One Pot Garlic Butter Shrimp and Orzo.
This one pot shrimp orzo is so ridiculously delish!
If you can’t tell, I’m having a little moment with shrimp and butter and lemon. I mean, at least it’s a delicious moment?
This is weeknight dinner gold. I love a meal that can be thrown together in a few minutes and tastes like absolute heaven. When I make this, we cannot stop eating it. Every bite is more incredible than the last.
Why is orzo just oh-so good?! Sure, it’s like rice, but even better.
I love how it sticks to whatever you toss it with, in a good way. It makes a dish more satisfying too. Plus, it soaks up all the wonderful flavors in the pot.
Let’s make it tonight!
I toss the shrimp with some olive oil, lemon, salt, pepper and garlic. Crushed red pepper flakes too! Just give it a bit of flavor.
Then, the best part? Toasting the orzo in butter. Almost as if it’s arborio rice and you’re making risotto. Let it get a little toasty and golden. At the same time, the butter will brown too. THIS IS WHERE THE FLAVOR IS AT!
All the garlic butter feels start here. I’m all about layering flavor from the bottom up. The garlic butter is fragrant and wonderful and then the toasty orzo gives it even more of a nutty flavor. It’s perfect!
The only thing left to do is add the stock, cover the pot and let it go. About 20 minutes later, dinner is ready!
The beauty in this dish is that both the orzo and shrimp cook quickly. It tastes more flavorful than it looks, which is wild since there are only about ten ingredients in the entire dish.
This isn’t an overly complicated dish and it’s certainly not anything groundbreaking. But it’s just one of those recipes that is darn good. Easy but shockingly good. Everyone loves it and you may be tempted to make a double batch. Leftovers are fantastic. It’s simple enough that you can throw a roasted vegetable in the oven if you wish. The best kind of recipe!
Easy enough to throw on the menu tonight!
One Pot Shrimp and Orzo
One Pot Garlic Butter Shrimp and Orzo
Ingredients
- 1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lemon, juiced and freshly zested
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- kosher salt and pepper
- 1 cup orzo
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 ¼ cups chicken stock
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- lemon wedges, for spritzing
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the shrimp with the olive oil, lemon juice, zest, garlic, red pepper flakes and a big pinch of salt and pepper. Stir and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Heat the butter in a large skillet (I like a 12 inch) over medium heat. Once melted, stir in the orzo. Cook, stirring often, until the orzo is slightly golden and toasty. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Pour in the chicken stock and bring it to a boil. Reduce it to a simmer and cover the pot. Cook until the orzo absorbs the water and is fluffed up, about 12 to 15 minutes.
- Add in the shrimp to the orzo and stir. Cover the pot again and cook for another 5 to 8 minutes, or until the shrimp is pink, opaque and cooked through.
- Sprinkle with fresh parsley and a spritz of lemon. I like to stir in another 1 to 2 tablespoons of melted butter for optimal flavor, but this is up to you. Serve immediately!
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Golden, toasty, buttery, garlicky wonderfulness.
54 Comments on “One Pot Garlic Butter Shrimp and Orzo.”
Hmmm, wonder if I could sub cauliflower rice for the orzo? Trying to cut out pasta and breads.
i don’t think it would work in this recipe! only because the cauliflower won’t be able to soak up that much stock.
I made this as written but use cauliflower rice in a lot of other recipes. I definitely think you could try it here! I would skip over making the orzo and cook the shrimp in a pan on their own, then add cooked cauliflower rice at the end and mix. Instead of chicken stock you could add a dab of stock concentrate for flavor. Might try that next time!
will be making this soon with few subs perfect for my after office meals will dm you if i make this and let you know how it goes Thanks Ramya
Were you following me yesterday in the grocery store?
I bought most of the Ingredients for this dish. Frozen shrimp was on sale.
Would 16-20’s work good for this?
