Pistachio Pesto Shrimp Pasta is a super-quick recipe made with a creamy homemade Pesto sauce, your favorite pasta, topped with juicy garlic butter shrimps and Parmesan cheese. A perfect date-night meal which is delicious, looks and tastes gourmet but made with love at home.
I have been experimenting with shrimps a lot these days, Prawn Thai Curry Tostadas, Golden Fried Rice with Cajun Shrimp, Jambalaya Stuffed Peppers with shrimp are just to name a few, but Garlic Butter Prawns is my all-time favorite. These are so simple to make and all you need is a few ingredients. It's tasty and can be paired with almost any dish.
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The main character that elevates this dish, apart from the garlic butter shrimp, is this homemade Pistachio Pesto Basil sauce.
The listed ingredients in the recipe should be good for two batches, so you can save some for another time or can try out our Pistachio Pesto Shrimp Wonton fusion recipe too. Although you can use store-bought pesto, you definitely need to try this easy Pesto recipe for that homemade touch.
The fresh green basil blended with toasted pistachios, garlic, extra-virgin olive oil and Parmesan cheese is the base for this velvety sauce. This Sicilian Pistachio Pesto brings an earthy flavor and creamy consistency to the al dente cooked pasta.
You need not go to a restaurant for a taste of Italy. Simply enjoy this gourmet Italian food from the comfort of your home. You will surely feel a sense of accomplishment after preparing this Italian pasta as you made it entirely from scratch.
Ingredients
Herbs and Spices: cilantro, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, basil leaves
Liquids: olive oil, cream, extra-virgin olive oil
Regular ingredients: pasta, shrimp, butter, garlic, Parmesan cheese
Specialty ingredients: pistachios
See recipe card for quantities.
Walk through the Recipe
Let’s start preparing the Pistachio Pesto Shrimp Pasta. We begin by blending all the ingredients for the Pesto sauce. We only need ¾ cup for this recipe so you will have extra for another time.
Garlic butter prawns are one of the easiest recipes. Melt butter, add in the prawns, garlic, seasoning, red pepper flakes and sprinkle over chopped cilantro. This will be ready within 3 minutes.
We then set the pasta to boil as we prepare our pasta sauce. In a pan, we melt butter and add olive oil, add in the Pistachio Pesto sauce and add cream. Let it simmer on low allowing the flavors to meld.
Add in the al dente cooked pasta and give it a quick toss before transferring it to a plate. Pour over your Garlic Butter Shrimps, grated parmesan cheese and place fresh basil for garnish. Serve the dish while it's hot.
Substitutions
You can replace some of the ingredients in the recipe to suit what you have at home.
- Pasta shells: your favorite pasta
- Parmesan Cheese: Pecorino romano, Grana Padano or just regular white cheese
- Cilantro: parsley
- Cream: whole milk or half-and-half milk for similar texture
Tips
- Reserve pasta water: you can pour pasta water to the sauce if it gets too thick and you need to thin it out.
- Use the right saucepan: Try using a wide saucepan for mixing the pasta and sauce. This provides a bigger surface area to coat the pasta with the sauce evenly.
- Deglaze with white wine (optional): you can deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine while cooking the shrimps for an added depth of flavor.
- Cook the shrimp to perfection: Shrimps usually cook in a few minutes and can turn rubbery if overcooked. Remove it from the heat as soon as they turn opaque.
FAQs
You can prepare the pistachio pesto ahead of time and store in the refrigerator. However, it's best to toss the cooked pasta in the sauce just before serving to maintain the ideal texture and prevent the pasta from drying out.
Yes, you can experiment with cherry tomatoes, spinach or sautéed mushrooms to enhance the flavor of the pasta.
Add in more olive oil if the Pesto is too thick, similarly, you can add in more pistachios or Parmesan if it’s too thin.
It can be used as a pizza sauce, in cold salads, as a dip, sandwiches and also in pasta like Pistachio Pesto Shrimp Wontons.
Related Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
- Tender Beef Karahi Recipe
- Jerk Shrimp Pasta (Rasta Pasta Recipe)
- Mushroom Pappardelle
- Chicken Fajita Rice Bowl
Fusion Recipes
Try out some of our specialty recipes:
- Jerk Chicken Quesadilla
- Sumac Fries
- Crispy Brussels Sprouts Recipe (Indian style)
- Easy Crab Rangoon Egg Rolls
Recipe
Pistachio Pesto Shrimp Pasta
Ingredients
Shrimp pasta
- 200 grams Pasta, conchiglie/ shells
- 400 grams shrimps, cleaned and deveined
- 5 tablespoon butter
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup cream
- salt to taste
- pepper
Pistachio Basil Pesto
- 1 cup pistachios
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Blend all the ingredients for the Pistachio basil pesto sauce. In a pan, melt three tablespoons butter over medium heat and add in the prawns. After 30 seconds, add chopped garlic, red pepper flakes, and season with salt and pepper.
- Give it a quick toss and let it cook for another two minutes until done. Sprinkle over chopped cilantro and set aside.
- In a pot, boil the pasta shells to al dente as per package instructions. As the pasta boils, in a separate pan melt two tablespoons butter and add olive oil. Add ¾ cup of the pesto sauce and mix.
- Pour in a cup of cream and let it simmer for two minutes. Transfer the cooked pasta to the pesto sauce pan and grate parmesan cheese over it. Give it a quick toss before transferring it to a plate.
- Pour over your garlic butter shrimps, grated parmesan cheese and place fresh basil for garnish. Serve the dish while it's hot.
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