Lemon Risotto with Lemon Pepper Shrimp
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If you’re in the mood for some real comfort food but want a little something extra special, this is the recipe for you! Lemon risotto with lemon pepper shrimp is an exquisite and flavorful dinner that’s equal parts comforting and fresh. Ideal for spring and summertime, this freshly flavored meal is made delicious with ingredients like fresh lemon juice and zest, crisp white wine, tender arborio rice, and so much more.
Homemade risotto is great to serve as an entrée for so many occasions. While it’s a great weeknight dinner meal for when you feel like treating the family, it’s also superb for an elegant date night at home, or for entertaining guests at a dinner party. If you plan on hosting a get together with friends this spring or summer, you should do so with this impeccable entrée!
What makes this recipe a well-rounded dinner is the addition of juicy lemon pepper shrimp! Whipped up with simple, bright, and fresh ingredients, this lemon risotto is so worth the mere hour it takes to prepare. Don’t forget, you get sip on wine while making risotto, I know I do!
Table of Contents
Key Ingredient Notes
Shallots – if you need a substitute, Vidalia onion works well in its place, since it has a similar mild sweetness.
Arborio rice – this short grain rice is the only kind you should ever use in risotto. It’s starchier than long grain rice, and that starch releases as it’s cooked, which makes this creamy dish that much more decadent.
White wine – to avoid sweetness in this risotto, use a dry white wine like Chardonnay instead of something sweeter.
Chicken stock – for the most flavorful results, consider making homemade chicken stock.
Lemon – use a fresh lemon rather than bottled juice, since you’ll need the zest too, and fresh zest has a brighter flavor than anything bottled can give you.
Parmesan cheese – it’s best to use freshly grated parmesan. You can usually find it already grated in the deli or cheese section of your grocery store to save yourself a step.
Shrimp – the lemon juice in the marinade is acidic enough to start “cooking” raw shrimp the longer it sits, so don’t let the shrimp marinate for more than 30 minutes or the texture can turn mushy instead of firm.
Garlic powder and seasoning – for even more lemon-pepper flavor, my homemade lemon pepper seasoning is a great addition to the shrimp, or a swap for the garlic powder and pepper here.
Full list and measurements are in the recipe card.
How to Make Lemon Risotto with Lemon Pepper Shrimp
- Prep everything first – Peel and devein the shrimp, slice the shallots, mince the garlic, and zest the lemons. Risotto moves quickly once it starts, so having everything ready ahead of time keeps you from falling behind.
- Season the shrimp – Combine the shrimp with the lemon zest, olive oil, garlic powder, and pepper. Hold off on the lemon juice until closer to cooking time (see the ingredient note above on timing).
- Make the broth – Combine the chicken stock, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a sauce pot. Heat until simmering, then lower the heat to keep it warm. Cold broth added later would cool down the rice and slow its cooking.
- Sauté the shallots and toast the rice – Heat the olive oil and butter in a large pan over medium heat. Sauté the shallots until they start to brown, add the garlic, and cook until fragrant. Stir in the rice and let it toast briefly; this helps it hold its shape once the liquid goes in.
- Add the wine – Pour in the white wine a little at a time, letting the rice absorb each addition before adding more. Letting the rice fully soak up the wine first builds flavor into the grain itself, rather than diluting it once the broth goes in.
- Add the broth gradually – Once the wine is absorbed, lower the heat to medium-low and stir in about a cup of the warm broth. Continue adding it in half-cup to one-cup portions, letting the rice fully absorb each one before adding more. Stir the broth in its pot before ladling, since the seasoning tends to settle. Stir the risotto often, but not constantly, since constant stirring cools the pan down.
- Finish the risotto – Once the rice is nearly done, stir in the parmesan and heavy cream and let it cook for another minute or two. Take it off the heat and stir in the parsley.
- Sear the shrimp – About 5 minutes before the risotto finishes, heat a separate pan over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp in a single layer, without crowding the pan, so they sear instead of steam.
- Finish the shrimp – Sear until the bottom side turns pink and opaque, then flip and add the butter to the pan. Cook the second side for another minute or two, until the shrimp are pink and opaque all the way through, and remove them from the pan right away so they don’t overcook.
- Serve right away – Plate the risotto and top with the shrimp immediately. Risotto keeps thickening the longer it sits, so it’s at its creamiest the moment it comes off the heat.
