Bursting with flavor, incredibly fresh and ready in just 15 minutes, these keto shrimp zoodles with pesto make for a stellar (and easy!) weekday meal!
Gluten Free & Keto Pesto Shrimp Zoodles
Gluten Free & Keto Pesto Shrimp Zoodles
Zoodles are a staple keto meal here at gnom-gnom, as with a little sprucing up they make for a killer (and ultra speedy!) meal. Plus, they’re super versatile; remember our creamy mascarpone or breakfast zoodles?
Suuuper easy, ultra delicious and totally fresh!
The Trick To Dry Zoodles (!!)
You know when you cook your zoodles and your pan turns into a soup?! Totally avoidable! Simply place your zucchini noodles on a sieve, sprinkle (generously!) with salt, and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes.
What happens here, is that veggies will always release water when sprinkled with salt. Remember osmosis?! Water has a tendency to flow from a lower salt concentration to a higher one (a little biology class!).
The Pesto
Going the homemade route with pesto is highly (highly!) suggested! Not only does it take less than 15 minutes to whip up, but it also tastes 1000x better and you end up not breaking the bank (great store-bought pesto is pricy stuff guys!)*.
Did you also know you can totally freeze pesto?! I like to whip up a large batch, transfer it to an ice cube tray, freeze, and place in freezer bags for up to 6 months. Handy stuff!
Oh! And if paleo or dairy free, simply substitute the parmesan cheese for nutritional yeast. A little different, but still super yum!
*Top tip: be sure to check your store-bought pesto for ingredients, as I found they tend to contain not-so-good oils such as sunflower.
(15 Minute!) Gluten Free & Keto Shrimp Zoodles With Pesto
Ingredients
For the zoodles:
- 1 zucchini *
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil for cooking
- 2 cloves garlic minced or ran through a press
- 6 large shrimp peeled and deveined
For the pesto:
- 1/4 cup homemade pesto or store-bought!
- kosher salt to taste
To garnish:
- lemon
- Parmesan cheese freshly grated
- fresh basil ribboned
- black pepper freshly ground
Instructions
- Cut the zucchini into noodles using a spiralizer (or buy ready shaped zoodles!). Place in a sieve, sprinkle with salt, and allow water to drain for 5-10 minutes while you prep and cook the shrimp. This will ensure dry rather than soupy zoodles!
- Heat up olive oil in a skillet or pan over medium heat and add in garlic. Sauté for a minute or two until just golden. Add in the shrimp, season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until pink and fully cooked. Move the shrimp to the side of the pan (or transfer to a plate) to cook the zoodles.
- Add in the drained zoodles and cook until lightly softened (but not fully overcooked), 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in the pesto and serve right away with lemons, freshly grated Parmesan and basil.
Honey you forgot the tomatoes. The pictures have tomatoes in them and your recipe doesn’t. Do you add them at the end?
Thanks love,
C.
This dish was super easy to make and it tasted amazing! I made it using your homemade pesto recipe and loved it, thanks so much!
hi Paola, recently cooking the fabulous cheesy cauliflower Mac dish and I substituted coconut cream for dairy cream. It was fabulous. couldn’t taste the difference.
Love all your recipes, thanks.
Kirsty from Australia
How much salt do you use on the zoodles?
The nutritional info indicates 7g sugar. Where does the sugar come from, in this recipe?
Beautiful Paola!!
Thank you Jennifer! 🙂 xo!