Pesto Spaghetti Squash with Shrimp is a delicious low-carb dinner meal to make during the week. It’s super flavorful with dairy-free and homemade pesto and it’s a great alternative to regular pasta! Also, it’s paleo, gluten-free, and Whole30 friendly.
Are you ready to make a delicious low-carb dinner for two with this Pesto Spaghetti Squash with Shrimp? I bet you are because it’ll become one of your favorite fall weeknight dinner meals. Spaghetti squash recipes (try my Easy Bolognese Stuffed Spaghetti Squash and my Spaghetti Squash with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Basil) are great for those days that you are craving comforting food but don’t want to load yourself with lots of carbs.
This recipe is tossed with delicious homemade dairy-free pesto, which means it’s made with nutritional yeast instead of Parmesan cheese, but it tastes just like the regular pesto recipe. If you don’t have nutritional yeast in your pantry, you can order it easily online at Amazon. However, this pesto recipe can be made with Parmesan cheese for those who are not doing Whole30 or following the paleo diet.
One of the reasons I love this Pesto Spaghetti Squash with Shrimp recipe is because it’s very versatile. If you don’t have or don’t eat shrimp, you can make this pesto spaghetti squash with chicken, Italian sausage, tofu, or even boiled eggs. It’s totally up to you. I love eating it with shrimp because seafood is absolutely my favorite type of animal protein and because shrimp cooks very quickly.
Don’t forget to season the shrimp very well to add more flavour to this dish. I love cooking shrimp with paprika just because it gives shrimp more color. But you can use any type of spice you prefer. You can also serve this Pesto Spaghetti Squash with Shrimp in the built-in veggie bowl or pile the strands on a plate.
Why you should make this Pesto Spaghetti Squash with Shrimp recipe?
- It’s a great way to eat more veggies and fewer white process carbs.
- This recipe serves 2 but can be easily doubled to feed a family of four.
- It’s easy to make but very tasty.
- It’s a delicious low-carb paleo-friendly dinner that happens to also be Whole30-compliant! Awesome!
- You’ll feel that you’re eating pasta, even though you’re not – You’re eating squash.
Can I use store-bought pesto for this Pesto Spaghetti Squash with Shrimp?
Yes, you can, and it’ll save a lot of time in your kitchen. I sometimes buy pesto because, as I said, it’s very convenient, but this time, I made my own homemade pesto because I had lots of fresh basil leaves from my patio herb garden. So I made homemade pesto for this recipe and froze the rest to use in other recipes like my Pesto Shrimp Tomato Salad Recipe, Sweet Potato Pesto Chicken Skillet, Pesto Chicken Salad Recipe, and Spaghetti Squash Casserole Recipe. Pesto is freezer-friendly, so if you make too much, you can easily freeze it!
Enjoy and let me know how yours turns out!
Pesto Spaghetti Squash with Shrimp
Ingredients
For the Spaghetti Squash
- 1 medium spaghetti squash
For the shrimp
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 lb raw shrimp peeled and deveined tail-on
- paprika to taste
- Salt and ground black pepper
For Pesto Recipe
- 4 packed cups fresh basil leaves
- ¾ cups nutritional yeast depending on taste
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 2 garlic cloves
- Salt and fresh cracked pepper
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil depending on consistency
Instructions
- Pierce the whole spaghetti squash many times with a fork.
- Place the spaghetti squash on a microwave safe dish and microwave on medium-high for 5 minute.
- Rotate spaghetti squash and microwave for 5 minutes more. In total you will microwave your squash for 10 minutes. But of course the time will depend on the power of your microwave and on the size of the spaghetti squash.
- While the spaghetti squash is in the microwave, prepare shrimp.
- Using paper towels, pat dry shrimp and add in a medium bowl.
- Add salt, black pepper and paprika. Stir well.
- In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and cook for about 1-2 minutes each side or until they are cooked through. Set aside.
- Remove the spaghetti squash from microwave. Let it rest for about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile prepare the pesto by combining basil, nutritional yeast, pine nuts, garlic, salt and pepper in food processor.
- Pulse the ingredients until combined. Remove the lid and scrape down the sides with a spatula.
- Slowly pour in olive oil while running food processor.
- Reserve 4 tablespoons to add to the spaghetti squash and the rest of it, place in a mason jar and use for other recipes.
- Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise.
- Scoop the seeds with a spoon.
- Gently scrape the sides of the squash with a fork to shred the pulp into strands.
- Add 4 tablespoons of pesto and shrimp on top of each squash halves.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Buy raw shrimp already peeled and deveined to save yourself the prepping time.
- You can keep the spaghetti squash seeds and roast them like you would with pumpkin seeds.
- To store: Once cooked, pesto shrimp spaghetti squash should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and it'll keep for up to 5 days.
- To reheat: You can microwave leftover stuffed spaghetti squash.
- To freeze: Freeze for up to 3-4 months in a freezer-safe bag or container.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe sounds absolutely delish, and simple to follow. One question though…for item #12 where does the cauliflower rice come from? It’s no where else in the description, recipe or links. Just a minor point to have corrected, as I’m sure you’re actually referring to its use (pesto) in step #16. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks a lot for pointing it out. I just fixed it to avoid further confusion.