Pesto Shrimp Orzo – Bites of Wellness

Pesto shrimp orzo is a simple, flavorful, creamy meal that’s prepared in simply 20 minutes with 4 fundamental 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.

Should you love fast and straightforward recipes like this, it’s best 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 substances
• 20 minutes
• Straightforward to make
• Attention-grabbing meal
• Nice for busy weeknights
• Versatile

Components

• Orzo – this small pasta seems to be like rice however it’s pasta. Generally discovering a gluten free orzo may be powerful, so you may additionally use gluten free pasta.
• Pesto – use your favourite pesto or make your personal.
• 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. You should definitely permit the shrimp to defrost utterly earlier than cooking.
• Tomatoes – I like including tomatoes to any dish with pesto. It’s an ideal pop of colour and the flavors pair completely.

How you can make pesto orzo with shrimp

Cook dinner orzo: Carry water to a boil, prepare 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 prepare dinner 1-2 extra minutes. Flip off warmth.

Reduce tomatoes in half.

Reserve pasta water: When orzo is completed 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.

Prime ideas

• Make this with shrimp, hen, chickpeas or salmon.
• Use retailer purchased pesto to make this tremendous easy. When you’ve got an extra quantity of basil at residence, make your personal pesto!
• To save lots of time, remember to purchase peeled, deveined shrimp. I at all times 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).
• Should you overlook to defrost your shrimp, you may 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 should use cooked hen (diced hen or shredded hen), 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 lately, there weren’t a ton of gluten free choices. Nevertheless, I’ve discovered 2 actually scrumptious gluten free choices:

Can you utilize selfmade pesto

Sure! When you’ve got an abundance of basil and would like to make use of selfmade, use your favourite recipe or you may strive:

What if you happen to don’t have orzo?

Should you don’t have orzo pasta, you need to use rice, pasta, spaghetti squash, or cauliflower rice.