Single-skillet dinners are always welcome, and not just because they reduce the number of dishes in the sink. The ease of layering in flavors with a handful of simple ingredients is proof you don’t have to be a professional chef to bring a delicious and healthy meal to the table.
For me, a skillet dinner often includes shrimp. It’s one of my favorite proteins – I always keep plenty of the frozen shellfish on hand – and it’s easy to build a Whole30-friendly dinner around it. This Creamy Mushroom & Spinach Shrimp Skillet checks all of the boxes and is complete with some Italian-inspired ingredients you likely have on hand.
If you’re not looking to keep this dish Whole30 and you need to bulk it up to feed a family, just add a box of your favorite style of cooked pasta – linguine or bowtie work really well – and stir it to soak up all of that cream, coconut sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- ½ cup sundried tomatoes, rough chopped
- 4 cups baby spinach
- 1 can (5.4 ounce) coconut cream
- 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, cut into ribbons
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
Heat 2 tablespoons ghee over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Place shrimp in a single layer into the skillet and cook for about 2 minutes. Flip and cook for 2 minutes, or until shrimp is just cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside on a plate.
Reduce heat to medium and add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the skillet. Once heated, add in diced onion, stirring to coat. Cook for about 5 minutes, until onion is translucent.
Add in minced garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute before adding in sundried tomatoes and sliced mushrooms.
Return heat to medium-high and cook until mushrooms start to get crispy on the edges. Add coconut cream to the pan. (Note: If you don’t have coconut cream, you can skim off the thicker, cream from a can of coconut milk.)
Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cook for about 3 minutes, until sauce begins to thicken. Reduce heat back to medium. Add spinach to the pan. Stir and cook until spinach is just wilted.
Return shrimp to the pan, stirring to combine and reheat the shrimp. Zest about 1 tablespoon lemon zest into the skillet and squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. Stir in fresh basil (you can also substitute 1 teaspoon dried basil). Taste, adjust seasoning, as desired.
Serve.
