Pesto shrimp orzo is a simple, flavorful, creamy meal that’s prepared in simply 20 minutes with 4 predominant substances. This orzo pasta is coated with pesto and paired with plump shrimp and tomatoes for a easy weeknight dinner. Excellent for weekday meals but additionally good to feed a crowd.
When you love fast and simple recipes like this, it’s best to attempt my Pesto Tuna Pasta recipe or do that Pesto Chicken Skillet with rice or pasta on the aspect for a easy meal.
Recipe highlights
- 4 substances
- 20 minutes
- Simple to make
- Attention-grabbing meal
- Nice for busy weeknights
- Versatile
Components
- Orzo – this small pasta seems to be like rice but it surely’s pasta. Generally discovering a gluten free orzo will be robust, so you could possibly 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 permit the shrimp to defrost utterly earlier than cooking.
- Tomatoes – I like including tomatoes to any dish with pesto. It’s a terrific pop of colour and the flavors pair completely.
Find out how to make pesto orzo with shrimp
Cook dinner orzo: Deliver water to a boil, cook dinner orzo in response to the bundle instructions.
Cook 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. Cook dinner 2-3 minutes, flip and cook dinner 1-2 extra minutes. Flip off warmth.
Reduce 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 nicely. Add extra pasta water if wanted.
Prime ideas
- Make this with shrimp, rooster, chickpeas or salmon.
- Use retailer purchased pesto to make this tremendous easy. When you have an extra quantity of basil at house, make your individual pesto!
- To avoid wasting time, be sure you purchase peeled, deveined shrimp. I all the time purchase frozen and defrost in below an hour or in a single day (if you happen to bear in mind to defrost the night time earlier than).
- When you overlook to defrost your shrimp, you’ll be able to cook dinner frozen shrimp in the air fryer.
Variations
- Add extra veggies: Add cooked zucchini, broccoli, bell peppers, asparagus, roasted purple peppers, child spinach, kale, artichoke hearts
- Spice: Add crushed purple pepper flakes
- Different protein: You should 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 seek 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 utilize do-it-yourself pesto
Sure! When you have an abundance of basil and would like to make use of do-it-yourself, use your favourite recipe or you’ll be able to attempt:
What if you happen to 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 – lower in half
- 1/4 cup pasta water
Deliver water to a boil, cook dinner orzo in response to the bundle instructions.
Whereas orzo is cooking, cook 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. Cook dinner 2-3 minutes, flip and cook dinner 1-2 extra minutes. Flip off warmth.
Reduce 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 nicely. Add extra pasta water if wanted.
Serve sizzling or at room temperature.
- Make this with shrimp, rooster, chickpeas or salmon.
- Use retailer purchased or do-it-yourself pesto.
- To avoid wasting time, be sure you purchase peeled, deveined shrimp. If frozen, defrost in below an hour or in a single day.
- When you overlook to defrost your shrimp, you’ll be able to cook dinner frozen shrimp in 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 possibly can freeze leftovers in a freezer secure container, nonetheless I don’t love the feel of the shrimp when frozen and defrosted after being cooked.
Diet Info
Diet Details
Quantity per Serving
The place does vitamin information come from? Diet information are offered as a courtesy, sourced from the USDA Meals Database.
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