This One Pot Spicy Cajun Shrimp and Rice Pilaf is an incredibly flavorful dish that comes together in under 45 minutes (including marinating time!). It's an impressive dinner recipe with a kick of heat that keeps you digging in.

Ingredients

This spicy cajun shrimp and rice dish uses mostly ingredients you likely have in your pantry:

• Shrimp: fresh or frozen work! You want peeled and deveined.
• Cajun seasoning: you can make your own or buy store-bought. I used store bought because it's easier.
• Red pepper flakes: cajun seasoning has a little kick but this is SPICY cajun shrimp so we need a bit more and that's where red pepper flakes come in!
• Fresh garlic: there's garlic powder in the cajun seasoning but fresh garlic adds more great flavor.
• Rice & orzo: these make up the rice pilaf mixture. long grain white rice is best.
• Onion powder & garlic powder: to season the rice pilaf.
• Chicken broth: cooking the rice and orzo in chicken broth adds so much flavor. If you don't have chicken broth you can use vegetable broth or just water.
• Fresh parsley: fresh parsley brings a fresh element to the dish

Full list in the recipe card below

Step by step instructions

Just a few quick steps before you have this delicious spicy cajun shrimp and rice pilaf dish on the table!

Overview

• Marinate the shrimp
• Cook the shrimp and set it aside
• Toast the orzo in butter
• Add the rice, spices, and chicken broth and cook until rice is done
• Stir in parsley and serve with shrimp on top

Detailed instructions

1. Marinate the shrimp. Add the shrimp, cajun seasoning, red pepper flakes, chopped garlic, and olive oil to a bowl. Marinate in the fridge for at least 15 minutes or up to 2 hours.

2. Cook the shrimp. Heat the butter over medium heat in a large skillet. When the butter is melted and starting to sizzle, add the shrimp (ideally in one layer) and cook 2-3 minutes on both sides. The shrimp is done cooking when it's no longer translucent. Using a slotted spoon remove the shrimp and set it aside. Don't wipe the skillet clean.

3. Toast the orzo. To the same skillet melt the remaining butter and toast the orzo for about 3 minutes until lightly golden.

4. Add the rice and spices. To the orzo add the rice, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper. Mix to combine.

5. Add the broth and cook. Add the broth, bring to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes until the rice is cooked through. If the broth evaporates too quickly lower the heat a bit and add more broth (or water) ¼ cup at a time.

6. Finish with parsley. To the finished rice, stir in the fresh chopped parsley.

Tips and tricks

• The best shrimp to use: wild caught, fresh never frozen, shelled and deveined shrimp are best. You can also use frozen shrimp. Obviously you aren't always going to get all of these variables, so really just get what you're used to and what is available to you.
  • How to defrost frozen shrimp: put the shrimp in a sealed bag then submerge in a bowl of cold water for about 10-20 minutes. Make sure the shrimp stay submerged so put a plate over or use a cup to weigh them down.
• Make it less or more spicy: if you want to make it less spicy lessen the amount of red pepper flakes or omit entirely. If you want to go the other way and make it spicier, add more red pepper flakes.
• Add meat: you can easily add some sausage to this, would be delicious. Brown it in the skillet after you cook the shrimp and before you toast the orzo.
• Leave the tails on your shrimp: it's ideal to leave the tails on your shrimp as you cook them because it adds a ton of flavor. If your shrimp don't have the tails it's no big deal.
• Rinse your rice! It's really important to rinse your rice before cooking it to remove the starches. This will help make sure it's nice and fluffy and doesn't stick together.
• What to do if your broth is absorbed or evaporates before your rice is cooked: do not worry!! if you have the heat up a smidge to high it's likely for this to happen. Just add more broth about ¼ cup at a time. Water is also fine if you've run out of broth.

What to serve with this dish

Since this cajun shrimp is on the spicy side, you want to serve it with something to cool it off. Some dishes that would be great:

• A nice big salad (Caesar salad is always a winner)
• Garlic bread
• Roasted veggies with a yogurt sauce
• Herby potato salad

FAQs

More shrimp recipes

• Maple soy shrimp
• Spicy garlic butter shrimp

📖 Recipe

Spicy Cajun Shrimp and Rice Pilaf Skillet

This One Pot Spicy Cajun Shrimp and Rice Pilaf is an incredibly flavorful dish that comes together in under 45 minutes (including marinating time!). It's an impressive dinner recipe with a kick of heat that keeps you digging in.

