![Frutti Di Mare recipe on a platter.](https://www.spoonforkbacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/frutti-di-mare-recipe.jpg)
There are so many things I love about Frutti Di Mare, or spicy seafood pasta. Not only is it a flavor packed pasta dish filled with some of my favorite seafood, but it’s also so much easier to make than you would think.
It’s a really great and impressive dish to serve guests. They’ll think you slaved over the stove for hours, when in fact it takes just 30 minutes to create this beautiful dish!
What is Frutti Di Mare?
Frutti Di Mare literally translates to “fruit of the sea” (referring to seafood) It’s a popular Italian pasta dish made with spaghetti, arrabiata sauce and filled with a variety of seafood such as (but not limited to) mussels, clams, shrimp, scallops, squid, and/or octopus.
In our version we use bucatini, a homemade arrabiata sauce (spicy marinara sauce), black mussels, shrimp, squid, bay scallops, and finish the dish with fresh basil leaves.
How to Make Frutti Di Mare
Ingredients
![Frutti Di Mare ingredients all laid out.](https://www.spoonforkbacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/frutti-di-mare-ingredients-scaled.jpg)
Process
Pasta
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add a small handful of salt and pasta. Boil pasta until al dente. Strain pasta into a colander and rinse in cool water until pasta is no longer hot.
![Cooked pasta in a colander.](https://www.spoonforkbacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/frutti-di-mare-process-001.jpg)
Spicy Seafood Sauce
- Place a large, high sided sauté pan over medium heat. Add oil and sliced garlic and cook.
- Add mussels and toss together with oil and garlic.
![Garlic cooking in a pot with oil.](https://www.spoonforkbacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/frutti-di-mare-process-2.jpg)
![Mussels cooking in a pot with garlic and oil to make Frutti Di Mare.](https://www.spoonforkbacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/frutti-di-mare-process-3.jpg)
- Increase heat to medium-high, add wine and cover pan with lid. Keep pan covered until mussels open up. Remove lid.
- Add shrimp and cover again until shrimp turns opaque. Remove lid once again.
![Cooked mussels in a pot with oil and garlic.](https://www.spoonforkbacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/frutti-di-mare-process-4.jpg)
![Mussels with shrimp in a pot to make seafood pasta.](https://www.spoonforkbacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/frutti-di-mare-process-5.jpg)
- Add bay scallops and squid bodies and tentacles. Cover one last time until tentacles curl. Season with salt and pepper and toss together.
- Remove lid and add sauce into the seafood mixture.
![Seafood being cooked in a pot to make frutti di mare.](https://www.spoonforkbacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/frutti-di-mare-process-6.jpg)
![Frutti di mare in a pot about to be stirred together.](https://www.spoonforkbacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/frutti-di-mare-process-7.jpg)
- Stir together. Lower heat to medium and simmer sauce.
![Frutti di Mare simmering in a pot.](https://www.spoonforkbacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/frutti-di-mare-process-0012.jpg)
Assembly
- Add cooked pasta to the pan.
- Toss together until everything is evenly coated.
![Frutti di mare with pasta being added to the pot.](https://www.spoonforkbacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/frutti-di-mare-process-9.jpg)
![Frutti di mare recipe in a pot.](https://www.spoonforkbacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/frutti-di-mare-process-10.jpg)
- Finish pasta with fresh basil leaves and serve.
![Frutti Di Mare recipe on a platter with basil leaves on the side.](https://www.spoonforkbacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/frutti-di-mare-pasta.jpg)
Tools You Will Need
- cutting board
- knife
- large pot
- liquid measuring cup
- wooden spoon
- tongs
- large sauté pan with tall sides or Dutch oven
Tips and Tricks for Success
- Don’t add the seafood to the pan all at once. You’ll notice we add the seafood in stages in our recipe. We do this because each type of seafood cooked up differently, so to prevent them from overcooking we add them according to how quickly they cook up.
