Main dish

Easy One Pan Shrimp Orzo Pasta

An easy and super healthy one-dish recipe. This shrimp orzo pasta has two healthy superfoods, coconut oil and kale in the ingredients and tastes amazing!

To recipe
A creamy stew full of tomatoes, kale, juicy shrimp and orzo pasta. Easy to make and ready in 20 minutes.
Recipe insights & TIPS

A super-easy one pan meal full of tasty shrimp, orzo pasta, fresh basil and Parmesan cheese. Ready in about 20 minutes, it's a great choice for busy nights!

This post has been updated and republished with newer photographs

One pan or one pot recipes are always a bonus when making dinner. The less dishes to clean the better, right? That's why this recipe is a winner, it's packed with giant shrimp and cooked in tomato, broth and balsamic. Did I mention that it only takes about 20 minutes to make, and there's a few healthy secret ingredients like coconut oil and kale.

What is orzo pasta?

Orzo means barley in Italian and it looks just like grains of rice. A little goes a long way so It's a great filler for meals and cold summer salads like this grilled balsamic chicken version. It's usually made from white flour although a whole grain version with more fiber is also available, a typical serving size of 2 ounces will have about 200 calories. Orzo is coated in starch which makes it ideal for naturally thickening sauce or liquid it may be cooked in, just like Arborio rice which is used for risotto. For cold salads or dishes, it should be rinsed.

Making your shrimp orzo pasta

This recipe is from the cook book, Superfoods at Every Meal by Kelly Pfeiffer. Kelly has simplified the process of getting superfoods into your everyday meals without feeling like you have to make a whole meal made only from those superfoods. Check out Kelly's blog, Nosh and Nourish for more healthy and fun recipes! Each one of Kelly's recipes is guaranteed to have some of the 10 superfoods listed in the book.

A white, fluffy chef's hat with an orange band, logo of Foodness Gracious.

Recipe

A creamy stew full of tomatoes, kale, juicy shrimp and orzo pasta. Easy to make and ready in 20 minutes.

Course:
Main dish
COOKing TIME:
20 minutes
Total TIME:
30 minutes
CUISINE:
American
PREP TIME:
10 minutes
SERVINGS:
4

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 cup chopped kale
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 14 ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp cracked black pepper
  • ¼ tsp dried basil
  • ¼ tsp dried oregano
  • 1 cup uncooked organic orzo pasta
  • 12 ounces de-veined medium sized shrimp
  • Parmesan cheese for topping
  • Fresh basil optional for garnish

Ingredient Swaps

Instructions

  1. Heat the coconut oil over a low heat until melted.
  2. Add the kale and garlic and sauté until the kale gets soft.
  3. Add the broth, tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic, salt, pepper, basil, oregano and orzo
  4. Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn the heat down. Simmer for 15 minutes stirring often and the mixture has thickened and the orzo is soft.
  5. Add the shrimp and cook for the remaining 5 minutes until shrimp are pink
  6. Garnish with the parmesan and basil. Serve in bowls at once.
A white, fluffy chef's hat with an orange band, logo of Foodness Gracious.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @foodnessgracious on Instagram and hashtag it #foodnessgracious so we can see all the deliciousness!