One of my best recipes is this pesto orzo, which is made considerably simpler with the frozen precooked shrimp!
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 15 mins |
| Total Time: | 25 mins |
| Servings: | 3 |
Ingredients
- 8 ounces orzo pasta
- 1 tablespoon pesto, divided
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 cups frozen cooked shrimp, thawed
- ½ cup diced red bell pepper
- 1 teaspoon capers
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, or to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook orzo in boiling water, occasionally stirring until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain and transfer to a bowl; mix 2 teaspoons pesto and 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil into orzo.
- Heat remaining tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in a skillet; cook and stir shrimp, red bell pepper, and capers in hot oil until shrimp is heated through, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir remaining teaspoon pesto, oregano, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper into shrimp mixture; cook and stir until combined, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Mix orzo into shrimp mixture; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and drizzle with olive oil.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 585 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 59 g |
| Cholesterol | 174 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 32 g |
| Saturated Fat | 5 g |
| Sodium | 366 mg |
| Sugars | 4 g |
| Fat | 24 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Great creation indeed! While I didn’t follow exactly, this recipe has good bones! Because I used raw shrimp, I sautéd them first and did simultaneously as I was cooking the orzo. I seasoned the raw-to-cooked shrimp with the dried herbs the recipe calls for except doubled (as many others have done). Removed shrimp from pan and kept warm. I then added the red bell pepper and 1/2c diced onion to the same skillet. Sauté was closer to 8 min before adding the capers to the pepper/onion mix. I then folded in the cooked orzo, drizzled with olive oil and again, like many others – nearly doubled the pesto (just shy of 2 TBLS). This was delicious!! A great, easy, light but filling dinner! It’s good enough for guests! Thank you M Kertello! So glad you shared this! I will make again!!
This recipe is simple and delicious. The only change I made was that I added more pesto than the recipe called for as was recommended by many other people. Otherwise I made it as written feeling no need to change anything else. LOVED it!!!
loved it
Yes, added more pesto and garlic.
This was really delicious. It was easy to put together after work and my husband loved it also!
We loved this! Probably will do it with out capers next time.
This was simple to prepare, and, Oh, so good! I added a couple extra teaspoons of Pesto and offered fresh lemon to squeeze on top, which added some great flavor. I’m going to make it again this weekend using raw shrimp and homemade Pesto.
Really very tasty!
We loved this recipe. Easy to follow. My husband is a fairly picky eater and he went back for seconds. We left out the red pepper flakes as I am allergic and increased the shrimp. We will definitely make it again.
Family loved it! It was quick and easy to make. Very tasty!
Loved it! I added fresh basil, spinach and minced garlic.
I cooked raw frozen shrimp in my instant pot first before starting with this recipe. I cooked the Orzo about 8 minutes and added asparagus and sundried tomatoes since I didn’t have any red peppers. I also added spinach as others suggested. I loved this recipe and would definitely make it again.
I’ve made this many times (without capers) and it’s delicious every time. Thank you.
I swapped peppers and capers for a bag of broccoli and left out the red pepper flakes. I didn’t have orzo so I used angel hair spaghetti. It was perfect! My 7yr old had seconds and I kept taking bites of it from the pan even after I was done.…It’s two years later and my daughter still loves this.
Scrumptious and added spinach!!!
Very good! I read that it was a little bland so I doubled the pesto and seasoning, it was perfect for us! I also added onions and spinach to bulk it up. I will make this again!
I know they say if you change a bunch of stuff, it’s not the same recipe but I had to “McGyver” it based on what I had on hand. For example, I was out of pesto so I bullet blended a bunch of fresh basil and fresh garlic and olive oil. Not exactly pesto but it did the job. Also added some butter to cooked orzo for flavor and moisture. Eliminated red pepper (too overwhelming in taste) and red pepper flakes (I’m a spice wimp) but chopped some tomato and added at the end for color/moisture/flavor and because I still have a ton of tomatoes from my sisters garden. Also cut up some fresh spinach and added to orzo to resemble something we love from Macaroni Grill.
Quite tasty! Substituted fresh shrimps deveined & shelled sauted in garlic butter just before adding broccoli instead of red peppers, then rest of spices. Yummy!
So easy! I didn’t have any pesto so I just tossed in the ingredients found in pesto. I didn’t follow the measurements exactly either but all the ingredients blended into a super fast & easy delicious dinner. I’m sure its even better if you follow the instructions exactly.
I really liked the idea and simplicity of this recipe. However, it is marred by having way too little pesto. I doubled the recipe (we are only two, but like leftovers!. I always have homemade pesto in the freezer in small containers. I used the whole container without measuring, so I’m not sure how much I used. Next time I’ll try leaving out the olive oil added to the pasta, as there is plenty in the pesto. If I think it needs more oil, I can always add it later.
Made as written except substituted chopped sun-dried tomatoes for the red pepper and I only had 6 oz. of dry orzo instead of 8 and that was plenty with the approx 1 lb. of frozen pre-cooked shrimp. I also added fresh basil out of the garden and the parmesan at the end as the original recipe writer called for (Allrecipes needs to correct the recipe as it has been transcribed incorrectly, as another reader pointed out). It was very good and fast to make