- Don’t overdo it on the wine. Some of the seafood we use (like mussels and scallops) release a lot of liquid once they cook up, so you want to add just enough wine in the beginning to deglaze the pan and help the mussels steam and open up. If you add too much wine, the alcohol won’t be able to cook off and the sauce in the end will be too thin and unable to coat the overall dish well.
Variations
- Change up the type of pasta depending on personal preference! We’ve used thicker pastas like fettuccine and pappardelle as well as shaped pastas like fusilli and cavatappi and have loved them all!
- Switch up the seafood you use! Other great options we’ve used are: fresh crab meat, manila clams, octopus, sea scallops instead of bay scallops, etc!
- If spicy isn’t your thing you can definitely use a simple marinara sauce.
Wine Recommendations for Frutti Di Mare
Although red sauce pasta dishes are traditionally served with red wine, we actually prefer enjoying this dish with a nice crisp pinot grigio. The fruit forward flavor of pinot grigio goes really well with the variety of seafood in the dish.
We also enjoy serving our frutti di mare with a refreshing and crisp rosé which also goes well with the shellfish and doesn’t combat the heavy garlic flavors.
![Frutti Di Mare served onto two plates.](https://www.spoonforkbacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/frutti-di-mare-pasta-recipe.jpg)
More Delicious Pasta Recipes You Will Love
![Frutti Di Mare recipe on a platter with basil leaves on the side.](https://www.spoonforkbacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/frutti-di-mare-recipe-card-150x150.jpg)
Frutti Di Mare
INGREDIENTS
pasta
- 1 pound bucatini
spicy seafood sauce
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 thinly sliced garlic cloves
- 1 pound black mussels, scrubbed and beards removed
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 pound extra large shrimp, peeled, deveined with tails intact
- 1/4 pound bay scallops
- 1/4 pound squid bodies (thinly sliced) and tentacles
- 1 recipe arrabiata sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
garnish
- fresh basil leaves
INSTRUCTIONS
pasta
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.Add a small handful of salt and add pasta. Boil pasta, stirring occasionally until al dente. Strain pasta into a colander and gently rinse in cool water until pasta is no longer hot. Set aside.
spicy seafood sauce
- Place a large, high sided sauté pan over medium heat. Add oil and sliced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add mussels and toss together with oil and garlic.
- Increase heat to medium-high, add wine and cover pan with lid. Keep pan covered for about 2 minutes or until mussels open up.
- Remove lid, add shrimp and cover again for about 2 to 3 minutes or until shrimp turns opaque.
- Remove lid once again, add bay scallops and squid bodies and tentacles. Cover one last time for about 30 seconds to 1 minute or until tentacles curl. Season with salt and pepper and toss together.
- Remove lid and stir sauce into the seafood mixture.
- Lower heat to medium and simmer sauce for about 2 minutes.
assembly
- Add cooked pasta to the pan and toss together until everything is evenly coated.
- Finish pasta with fresh basil leaves and serve.
NOTES
- Don’t add the seafood to the pan all at once. You’ll notice we add the seafood in stages in our recipe. We do this because each type of seafood cooked up differently, so to prevent them from overcooking we add them according to how quickly they cook up.
- Don’t overdo it on the wine. Some of the seafood we use (like mussels and scallops) release a lot of liquid once they cook up, so you want to add just enough wine in the beginning to deglaze the pan and help the mussels steam and open up. If you add too much wine, the alcohol won’t be able to cook off and the sauce in the end will be too thin and unable to coat the overall dish well.
Did you make this recipe? We want to see!
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The last time I cooked mussels I overcooked them terribly and they were very chewy and not good. How do they not end up overcooked here?
Hi Stacey, mussels cook very quickly so we like to add ours right near the end of the cooking time and just until we see the shells open up to ensure they’re nice and tender.
Is there a recipe for the arrabiata sauce?
Yes! I forgot to link it in the recipe, but will do so now!