Shrimp Pesto Pizza Recipe

A few nights ago, I shared a photo of a quick weeknight dinner I threw together when Seth announced he was on his way home from work after a 14 hour day and was a “hungry, hungry Papa Bear.”

Several of my Instagram and Facebook friends asked for a recipe, so I thought I would share! I’m always down to help a sista/brotha when in need of a quick, easy meal.

First off, I plan on sharing a few recipes here on the blog but there are some things you should know:

• I’m not inherently a great cook. It’s taken me a long time to be able to really experiment with ingredients and not feel as if I was being wasteful when I failed.
• Don’t make my mistake and feel as if you’ve failed when something doesn’t turn out as you hoped. You simply learned what NOT to do the next time. Just make sure you remember what it was that caused the “oops.”
• Many of the things I cook are at least based in a recipe somehow. I’ll gladly share those dishes with full credit to the author/cookbook!
• For the things I have created, likely I’ll share directions as “cook until it looks done” or “top with about this much cheese or as much as you have in the refrigerator,” because that’s how I tend to cook.

Now, on with it!

I keep frozen shrimp on hand at all times. They thaw quickly and are easy to throw on a salad, in a stir fry, in a quesadilla, or… on top of a pizza.

To thaw, put frozen shrimp in a colander and wash with room-ish temperature water. This usually takes less than 5 minutes.

While they’re thawing, preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Chop a clove or two of garlic.

On medium-high heat, melt a pad of butter and add garlic and shrimp.

This Zesty Lemon seasoning was the first thing I saw in the cabinet in my hasty scramble, and it turned out great! Feel free to experiment with anything you’d like here- garlic salt, pepper, and a little lemon juice would work marvelously!

Sauté shrimp on medium high for 2-3 minutes per side or just until pink. Don’t worry about undercooking, because they’re about to go in the over for another 10 minutes!

While the shrimp are cooking, you can prepare the pizza.

I picked up this naan on a recent trip to Aldi. The garlic gave the pizza a nice touch.

I also picked up this pesto while at Aldi. It was great quality and really added to the flavor of the pizza. Though I’m a believer in bargain shopping, I think quality pesto is important, so shop around till you find one both delicious AND affordable.

Don’t mind me… just nibbling on this naan as I cover it with pesto. It’s just so delicious!

A little bit of fresh spinach.

And then we come to a key ingredient… fresh mozzarella. Previous to now, most of my pizzas included shredded cheese of some sort. After bringing this home from Aldi, I’ve now learned the error of my ways. Fresh mozzarella is thebomb.com.

PS – Notice that super cute towel in the background?! My mom made it, along with the rest of the days of the week, as one of my wedding presents. I giggle every time I pull one out of the drawer; they’re just so cute! You can find more like it in my sister’s Etsy shop- The Stitching Hand.

Top with cooked shrimp making sure to scrape out all excess juices. You can’t leave any of that butter  and garlic behind to go to waste!

Cook at 400 degrees for approximately 10 minutes until cheese is melted and ingredients are browned to your liking. Truly, 12-14 minutes may work better, but I wouldn’t know, because I’ve been too excited to get it out and eat it!

DIVINE, I tell ya’.

Click the link below for your own printable recipe!

Shrimp Pesto Pizza

I hope y’all enjoy! And until next time…

Happy travels AND eating, my friends!

Jubilant Jennifer