Shrimp Pesto Pasta
Why My Shrimp Pesto Pasta Recipe Is Special
This Pesto Pasta is a bright and light spring and summer dish with fresh ingredients of homemade basil pesto, your favorite pasta and sautéed shrimp.
- Combination of juicy, bright and flavorful pesto pasta and perfectly sauteed shrimp is absolutely divine.
- The whole dish comes together in less than 30 minutes and you can prepare all three components at the same time!
- Cooking Water is a secret ingredient to juicy, saucy pasta! The starchy water that the pasta is cooked in will help the consistency of the pesto by keeping it moist! Pesto has a tendency to dry out because pasta soaks up the oil quickly, and cooking water helps to avoid that entirely.
- Feel free to use GLUTEN FREEE noodles when needed!
Key Ingredients
Shrimp – Large shrimp (16/20 count) or jumbo shrimp (10/15) are best because with larger shrimp there is less change of overcooking. Make sure to thaw if using frozen shrimp, peel and devein shrimp if needed, and pat very dry.
Seasoning – Simple seasoning on salt and pepper. You can add red pepper flakes for heat.
Pesto – Homemade gives the freshest and brightest flavor. If using jarred, choose refrigerated, olive-oil based pesto. Taste first and balance with a squeeze of lemon and extra Parmesan if needed.
Pasta – Best shapes for pesto: spaghetti, bucatini, linguine, or short shapes with grooves (fusilli). Reserve at least ¾ cup pasta water before draining.
Equipment – You’ll need: 10–12″ skillet, large pot, food processor, microplane (fine grater), tongs, heatproof measuring cup (for pasta water).
Allergy Substitutions
- Nut-free? Omit nuts in pesto and pasta and increase parmesan in pesto slightly. You can use toasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds instead.
- Dairy-free? Skip cheese and add extra basil and pine nuts and a touch of lemon.
- Gluten free? Use gluten free pasta.
Shrimp Pesto Pasta Cooking Tips
- This is a fast moving recipe, so gather the ingredients before starting to cook.
- Start cooking pasta in salted water and make pesto. Pesto is super simple, just toss all of the required ingredients into a food processor and pulse until it’s smooth and well blended.
- Shrimp only needs about 5 minutes to cook but make sure to pre-heat the cooking pan first! Sear shrimp in a hot pan just until opaque on each side. (Make sure not to overcrowd the shrimp, use a large cooking pan.)
- Right before straining pasta make sure to reserve about a cup of cooking water.
How to Keep Pesto Bright: Toss with Pasta Off Heat
Transfer the hot pasta into a mixing bowl or into a large serving bowl. It’s best NOT to toss in a hot cooking pot or pan. Start with ¼ cup hot pasta water for 12 oz pasta and toss 30-45 seconds until the sauce turns glossy and coats the pasta evenly. Add more water 1 tablespoon at a time as needed.
Shrimp Size and Doneness Cheat-Sheet
Remember the name is not anything official since every brands uses their own name, these are common names. You want to look at the number, which will indicate how many shrimp is per pound:
- Colossal Shrimp: U10 or U12 (Under 10 or 12 in 1 lb.)
- Extra Jumbo shrimp: 16/20 (in 1 lb.)
- Jumbo: 20/25 (in 1 lb.)
- Extra Large: 26/30 (in 1 lb.)
- Large: 31/40 (in 1 lb.)
- Medium: 41/50 (in 1 lb.)
- Cooking time: for jumbo and extra large shrimp, it takes 4-5 minutes of cooking time (give or take a minute for other sizes). Since shrimp cook SO fast, you can’t follow time exactly but mostly visual cues.
Visual Cues To Tell If Shrimp Are Done:
- Color: Flesh turns completely opaque/pearly and firm (shells turn pink).
- Shape: curls to a loose “C” (often a tight “O” means overcooked).
- Pull off heat the moment centers turn just opaque. Remember that carryover heat will finish cooking.
Variations To Try
- Chicken – I love to marinate chicken breasts in a mixture of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried basil, oregano, and parsley. After marinating for a couple of hours, I just pan-cook it for 5-7 minutes per side. The exact time will depend on the thickness of the chicken. (You can check internal temperature and it should be 165°F.)
- Other proteins – pesto pasta works very well with other seafood like seared scallops, crispy skin salmon, pecan crusted salmon, or lobster tails.
