The inspiration for Shrimp and Wild Rice Skillet comes from one of my husband’s and my favorite local restaurants.
They’ve been around for over two decades and my most memorable visit was my sophomore year of high school when my girlfriends and I ate there prior to our school’s Valentine’s Day dance. None of us had dates so we gussied ourselves up, put on matching t-shirts from The Limited Too, then had our parents drop us off for dinner where an hour later we were supposed to be picked up by a limo then driven to the dance in all our girl power glory!
Two hours later we started the long walk home with sagging curls and egos because our limo never showed up, then proceeded to eat our feelings by way of banana cream pies and buttered popcorn while watching the Spice Girls Movie on repeat.
Good times (and thank God for even better girlfriends!)
Anyway, I recently I ordered their Shrimp Charleston — aka, sauteed shrimp served over a bed of rice tossed with green onions, bacon, tomatoes, and garlic butter and was so heavenly that I had to immediately recreate at home with a bit of a healthy boost!
A brown-wild rice blend serves as the base of this easy skillet recipe that includes healthy veggies like baby spinach and chopped tomatoes, big flavors from garlic and bacon, and staying power from sauteed shrimp.
This dish is one of the most flavorful I’ve eaten in ages, and the active cooking time is like, less than 15 minutes. Super, super easy. I also love that this skillet dish is a complete meal in one – healthy whole grains and vegetables, filling protein…and of course, a little bit of bacon.
Start by cooking a wild rice blend in chicken broth. You could do this one or even two days ahead of time, or get it going on the stove while you prep the rest of the ingredients, which is what I did.
While the rice is cooking, add jumbo shrimp to brown sugar and salt stirred into cold water then refrigerate for 20-30 minutes. This quick brining step will make the shrimp extra snappy and delicious once sauteed. I don’t always brine my shrimp, but it really makes a big difference in taste and texture when I do.
After the quick brine, drain then rinse the shrimp, and then pat them very dry with paper towels.
Ok – skillet time! Heat extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add half the shrimp, season with seasoned salt and pepper, and then saute until the shrimp are cooked through, 1-2 minutes per side. Remove the shrimp to a plate then repeat with another Tablespoon oil and the remaining shrimp.
Turn the heat down to medium then melt butter in the skillet. Add chopped green onions then saute until tender, 1-2 minutes, and then add minced garlic cloves and saute for 30 seconds.
Next add chopped vine-ripened tomato and baby spinach that’s been roughly chopped. Season with more seasoned salt and pepper then saute for about a minute, just until the spinach is slightly wilted.
Finally add the cooked wild rice, chopped bacon (which I cooked in the microwave to keep things easy!) and chicken broth, and then simmer until the broth has been nearly absorbed by the rice. This makes the dish nice and creamy, without having to add cream!
Last step is to drizzle in a little lemon juice which makes every flavor pop (trust me, don’t leave it out!) then scoop onto plates and top with the sauteed shrimp. Just like that, a delicious, restaurant-worthy dinner is served. Enjoy, enjoy!
More Seafood Dinner Recipes
- Shrimp and Asparagus
- Garlic Herb Butter Pasta with Roasted Shrimp
- Shrimp and Wild Rice Skillet
- Salmon Provencal
- Spicy Shrimp Soup
- Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup
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Shrimp and Wild Rice Skillet
Description
Shrimp and Wild Rice Skillet is healthy and hearty. A craveable gluten-free dinner recipe!
Ingredients
- 1-3/4 cups chicken broth, divided
- 1 cup wild-brown rice blend (I like Lundberg Farms)
- 4 cups cold water
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons salt
- 1lb 16/20 count jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
- seasoned salt and pepper (see notes for seasoned salt recipe)
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons butter or ghee
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 vine-ripened tomato, seeded then chopped
- 4 cups loosely packed baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 3 slices bacon, chopped
- 1/2 lemon
Directions
- Bring 1-1/2 cups chicken broth and rice to a boil in a saucepan then place a lid on top, turn heat down to low, and then simmer until rice is tender, 45-50 minutes.
- Add cold water, salt, and brown sugar to a large bowl then stir to combine. Add shrimp then let sit in brine while rice cooks. When rice has 10 minutes left, drain then rinse shrimp, and then pat very dry with paper towels.
- Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the shrimp, season with seasoning salt and pepper, and then saute until cooked through, 1-2 minutes per side. Remove shrimp to a plate then saute remaining shrimp in remaining 1 Tablespoon oil, and then remove to plate.
- Turn heat down to medium then melt butter in skillet. Add green onions then saute until tender, 1-2 minutes. Add garlic then saute for 30 more seconds. Add tomato and spinach, season with seasoned salt and pepper, and then saute until spinach has barely wilted, 1 minute. Add cooked bacon, rice, and remaining 1/4 cup chicken broth to the skillet then simmer until chicken broth has thickened, 2-3 minutes. Drizzle lemon juice over the top, season with more seasoned salt and pepper, and then toss to combine. Serve with cooked shrimp.
Notes
- Click here for homemade seasoned salt recipe >
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Kaya 02.27.2018
Oh gosh! This looks amazing!!
Shalini 01.08.2018
I love this, my kids and hubby are going to love this! What great flavors in this and I particularly love a skillet meal!
Navdeep 01.06.2018
Is it time for a second dinner yet? This looks SO good! Love simple recipes like this that don’t skimp on flavor. Need to try this!
Jarrod 05.20.2017
The faimly loved the dish. I did not have the baby spinach, and subsituted kale. It was great, and has there were multible requests for it to be had again.
Kristin 05.24.2017
That’s so great! Thanks for the feedback, Jarrod! :)
Ridhi Mehra 05.16.2017
It is very tasty.. i have tried this yesterday. Thank you for sharing recipe.
Nidhi sharma 05.16.2017
Yummy…. thank you for sharing recipe. I will definitely try this one.
neeta 05.12.2017
such an easy dinner idea I’ve got to keep this one saved! Love shrimp, easily my favorite food!
Kim John 04.15.2017
Wowwwwwwww.. This is mouthwatering. I would love to recommend it to my friends and would like to it it right away. Even the pictures are crystal clear and so lively.
Aditi 04.02.2017
I love this recipe and i want to eat this now.
Megan O'C 01.01.2017
I Googled ‘shrimp and wild rice’ and this was the 2nd hit and the 1st I read. And it was the last one I read… we all loved this!!! Thanks for a great recipe.
Megan 11.07.2016
This might be my new favorite meal. Recommending this recipe to all my friends right this second. And you were completely right about the lemon juice – glad I didn’t leave it out!
Ananya 10.14.2016
nicely done all the tips are great!!!!!
Thanksgiving 09.25.2016
Thank you very much for such great food dishes…
yummm…
Simran 09.11.2016
Great recepie to share i loved and i will try to make it.
Shruti Singh 09.01.2016
Looks so Yummy and Too Much good your Foods Photography
Simran@DigitalMarketing 08.31.2016
You Don’t Expect How much I love this, Yummy to have thanks for sharing.. Keep share such recipes
Nancy 04.27.2016
Just tried this tonight, had to supplement the spinach because in Texas spinach growing season is just about finished :-( . So I added some sliced mushrooms and frozen peas to round out the veggies. The bacon really took it over the top though! Keep the tasty recipes coming.
Anna 04.23.2016
Shrimp and rice are the best combo dish and the images you share are truly yummy. thanks for sharing.
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Gordon 04.18.2016
My daughter and I made this for supper, yum