Shrimp Linguine with Lemon Artichoke Pesto

Shrimp and linguine noodles are tossed with a light artichoke pesto to give you an elegant yet easy weeknight dinner that works for date night too.

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While I'm all about zoodles and cutting down on carbs, sometimes I just really, really want some pasta! Do you know what I mean?! This Shrimp Linguine with Lemon Artichoke Pesto blends veggies with whole-grain linguine to give you a relatively healthy pasta dish!

I feel like pesto is always a good option with pasta but sometimes it's nice to do something a little different than traditional basil pesto. Enter artichokes - one of my favorite veggies of all time!

I grew up eating steamed artichokes, with the leaves dipped in sauce. I'm always looking for new ways to prepare them, so when I started thinking about pesto, combining artichoke hearts with lemon and a little basil seemed like such a natural combo to me.

Fresh artichokes are fabulous when steamed or grilled but when you get into canned or frozen, they can lack flavor and need a bit of help to make them shine. Some good ways to incorporate artichokes include adding them to a salad or combining them with fresh spices and using them as a pizza topping. Making them into pesto might just be one of my new favorite things!

This is another great recipe to add to your everyday meals recipe collection. Read on to learn more about how to make this Shrimp Linguine with Artichoke Pesto, or jump straight to the recipe to start cooking!

Contents:

• Recipe Highlights
• Recipe Ingredients
• Making Pesto & Shrimp Linguine
• Additional notes from the Kitchen
• Tools you'll want for this recipe
• Serving Suggestions
• More pasta recipes
• Shrimp Linguine with Lemon Artichoke Pesto

Recipe Highlights

• This dish is that it's easy enough for a weeknight dinner, however, works well for entertaining or date night too!!
• You can make the pesto ahead of time to cut down on the prep time.
• This is a nice light dish that's great for spring or fall, however, it really works at any time of year.

Recipe Ingredients

This recipe uses fairly simple ingredients. Here's what you'll need:

• Peeled and deveined shrimp: You can use frozen shrimp in this dish, just defrost the shrimp before you cook them and be sure they are not pre-cooked. For this dish, I recommend tail-off shrimp for ease of eating, though as you can see in the photos, it looks really nice if you use tail-on shrimp.
• Canned Artichokes: One 15-ounce can is what you'll need for this recipe.
• Fresh Basil: You don't need much so if you grow it in your garden, this is a great way to use it.
• Walnuts: Smaller pieces are ideal, however, if you have whole walnuts you can roughly chop them before adding them to the food processor.
• Whole Wheat Linguine: You can substitute any type of linguine you like. Follow the package directions for the correct cooking time.
• Lemon zest and juice: Be sure to zest the lemon before you juice it. I recommend using freshly squeezed for both. You'll need one large lemon.
• Parmesan: To get the best flavor, I'd recommend using freshly grated parmesan cheese for this recipe.
• Spices: Sea salt, ground pepper
• Pantry staples: Olive oil, fresh garlic

Making Pesto & Shrimp Linguine

Make the pesto. Like all pestos, this one comes together pretty easily with the use of your food processor. Just toss the ingredients in, pulse a couple of times and then slowly add the oil until you get a nice consistency.

Meal prep tip: You can make the pesto ahead of time, up to a day or two in advance, and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and generously salt the water. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Don't forget to reserve some of the pasta water when you are draining the pasta. You'll need it when you go to do the final prep of this dish. The recipe only calls for about ½ cup but I typically reserve about a cup, just in case I need a little extra.

Sauté the shrimp. The shrimp get tossed with olive oil and garlic and then quickly sautéd in a hot pan.

Why Add Pasta Water?

One of the keys to a good creamy pasta dish is often adding some of the pasta water and mixing everything together in a warm pan. This helps to distribute the sauce evenly and ensure all the noodles get well coated. It only adds a few minutes of prep time and makes a big difference to the dish. Once you get the hang of doing it and see what a difference it makes, you'll probably start adding this step to many of your pasta dishes!

Additional notes from the Kitchen

• I used half a box or 8oz of the linguine for this recipe. If you want to be exact you can weigh it using a kitchen scale, otherwise, just eyeball it. It won't impact the recipe if you use slightly more or less.
• You can make a double batch of this pesto and use half in this recipe and save the other half for another time. It's great tossed with any pasta, or even as a sandwich spread or chicken salad add-in. You can also freeze it for use later.
• If you are a big artichoke fan, check out my recipe for Grilled Baby Artichokes which are drizzled with balsamic glaze.

Tools you'll want for this recipe

Kitchen Scale – For many ingredients like butter, pasta and grated cheese I prefer to weigh them instead of measuring them, so a kitchen scale comes in handy. It's also great if you are trying to work on your portion control!

Food Processor – I think a good food processor is an essential kitchen tool and an absolute must for making pesto. This basic 9-cup model will suit most needs in the average kitchen. If you cook a lot, you might want to invest in a model with a larger bowl and a wider variety of blades.

Serving Suggestions

I often serve a pasta dish like this on its own if I'm going for a quick and easy dinner. I'd probably add a fairly simple green salad like this Chopped Kale Salad if I wanted more veggies with the meal.

A lighter white wine like a Vermentino or Pinot Grigio is a nice pairing with this dish.  

More pasta recipes

If you crave pasta, try these reader favorites:

• Creamy Lemon Pasta. While this recipe is easy enough for a weeknight meal, the bright lemon flavor and parmesan breadcrumbs give it a touch of elegance.
• Roasted Tomato Summer Spaghetti. This is pasta is perfect for an easy, everyday meal. Tomatoes, mozzarella, pesto and pasta combine for a vegetarian dish that's ready in just under 30 minutes.

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This post was originally published in May 2017. It was updated in May 2022 with some new information and photos. A few minor changes were made to the original recipe.