Sun Dried Tomato Shrimp (Whole30, Keto)
Sun dried tomato shrimp skillet is the perfect weeknight meal! Ready in less than 15 minutes, this flavorful shrimp recipe is going to quickly become one of your weeknight favorites!
Tender shrimp paired with sun dried tomatoes and spinach can be served over cauliflower rice, pasta or even cauliflower mash for the perfect Whole30, keto, low carb or paleo friendly meal.
Reasons to love sun dried tomato shrimp
- Tender shrimp paired with sun dried tomatoes and spinach create a shrimp Florentine type dish that you are going to just love to serve at parties or for your family during the busy week. This is the kind of recipe that looks super fancy but really it’s just 7 ingredients and ready in under 15 minutes. Easily double or triple this recipe depending on how many people you are trying to feed.
- This Tuscan sundried tomato shrimp recipe is so flavorful and is a recipe the whole family will enjoy. You can customize this to serve over cauliflower rice, rice, spaghetti squash, pasta, zoodles, mashed cauliflower or even crusty bread!
- Because this recipe is so simple, I doubt you will have leftovers, but if you do, it’s great hot or cold, so you can easily eat leftovers right out of the Tupperware the next day (or heat it up as well).
Ingredients
- White onion
- Vegetable broth
- Raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed
- Salt
- Garlic powder
- Sundried Tomatoes
- Baby spinach
Step by step instructions
Finely chop the onion. Preheat a large skillet over medium heat, add onion and cook 2-3 minutes. Add shrimp to onion mixture, cook 2-3 minutes. Stir the shrimp, add vegetable broth, sundried tomatoes, salt, garlic powder and stir well. Cook 2 minutes. Add baby spinach and turn off the heat. Stir well to wilt the spinach. Serve hot.
Pro tips
- If you can, buy shrimp that is already peeled and deveined with the tails removed. This really cuts down on the prep time and allows this meal to really be super simple. If you have shrimp that needs to be cleaned, the first step will be getting the shells off, deveining and removing the tails. This can take an extra 10-15 minutes of prep time.
- Use fresh or frozen shrimp. Quick defrost your shrimp in cold water for about 30 minutes before cooking. Do not defrost shrimp in hot water, they will get mealy and gross because the outside of the shrimp will start to cook and the inside will still be frozen.
- Use sun dried tomatoes in olive oil. The olive oil the sun dried tomatoes are packed in is incredibly flavorful and adds a nice umami quality to the dish!
- Don’t overcook the shrimp. Shrimp are great because they really only need a few minutes in a hot skillet. If you cook them too long, it gets rubbery and unappetizing. As soon as you see them start to make that tight C shape (and turn pink) they are ready to go!
- If you want more spice – add 1/2 – 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes for some heat.
Other veggies could you add to this dish
- Chopped cherry tomatoes
- Chopped roasted red pepper
- Sauteed mushrooms
- Cooked asparagus or zucchini
- Capers (drained)
- Chopped fresh basil at the end of cooking
Sun Dried Tomato Shrimp
Ingredients
- ½ large white onion, chopped
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed
- ⅓ cup vegetable broth
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
- 2 cups baby spinach
Instructions
- Preheat a large skillet over medium heat.
- Chop the white onion.½ large white onion, chopped
- Spray the skillet with olive oil spray and add the chopped white onion. Cook 5 minutes over medium heat.
- Add vegetable broth to the skillet to deglaze the pan (use a wooden spatula or spoon to scrape off any brown bits) from the skillet.⅓ cup vegetable broth
- Add the shrimp, salt, garlic powder and sun dried tomatoes (and oil) to the skillet. Stir well.1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed, ½ teaspoon sea salt, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, 2 tablespoons sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
- Cook the shrimp on one side 2 minutes, flip the shrimp and cook another 2-3 minutes.
- When the shrimp starts to turn into a C-shape, turn off the heat.
- Add the baby spinach to the skillet and stir well until the spinach is wilted.2 cups baby spinach
- Serve hot, cold or room temperature.
