Seafood Pasta
A big, generous seafood pasta loaded with crab, pipis and prawns in a light white wine, garlic and chilli sauce. This is my dad’s recipe and it’s made for sharing
Serves
6
Prep time
15 minutes
Cooking time
25 minutes
Looking for more pasta recipes? Try my Mediterranean Tuna Pasta or Tomato & Mozzarealla Baked Rigatoni
Helpful Tips
Storage
This pasta is best enjoyed fresh, but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 day. Avoid freezing, as the seafood and pasta texture won’t hold up well.
.svg)
Substitutions
- Crabs: Omit entirely and increase prawns.
- Pipis: Use mussels.
- White wine: Replace with fish stock
- Spaghettini: Use spaghetti, linguine, or your preferred long pasta.
- Chilli: Adjust to taste or omit for a mild version.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve with lemon wedges, extra parsley, and a big handful of toasted breadcrumbs.
- Pair with a simple green salad or grilled vegetables.
- Add a side of crusty bread to soak up the sauce.
Helpful Tips
Storage
This pasta is best enjoyed fresh, but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 day. Avoid freezing, as the seafood and pasta texture won’t hold up well.
Substitutions
- Crabs: Omit entirely and increase prawns.
- Pipis: Use mussels.
- White wine: Replace with fish stock
- Spaghettini: Use spaghetti, linguine, or your preferred long pasta.
- Chilli: Adjust to taste or omit for a mild version.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve with lemon wedges, extra parsley, and a big handful of toasted breadcrumbs.
- Pair with a simple green salad or grilled vegetables.
- Add a side of crusty bread to soak up the sauce.
Ingredients
For the Seafood & Pasta:
- 4 whole blue swimmer crabs, cleaned and halved
- 200 g crab meat
- 1 kg pipis, rinsed
- 250 g large prawns, peeled and deveined
- 500 g spaghettini
For the Aromatics & Sauce:
- 1 long red chilli, thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- ¼ red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 punnet (250 g) cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup white wine or fish stock
- ½ cup parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp butter
- 3–4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- ½ cup pasta water (reserved)
To Serve:
- Lemon wedges
- ½ cup toasted breadcrumbs (or more to taste)
Nutritional Information
(
per serving, based on
6
)
Nutrient
Amount
Calories
515
kcal
Protein
35
g
Carbohydrates
57
g
Fat
15
g
Fibre
2.5
g
Nutritional information is approximate and provided as a general reference only. Actual values may vary. This is not a substitute for professional dietary advice.
Directions
- Heat a large, deep pan over medium–high heat with a splash of olive oil. Add the crabs, cut-side down, and cook for 2–3 minutes until lightly browned. Remove and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add another splash of olive oil, then add the garlic, onion, and chilli. Cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring, until softened and fragrant.
- Add the pipis, stirring to coat in the aromatics. Pour in the white wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cover and cook for 2–3 minutes, or just until the pipis open (discard any that don’t).
- Add the cherry tomatoes and half the parsley. Cook for 2–3 minutes until the tomatoes soften and begin to collapse, releasing their juices.
- Remove the pipis from the pan and set aside. Keep all the cooking juices, aromatics and cherry tomatoes in the pan.
- Add the prawns and cook briefly for 1–2 minutes, just until they turn opaque. Remove and set aside.
- Return the crabs to the pan along with any reserved pipi juices. Let everything warm through gently for about 1 minute.
- Meanwhile, toast the breadcrumbs in a dry pan over medium heat until golden and crisp. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to the boil. Cook the spaghettini 2 minutes shy of al dente. Reserve ½ cup pasta water, then drain.
- Add the spaghettini to the pan along with the crab meat and butter. Toss gently over medium heat until the butter melts and the sauce coats the pasta, adding a splash of pasta water as needed until the sauce becomes glossy and emulsified.
- Return the prawns and pipis to the pan, tossing gently just to warm through (do not overcook).
- Season with salt and pepper, fold through the remaining parsley, and divide among bowls. Finish with toasted breadcrumbs, extra parsley, and lemon wedges.
Ingredients
For the Seafood & Pasta:
- 4 whole blue swimmer crabs, cleaned and halved
- 200 g crab meat
- 1 kg pipis, rinsed
- 250 g large prawns, peeled and deveined
- 500 g spaghettini
For the Aromatics & Sauce:
- 1 long red chilli, thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- ¼ red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 punnet (250 g) cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup white wine or fish stock
- ½ cup parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp butter
- 3–4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- ½ cup pasta water (reserved)
To Serve:
- Lemon wedges
- ½ cup toasted breadcrumbs (or more to taste)
Nutritional Information
(
per serving, based on
4 servings
)
Nutrient
Amount
Calories
515
kcal
Protein
35
g
Carbohydrates
57
g
Fat
15
g
Fibre
2.5
g
Nutritional information is approximate and provided as a general reference only. Actual values may vary. This is not a substitute for professional dietary advice.
Directions
- Heat a large, deep pan over medium–high heat with a splash of olive oil. Add the crabs, cut-side down, and cook for 2–3 minutes until lightly browned. Remove and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add another splash of olive oil, then add the garlic, onion, and chilli. Cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring, until softened and fragrant.
- Add the pipis, stirring to coat in the aromatics. Pour in the white wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cover and cook for 2–3 minutes, or just until the pipis open (discard any that don’t).
- Add the cherry tomatoes and half the parsley. Cook for 2–3 minutes until the tomatoes soften and begin to collapse, releasing their juices.
- Remove the pipis from the pan and set aside. Keep all the cooking juices, aromatics and cherry tomatoes in the pan.
- Add the prawns and cook briefly for 1–2 minutes, just until they turn opaque. Remove and set aside.
- Return the crabs to the pan along with any reserved pipi juices. Let everything warm through gently for about 1 minute.
- Meanwhile, toast the breadcrumbs in a dry pan over medium heat until golden and crisp. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to the boil. Cook the spaghettini 2 minutes shy of al dente. Reserve ½ cup pasta water, then drain.
- Add the spaghettini to the pan along with the crab meat and butter. Toss gently over medium heat until the butter melts and the sauce coats the pasta, adding a splash of pasta water as needed until the sauce becomes glossy and emulsified.
- Return the prawns and pipis to the pan, tossing gently just to warm through (do not overcook).
- Season with salt and pepper, fold through the remaining parsley, and divide among bowls. Finish with toasted breadcrumbs, extra parsley, and lemon wedges.
Watch How to Make It
See More Pasta Recipes
Join for Exclusive Resources
Meal plans
Premium recipes
Weekly email from me
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Seafood
Easter
Christmas
Pasta