Pesto shrimp orzo is a simple, flavorful, creamy meal that’s prepared in simply 20 minutes with 4 major components. This orzo pasta is coated with pesto and paired with plump shrimp and tomatoes for a easy weeknight dinner. Good for weekday meals but in addition good to feed a crowd.
When you love fast and straightforward recipes like this, you need to strive my Pesto Tuna Pasta recipe or do that Pesto Rooster Skillet with rice or pasta on the facet for a easy meal.
Recipe highlights
- 4 components
- 20 minutes
- Simple to make
- Attention-grabbing meal
- Nice for busy weeknights
- Versatile
Substances
- Orzo – this small pasta appears to be like like rice nevertheless it’s pasta. Typically discovering a gluten free orzo may be powerful, so you would additionally use gluten free pasta.
- Pesto – use your favourite pesto or make your individual.
- Shrimp – I like to make use of massive Argentinian Pink Shrimp from Dealer Joe’s. I like this as a result of it’s peeled and deveined. Be sure you enable the shrimp to defrost utterly earlier than cooking.
- Tomatoes – I really like including tomatoes to any dish with pesto. It’s an incredible pop of colour and the flavors pair completely.
Learn how to make pesto orzo with shrimp
Prepare dinner orzo: Deliver water to a boil, prepare dinner orzo in response to the package deal instructions.
Prepare dinner the shrimp. Warmth a medium to massive skillet over medium warmth. When sizzling, spray with avocado oil (or olive oil) and add shrimp, salt and garlic powder. Prepare dinner 2-3 minutes, flip and prepare dinner 1-2 extra minutes. Flip off warmth.
Minimize tomatoes in half.
Reserve pasta water: When orzo is finished cooking, reserve 1/4 – 1/2 cup of the pasta water earlier than draining.
Assemble the dish: Drain orzo, add shrimp, pesto and tomatoes to the pot. Add 2-3 tablespoons of the pasta water and stir properly. Add extra pasta water if wanted.
High ideas
- Make this with shrimp, rooster, chickpeas or salmon.
- Use retailer purchased pesto to make this tremendous easy. You probably have an extra quantity of basil at dwelling, make your individual pesto!
- To avoid wasting time, you should definitely purchase peeled, deveined shrimp. I all the time purchase frozen and defrost in beneath an hour or in a single day (in case you keep in mind to defrost the evening earlier than).
- When you neglect to defrost your shrimp, you possibly can prepare dinner frozen shrimp within the air fryer.
Variations
- Add extra veggies: Add cooked zucchini, broccoli, bell peppers, asparagus, roasted crimson peppers, child spinach, kale, artichoke hearts
- Spice: Add crushed crimson pepper flakes
- Different protein: You need to use cooked rooster (diced rooster or shredded rooster), chickpeas, Italian tofu or salmon bites.
What to serve with pesto orzo
Widespread questions
The place to search out gluten free orzo
Orzo is pasta that’s cooked brief and resembles rice. Till not too long ago, there weren’t a ton of gluten free choices. Nevertheless, I’ve discovered 2 actually scrumptious gluten free choices:
Can you employ home made pesto
Sure! You probably have an abundance of basil and would favor to make use of home made, use your favourite recipe or you possibly can strive:
What in case you don’t have orzo?
When you don’t have orzo pasta, you should use rice, pasta, spaghetti squash, or cauliflower rice.
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- 1 pound massive shrimp – peeled and deveined
- 1 cup pesto
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 8 oz orzo
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes – minimize in half
- 1/4 cup pasta water
Deliver water to a boil, prepare dinner orzo in response to the package deal instructions.
Whereas orzo is cooking, prepare dinner the shrimp. Warmth a medium to massive skillet over medium warmth. When sizzling, spray with avocado oil (or olive oil) and add shrimp, salt and garlic powder. Prepare dinner 2-3 minutes, flip and prepare dinner 1-2 extra minutes. Flip off warmth.
Minimize tomatoes in half.
When orzo is finished cooking, reserve 1/4 – 1/2 cup of the pasta water earlier than draining.
Drain orzo, add shrimp, pesto and tomatoes to the pot. Add 2-3 tablespoons of the pasta water and stir properly. Add extra pasta water if wanted.
Serve sizzling or at room temperature.
- Make this with shrimp, rooster, chickpeas or salmon.
- Use retailer purchased or home made pesto.
- To avoid wasting time, you should definitely purchase peeled, deveined shrimp. If frozen, defrost in beneath an hour or in a single day.
- When you neglect to defrost your shrimp, you possibly can prepare dinner frozen shrimp within the air fryer.
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- Fridge: Retailer leftover shrimp orzo pesto pasta within the fridge for as much as 3 days in an hermetic container.
- Freezer: You’ll be able to freeze leftovers in a freezer protected container, nevertheless I don’t love the feel of the shrimp when frozen and defrosted after being cooked.
Diet Data
Diet Details
Quantity per Serving
The place does diet information come from? Diet info are offered as a courtesy, sourced from the USDA Meals Database.