Thanks, Alicia 🐰
Could you use Scallops, Crab or lobster in this dish
Hi! Would this be possible to make with frozen shrimp? Would any changes need to be made ?
i def think you can use frozen shrimp, as long as it doesn’t have a ton of ice attached to it! just make sure it’s peeled and deveined. cooked shrimp will only take a few mins to warm in the orzo – raw frozen shrimp may take a few more mins to cook!
This is fantastic. I love your weeknight recipes that use ingredients already stocked at home. I added sun dried tomatoes and gets just cause I had some to use up, so good. Can’t wait to get the new cookbook!!!
Great flavors and I loved the pop of heat with the red pepper flakes. My final dish, though, looked wetter than the picture. In the picture, the grains of orzo are drier and fluffier. I cooked the orzo for more than 15 minutes, but it didn’t get dry like rice would. Added my semi-deforsted shrimp and finished cooking. The shrimp probably gave off more liquid so it was rather soupy, But, I added baby spinach and it did the trick. It taste great and I’ll definitely make it again.
I’m wondering can this be made in a instant pot?
i’m not sure! i don’t use the instant pot so i haven’t tested it out.
I loved the dish but I would like to see the nutrition information. Also, direction for adding the marinated shrimp are not clear I used a slotted spoon to dish the marinated shrimp as the final stage I did not want all that water from the shrimp sitting in olive oil, and lemon juice…too much liquid. I just spritzed a little lemon on the plate before I ate mine. It was delicious and I will be making it again.
Sounds delicious! I am ready to make it today. Question.. Do I add the shrimp along with the marinade to the orzo?
SO MUCH FLAVOR! Made this using a bag of frozen cooked shrimp from TJs and a bag of chopped broccoli along with some chopped cherry tomatoes thrown in, and it was so delicious and easy. Probably took 5 minutes longer to cook because of the frozen shrimp, but still it was very fast. I did replace 1/4 cup of the broth with 1/4 cup of white wine…because wine is delicious. We absolutely loved this meal! Thanks Jess!
It’s my fault…the recipe does say to marinate the shrimp for 10 minutes…since it was step 1 that’s what I did first, and the shrimp basically “cooked” in the lemon juice while I was busy cooking the orzo. The flavors in this dish were super yummy…but overall my dish was a flop because my shrimp were so rubbery. I wanted to make sure to post this so others would not make the same mistake… definitely worth another try!
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Made this tonight and it was so good!!! Will definitely have this one on repeat. Simple yet so flavorful!!
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The flavors are great in this dish, but I found that 2 and 1/4 cups of chicken broth is too much liquid for the browned orzo to absorb without getting too soft. I’ll adjust the amount of liquid next time–and there will be a next time1
Could you sub the orzo for something else?
I made this dish twice, 1st time half quantity, second time full. Both time the orzo was too wet. Next time I will use less of the called for stock. Otherwise this is a great dish!!!
Made this for dinner tonight and absolutely loved it! I added chopped asparagus in at the same time as the shrimp. I loved the extra flavor that comes from toasting the orzo.
2 words – Super Yummy!
Aloha! I made this for dinner tonight…I found the 2.25 cups broth was a little much. Next time I will start with 2 cups & add more if needed. Lemon flavor was delicious & I left out the extra butter at the end & don’t think it needed it. Thank you for this nice recipe!
Super easy and delicious. I added some of the marinade to the pot at the end. I wanted that lemony flavor along with the garlic. I also added freshly grated parmesan cheese at the very end. Excellent!
After bringing it to a boil, Are you supposed to simmer at medium heat the entire time until it cooks?
whats it like the next day?
So, so delicious! I’ve now made this 3 times and each time it’s fantastic. I find I need a little less time to cook the shrimp, but otherwise I follow the recipe directly. Toasting the orzo makes such a difference. I love the mix of creaminess and citrus. Yum! Another winner. :)
This was SOOO good! Even my picky eater loved it. Next time I will decrease the chicken broth a little as it was a bit wet, but the flavor was truly one of the best things I’ve tasted. This will be a new regular in our rotation – thank you!!
