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, no matter if they are eating healthier or not! 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).
How to make sundried tomato shrimp
Ingredients
- White onion
- Vegetable broth
- Raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed
- Salt
- Garlic powder
- Sundried Tomatoes
- Baby spinach
Instructions
Step 1: Preheat a large skillet over medium heat.
Step 2: While the skillet is heating up, chop half of a large white onion. Spray the skillet with olive oil spray, and add the onions. Cook 2-3 minutes while the onions start to brown.
Step 4: Add the vegetable broth to the skillet to deglaze the pan and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon/spatula.
Step 5: Add the shrimp, salt, garlic powder to the pan. Top with sun dried tomatoes (and the oil they are packed in).
Step 6: Cook the shrimp about 2 minutes and then flip it. Allow it to continue to cook another 2 minutes.
Step 7: Once the shrimp start to have a tight C shape, turn off the heat and add the baby spinach by the handful.
Step 8: Stir the dish well to allow the spinach to wilt from the heat of the shrimp/sauce.
If you want more spice
I love this Mediterranean shrimp recipe just the way it is, but I know a lot of you love spice! You could add in about ½ – 1 tsp. of crushed red pepper flakes with the salt and garlic powder to make this spicier.
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
Recommended kitchen tools
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!
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
- Spaghetti squash (cooked in the air fryer for maximum crunch)
- 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 don’t love shrimp?
You could also use scallops in place of shrimp. If you are not a big seafood eater, you could use white beans (vegan) or even chicken. If you want this to still be a quick cooking meal, cut the chicken into small bite size pieces and sauté it 2-3 minutes before adding the onions to make sure it has time to cook all the way through.
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.
Substitutions
- White onion – you can also use yellow onion, red onion, shallots (1-2), green onion (3-4 tbsp. worth) or omit the onion completely.
- Shrimp: You can also use scallops, white beans (vegan) or even chicken (cubed into bite size pieces)
- Vegetable broth – you can also use chicken broth or just water if you don’t have broth on hand. Tip: I like to freeze any extra vegetable broth or chicken broth from recipes into 1/3-1/2 cup cubes and store them in a freezer safe bag. That way I can add them easily to recipes and not waste leftovers!
- Garlic powder – if you don’t love garlic powder and would prefer fresh garlic (1-2 cloves, minced), add it after cooking the onions for 2-3 minutes before adding the broth.
- Sun dried tomatoes in oil – if you need to use dried sun dried tomatoes, you will want to increase the quantity to about 1/4 cup then soak them in hot water about 30 minutes. Discard the water and add them to the skillet with about 1 tbsp. of olive oil. If you don’t like sun dried tomatoes, you can also use 1 tbsp. tomato paste or about 1/4 -1/2 cup of halved cherry tomatoes.
- Baby spinach (fresh) – the spinach wilts right into the recipe. You can also use arugula or baby kale. Chopped kale (curly or tuscan) can be added with the shrimp to give it time to cook and break down. Note: If you need to use frozen spinach, you will want to defrost it separately in the microwave or on the stove and squeeze out excess moisture.
If you love healthy shrimp recipes, you should try
Sun Dried Tomato Shrimp
$11.48 recipe/$2.87 servingIngredients
- 1/2 large white onion, chopped - $0.17
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed - $9.99
- 1/3 cup vegetable broth - $0.17
- 1/2 tsp sea salt - $0.03
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder - $0.05
- 2 tbsp. sun dried tomatoes in olive oil - $0.58
- 2 cups baby spinach - $1.00
Instructions
- Preheat a large skillet over medium heat.
- Chop the white onion.
- 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.
- Add the shrimp, salt, garlic powder and sun dried tomatoes (and oil) to the skillet. Stir well.
- 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.
- Serve hot, cold or room temperature.
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!