Lemon Risotto Recipe with Shrimp FAQs
Yes, but they’ll need to be fully thawed prior to using in this recipe. While I prefer using fresh shrimp from the seafood counter or local fishmonger, frozen shrimp is also a viable option! Just be sure they are thawed and drained of any excess water before cooking them.
You can technically, but it tastes different than fresh. Fresh is worth it here. Bottled juice works in a pinch, but the flavor won’t be nearly as bright as fresh-squeezed, and you’d still need a fresh lemon for the zest anyway.
Yes, an equal amount of chicken stock works in its place if you’d rather not use wine. Since this risotto already gets plenty of brightness from the lemon, leaving out the wine won’t leave the dish tasting flat.
I personally don’t like making risotto ahead of time since rice soaks up the liquids when stored. But it can be done. You can make it ahead and store in the refrigerator. Reheat in a cooking pan over medium-low heat with some extra chicken stock to invigorate it. Taste to see if you need to adjust the seasoning after reheating.
Storing Instructions
- Storing: If you have any leftover risotto and shrimp, you can store them and reheat the next day. The leftovers should be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator, for up to 4 days.
- I don’t recommend reheating your leftovers in the microwave, as seafood doesn’t stand up well to reheating in a microwave.
- For the best reheated results, reheat your shrimp and risotto in a small sauce pot over medium-low heat with a splash of chicken stock to help give the rice a little extra moisture.
More Recipes From Me
- Parmesan risotto recipe
- Mushroom risotto recipe
- Lobster risotto recipe
- Creamy tomato risotto
- Garlic butter shrimp
- Shrimp scampi recipe
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Lemon Risotto with Lemon Pepper Shrimp
Ingredients
For The Risotto:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 shallots or 1 large shallot
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 lemon – zest
- 2 tbsp juice from the lemon
- 1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
For The Shrimp:
- 1 lb shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 lemon – zest
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2-1 tsp coarse salt
- 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
- 1-2 tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
Before Cooking:
- Prepare all of your ingredients before starting to cook. Peel and devein shrimp. Slice shallots and mince garlic. Zest lemons (separately) and measure remaining ingredients.
- In a small bowl, combine shrimp with zest from 1 lemon, and lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Mix well and set aside.
Making the Risotto:
- In a sauce pot, combine chicken stock, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper and heat it until simmering. Turn the heat down all the way to low so it stays warm.
- Heat up a large cooking pan over medium heat and add olive oil and butter. Sauté onions until it starts to brown and add garlic. Sauté just until garlic is fragrant, add rice, and stir well.
- Pour in the white wine and stir it to spread everything evenly. Let rice simmer and absorb the wine. Stir a little as rice simmers.
- Lower the heat to medium-low, Once wine is absorbed, lower the heat to medium-low, stir, and pour in about a cup of hot broth. Stir and let rice simmer and absorb the liquid.
- Continue to add about a 1/2-1 cup of hot broth at a time and letting the rice absorb the liquid before each addition. (Make sure to stir the broth in the sauce pot before adding it to the risotto to mix the seasoning that has settled to the bottom.) Remember to stir risotto often but not constantly.
- When rice is almost done, add grated Parmesan cheese and heavy whipping cream to the risotto, stir, and let it cook just a few more minutes. Once risotto is done, take off heat and stir in minced parsley.
Cooking the Shrimp:
- When you have about 5 minutes left in cooking of the risotto, that's a good time to cook the shrimp.
- Preheat a large cooking pan over medium-high heat. Once preheated, add a little oil to grease the pan if needed.
- Add shrimp to the pan, placing them side by side, not overlapping or overcrowding.
- Let the shrimp sear for a couple of minutes, until turns pink and opaque of that side.
- Flip each shrimp and add tablespoon of butter the the pan. Sear shrimp on that side for about a minute or two (depending on the size) until turns pink and opaque on that side as well. Take shrimp out of the pan as soon as it's cooked.
- Serve the shrimp with risotto.
Nutrition
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Categories:
Dinner Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Rice Dinner Recipes, Seafood Dinner Recipes, Shrimp Dinner Recipes,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Thanks for sharing!!
You are so welcome!
OMG This Lemon Risotto looks delectable. Just looking at the photo made me want a bowl of risotto. Thank you very much for sharing this recipe. I can hardly wait to make this tomorrow.
Thank you for your kind words, Emma! I hope you give the recipe a try!