Kale Pesto Pasta with Shrimp & Peppers

Kale Pesto Pasta with Shrimp is a delicious dinner idea that is perfect for date night in, or a special family dinner! Pasta is tossed with homemade kale pesto, and flavorful sautéed shrimp and peppers.

Kale Pesto Pasta with Peppers & Shrimp

This pasta dish will impress pretty much anyone! It will make you feel like you’re at a fancy restaurant, yet it is so simple to make. The homemade pesto is my most made pesto recipe, I put it on pretty much everything. I used it for pesto pizza, pasta recipes, and you can slather on all kinds of things. Sometimes I just make a batch to keep in the fridge so that I can have pesto on hand to dip all of my veggies in as a snack.

I have made pesto pasta SO many times when we’ve had people over for dinner. It always impresses, and even my toddler approves! It is also a really great way to get in lots of extra greens into your meal too, who doesn’t want to eat their vegetables in creamy sauce form?

shrimp and peppers sauteed in a cast iron skillet

Make Your Own Homemade Kale Pesto

  • KALE – You can use any type of kale you want, but I prefer the curly kale for this. You will use almost one whole bunch, and it condenses down so much.
  • CASHEWS – I alternate with which nuts and seeds I use in my pestos all the time. It is really up to you, but my two favorites are hemp seeds and cashews, they both give a pretty neutral flavor.
  • NUTRITIONAL YEAST – this gives it that cheesy/salty flavor that you want in a pesto, without the parmesan cheese.
  • GARLIC POWDER – you can use fresh garlic cloves or garlic powder, which ever you have on hand. This adds so much flavor!
  • SALT & PEPPER – you want to bring out those delicious flavors.
  • OLIVE OIL – this will bring everything together and give it that creamy consistency. Avocado oil also works really well in this.

Kale pesto is much easier to make than you might think, just throw everything into a food processor and blend it right up! You get to control the ingredients that go in your pesto, and it is so much more fresh than store bought pesto.

Pesto Pasta with Shrimp

Ingredients for Pesto Pasta with Shrimp

  • Gluten-Free Pasta – I like to use spaghetti noodles for this, but you can use any pasta shape you like the most!
  • Homemade Kale Pesto – all of the details about the ingredients for this are above!
  • Bell peppers – I love to use the yellow and orange bell peppers to add more color to the dish, but green and red also work perfectly.
  • Shrimp – I normally buy shrimp that is already peeled and deveined because it is so much less work for me. But you can use any type of shrimp that looks good at the market. If you are using frozen shrimp, just make sure you thaw it ahead of time. You can do this in the fridge, or in a big bowl of cold water.
  • Dried Thyme – this is what we season the shrimp with, and it gives an amazing flavor to the whole dish.
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil – we saute the shrimp and peppers in olive oil, you can also use avocado oil instead.
  • Fresh Garlic – garlic cloves add a delicious flavor to the shrimp and peppers!
Shrimp Pesto Pasta

How To Make This Shrimp Pesto Pasta Dish

Step 1 – Start by making your kale pesto. Add the kale, cashews, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and garlic to a food processor. Pulse it for a few seconds to break everything down. Then, while the food processor is on, start slowly drizzling in the olive oil until it becomes a nice creamy pesto consistency. Set aside.

Step 2 – Next, fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add the pasta and cook according to package instructions.

Step 3 – Preheat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2-3 tbsp of olive oil, then add the peppers. Stir frequently, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the peppers to soften up a bit. Then add the shrimp, and season with the dried thyme, salt, and pepper.

Step 4 – Stir the shrimp and peppers frequently, and cook for 5-7 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through and start to get a slight char on the outside.

Step 5 – When the pasta is done cooking, reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and set aside. Drain the pasta and put it back into the large pot. Immediately add the shrimp, peppers, and the pesto sauce to the pasta.

Step 6 – Use tongs to toss everything together. If the pesto is kind of thick, then add some of the pasta water to loosen it up a bit. Toss until all of the pasta is coated in the pesto. Transfer to bowls and enjoy!

What to Serve With Pasta For Dinner

Garlic bread – A classic! Schar and BFree both have a delicious gluten-free baguette that you can slather with butter and sprinkle some garlic powder, a perfect combo with the pasta.

Salad – I love a simple side salad with a bowl of pasta. Balsamic vinaigrette would go perfectly with the pesto pasta.

Roasted veggies – A simple side of roasted veggies would go perfectly with pasta. Broccoli, green beans, asparagus, anything you want!

Print Pin
5 from 1 vote

Pesto Pasta with Shrimp

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs shrimp , peeled and deveined
  • 1 orange bell pepper , chopped
  • 2 tsp dried thyme
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 (1lb) package gluten-free spaghetti pasta

Kale Pesto

  • 2-3 large handfuls of kale
  • ¼ cup cashews
  • ¼ cup nutritional yeast
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

  • Start by making your kale pesto. Add the kale, cashews, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and garlic to a food processor. Pulse it for a few seconds to break everything down. Then, while the food processor is on, start slowly drizzling in the olive oil until it becomes a nice creamy pesto consistency. Set aside.
  • Next, fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add the pasta and cook according to package instructions.
  • Preheat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2-3 tbsp of olive oil, then add the peppers. Stir frequently, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the peppers to soften up a bit. Then add the shrimp, and season with the dried thyme, salt, and pepper.
  • Stir the shrimp and peppers frequently, and cook for 5-7 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through and start to get a slight char on the outside.
  • When the pasta is done cooking, reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and set aside. Drain the pasta and put it back into the large pot. Immediately add the shrimp, peppers, and the pesto sauce to the pasta.
  • Use tongs to toss everything together. If the pesto is kind of thick, then add some of the pasta water to loosen it up a bit. Toss until all of the pasta is coated in the pesto.
  • Transfer to bowls and enjoy!

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