Skillet Pesto Pasta with Shrimp and Pine Nuts Recipe

By
Yasmin Fahr
Yasmin Fahr: Contributing Writer at Serious Eats
Yasmin Fahr
Yasmin Fahr is a food writer, recipe developer and author of the cookbook Keeping it Simple. She has a penchant for cheesy phrases, lemons, fresh herbs, feta and cumin.
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Updated Jun. 14, 2019
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Yasmin Fahr

Pesto is one of those bold, flavor-packed additions that can easily overpower more delicate ingredients, but it's also delicious for that very same reason. Maybe it's the brightness of the basil or some childhood association that I can't recall, but it always reminds me of spring and summer. I love swirling it into steamy noodles and topping it with toasted pine nuts for extra crunch and nuttiness for a quick and easy meal.

To save time, I bought basil pesto but you can easily make your own. I added tomatoes and shrimp to complete this dish but you could easily skip them and try using chicken or a vegetarian version. Save some of the pasta cooking water just in case you want to loosen up the sauce if it seems dry. I only ended up using about a 1/4 of a cup of the water, but I would experiment with adding a little at a time and tossing it together until it reaches a consistency that you're happy with.

Overall, this is an easy weeknight meal that can be thrown together quickly with just a few ingredients. It also makes for great leftovers.

Recipe Facts

5

(1)

Active: 10 mins
Total: 25 mins
Serves: 4 servings

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Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup pine nuts

  • 3 cups water

  • 1/2 pound linguini, broken in half

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

  • 10 to 12 cherry tomatoes, quartered

  • 1 1/2 pounds medium or large shrimp, peeled and deveined

  • 3/4 cup basil pesto, preferably homemade

  • 1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped

Directions

  1. Place pinenuts in a 12-inch skillet and heat over high heat, tossing and stirring frequently until lightly toasted. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

  2. Heat the water in a 12-inch skillet over high heat until boiling and heavily salt it until it tastes like the sea. Add the linguine and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water, and transfer to a bowl. Toss with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and set aside.

  3. Wipe out the skillet, and heat remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Push the tomatoes to the side and add the shrimp, seasoning those with salt and pepper on both sides. Cook until pink and opaque, about 4 minutes total, flipping once half way through cooking.

  4. Add the pasta back to the pan, stir in the pesto and pine nuts until combined. Add reserved pasta water as necessary, adding a little at a time until it reacjes desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper, transfer to warm serving bowls, top with basil, and serve.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
700 Calories
39g Fat
50g Carbs
37g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 700
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 39g 50%
Saturated Fat 6g 32%
Cholesterol 225mg 75%
Sodium 1212mg 53%
Total Carbohydrate 50g 18%
Dietary Fiber 3g 11%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 37g
Vitamin C 8mg 41%
Calcium 248mg 19%
Iron 4mg 21%
Potassium 581mg 12%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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