26

Outstanding recipe Pati/ Yum

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Mar 07
  
  Gracias Nora, glad you liked it 😉
  
AzDoll

Nov 24

I simply adore you, especially when you sample your food and say mmmm!
I’m a pescatarian and look forward to making this as well as other dishes requiring seafood!
Thank-You for your wonderful show and your love of food and life.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Dec 02
  
  Thanks so much for the sweet words! You are going to find so many recipes with seafood here, but let me share with you one of my favorites first, I hope you like it 😉 http://patijinich.com/pati_2020/rodrigo-style-fish/
  
Margo AZ

Sep 01

WOW! My husband and I watched your episode making this dish. Looked so good we decided to make it. WOW! is best said!
I immediately bought both of your cookbooks! I even ordered one for my sister too! Excited to try other dishes & recipes!! Thank you for sharing these with us!!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Sep 05
  
  Thanks so much for this very sweet message Margo, glad to read you got the cookbooks. As we speak, I am working on the new one; we hope that it will be ready in the next couple of months, yay 😉
  
Vicky

Jun 04

Made this recipe after watching the episode on PBS. We enjoyed it so much and will make it again. Only cheese I couldn’t find was anejo. Used Parmesan and don’t think it changed the flavor too much.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Jun 08
  
  Hey Vicky, so glad to hear you guys enjoyed this pasta bake. Parmesan is fine and next time you can also use queso fresco. Enjoy!
  
Alma I.

May 30

Pati,
Thank you for such a delicious pasta! My dad’s from Sinaloa, so I HAVE to try all season 8’s recipes. This has SO much flavor & the chiles, tomatoes & all the quesos balance eachother out. Would you pick asadero or quesadilla cheese? I couldnt pick, so I used jack🤷‍♀️. Mil gracias. I love your show & your techniques!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Jun 01
  
  Asadero and quesadilla are very similar Alma, you cannot go wrong with any of them. I would do Asadero the next time 😉 Thanks for tuning in!
  
Marikyn Rivas

May 18

What chiles can I use instead of the california? I cant find any where I live.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  May 20
  
  You can go ahead and use Poblanos Marikyn, following the same instructions to char, peel and chop. Good luck!
  
John D

May 17

I want to thank you so much for this recipe. I am not an accomplished cook. I saw your episode and it looked so good I wanted to give it a try. My family and I enjoyed it so much. I have much more confidence now and will be cooking much more. I certainly will be watching to get more recipes for the future. Thanks again.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  May 20
  
  Awesome John! So glad to read you feel confident now to keep on cooking, go for it and let me know if you have any questions 😉
  
Joseph Garcia

May 04

I’ve made this dish twice now. My teenage sons (17 & 19) LOVE it! Thank you.
P.S. I just got your cookbook too. Hoping to create memories with my family like my grandma did with mine growing up in LA.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  May 04
  
  If the teens approve, it must be good! Thanks Joseph, enjoy the book 😉
  
Markus Buck

Apr 25

Pati,
Love your series on Sinaloa. My wife is from Mazatlán and it is great to see so many familiar places, as well as some places we are excited try the next time we go.
The shrimp pasta bake was wonderfuly delicious and I’m going to make it for my suegra the next time in Mazatlán!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Apr 27
  
  Great idea Markus, I’m sure your suegra will be very impressed, good luck 😉
  
Karleen

Apr 19

Hello
I cannot wait to make this yummy pasta dish. I may need some help with some of the ingredients (taking my boyfriend to SW Detroit). We saw this episode and we both immediately became hungry..lol. Stay safe

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Apr 27
  
  Hope you find everything you need Karleen 😉 You guys stay strong and safe as well!
  
Marlon Murillo

Apr 11

Pati,
Thank you so much for all your wonderful recipes. This was so yummy. I just love the way you cook!!!
Gracias

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Apr 19
  
  Gracias Marlon, very happy to read you liked this pasta. Stay safe and strong!
  
Jasmin K Flores

Apr 10

We too are in quarantine and have decided to make several of your recipes. First was your Birria recipe (which was delicious) and tonight was this dish! We didn’t have enough tomatoes so we improvised and made some green sauce with tomatillos! So delicious 🙂 Thank you for cooking such wonderful food.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Apr 19
  
  Thanks Jasmin, so glad to read you are spending these difficult times cooking more, stay strong! Making the sauce with tomatillos was a great idea, thanks for sharing 😉
  
Nancy Olson

Apr 07

We are staying home now due to this virus and I have challenged myself to try new recipes a few times a week. We saw your show and how you made this dish so, of course I had to try. Tonight I made it and this was wonderful!! We go shrimping every spring so we had our own shrimp. I made according to your recipe except I add fresh cilantro!! We love this dish. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Apr 09
  
  Thanks Nancy for giving this recipe a try, I can only imagine how delicious it came out with your own caught shrimp, yum!
  
Tom W NRH TX

Feb 09

The kitchen is mine on the weekends and I have been wanting to make this dish for quite some tome. I’m thankful my wife and boys allow me to try new things This recipe was very tasty and fun to make. This recipe will easily serve more than eight. Next time I may add red bell peppers- Thanks Pati,

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Feb 10
  
  That would be a great addition Tom, thanks for trying this recipe!
  
Erik

Jan 26

We just made your cheese and shrimp pasta bake. It’s delicious! We enjoy your show very much and your recipes even more. Cheers from Chicago!

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Jan 31
  
  Thank you Erik!
  
mary zella

Jan 25

PATI,
I never miss your show I will not go out till I see it. Thank you for sharing your family with us we have watched them grow up. I made the cheese and shrimp pasta bake it is the best. Pati just keep on giving us good things to cook.
May God bless you and your family.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Jan 31
  
  Thanks for the kind words Mary!
  
Ida Gonzalez-Garza

Jan 12

We love watching your show! Thank you for sharing your love of food, country & family w/us! I look forward to future cooking shows & excursions around the country.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Jan 13
  
  I can’t wait to show you more of Mexico, Ida!
  
Kristin Norton

Dec 26

I just love you Pati! Thank your for sharing your gifts and family with us, and most especially the wonderful and varied cultures of Mexico, our great neighbor to the south.
Happy Holidays to you and yours Pati. Tonight I am feeding my 18 year old son and his 4 friends the shrimp, Anaheim chili, pasta dish you prepared today. They are going to love it! Muchos gracias.

1. Pati Jinich
  
  Dec 27
  
  Oh thank you so much, Kristin! I hope everyone loves the pasta.

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