Pesto Shrimp Orzo – Bites of Wellness

Pesto shrimp orzo is a straightforward, flavorful, creamy meal that’s prepared in simply 20 minutes with 4 primary elements. 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, you need to attempt my Pesto Tuna Pasta recipe or do that Pesto Hen Skillet with rice or pasta on the aspect for a easy meal.

Recipe highlights

• 4 elements
• 20 minutes
• Simple to make
• Attention-grabbing meal
• Nice for busy weeknights
• Versatile

Components

• Orzo – this small pasta appears to be like like rice however it’s pasta. Generally discovering a gluten free orzo might be robust, so you possibly can additionally use gluten free pasta.
• Pesto – use your favourite pesto or make your individual.
• Shrimp – I like to make use of giant Argentinian Pink Shrimp from Dealer Joe’s. I like this as a result of it’s peeled and deveined. Make 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 ideal pop of shade and the flavors pair completely.

The right way to make pesto orzo with shrimp

Cook dinner orzo: Carry water to a boil, prepare dinner orzo in line with the bundle instructions.

Cook dinner the shrimp. Warmth a medium to giant 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.

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 effectively. Add extra pasta water if wanted.

Prime suggestions

• Make this with shrimp, hen, chickpeas or salmon.
• Use retailer purchased pesto to make this tremendous easy. In case you have an extra quantity of basil at house, make your individual pesto!
• To avoid wasting time, you should definitely purchase peeled, deveined shrimp. I at all times purchase frozen and defrost in underneath an hour or in a single day (should you keep in mind to defrost the evening earlier than).
• When you overlook 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 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 seek 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 employ home made pesto

Sure! In case you have an abundance of basil and would like to make use of home made, use your favourite recipe or you possibly can attempt:

What should you don’t have orzo?

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