Dinner

Juicy shrimp and roasted red pepper pesto come together in this light yet flavorful pasta dish that’s both satisfying and gut-friendly. Made with whole food ingredients, it’s a quick weeknight dinner that feels restaurant worthy without the fuss.

Shrimp and Red Pepper Pesto Pasta

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Shrimp and Red Pepper Pesto Pasta Pesto

Shrimp and Red Pepper Pesto Pasta Pesto

Juicy shrimp and roasted red pepper pesto come together in this light yet flavorful pasta dish that’s both satisfying and gut-friendly. Made with whole food ingredients, it’s a quick weeknight dinner that feels restaurant worthy without the fuss.

Ingredients

For the Pesto
  • 2 red bell peppers
  • 5 whole garlic cloves with peel
  • 1 bunch parsley
  • 1/4 cup cashews
  • 1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano cheese, shredded
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • olive oil for desired consistency (start with 1/4 cup and add more as needed)
  • salt/pepper to taste
  • crushed red pepper flakes (if you desire some heat. Start with a pinch and add more to your heat preference
For the Shrimp and Pasta
  • 1 package GF penne, prepared per box instructions
  • olive oil
  • 1 pound shrimp
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • salt to taste

Instructions

For the Pesto
  1. place red peppers and garlic on a sheet pan. Stab each pepper with a knife to ensure they don’t explode. Bake red peppers and garlic at 425° for 25 minutes. Remove and let cool. Once cool, peel peppers and remove garlic from their peels.
  2. add all pesto ingredients into a food processor and mix on high. Add olive oil until the pesto is your desired consistency.
For the Shrimp and Pasta
  1. boil penne according to instructions on box and reserve about 1 cup of the water you boil it in to thin out the pesto sauce when you add it to the pasta.
  2. swirl oil in a pan and shrimp. Sprinkle with salt and cook until shrimp is no longer translucent. Squeeze lemon juice over the shrimp and swirl in a tablespoon of butter.
  3. stir half of the pesto into pasta and then add shrimp (along with any juices that remain in the pan). Add reserved cooking water if necessary to thin the sauce out.
  4. freeze the other half of the pesto in a glass container. You can have this again when the mood strikes with the hardest part finished- you’re welcome. ☺️
  5. serve with fresh grated parmigiano reggiano.