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This was delicciouuusss!! I love pesto but never thought of eating it this way! It all worked so well together! Amazing!
Brie Baker
Happy Memorial Day!
And I guess 15 Minute Spicy Shrimp with Pesto Noodles Day, too!
Today I’m doing the unthinkable and cutting myself off from my usual habit of writing every word known to man in one single post. I KNOW. I literally woke up this morning and wrote, like, 8 paragraphs of my usual blabber, like I normally do. But then I read it, and to be honest, it just felt weird and not right to talk about regular life stuff in light of the seriousness of this holiday. So I deleted it. And we’re going short and sweet instead, hopefully to encourage us to spend some time today both honoring the people who have served our country, and making some Spicy Shrimp with Pesto Noodles for the ones we love.
Namely, ourselves.
Okay. So this meal comes together in a snap and the flavor is rockin. The shrimp cook so fast – something I always love about shrimp! – and those spicy little guys are piled high atop a bed of raw zucchini noodles that are coated with the BEST ever pesto that’s not actually pesto (it’s all plant-based and it’s SO addicting). I know it sounds weird with the raw zucchini thing, but please. You must try before judging the zoodles fad. I LOVE IT, other than the name zoodles. Bleh.
Plus this recipe will give you more of that healthy green pesto than what you need for the zucchini noodles, which you will thank me for later, because it goes with anything and everything much like our favorite Magic Green Sauce.
It’s light, flavorful, colorful, nutritious, and full of flavor.
IT WANTS YOU.
HOW TO MAKE OUR PESTO ZOODLES:
If you need a spiralizer, I highly recommend the Paderno! <– this is an affiliate link.
Hand slicing the noodles works just fine, too, but that Paderno makes it so easy. Wows!
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15 Minute Spicy Shrimp with Pesto Noodles
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
15 Minute Spicy Shrimp with Pesto Noodles – a light, healthy, quick and easy meal with zucchini noodles! Light, flavorful, nutritious, and full of flavor.
Ingredients
For the Pesto:
- 1 cup kale
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 cup mixed basil and/or parsley (more basil is better, but sub parsley if you don’t have enough)
- 3/4 cup almonds
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cloves garlic
- juice of one lemon (or 2 if your lemon isn’t very juicy)
For the Shrimp and Noodles
- 1 tablespoon butter or oil
- 1 lb. shrimp
- 1–2 teaspoons each chili powder and cumin, plus any other spices you like
- salt and pepper
- 4 medium zucchini
Instructions
- For the pesto, pulse all the ingredients in a food processor or blender until mostly smooth (or until you reach desired consistency). This will make about 2 cups of pesto. Set aside one cup for this recipe and save the other cup for something else later (you can freeze it, but we just keep it on hand in the fridge because it goes really well on just about anything).
- Heat the butter or oil over medium high heat. Add the shrimp and toss with the spices – I usually just do this right in the pan to save myself a dish, and I don’t really measure the spices – I just eyeball it until they get pretty well coated with spices. Sauté the shrimp until they evenly coated with spice and fully cooked (they will no longer be translucent).
- Cut the zucchini into long noodle-like shapes – the best way to do this is with a spiralizer but you can also use a peeler. Toss the zucchini noodles with the reserved pesto and top with the shrimp.
Notes
The zucchini noodles will seep out water as they sit coated in the pesto, so I recommend tossing the noodles right before serving. If you have leftovers, just store everything separately and assemble before serving.
I prefer to serve the noodles raw rather than sautéed – I like the soft-crunchy texture. But if you don’t like that idea, just toss them in a pan and saute them with some oil, garlic, salt, pepper, etc. for a few minutes.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: spicy shrimp, pesto noodles, pesto zoodles
Since it is Memorial Day, it’s the perfect time for me to say THANK YOU to those individuals and families who have given everything by serving our country. ♡
I used my spiralizer for super easy veggie shreds/noodles in this recipe! For more spiralizer ideas, check out this post:
8 Life-Changing Ways To Use a Spiralizer
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our collection of easy zucchini recipes. Check it out!
As usual this dish is beautiful Lindsay! I love the zucchini noodles and pairing this shrimp with it sounds just perfect.
Hope you’re having a great long weekend!
If I make this, it will be the very first time I use a food processor or blender! I know, go ahead, pat me on the back. A former momma’s boy (notice I did say former) I’m branching out because even though wife is pretty good for me, she’s ready for me to do a few things myself. I really need to make this dish for her as she’s looking for more low carb super healthy meals. Thanks Lindsay! You are da bomb.