Do you dump the marinade and shrimp in the pot?? It doesn’t say so I added it in the pot. Wasn’t sure the shrimp would give it enough flavor
Excellent recipe! Easy, tasty, quick. It’s a great week night dinner.
Very good! I used about a tablespoon of the shrimp marinade in the orzo. Would use less chicken broth. The directions are unclear.
Made this last night but swapped quick cooking farro for the orzo. Delish! Now if only the daily emails would come back to my inbox…… (sigh)(I’ve sent an email about my problem but it’s still not coming). 😞
The lemon flavor makes the dish!
Loved it!!! Saw this on Instagram this morning, had all the ingredients, so I made it tonight. After reading some other reviews, I only used 2 cups of chicken stock and I marinated the shrimp for about 30 minutes. I added the extra butter and some grated Parmesan. It was delicious!! This will be in my regular roatation!
I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious. It was quick and easy. I added an extra half cup of orzo and I sprinkled pecarino over the top at the end was delicious.
This recipe was very and very very delicious.
I just made it. I reduced the chicken broth to 2 cups because of the comments, and added frozen peas with the shrimp. It’s totally delicious.
I will be making this recipe but not clear about the garlic. The ingredients list shows 4 garlic cloves and 2 garlic cloves. Which quantity goes in the shrimp and which goes in the orzo?
4 with the shrimp, 2 with the orzo!
This was DELICIOUS!! Super quick, easy, and SO tasty. My husband LOVED it and made two comments… “This is restaurant quality!” and “You should make this for company!”:)
Thanks Jessica! We love your recipes and very often I shop for whatever you’ve just posted on Instagram. And love your cookbook… just bought two more to give as gifts.
Very good and very easy. I made it without the red pepper and used dried Italian seasoning instead of fresh parsley. I also used frozen shrimp that was partially defrosted in the microwave first. It worked fine.
I wish this recipe was clear on whether or not to add the Marinade with the shrimp. I have no idea if I’m supposed to but I am not going to. Fingers crossed it comes out ok.
Everything about this recipe is wonderful! Delicious! Easy to prepare! One pot clean up! I used whole wheat orzo. Added a handful of peas for color. We loved it!
Where does the 2 garlic cloves go? You call for 4 cloves and then again for 2 cloves. Thanks
Made exactly as directed. Absolutely delicious. I did add frozen green beans (cooked in the microwave) because I felt the dish needed color. Will definitely be on the menu rotation.
Tried ur recipe today… I add mushrooms & baby spinazie with prawns.. In the broth I add 1 boullion..Everybody in my house was very happy after having this dish.. Thank u for d wonderful recipe..
I loved this recipe! Super easy and so savory. I subbed a frozen seafood mix for shrimp and doubled the orzo for more servings. It was perfect. The lemon zest really made it. Can’t wait to make this again!
Quick and easy dinner, but most important it is delish! My family loved it, and can’t wait for me to make it again!
Mine was also soupy- next time I will add more orzo- perhaps even 2x- to accommodate our family of 5. Very flavorful and all 3 kids ate it up!
Yum. I did use less chicken stock (2 cups), and will put shrimp in a little later next time (found it was overdone), but overall, delish. Highly recommend.
Great recipe! I didn’t have lemon so just used 1 tbsp lemon juice instead. I also reduced the stock to 2 cups as recommended by others and the orzo was cooked perfectly. I found that 5-8 minutes for the shrimp was too much for my raw defrosted shrimp. Next time I will just mix it in, cover, turn the heat off and let shrimp sit for 5-8 minutes. Very easy recipe to make, and delicious.
Just found you and so glad I did! Made this tonight just searched “Orzo and…” then clicked on the first thing that came up! Made it as written, maybe a little less than what was called for of broth. I was worried after reading comments but it came out perfectly!! Yes! I did add everything that was in the shrimp brine bowl. This will be on our table often! Thanks Jessica!!