Pesto Pasta with Shrimp and Tomatoes is comfort food at its finest and it’s super delicious, super nutritious, super quick and it’s a super easy entree to prepare.
Not only that, but you can have this yummy pasta dish on the table in under 20 minutes, so it’s great for a quick weeknight meal. And, did I mention how versatile it is?
Don’t have shrimp, leave it out or substitute chicken or fish. Don’t have cherry tomatoes, leave them out and add asparagus, mushrooms or broccoli, or another vegetable. Or, if you want to ramp up the nutritional value, add additional veggies. You can even serve just the pasta and pesto by itself as a side dish.
And, if you have leftovers, Pesto Pasta with Shrimp and Tomatoes is also one of those dishes that is even better the next day heated up.
I just returned from attending a Food Bloggers Conference in Salt Lake City, then met up with my husband and visited friends in Colorado who took us to the Rocky Mountains National Park.
We traveled to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and visited Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. The trip was amazing, the scenery was spectacular, and we had a wonderful time. If you have never been to these awesome parks, you don’t know what you are missing, and I hope it’s something you add to your bucket list. You won’t be sorry, I promise!
But back to the business at hand, which is telling you more about this scrumptious Pesto Pasta with Shrimp and Tomatoes. As you can imagine, after all of that traveling, not getting back last night until after midnight, and having piles of laundry to deal with, the last thing I wanted to do was fix dinner.
Enter the ultimate comfort food, Pesto Pasta with Shrimp and Tomatoes, which is so easy it almost prepares itself. A perfectly simple, tasty dish to curl up on the couch with and savor.
If you like shrimp as much as I do, you might also like these easy shrimp dishes: Shrimp Tacos with Mango Slaw, Grilled Spicy Coconut Shrimp, Shrimp Burgers with Basil Pesto Aioli, Brown Sugar Glazed Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, and Ten Minute Roasted Shrimp.
To make Pesto Pasta with Shrimp and Tomatoes, you will need fresh uncooked shrimp, prepared or homemade pesto, whatever kind of pasta you like, a lemon, parmesan cheese, cherry tomatoes, butter, white wine, garlic, kosher salt, ground black pepper, and fresh parsley.
When you are ready to make Pesto Pasta with Shrimp and Tomatoes, prepare the pasta according to the directions on the package for al dente and drain.
While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Pat the shrimp dry and season both sides with salt and pepper. When the butter has melted, add the shrimp and cook for 1-minute. Flip the shrimp over and add the wine and garlic.
Cook just until the shrimp are opaque and have formed a C-shape, which should take about 2 minutes. Do not overcook the shrimp.
Remove the shrimp with a spatula and add the cherry tomatoes to the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the skin on the tomatoes starts to blister.
Add the shrimp back to the pan and then stir in the pasta.
Add the pesto and lemon juice. Stir to combine. Leave the pan on the heat just until everything is heated through and remove from the heat.
Serve immediately topped with grated parmesan cheese, lemon zest, and chopped parsley.
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Pesto Pasta with Shrimp and Tomatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 ounces pasta I used Torcetti but you can use any pasta you prefer
- 1 lb fresh extra-large shrimp peeled and deveined, with the tails removed
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes halved
- 1 cup prepared jarred or refrigerated pesto * see link for homemade pesto recipe in the notes section
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- juice and zest of one lemon
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 Tbsp fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Prepare the pasta according to the directions on the package for al dente and drain.
- While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Pat the shrimp dry and season both sides with salt and pepper. When the butter has melted, add the shrimp and cook for 1-minute. Flip the shrimp over and add the wine and garlic. Cook just until the shrimp are opaque and have formed a C-shape, which should take about 2 minutes. Do not overcook the shrimp.
- Remove the shrimp with a spatula and add the cherry tomatoes to the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the skin on the tomatoes starts to blister.
- Add the shrimp back to the pan and then add the pasta. Mix well and add the pesto and lemon juice. Stir to combine. Leave the pan on the heat just until everything is heated through and remove from the heat.
- Serve immediately topped with grated parmesan cheese, lemon zest, and chopped parsley.
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