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 2 servings

Ingredients

Cajun shrimp:

• 1 lb fresh shrimp
• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 cloves garlic chopped
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoon butter

Rice Pilaf:

• 2 tablespoon butter
• ½ cup orzo
• ½ cup long grain white rice rinsed and drained
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped

Instructions

• Add the shrimp, cajun seasoning, red pepper flakes, chopped garlic, and olive oil to a bowl. Marinate in the fridge for at least 15 minutes or up to 2 hours.
• Heat the butter over medium heat in a large skillet. When the butter is melted and starting to sizzle, add the shrimp (ideally in one layer) and cook 2-3 minutes on both sides. The shrimp is done cooking when it's no longer translucent. Using a slotted spoon remove the shrimp and set it aside. Don't wipe the skillet clean.
• To the same skillet melt the remaining butter and toast the orzo for about 3 minutes until lightly golden.
• To the orzo add the rice, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper. Mix to combine.
• Add the broth, bring to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes until the rice is cooked through. If the broth evaporates too quickly lower the heat a bit and add more broth (or water) ¼ cup at a time.
• To the finished rice, stir in the fresh chopped parsley.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 834kcal | Carbohydrates: 74g | Protein: 42g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 351mg | Sodium: 2646mg | Potassium: 595mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 3324IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 189mg | Iron: 3mg

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: cajun

Keyword: cajun, rice pilaf, Shrimp, spicy shrimp

Author: Haley

These Skillet Chicken Parmesan Meatballs are an incredibly easy Italian dinner dish made in one skillet and just about 30 minutes. Cheesy, tender meatballs seared to perfection then baked with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese.

Ingredients

• Ground chicken: one of the main ingredients! Comes together into a meatball so well and really takes on the flavor of the added ingredients.
• Egg: a binder for the meatballs.
• Garlic: grated garlic in meatballs is so underrated - you'll love this!
• Parmesan cheese: fresh grated parmesan cheese gives so much flavor to meatballs.
• Breadcrumbs: I prefer Italian seasoned breadcrumbs as an easy way to get some more delicious flavor in there.
• Parsley: never enough fresh herbs! Fresh chopped parsley gets added into the meatballs and sprinkled on top.
• Marinara sauce: a jar of whatever your favorite sauce is.
• Mozzarella cheese: shredded or sliced, either works!

Ingredient substitutions

One of the great things about these chicken parm meatballs is how customizable they are - below are some ingredient swaps you can make if you need to.

• Instead of ground chicken: you can use ground turkey, pork, or beef
• Instead of fresh grated garlic: you can use ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder per garlic clove
• Instead of parmesan cheese: you can use pecorino romano
• Instead of Italian seasoned breadcrumbs: you can use plain breadcrumbs, but add 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning. If you only have panko that works too.

Step by step instructions

In just a few quick and pretty easy steps you can have a delicious meal of chicken parmesan meatballs ready to serve!

Overview:

• Combine the chicken, egg, garlic, parmesan cheese, ¼ cup parsley, breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper to make the meatballs.
• Form 8-10 large meatballs and sear in olive oil on medium heat.
• Add the sauce, top with cheese, and bake for about 10 minutes until cooked through and the cheese is melted.

Detailed steps:

1. Make the meatballs. Mix together the chicken, egg, garlic, parmesan cheese, parsley, breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper until just combined.

2. Form meatballs. Form about 8-10 large meatballs with the mixture (can use a large cookie scoop).

3. Sear the meatballs. In a large skillet (preferably cast iron) heat 2 tablespoon olive oil on medium heat. Sear all sides of the meatballs for about 2-3 minutes per side.

4. Add the sauce. To the skillet with the meatballs carefully add the marinara sauce.

5. Add the cheese. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella evenly over top of the sauce and meatballs.

6. Bake. Put the skillet right into the oven and bake at 350℉ for about 10 minutes until the cheese melts and the chicken is cooked to 165℉. Top with fresh parsley.

