Someday I might run out of ideas for a quick weeknight dinner that is pasta + protein + sauce, but that day hasn’t come yet! This Shrimp Orzo Pasta dish is a fast way to get dinner on the table but feels way fancy compared to classic spaghetti marinara.
The best part of this sauce is the creamy sun-dried tomato sauce which only has a few ingredients but is a wonderful twist on marinara sauce. You could blend it if you wanted it super-smooth, but I just dice everything and stir it together and it’s great.
This is a must-try if you are a shrimp fan and looking for a fast dinner idea.
What shrimp works best for this recipe?
I wouldn’t be too picky on the shrimp for this recipe since we are just cooking them and chopping them into the orzo. If you get peeled shrimp, you will save yourself some time since you want to peel them before cooking them for this dish.
If you use frozen shrimp, make sure to thaw them completely before cooking.
How to cook the shrimp
For this shrimp orzo dish, I like to marinate the shrimp for a few minutes in a spice mix of paprika, garlic powder, salt, and olive oil. You could use other seafood spice mixes if you want.
Once the shrimp are peeled and marinated, cook them in a large skillet over medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil until they are just cooked through. They will cook fast. Five to six minutes should do it.
Remove them from the skillet and roughly chop them. Don’t clean out the skillet! You want to make the sauce in the same skillet.
Making the sun-dried tomato sauce
This sauce is very easy to make. It starts with onions and garlic. Use those aromatics to scrape up any bits stuck to the pan. Then add your sun-dried tomatoes (finely chopped) and tomato paste.
Cook these for a minute or two just to get them softened and then add the liquids: lemon juice, chicken stock, and cream. Keep the heat low so the cream doesn’t burn.
Once the sauce has simmered for a minute or two, add the cooked orzo and let the sauce thicken to the pasta.
Finishing the orzo pasta recipe
To finish off this delicious shrimp orzo pasta, add some Parmesan cheese to the skillet and fold in the cooked shrimp right at the end. Obviously taste the pasta and season it with salt and pepper if needed.
If your sauce seems too thin, let it simmer for a minute or two. It should thicken really fast.
If the sauce is too thick, add water by the 1/4 cup to thin it out.
What to serve with this shrimp orzo pasta
This is a great dish on its own. It’s best garnished with basil.
You could serve it alongside any light salad or garlic bread would be a nice touch like this hasselback garlic bread.
Substitutions
There are some easy substitutions for this shrimp orzo pasta dish.
- If you don’t like shrimp, you can use sliced chicken for this recipe and keep all other steps the same.
- If you want a vegetarian version of this dish, use two cans of white beans, drained, in the pasta.
- Instead of orzo, you could use any smaller pasta like penne.
Leftovers
Shrimp has a short shelf-life in the fridge so I would say plan to eat this within a day or two of making it for best results. If you substitute the shrimp for chicken or vegetables, it would keep great in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Sun-Dried Tomato Shrimp Orzo
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound large shrimp, peeled
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 16 ounces orzo pasta, cooked and drained
- ½ large sweet onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 ounce sun-dried tomato, in oil
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ large lemon, juice only
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- Fresh basil, garnish
Instructions
- Peel and clean shrimp and toss them with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt, garlic powder, and paprika. Set aside. Cook orzo according to instructions, drain and rinse with cold water to stop cooking. You can cook orzo while you are making the sauce.
- In a large skillet, heat over medium heat and add another tablespoon of olive oil. When hot, add shrimp and cook until just cooked through, about 5-6 minutes. Remove and roughly chop shrimp. Don't clean skillet.
- Add diced onion to the skillet along with garlic. If skillet is really dry, add a little olive oil from the sun-dried tomato jar. Finely chop sun-dried tomatoes and add to skillet along with tomato paste. Cook for a minute or two.
- Add lemon juice, chicken stock, and cream and stir to combine. Turn heat down to low and bring sauce to a light simmer.
- Add orzo and stir. Add parmesan cheese and shrimp and stir to combine. Taste for salt and pepper.
- Serve orzo immediately with fresh basil and extra Parmesan if you want.
