If you want to take your pasta to the next level then this easy Lemon Pesto Seafood Pasta is just the dish to try.
A perfectly cooked pasta loaded with shrimp and scallops then tossed in a creamy pesto sauce that will have everyone coming back for more. This dish is completely dairy-free but oh-so delicious.
It’s all about the Pesto!
When it comes to the flavorful sauce in this pasta dish there are two key ingredients: pesto and fresh lemon.
These two simple ingredients pair so well with the seafood. The pesto lends to the creaminess of the sauce without adding any dairy!
If you are not familiar with pesto, it is a basic ingredient made from herbs and other yummy things, but it packs such a flavor punch that adding it to recipes takes them up a notch or two.
Most traditional pesto recipes, and most jarred pesto sauces in my local stores, are not dairy-free since along with herbs and olive oil they will typically have Parmesan or Romano Cheese added.
But for this recipe, I wanted to keep it dairy-free so I made my own.
If you are not avoiding dairy and prefer to use your favorite pesto recipe or even a store-bought jarred product then feel free to do so in this recipe.
However, for those of us needing dairy-free, here are some yummy vegan-friendly recipes for pesto that are dairy-free. Any of these would work amazing in this Lemon Pesto Seafood Pasta.
- Simple Vegan Pesto, by Good in The Simple
- Dairy-Free Pesto, by Keto to My Lime
- Basic Dairy-Free Pesto, by Go Dairy Free, East Dairy-Free
I like to make my pesto the night before and let it sit in a jar overnight so all the flavors will marry well together, but if you don’t have to do that just mix one of these up before you start your pasta dish.
If you run across a store-bought brand of Pesto that is dairy-free that you enjoy or if you have a favorite dairy-free pesto recipe you use please feel free to share it with me in the comments. I’d love to hear about it!
What Pasta is Best For This Lemon Pesto Seafood Pasta?
Choosing pasta for this recipe will be all up to your liking and your dietary restrictions. There can be a lot of carbs in regular pasta but if you don’t have an issue with carbs, or if you are preparing this for family or friends you could go with any standard dry pasta like spaghetti or angel hair pasta.
For those following diets like Trim Healthy Mama, you could opt for the Dream Field Spaghetti noodle or any plan-approved pasta of your choice.
However, if you are wanting to keep this pasta dish lower in carbs and gluten there you’ll need to nix the pasta noodles.
For low-carb “noodle” or “pasta” options for this recipe, you could substitute any of the following ingredients for the Dream Field’s noodles shown in this recipe.
- cooked spaghetti squash
- zucchini “zoodles’
- any veggie “spirals”
- Shirataki Noodles
- Miracle Noodles
How To Make An Amazing Lemon Pesto Seafood Sauce!
This pasta is so deliciously simple! You’ll just follow the directions on whatever pasta you choose to prepare for that portion of the recipe and then focus your attention on making the seafood sauce. T
Although I wanted this recipe to be dairy-free I still wanted my sauce to be rich and creamy. I was impressed at how easily that was accomplished and how fast the sauce turned out to be.
There are just a few simple steps to make the sauce. With these few steps, you’ll have a rich and flavorful sauce to coat your pasta with.
Here are The Steps For Making the Sauce:
Preheat a large skillet to medium-high and add in the 5 tablespoons of pesto. Stir around until the pesto is sizzling.
Add in the shrimp and scallops and cook on high until the shrimp begins to turn a bright pink and the scallops will go from translucent to white.
As the seafood cooks it will release a lot of juices that will be used to create the pasta sauce as it cooks.
Add in the juice of one lemon and the salt and pepper to taste. Now is a good time to taste seasonings and add more if desired.
To thicken the sauce slowly sprinkle over your favorite low-carb thickener starting with 1/2 teaspoon. Let the sauce simmer for a few minutes to thicken.
If you desire it to be thicker add another 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of thickener depending on your preference.
Note: if you want more sauce you could also add in a cup or so of veggie or seafood broth before you thicken the sauce but this is optional.
If you wanted to make it a little saucier or even add a bit more of a creamy texture without adding dairy you could add in a can of unsweetened coconut milk before you thicken the sauce.
I think I’ll be trying that next time and subbing the Dream Field Noodles for some zucchini noodles for our family.
I’m sure that will be just as delicious as the pasta is! Which pasta or noodle substitute do you use the most when it comes to your favorite pasta dishes?
Most of the time we use spaghetti squash but on occasion, we do splurge and have the Dream Fields like is pictured in these pictures.
My 13-year-old son is always so thrilled when he sees me toss them into the grocery cart because he is my pasta-loving boy.
Don’t feel too bad for him, he loves the veggies spirals too and he gets plenty of lower-carb treats that he loves. Well until next time friends blessing from our table to yours!
Lemon Pesto Seafood Pasta
A dairy free creamy pesto sauce with shrimp and scallops tossed with your favorite pasta makes a special dinner for your family or a great dish for times when guests are coming to dinner. Simple and Delicious!
Ingredients
Pesto Seafood Sauce
- 1 pound of Frozen Raw Shrimp, peeled and thawed completely.
- 1 pound Frozen Bay Scallops, thawed completely.
- 5 Tablespoons of Dairy Free Pesto
- 1 Fresh Lemon, Juiced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2-1 teaspoon of Low Carb Thickener of choice
Pasta
- 1 Box of Dream Fields Spaghetti or Your Favorite Pasta.
Instructions
- Prepare the Pesto Recipe. If you are using a homemade dairy-free pesto I recommend making that recipe ahead of time so it will be ready for this recipe when needed. You can find 3 recipes for homemade dairy-free pesto in the first section of this blog post but you can use a store-bought product if you don't need dairy-free.
- Preheat a large skillet to medium-high and add in the 5 tablespoons of pesto. Stir around until the pesto is sizzling.
- Add in the shrimp and scallops and cook on high until the shrimp begins to turn a bright pink and the scallops will go from translucent to white. As the seafood cooks it will release a lot of juices that will be used to make our pasta sauce.
- As the seafood sauce is cooking prepare your pasta per the directions on the package.
- Add in the juice of one lemon and the salt and pepper to taste. Now is a good time to taste seasonings and add more if desired.
- To thicken the sauce slowly sprinkle over your favorite low-carb thickener starting with 1/2 teaspoon. Let the sauce simmer for a few minutes to thicken. If you desire it to be thicker add another 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of thickener depending on your preference.
- Drain pasta from cooking water and combine it with the Lemon Pesto Seafood Sauce.
- Serve hot.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1/8th of the recipeAmount Per ServingCalories 155Total Fat 1gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 95mgSodium 737mgCarbohydrates 14gNet Carbohydrates 13gFiber 1gSugar 0gProtein 21g
I am not a nutritionist. If you have strict dietary needs I always recommend using an online nutrition calculator to calculate your totals using your exact brands you're using in this recipe as values may vary per brand.
I am a southern girl through and through that loves to laugh, cook, read and spend time with family. My passions outside of home schooling my son are ministering to those in need and creating art in the kitchen! Every day is an adventure in our little house and I wouldn’t trade it or the chance to share here with you for anything!
Susan says
I use brown rice pasta. I had some walnut pesto left in my freezer so I mixed them together. Just had the pasta. Next time I will try it with spaghetti squash and the shrimp.
Keri Bucci says
Sounds delicious Susan!