How to serve

These meatballs are so delicious with a variety of dishes, but a few of my favorite ways to serve are:

• Over creamy polenta
• Over pasta
• With a nice big hearty salad
• With bread (garlic bread is even better!) to soak up the sauce
• With roasted veggies such as broccoli or zucchini

Tips and tricks

• Use a large (10-12") oven-safe skillet, preferably cast iron! Cast iron will help get nice browning on the meatballs and keep everything at a good warm temperature even after you take it out of the oven.
  • If you do not have a skillet that is oven safe, sear the meatballs then transfer to a baking dish and add the marinara and mozzarella, then bake according to directions.
• Don't put the meatballs too close together. If they are too close you risk steaming them instead of searing them and will have a harder time getting that nice browning.
• Make smaller meatballs. If you want to make more but smaller meatballs, that's totally fine, just watch the cooking time so you don't over bake them. Sear each side for 1-2 minutes only.
• Use a cookie scoop to shape the meatballs. I like to use one of the large cookie scoops to shape the meatballs, it's way way way easier.
• Bake instead of pan fry - if you want to avoid the splatter that is inevitable with pan-frying, you can bake the meatballs start to finish - about ¾ of the way through add the sauce and cheese. Just note, they will not be as crispy as if you were to pan fry.
• Air fry instead of pan fry - to avoid the extra grease, you can air fry the meatballs for their initial cook, and then finish them in the oven. I have not tried this, but something like spray them with cooking spray and air fry at 350℉ for 12-15 minutes would likely work.

FAQs

Similar recipes

If you're looking for something similar to chicken parmesan meatballs but meat free, try these Spinach and Pesto Stuffed Shells or this Vegetarian Baked Ziti.

📖 Recipe

Skillet Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

These Skillet Chicken Parmesan Meatballs are an incredibly easy Italian dinner dish made in one skillet and just about 30 minutes. Cheesy, tender meatballs seared to perfection then baked with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese.

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 3 servings

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1 large egg
• 3 cloves garlic grated
• ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
• ¼ cup Italian breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 jar marinara sauce
• 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella
• 2 tablespoon parsley to serve

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350℉.
• Mix together the chicken, egg, garlic, parmesan cheese, parsley, breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper until just combined.
• Form about 8-10 large meatballs with the mixture (can use a large cookie scoop).
• In a large oven-safe skillet (preferably cast iron) heat 2 tablespoon olive oil on medium heat. Sear all sides of the meatballs for about 2-3 minutes per side.
• To the skillet with the meatballs carefully add the marinara sauce.
• Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella evenly over top of the sauce and meatballs.
• Put the skillet right into the oven and bake at 350℉ for about 10 minutes until the cheese melts and the chicken is cooked to 165℉. Top with fresh parsley.

Video

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 624kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 236mg | Sodium: 2597mg | Potassium: 1623mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 2179IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 442mg | Iron: 5mg

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Chicken meatballs, chicken parmesan, Chicken parmesan meatballs, Meatballs

Author: Haley

These Stuffed Shells with Spinach and Pesto are a delicious vegetarian meal with three cheeses, pesto, and frozen spinach stuffed into large shells and topped with sauce and more cheese. A hearty and cheesy meal the whole fam will love. 

What are stuffed shells?

Stuffed shells is a dish that combines lasagna and ravioli, in a sense. It’s basically large shell pasta stuffed with a cheese mixture that sometimes contains some kind of vegetable or meat.

The difference between stuffed shells and other stuffed pasta such as manicotti is simply the type of pasta. In this instance, it's large shells vs. manicotti (which is similar to a rigatoni but longer and with a larger hole).

Ingredients 

These vegetarian spinach and ricotta stuffed shells are taken up a notch with pesto!

• Pasta: We are using the large stuffed shells for this recipe. Cook them one or two minutes short of the box instructions so they are al-dente. They’ll finish cooking in the oven.
• Cheese: This recipe uses a combination of three cheeses: mozzarella, ricotta, and parmesan. Each one serves a different purpose, so I would not recommend skipping any.
• Spinach: To keep things simple I use frozen spinach thawed and squeezed to get as much liquid out as possible.
• Pesto: A bit of pesto gets added to the cheese mixture and dolloped on top prior to baking - it brings a herby and major flavor kick that is so good. Either store-bought or homemade.
• Egg: One egg helps bind the cheese mixture together so that it doesn’t ooze out of the pasta too much. 
• Sauce: Your favorite jarred marinara or homemade sauce will be great here. 