Thanks Sam! Appreciate that!
Love the spicy shrimp with the nutty pesto and the oh so satisfying noodles. This is heaven in a bowl!
Thanks Medha! 😀
What a brilliant recipe, I had shrimp last week, need to get this one on my meal plan soon looks fantastic and sounds delicious, Thanks!
Thanks Joe! Hope you like it!
Happy Memorial Day!! I love zucchini noodles!!! And with pesto and shrimp….even better! Great recipe as usual!!!
Thank you Deborah! Appreciate that!
That pesto alone just sounds so good! I want to make it and put it on everything!!
YOU MUST!
LOVE this shrimp! So delicious Lindsay! 🙂
Thanks Lauren!
Hi Lindsay!
your recipes are always such an ispiration for me! The perfect thing about this recipe is that is so fast to do! Awesome! And I love shrimps.
Have a nice day!
Cat
Yeah – it’s seriously SUPER fast! 🙂 gotta love that!
I’m allergic to shrimp and almonds and substitutions and that will make this a great recipe?
Rowena,
Hey, I would do scallops and use pine nuts instead of almonds. Should have the same effect.
Yeah – agreed! Another fish/seafood or even chicken honestly would still be good! And then I’d say just about any kind of nuts – maybe even walnuts?
Yummmm! Love shrimp, pesto, and zoodles… your pesto sounds delicious! And thanks for acknowledging those who serve. As a (retired) military wife, we appreciate it. Memorial Day, however, is a day to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and given their lives while serving our Country.
Thanks for the comment Judy!
I just picked up a basil plant at the store…I’m excited for fresh pesto all summer! This looks fantastic!
Yay! I have one sitting on my counter too 🙂
Anything with the word pesto in it is automatically my favorite thing ever. This weekend I made homemade pesto and then cooked it with some ground beef. Then I added it to fresh pasta and marinara sauce and I was in heaven.
YES PLEASE. sounds amazing!
What do you use to zoodle your noodles? Hehe, what a funny phrase.
Hi Nikki! I use the Paderno – I think I have it linked at the end of this post! 🙂
I have a zoodler, but I’ve only tried it with spaghetti sauce. This looks green and fresh and different. Looking forward to trying that pesto!
Awesome! I hope you like it Susan!
I might be drooling over the pictures of that shrimp a little too much and missed it, but did you say what the white sauce drizzled on the shrimp is?
– Carly
Hey Carly – it’s just like a runny sour cream, like Mexican crema. 🙂
Two questions: You said the white drizzled sauce was “like” a runny sour cream/Mexican Crema. So, what do I buy?
Also, how spicy IS the shrimp?
We’d just buy sour cream and add some water to loosen it up. 🙂 The shrimp isn’t too spicy – chili powder and cumin aren’t too bad!
I am always a fan of pesto…no matter how it’s served. I must admit, I always defer back to pine nuts for my pesto so I will have to try it with almonds. Also, I am a pasta fanatic and I am intrigued by using zucchini for the pasta. I will have to try it. Thanks for sharing.
Pine nuts are so yummy but so darn expensive! Hope you like this Chelsea!
This looks soooooo good! And just in time for swimsuit season!
♥ Heather
Right you are!
This looks amazing – pretty much combines all my favourite ingredients!
Thanks Millie! 🙂
Simple delicious! Even pictures make me hungry 🙂
Me too 🙂
Thanks Medeja! Appreciate that!
That pesto! Oh my gosh, I can’t wait to give it a try. Such a weakness for pesto…
You and I both!!
This looks very good. Will try this recipe soon.
Awesome! I hope you like it Ellen!
Such an easy mid-week recipe!!
We’d love you to check out our blog wearefunnycooking.com
Love you work
xx
Thanks Emily!
I’m so in love with this recipe! I’m a huge seafood fan especially shrimps, and to combine it with pesto noodles could only make it taste even better! Thanks for the recipe and great pics..
thanks Bobby!
Oh my… looks so good! Love the colors.
Gorgeous photos as always. 🙂 Did you get the Paderno 3 Blade Basic or Paderno 4 Blade Pro? I’m trying to decide between the two! 🙂
Thanks! I got the 3 blade! 🙂 It’s great.
Perfect! Thanks! 🙂
Yum! I just got a spiralizer so I’ll have to try out this recipe next. Fresh pesto is my favorite 🙂
Ooh fun! All the possibilities!