Recipe Notes
- If you can, buy shrimp that is already peeled and deveined with the tails removed. This really cuts down on the prep time and allows this meal to really be super simple. If you have shrimp that needs to be cleaned, the first step will be getting the shells off, deveining and removing the tails. This can take an extra 10-15 minutes of prep time.
- Use fresh or frozen shrimp. Quick defrost your shrimp in cold water for about 30 minutes before cooking. Do not defrost in hot water, they will get mealy and gross because the outside of the shrimp will start to cook and the inside will still be frozen.
- Use sun dried tomatoes in olive oil. The olive oil the sun dried tomatoes are packed in is incredibly flavorful and adds a nice umami quality to the dish!
- Don’t overcook the shrimp. Shrimp are great because they really only need a few minutes in a hot skillet. If you cook too long, they get rubbery and unappetizing. As soon as you see them start to make that tight C shape (and turn pink) they are ready to go!
Nutrition Information
Sun dried tomato shrimp common questions
What should you serve this Tuscan shrimp with?
This recipe is great over your favorite rice or pasta or even in a bowl with some crusty bread for topping. Some of my favorite ways to enjoy this are over:
- Plain cauliflower rice – sauté one or two bags of frozen (or fresh) cauliflower rice in a hot skillet for 5-8 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Season with ½ -1 tsp. salt (depending on how much cauliflower rice you used).
- Garlic Mashed Cauliflower
- Air Fryer Spaghetti squash
- Zucchini noodles
- Pasta (linguine or penne are great for this)
- Perfectly cooked jasmine rice (I recommend using the Instant Pot to make the best rice)
Can you use frozen shrimp?
Yes! You will want to defrost the shrimp in cold water, changing out the water every 10 minutes or so. This process takes about 30 minutes. You can also defrost in the fridge overnight (be sure to put the bag of shrimp in a container in case it starts leaking from the bag).
Do not use hot water to defrost, the shrimp will have an awful texture after cooking – kind of mealy and gross.
I would not cook this from frozen, as the outside of the shrimp will likely overcook while you are trying to defrost the inside, making it rubbery and/or mealy texture.
What is the best shrimp to buy?
I love the frozen Argentinian Shrimp from Trader Joe’s. It’s wild caught and comes already peeled, deveined and the tails removed. This is a larger shrimp (20-25 per pound) and the texture is always great.
If you can’t make it to Trader Joe’s, to save you the most time, you will want to buy shrimp that is already peeled and deveined. You can often find shrimp in the shell on sale but it takes 10-15 minutes to shell and devein shrimp, it is a process that I do not prefer to go through. I would rather spend a little more on someone else doing this for me.
You will want medium to large shrimp. Usually a count of 20-35 per pound. Any smaller and they will likely start to overcook in the time stated in this recipe.
If you have frozen cooked shrimp, defrost using cold water and add the shrimp to the pan and only cook 2-3 minutes total, allowing the shrimp to just heat up. You really don’t want to overcook them.
What if you can’t find sun dried tomatoes in oil?
You can use dried sun dried tomatoes, but you will want to take the time to rehydrate them in hot water (about 30 minutes) before adding them to the dish. You can discard the liquid they are soaking in. Add about ½ -1 tbsp. of olive oil as well so that the sauce has a rich texture to it.
Want to make this sauce creamy?
Many of the Tuscan Shrimp recipes have a creamy sauce. I love how simple this sauce is but if you want something creamier, I would suggest adding ¼ cup of dairy free milk + about ½ cup of greek yogurt (Almond milk based or regular if you can tolerate dairy). Add it at the end with the spinach and mix it well to incorporate it into the broth. You may need to add another pinch of salt as well.
How to store leftovers
This recipe disappears quickly, but if you happen to have leftovers, you can store them in a well sealed container for 3-4 days in the fridge.
Reheat the shrimp using the stove or the microwave. Heat the shrimp in a skillet over medium low heat until just warmed through, don’t overcook. If you use the microwave, only heat the shrimp for about 1-1:30 minute, as over cooking can make them rubbery.
I don’t believe the texture of this would be very good after freezing, so I would not recommend it.
