Air Fryer Pesto Shrimp is a great addition to have with cocktails. The Pesto Shrimp are perfect with white wine, Gin or Vodka Martinis, Manhattans and, yes, they're even awesome with Mint Juleps. These shrimp are so good they are even great with a soda!
Homemade Pesto
I know there are so many types of pesto but my favorite of all time is made with basil, parsley, lemons, parmesan cheese, olive oil and pepitas (pumpkin seeds) or sunflower seeds. Yes, we put pumpkin or sunflower seeds in our pesto. For our pesto shrimp we used to use pine nuts but since we have a nut allergy in the house we experimented with several types of seeds including peanuts. The best part, pumpkin and sunflower seeds are so much cheaper (and easier to find) then pine nuts. Two pounds of pumpkin or sunflower seeds cost between $14 to $16 vs two pounds of pine nuts, which cost around $60!!!! Yes, that's a huge savings. Plus, for us, we don't have to make a run to the emergency room!
We grow our own basil and parsley so it's so easy to make pesto. If you haven't tried it, basil is very easy to grow. We grow them in cloth patio grow bags. As long as the basil is watered it will grow quickly and provide a ton of basil for so many great recipes!
Making Pesto for Pesto Shrimp
The hardest part of making pesto is picking the leaves off the basil plant. Once the basil leaves are ready the pesto takes just a few minutes to make. The steps for making Pesto is to chop the basil and parsley with the garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, pepitas, parmesan cheese, and olive oil. Oh, we always add a habanero to spice it up, but that's completely optional.
NOTE: for this recipe with the shrimp we stopped adding parmesan cheese just to save some calories. The parmesan cheese thickens the basil and is really nice especially when making pasta or a pesto pizza.
Spicy Basil Pesto Recipe
Click below for the full Spicy Basil Pesto recipe that we used for this Air Fryer Pesto Shrimp. If you don't want spicy basil just leave out the habanero.
Air Fryer Pesto Shrimp
This is one of those really easy recipes that can be ready in a few minutes even if you have frozen shrimp. It's a staple for us, we always try to have shrimp and pesto in our freezer. The two go together so well and are perfect for everything from a nice easy appetizer to enjoy on a Friday night, to unexpected guests pop in and you want to impress them with a fun meal.
NOTE: Easy and quick way to thaw shrimp. Remove them from the freezer. Place the shrimp in a bowl. Fill the bowl with warm water and they will be ready in about 10 minutes. If the shrimp have that "shrimpy" smell check out our easy way to remove that lovely aroma!!! To defrost the pesto pop it in the microwave for a minute or so.
We like to dry the shrimp with paper towels to remove any excess water. This helps to ensure the pesto will coat the shrimp. Toss the pesto onto the shrimp and gently stir to coat. Place the shrimp on the air fryer tray and air fry for 16 minutes. (Remember all air fryers are a little different so make sure to check the shrimp every 10 minutes until you know the time required for your air fryer). Do not crowd the shrimp in the air fryer, place them in one layer. The shrimp can also be cooked in the oven. It might take a few minutes longer, but will taste just as good!
Enjoy with your favorite cocktail!!!!
Cheers!!!!!
Air Fryer Pesto Shrimp
Ingredients
- 2 Pounds Shrimp
- 1 Cup Pesto
- 2 teaspoons Coarse Salt
Instructions
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Remove shells from shrimp. Dry shrimp with paper towel to remove excess water.2 Pounds Shrimp, 1 Cup Pesto, 2 teaspoons Coarse Salt
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Coat the shrimp with the pesto
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Lightly spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray. We use olive oil spray.2 Pounds Shrimp
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Place the shrimp in the air fryer basket. Lightly spray the top of the shrimp with cooking spray. This will help brown and crisp up the shrimp.
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Air fry the shrimp at 400 degrees for 16 minutes. Flip the shrimp and lightly spray with cooking spray again. Cook for an additional 3 minutes or until the shrimp are completely done and have that really nice bright color
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Remove the shrimp from the air fryer and sprinkle with the coarse salt. This is an optional step.2 teaspoons Coarse Salt
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Enjoy with your favorite cocktail! For us, that would be a gin martini!
Nutrition
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