- Add veggies – you can add some sauteed veggies like tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash, asparagus, or broccoli.
- Bacon – everything is better with bacon!
Recipe FAQs
Avoid direct heat with pesto. Toss pesto with hot pasta off the heat, preferrable in a separate bowl, and loosen with pasta water for a bright green, glossy sauce. Pesto turns brown when exposed to direct heat.
Start with 1/2 cup per 16 oz of pasta, then add 1 tbsp at a time until the sauce coats and shines. Save leftover pasta water for reheating leftovers!
Technically yes, but those are usually meant to be served with a bold cocktail sauce or in a shrimp salad, so they don’t have any flavor or seasoning added. The shrimp will be pretty bland. Those are also not meant to be reheated.
Make sure to reheat at LOW heat on the stove with a splash of water or broth. If you saved some pasta cooking water, use a splash of that. Avoid boiling or hot temperatures!
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Shrimp Pesto Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
Pesto:
- 2 oz basil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 oz Parmesan cheese block, shaved, or shredded
- 3 oz pine nuts
- 1/2 cup olive oil + 2 Tbsp.
- salt to taste
Shrimp:
- 1 lb shrimp
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
- salt
- black pepper
Pasta:
- 1 lb pasta any favorite pasta
- 1/2-2/3 cup cooking water
- shaved Parmesan cheese for topping
- pine nuts for topping
Instructions
For Homemade Pesto:
- In a food processor, add about half the oil.
- Add basil, pine nuts, cheese, garlic, and salt to the blender and pour remaining olive oil over the top.
- Pulse several times to begin to blend. Scrape sides of the blender and pulse a few more times. You may need to scrape the sides again and pulse a few more times until all ingredients are well blended.
- Set aside until ready to mic into pasta.
Shrimp and Pasta:
- Cook shrimp while pasta is cooking.
- Cook pasta according to the box instructions and before draining off water, set aside about a cup of cooking water. (Some cooking water will go into pasta and set aside extra just in case you will need to reheat the pasta leftover's later.)
- Toss shrimp in a mixing bowl with salt, pepper, pressed garlic cloves, and grated Parmesan cheese until evenly coated.
- Preheat a large cooking pan over medium-high heat for a few minutes and add oil.
- Sear shrimp for about 2 minutes on each side, until they turn completely opaque. (Exact time will depend on the size of shrimp.) Take the shrimp out of the pan as soon as they are cooked.
- Toss cooked pasta with pesto and about 1/2-2/3 cup of cooking water.
- You can mix the shrimp right into the pasta or simple add it to the top of pasta.
- Garnish with some shaved Parmesan cheese and toasted pine nuts (see notes) and serve!
Video
Notes
- Shrimp doneness cues. Large shrimp usually need about 90–120 seconds per side in a hot pan. They’re done when just opaque throughout with a loose “C” curled shape.
- Storage (cooked pasta + shrimp): Cool quickly and refrigerate in an airtight container for 3–4 days. For best texture, store pesto separately when possible and combine when reheated.
- Reheating: Save some cooking water if you plan to store and reheat the leftovers. Pasta tends to drink the sauce and any liquids it’s stored in, so you will need to add some cooking water and a little more pesto when reheating. Reheat over low heat, tossing until loosened and steamy. Make sure to reheat until just warmed or it will overheat.
- Toast pine nuts: for the best flavor, I highly recommend that you toast the pine nuts. Add them to a small dry skillet in one single layer. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook them, tossing from time to time, for 3-5 minutes.
Nutrition
More Easy Seafood and Pasta Recipes!
Craving more fresh, fast dinners? Try my classic pesto Alfredo tortellini for a meatless night, or spin things smoky with vibrant Pesto Rosso. If you’re in a silky-sauce mood, the bright and cozy Shrimp Scampi, Lobster Pasta, and seared scallop recipe is perfect. Seafood lovers can level up with tender, caramelized seared scallops or keep it simple with juicy, buttery garlic butter shrimp. For more pesto dishes, try my lemon arugula pistachio pesto pasta and cheesy pesto chicken stuffed shells.
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in May 2021.
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Categories:
30 Minute Meals, Dinner Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Pasta Recipes, Seafood Dinner Recipes, Shrimp Dinner Recipes,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
I’ve made this recipe many times and am making it tonight! It is simple and delicious.
This was so easy and so good!