Shrimp Zucchini Noodles with Pesto

When dinner needs to be something different look no further than our perfectly cooked shrimp paired with zucchini noodles with pesto! This one-pot dish starts with sauteed shrimp, adds in some fresh zucchini noodles, and is topped with a brilliant homemade pesto that is so much easier than you think. Even better, this whole dish cooks up in about 20 minutes.

As a complete meal, this dish works well for keto, low-carb, and gluten-free eating plans. By themselves, the pesto zucchini noodles provide a perfect vegetarian or vegan dish.

If you love to utilize zucchini noodles in your keto and low-carb lifestyles, check out these other zoodle recipes including zoodle carbonara, keto alfredo sauce with zoodles, chicken zoodle soup. Or try these zucchini chips, zucchini curry, and roasted baby zucchini. All of these recipes are all keto-friendly.

A printable recipe card is at the bottom of the post

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Pesto Zucchini Noodles

Since my family has gone keto we have had to adapt a lot of different foods. The journey has been a good one though as we have found the health benefits of a low-carb lifestyle far outweigh our old eating habits.

Zoodles quickly became a family staple, well before the rest of the world caught on. Zucchini noodles are a perfect way to enjoy pasta dishes and they work well with a variety of sauces – including pesto! A few minutes of prep-work and we are able to enjoy all of the previously carbohydrate-loaded dishes we used to eat.

Pesto is a simple Italian sauce that combines garlic, salt, basil, and cheese. When combined with zoodles, the garlic and basil both stand out, but do not overpower the subtly of the cheese or zoodles. Topping the pesto zucchini noodles with shrimp offers a dinner that is light yet filling, and ripe with flavor.

Why This Recipe Works

• Sauteed shrimp cooks up quickly and waits patiently while you prepare the rest of this dish.
• Zucchini noodles are an excellent way to increase your vegetable intake while keeping your dishes low-carb and keto-friendly.
• Homemade pesto sauce tops this dish with amazing flavor but doesn’t overpower the rest of the ingredients.

Ingredients for Pesto Shrimp and Zucchini

While this recipe has a large assortment of ingredients, especially if you opt for homemade pesto, don’t be overwhelmed. With a little bit of prep work, the whole thing comes together quickly allowing you to create a restaurant-quality meal your whole family will enjoy.

• 1 lb raw shrimp, peeled (leaving tails on is optional)
• 1 1/2-2 lb zucchini, spiralized
• 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 jar pesto sauce (homemade recipe below)
• Optional garnish – Shredded parmesan cheese

To make dinner super fast and in less than 20 minutes, by all means, feel free to use a jarred pesto sauce! However, we highly recommend homemade pesto sauce. Once you start making your own pesto, you won’t ever go back to the pre-packaged kind. Just one batch of pesto makes more than you’ll need for this recipe. This is the same sauce as we used in our homemade pesto sauce post. We still recommend reading the post since it tells you how to store and freeze leftovers, plus gives you lots of ideas on what to do with leftover pesto.

Pesto Sauce

• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, dried
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup parmesan, grated or shredded

How to Make Shrimp Zucchini Noodles

You want to spiralize the zucchini before you start cooking, this recipe cooks up super fast in less than 15 minutes, so you want to have everything prepped before you start.

Prep the Ingredients

Spiralize the zucchini or buy zoodles ready to go from the grocery store. If you’re making homemade pesto sauce, you’ll want to do that before you start cooking. If you’re using a jarred grocery store pesto, skip ahead to cooking the shrimp and zucchini.

Making pesto sauce

In a food processor with the machine running, mince the garlic until fine, and add the remaining ingredients. Puree into a smooth paste, scraping the bowl down a couple of times if needed.

This makes more pesto than you’ll need for the recipe. Use the leftovers to mix with soups, eggs, or more zoodles. The sauce freezes for up to 6 months. 

Cook the Shrimp

Heat 2 T olive oil heat in a skillet on medium-high heat. Cut the olive oil back to 1 Tbsp if you’re using a non-stick pan.

Add the shrimp and cook it for 1 minute, until the shrimp turns pink. Only cook the shrimp until it’s just done.

Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside, keeping it warm in a covered dish.

Cooking the Zoodles

Turn the burner down to medium heat.

Cook the low carb zoodles in the pan for 4-5 minutes, stirring them frequently.

Cooking them for 4-minutes will make “al Dente” zucchini noodles that are still slightly crisp and are a bright green shade. Opting to cook the zoodles for 5 minutes will remove the crisp and make a softer zoodle.

Zucchini is 90% liquid, so we recommend draining the zoodles before adding the shrimp and pesto. If you opt to not drain the zucchini, it will water-down your pesto.

Add  2-3 Tbsp of the pesto sauce to the zucchini noodles. 

If the shrimp is still warm you can just add it to the top of the shrimp zoodles and serve it immediately. You can also add the shrimp back to the pan to heat them slightly before serving.

 

Serve immediately. Garnish with more parmesan, fresh basil, or additional pesto on the side.

Serves 4. Enjoy!

Shrimp Zucchini Pasta Recipe Tips

• Be sure you are working with a warm pan before adding shrimp or zoodles to your pan. This will prevent sticking and ensure even cooking.
• It may be tempting to skip the prep work but this dish comes together super quickly. Be sure your zoodles and pesto are ready to be used before you start warming your skillet.
• Change things up by swapping out shrimp for chicken. These pan-fried chicken tenders pair nicely with zoodles and pesto.
• Zucchini noodles with pesto served by itself work well as either a side dish with another protein option OR can be used as a vegetarian or vegan main dish.
• Save any leftovers in the fridge and enjoy a super tasty low-carb lunch later in the week.

Other Keto Zucchini Recipes You’ll Love

• Keto Zucchini Carbonara
• Keto alfredo sauce with zoodles
• Zucchini and tomato curry
• Roasted baby zucchini
• Keto Chicken noodle soup with zoodles

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