I Made Ina Garten's Easy Weeknight Dinner Recipe for Shrimp Orzo

2025-10-07T17:17:01Z

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I’ve been making Ina Garten’s roasted shrimp and orzo for the past 20 years.
The dish only requires a few ingredients and comes together quickly.
It’s filling, nutritious, and easily customizable for weeknight dinners the whole family can enjoy.

I grew up watching the Food Network and always loved Ina Garten for her laid-back attitude and approach to cooking. When I was a 20-something in New York City, I relied on her recipes to transport me to other destinations without ever leaving my apartment.

For example, I found her roasted shrimp and orzo recipe nearly 20 years ago and have been making it ever since. These days, it’s a go-to for feeding my family of four a quick, nutritious, and delicious meal.

I love its simplicity, fresh flavors, and the fact that it’s always a crowd-pleaser. Here’s how I make it.

The recipe only requires a few ingredients.

To make Garten’s roasted shrimp and orzo recipe, which serves six, I grabbed:

Kosher salt
Olive oil
¾ pound of orzo pasta
½ cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds of shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup of minced scallions
1 cup of chopped fresh dill
1 cup of chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
One cucumber
½ cup of diced red onion
¾ pound of feta cheese

After gathering my ingredients, I realized I forgot to buy a lemon, so I substituted it with white wine vinegar.

I started by roasting the shrimp.

I used frozen shrimp for convenience, and let them defrost in the fridge for a few hours before cooking. Once I took them out, I patted them dry and tossed them in olive oil, salt, and pepper.

I spread them out on a pan with foil and roasted them in my toaster oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The recipe says to do this for six minutes, but I did it just a little bit longer.

Then, I cooked the orzo while I chopped my veggies.

I cooked the orzo according to the package directions, drained it, and sprayed it lightly with olive oil to prevent it from sticking together.

While that was cooking, I chopped the red onion, cucumber, parsley, dill, and green onion.

Next, I made the dressing.

To make this super simple dressing, I mixed white wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper together.

I piled everything into a serving bowl.

I piled the orzo, shrimp, veggies, feta, and herbs on top of the dressing and tossed them all together.

I often make this recipe the day I eat it, and it tastes amazing when it’s warm and freshly mixed. However, it’s also fantastic once the flavors have had a little while to marinate, so sometimes, I let it sit in the fridge overnight.

I love how versatile this recipe is.

One of my favorite things about this recipe is that it can easily be modified. As a mom, I’ve changed the recipe up to suit the tastes of my toddler and preschooler.

For example, if I want them to eat more veggies, I’ll toss in whatever I have on hand — like red peppers or tomatoes.

And, I usually pile a scoop of this over spinach or arugula for myself, for an easy boost of greens.

Overall, this recipe is such a solid base to work from — and one of the easiest ways to get a filling, nutritious weeknight meal on the table that my kids will enjoy.

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