Step by step instructions

Cheesy stuffed shells really are quite simple to make, they just take a little bit of patience to actually stuff.

Prep: defrost the frozen spinach and squeeze out as much water as you can. 

1. Cook the pasta. In a large pot of salted water cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside. 

2. Make the cheese mixture. In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, shredded mozzarella, parmesan, spinach, pesto, egg, salt, and pepper. Once mixed together, transfer to a plastic bag and snip the bottom. 

3. Stuff the shells. To a baking dish, put about ½ cup of sauce on the bottom. To each shell, squeeze in a few tablespoons of the cheese mixture and place open-side up in the baking dish. Repeat until the dish is full. 

4. Finish assembly. Pour the remaining sauce over the shells and top with a few dollops of pesto and a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese (if you hae fresh mozzarella you can tear that on top instead).

5. Bake. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350℉ until the cheese is bubbly.

Tips and tricks

• Make sure you boil the shells to al-dente. This is usually a minute or two before the package indicates. They will finish cooking as they bake in the oven.
• Boil a few extra shells, some may break so it’s good to have backups. 
• Swap fresh spinach if you’d like - sauté it and squeeze out any excess moisture before adding to the cheese mixture. 
• Add veggies or meat to the sauce - if you’re using jarred sauce you can cook the meat separately and combine it with the sauce before you assemble the dish. 
• Instead of torn mozzarella on the top you could just add more shredded mozzarella.
• You can use a spoon to get the filling into the shells but I find it's easier to use the bag - it gets a little messy otherwise.

How to serve

This dish is really hearty and filling, so I’d recommend serving with sides on the lighter side (such as salad or veggies)! This salad would be delicious, or these honey sriracha brussels sprouts. 

FAQs

📖 Recipe

Stuffed Shells with Spinach and Pesto

These Stuffed Shells with Pesto and Spinach is a delicious vegetarian meal with three cheeses, pesto, and frozen spinach stuffed into large shells and topped with sauce and more cheese. A hearty and cheesy meal the whole fam will love. 

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 10 oz frozen chopped spinach
• 15 oz whole milk ricotta cheese (1 ¾ cups)
• ½ cup grated parmesan
• ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 tablespoon pesto homemade or store-bought, separated
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 7 oz jumbo shell pasta (half a box)
• 1 jar marinara sauce
• 4 oz fresh mozzarella cheese torn
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350℉.
• In a large pot of salted water cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside. 
• In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, shredded mozzarella, parmesan, spinach, pesto, egg, salt, and pepper. Once mixed together, transfer to a plastic bag and snip the bottom about 1 inch deep. 
• To a baking dish, pour ½ cup of sauce on the bottom.
• To each cooked shell, squeeze in a few tablespoons of the cheese mixture and place it open-side up in the baking dish. Repeat until the dish is full/you are out of pasta.
• Pour the remaining sauce over the shells and top with a few dollops of pesto and a torn mozzarella cheese.
• Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350℉ until the cheese is bubbly. Option to broil for a few minutes to get brown on the top.

Notes

• Make sure you boil the shells to al-dente. This is usually a minute or two before the package indicates. They will finish cooking as they bake in the oven.
• Boil a few extra shells, some may break so it’s good to have backups. 
• Swap fresh spinach if you’d like - sauté it and squeeze out any excess moisture before adding to the cheese mixture. 
• Add veggies or meat to the sauce - if you’re using jarred sauce you can cook the meat separately and combine it with the sauce before you assemble the dish. 
• Instead of torn mozzarella on the top you could just add more shredded mozzarella.
• You can use a spoon to get the filling into the shells but I find it's easier to use the bag - it gets a little messy otherwise.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 616kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 140mg | Sodium: 1270mg | Potassium: 536mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 9418IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 695mg | Iron: 3mg

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Pasta, Stuffed Shells

Author: Haley