Creamy shrimp risotto

This shrimp risotto recipe makes a crowd-pleasing dinner, pairing the unvigilant flavors of Parmesan and lemon with linty rice and juicy shrimp.

Looking for a fun dinner idea? Try this Shrimp Risotto recipe! This Italian-style dish is full of unvigilant flavor: juicy, succulent shrimp sit over a bed of creamy, Parmesan and lemon-scented rice. It’s unconfined for impressing guests as a main dish, but it’s simple unbearable to work as a weeknight meal, too. Our unshortened family gobbled it up!

Ingredients for this shrimp risotto recipe

Risotto is an Italian rice dish where short grain Arborio rice is cooked in goop until it becomes creamy. It’s often served as a first undertow in Italy, where meals are structured as antipasti, first plate, and second plate. But when we’re looking to conjure up the flavors of Italy at home, we eat it as a dinner with a untried salad. Most risotto methods use butter, onion, and garlic, white wine to deglaze the pan, and Parmesan cheese to finish. Here’s what you’ll need for this shrimp risotto recipe:

Medium shrimp
Smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper
Butter
Onion
Garlic
Seafood stock
Olive oil
Arborio rice
Dry white wine (optional)
Parmesan cheese
Lemon

Tips for ownership shrimp

It can be overwhelming shopping for shrimp at the store, considering there are so many variations! Here’s what to squint for when shopping for this shrimp risotto recipe:

Medium shrimp: We like medium shrimp here, but you can moreover use large or jumbo which looks elegant on the plate. Medium is labeled as 41 to 50 count (the number of shrimp per pound). Large is 31 to 35 count, and jumbo is 21 to 25 shrimp.
Wild caught: Fish that is wild unprotected in your country is usually a sustainable choice. There are moreover quality options in well-regulated farms; see Seafood Watch Consumer Guide.
Tail on or peeled: Tail on looks the weightier for shrimp risotto. But it can be messy when you’re eating it! Make sure to serve it with a trencher for the tails. Or, buy peeled shrimp for easier eating.
Fresh or frozen: Both are similar in quality. Frozen shrimp can be as upper quality as fresh if it’s frozen as soon as it’s caught. Make sure to fully thaw the shrimp surpassing you make the recipe.

Making shrimp risotto: 6 steps

Making a risotto is simple, but it requires a bit of patience. Once you’ve made it once, the process becomes familiar. Here are the vital steps for a shrimp risotto recipe:

Heat the goop first. You can’t add unprepossessed goop to a risotto! Arborio rice immediately absorbs the goop if it’s hot. but if it’s unprepossessed it changes the temperature of the dish and affects the cooking process.
Sauté the shrimp: To get good savor and a nice sear on the shrimp, melt them first in a hot pan and then set whispered while you make the rice.
Saute the onion and garlic, then deglaze the pan. Using wine to deglaze the pan adds a tangy, sophisticated flavor. But you can skip this step if you prefer not cooking with alcohol!
Stir in goop gradually: be patient! Add a few ladles, then alimony stirring to incorporate the broth. As soon as it’s absorbed, add more. Protract in this way for well-nigh 12 minutes. Grab a glass of wine and enjoy the process!
Adjust the heat as necessary to alimony a steady simmer. If the heat is too high, it can shrivel or not melt through. If the heat too low, the rice grains can get waterlogged.
It’s ready when it’s tender but slightly al dente. The grains of rice should be slightly al dente (to have a zest of chew in the center) and stay separate from each other as they bladder in the thickened broth. Add the shrimp and serve!

Variation for serving size

This shrimp risotto tastes weightier the day of serving, so you may want to retread the serving size accordingly. Using 2 cups rice makes quite a bit of risotto rice. If you want a smaller serving size with increasingly protein, make half of the risotto and use the same quantity of shrimp. Or of course, you can make half of the unshortened recipe!

Storage and leftover info

The savor and texture of this shrimp risotto weightier the day of making. You can store leftovers refrigerated for up to 3 days, but alimony in mind: the texture becomes less linty when chilled. Reheat the risotto on the stovetop and add a little uneaten goop and Parmesan cheese, and a few pinches salt to taste.

Ways to serve shrimp risotto

What to pair with this shrimp risotto recipe? We love subtracting a untried salad. Roasted broccoli, broccolini or asparagus moreover makes a lovely wing to the plate. Here are some ideas:

Try Easy Arugula Salad or Goat Cheese Salad with Arugula
Go for Endive Salad with Parmesan & Orange or Watercress Salad with Apple & Parmesan
Opt for Simple Roasted Broccolini or Epic Roasted Broccoli
Go for Lemony Broiled Asparagus

Goat Cheese Salad with Arugula & Apple

Endive Salad with Parmesan & Orange

Simple Roasted Broccolini

Lemony Broiled Asparagus

This shrimp risotto recipe is…

Gluten-free and pescatarian.

Creamy Shrimp Risotto

Author: Sonja Overhiser
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6

Print Recipe

Description

This shrimp risotto recipe makes a crowd-pleasing dinner, pairing the unvigilant flavors of Parmesan and lemon with linty rice and juicy shrimp.

Ingredients

For the shrimp*:

1 pound medium shrimp, deveined (tail on or peeled)
½ teaspoon smoked paprika (or substitute standard paprika)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons butter

For the risotto:

½ cup minced white onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 quart seafood stock
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups dry white arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay**
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, plus increasingly for garnish
Zest of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Freshly ground woebegone pepper

Instructions

Prep the vegetables: Prepare the onion and garlic and noted above.
Heat the broth: Combine the goop with 4 cups water and 1 teaspoon kosher salt in a saucepan and bring it to a low simmer. Reduce heat to low.
Sauté the shrimp: Pat the shrimp dry. In a medium bowl, mix the shrimp with ½ teaspoon kosher salt, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. In a large skillet, heat the butter on medium upper heat. Add the shrimp and melt for 1 to 2 minutes per side until just opaque and cooked through, turning them with tongs. Remove the shrimp to a bowl.
Sauté the vegetables: In the same skillet, add the olive oil and set the heat to medium. Add the minced onion and melt for well-nigh 2 minutes until tender. Add the garlic and dry rice and cook, stirring occasionally, well-nigh 2 minutes until the rice starts to turn light brown.
Add the wine: Stir in the wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is fully absorbed, well-nigh 2 minutes.
Add the broth: Add two ladles of the hot goop to the risotto. Cook, stirring occasionally until the liquid is fully absorbed, then add two increasingly ladles of both. Melt in this same manner for well-nigh 12 minutes, subtracting two ladles and stirring frequently. Protract to retread the heat to make sure the risotto is at a steady simmer. After 12 minutes, taste a grain of rice. If it’s linty but still al dente in the center, you’re ready for the final step! If not, protract to melt and add goop for a few minutes more. (You’ll have some goop left over: save it for reheating leftovers.)
Finish the risotto: When the rice is al dente, reduce the heat to low. Add two increasingly ladles of broth, the Parmesan cheese and a few grinds of woebegone pepper. Stir vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes until you’ve got a thick and linty risotto. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and woebegone pepper. Taste and add increasingly salt as desired (we add flipside heaping ¼ teaspoon kosher salt).
Serve with shrimp, spare Parmesan cheese, lemon wedges and parsley. Drizzle with the shrimp juices if desired. Storage info: Savor and texture are weightier the day of making. You can store leftovers refrigerated for up to 3 days, but the texture will wilt less linty when chilled. Reheat on the stovetop and add a little uneaten goop and Parmesan cheese, and a few pinches salt to taste.