Pesto Pasta Shrimp Recipe: A Quick and Easy Weeknight Dinner

If you’re like me, you’re always looking for easy-to-make weeknight dinners. That’s why I love this super easy, chilled pesto pasta shrimp recipe. This post has been sponsored by Barilla. All opinions are our own.

Once a week, my daughter eats dinner over at my sister’s house. Our two oldest children go to religion together and it makes sense to have them both at one house. Without fail, every time she comes home from their house, she tells me what a great cook my brother-in-law is.

Apparently, when she eats over, he makes pasta. The recipes and pasta are never the same. Sometimes, it’s his garlic veggie spaghetti. Other times, it’s his veggie tortellini soup with biscuits. And some weeks, it’s something completely random that he made up on his way home from work.

No matter what Uncle Brennan is making in the kitchen, my daughter loves it and eats every single bite. Then, she comes home and asks me to make it “just like he did.” There’s a lot of pressure in those few little words and even though I’ve tried to duplicate his dishes at our home, my daughter always says something’s “not the same.” After a recent batch of Uncle Brennan’s garlic veggie pasta being “just not the same,” I called my sister to express my frustration.

As she ran through the very simple list of ingredients, I heard her say – “not regular spaghetti, though. You need to have the Barilla Protein one. You know, the one that comes in the yellow box?”

Wait a minute. What? I asked her what she was talking about it.

Apparently, she doesn’t use regular spaghetti. She hasn’t used it “in years.” I’m not sure how I missed this important piece of information since we talk to each other daily, but she started using Barilla ProteinPLUS awhile back when my niece was going through a very picky eating stage. She was worried that she wasn’t getting enough protein in her diet, so she switched.

I had to know more, so as dorky as it sounds, I went online and looked it up. Sure enough, Barilla pasta really IS better for you. It’s a good source of fiber, ALA Omega-3, and lean protein from a simple blend of egg whites, grains, lentils and chickpeas. It provides 17g of protein (per 3.5oz portion) from all natural vegetarian ingredients. And, Barilla Gluten Free pasta has recently been named one of Parents Magazine’s “Top 25 Allergy Free Foods.” I hate when she’s right!

So, I decided to make my own pasta dish to see if I can compete with Uncle Brennan. This Chilled Pesto Pasta Shrimp Recipe is super easy to make and requires no fuss. With just a few basic ingredients like spaghetti, shrimp, pesto, marinara, baby spinach and garlic – you can have a tasty meal on the table in no time at all.

Save on Barilla pasta on Ibotta now.

Chilled Pesto Pasta Shrimp Recipe

Makes 1 serving.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp pesto paste
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
6 ounces large, peeled, deveined, cooked shrimp (ideally 20–25)
1 cup chilled, cooked spaghetti pasta
1 cup baby spinach leaves, shredded
½ tsp fresh garlic, minced
XX tablespoons marinara sauce
¼ cup sun-dried tomato slivers (optional)

*Cook according to package directions and then run under cold water and drain.

Directions:

1.) Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Immediately run under cold water and drain.

2.) Mix pesto paste with vinegar.

3.) Place the shrimp, spaghetti, baby spinach, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes, if using, into a large bowl. Spoon pesto sauce over and toss. Enjoy immediately or chill and serve later.

4.) Place a small amount of marinara on a small serving plate. Spoon the Pesto Pasta Shrimp recipe over it and serve immediately. Or, chill to save for later.