one-pan shrimp pesto pasta

no energy? no worries! the hardest part about this dish is making sure you don’t eat it all at once 😉

everything you want in a single dish

craving a creamy pasta that isn’t too heavy? how about something bright and colorful? fibrous and fresh? has protein to keep you full? then this is the pasta for you. it also helps if you don’t feel like doing a bunch of dishes. just toss your skillet in the dishwasher and go to bed relaxed and satisfied.

boiling frozen shrimp

frozen shrimp is amazing, not only for it’s high protein count and delicious flavor, but it cooks super fast! it only takes about 2 minutes in boiling water to take it from frozen to ready to eat. boiling shrimp has been one of my favorite ways to eat it lately. no need for oil as the shrimp will absorb the water and become chubby. i started throwing it in the pot at the end of cooking pasta and it’s become the ultimate kitchen hack for me. just make sure to reserve your pasta water before you throw the shrimp in!

ingredients & substitutions

here’s everything you need, and things you can substitute!

• 3 oz pasta – short pasta shapes ftw here
• 2-4 tbsp reserved pasta water – i ended up using about 3 tbsp for my desired consistency
• 5 oz frozen shrimp – i like the wild argentine shrimp from Costco! they’re so large and chubby :3
  • you can also substitute this for shredded chicken or cooked salmon! (canned salmon for extra convenience)
• 4 oz grape tomatoes – or cherry tomatoes, same difference to me
• 2 tbsp pesto – more on pesto below!
• handful of spinach arugula mix
• 1 oz brie – you can substitute this with cream cheese for a similar consistency. use heavy cream for a thicker, richer sauce, or milk for a thinner consistency (just forgo the pasta water)

for the pesto, i picked this up at my local Ralph’s. it contains parmesan, which adds to the overall flavor of the dish, but if your pesto doesn’t have that, feel free to sprinkle some of your own grated parm on when serving!

how-to:

prep work — good news! this dish requires no prep work, aside from washing your veggies 🙂

cooking — bring a medium skillet of water to a boil. cook your pasta according to the package instructions, reserving up to 4 tablespoons of pasta water. add frozen shrimp directly to the boiling water in the last 1-2 minutes of the pasta cooking. remove from heat, drain, and add shrimp and pasta back to skillet. make sure the heat remains off! mix in grape tomatoes, pesto, spinach and brie. lightly stir, adding pasta water a little at a time, until brie has melted and the sauce reaches a desired consistency.

serve — serve as is or with a sprinkle of shredded parmesan!

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