Creamy tomato and shrimp risotto. It’s super tasty, packed with delicious pan-fried shrimp and made ultra smooth with a herby cream cheese. It’s garlic-kissed, and jazzed up with puréed tomatoes and fresh basil. A perfectly cozy, delicious dinner for any night of the week. This is a meal that’s sure to become a new favorite. Extra bonus? This risotto is made in only one pan.
When shrimp, tomatoes and cream cheese are paired together, you know things are going to be good. Big bowls of comfort await.
Why you’ll love this risotto with shrimp recipe
A big, bubbling pan of risotto is one of the most satisfying things. This risotto recipe stands out from others because in addition to the usual chicken broth that’s used as cooking liquid, we also add pureed tomatoes. That means the rice absorbs that tangy, sweet tomato flavor and creates an even more flavorful dish.
What’s more, we cook the rice in the same pan where we first seared the shrimp, the juices from the shrimp infuse the dish with their wonderful taste.
This is dinner at its very best. It’s a one-pot dish simple enough for a weeknight yet just fancy enough for a casual dinner party with friends. This recipe is full of so many familiar, well-loved flavors, making it something that can easily feed a crowd without any concern that they’ll be left unsatisfied.
Let me guide you through the recipe with this step-by-step VIDEO.
Helpful tips
Risotto is incredibly adaptable to substitutions and add-ins:
- Serve this risotto with a simple lettuce salad on the side.
- Not a fan of shrimp? Swap them for chicken or just leave them out.
- Add more veggies to the risotto, like cherry tomatoes, green peas, spinach or zucchini.
- Although risotto is most commonly made with arborio rice, you can make a very delicious risotto with sushi rice.
- If you don’t have any white wine, don’t worry, just add a splash of fresh lemon juice for some acidity.
How to store shrimp risotto
- Keep leftovers stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 day.
- To reheat: Any leftover risotto can easily be reheated, but because of the absorbent nature of rice it takes on a different, more dense texture the next day. Just add a splash of water and give it a good stir, reheat over medium in a nonstick pan or skillet until heated through.
More delicious recipes, please!
Creamy Tomato and Shrimp Risotto
Ingredients
- 1 pound shrimp - peeled and deveined
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 cups arborio rice
- 5.5 ounces cream cheese with garlic and fine herbs - I used Boursin cheese
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 garlic cloves - minced
- 1 yellow onion - small, diced
- 1 celery stalk - finely chopped
- ½ cup dry white wine - like Pinot Grigio
- ½ cup puréed tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 5 cups chicken broth - warm, more if needed
- 6 fresh basil sprigs
- freshly ground black pepper - to taste
Instructions
- Combine shrimp with 1 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and thyme. Toss and set aside for 15 minutes. If you want to marinate them longer, no problem, transfer the shrimp to the fridge and chill for 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.
- In the meantime, mince the garlic cloves, dice the onion and dice the celery stalk.
- Set a large non-stick saucepan over medium high heat. Add butter and the remaining olive oil. Place shrimp in a single layer, sear for 1 minute. Turn and sear the other side, 1 minute. Remove from skillet.
- Lower the heat medium, add garlic and onion. Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add chopped celery, cook for 2 minutes more. Add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until toasted and fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Deglaze with white wine and simmer for 2 minutes, while stirring and scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of your skillet.
- Pour in 1 cup chicken broth at a time, stirring frequently, until the broth has been almost completely absorbed before adding the next cup. Cook until the rice is al dente, about 15 minutes. It’s possible that you don’t need to use up all of the broth. Add puréed tomatoes and tomato paste, simmer 3-5 minutes more, or until the risotto is ready.
- If needed, add more broth, risotto should flow slowly. If you can stand a spoon up in it, this means it needs more broth.
- Stir in cream cheese and basil leaves. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Now taste and adjust salt.
- Return shrimp back to the pan and simmer over low heat until warmed through, about 1 minute.
- Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Video
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