Garlic Butter Shrimp with Orzo

I love a good thirty minute meal, and I love pasta! This recipe is one that I’ll want to make again and again because it’s so easy but tastes restaurant-quality. Garlic butter shrimp with orzo is made with a simple sauce of garlic, butter, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and a generous handful of shredded parmesan cheese. This is a meal that’s easy enough to make on a weekday, but delicious enough to serve guests or make for a date night in. And if you’re like us with four kids, you have more date night in’s then date night outs!

One of the reasons this garlic butter shrimp with orzo recipe comes together so quickly is because it uses quick-cooking ingredients. Since orzo is a smaller pasta, it cooks more quickly and shrimp can be cooked in about 10 minutes. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the orzo, cooking according to package directions. While the water is boiling and pasta is cooking, melt your butter in a large skillet. Add the garlic, shrimp, red pepper flakes, oregano, salt, and pepper. Cook the shrimp until pink on one side, then flip over and cook until they’re pink on the other side and opaque. I like to buy uncooked shrimp and peel and devein it myself because it’s so easy. You can use fresh or frozen and thawed shrimp. I left the tails on because they look pretty, but remove the tails as well when you peel and devein the shrimp to make devouring this delicious dinner easier.

Sauteing shrimp in garlic and butter is a tasty way to cook this protein, and while I serve this garlic butter shrimp with orzo here, it’s also delicious served on a salad, in tacos, or in a wrap with some greens. It’s a recipe I plan to make again and again and I hope you do too!