One Pot Garlic Butter Shrimp and Quinoa

Ingredients

6 tbsps unsalted butter (divided)
1 cup yellow onion (diced)
2 stalks celery (diced)
3 cloves garlic (pressed)
2 cups quinoa (uncooked)
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp paprika
3 tbsps tomato paste
1 tsp salt
1 lb shrimp (raw tail-on, deveined)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional, but this is not much heat and adds great flavor)
salt
pepper
1/2 lemon
fresh parsley (for garnish)
lemon wedge (fresh, for serving)

Directions

Place a large 4–5-qt saucepan over medium heat. Melt 3 Tbsp of butter completely then add onion and celery. Cook for 3–4 minutes, until onion has begun to soften. Add garlic and let bloom for 30 seconds.

Add uncooked quinoa then stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute, toasting the quinoa, then pour in chicken broth. Bring mixture to boil, reduce heat to low then add oregano, thyme, paprika, tomato paste and salt. Stir to combine, then cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.

After quinoa has simmered for 15 minutes, remove lid then stir. Add shrimp, then arrange on top of the quinoa. The shrimp will probably cover the entire top of the dish, so you may have to nestle a few of them into the mixture. Replace lid then allow shrimp to simmer for 3–4 minutes until cooked through.

Remove lid and test quinoa for doneness. You’ll know quinoa is done when it’s completely soft but still ‘pops’ a bit when eaten and about half the beads have opened into little spirals. The quinoa should have absorbed nearly all of the liquid at this point, but it will continue to absorb moisture as it sits.

Remove skillet from heat. Stir garlic powder and red pepper flakes into reserved melted butter then drizzle over shrimp. Spritz the top with juice from ½ a lemon and garnish with fresh parsley. Serve immediately with extra lemon wedges on the side.