
If we're looking for an delicious, low-effort summer dinner, skewers win out, every time. They couldn't be simpler: simply layer on your chosen ingredients, choose a signature sauce, grill, and serve! While we have plenty of recipes we can't get enough of, these skewers—featuring shrimp, pesto, and lemon—just might be one of our favorites. Ready in under 30 minutes, these skewers are the perfect last-minute dinner when you just can't decide what to make. They're easy enough to do for a casual meal, and just fancy enough to serve to guests. What are you waiting for? Grab some skewers, set out the grill, and let the party begin!
Like most of our skewer recipes, these are totally versatile. Use store-bought or homemade pesto (our personal recommended choice), feel free to switch up the pesto for your favorite sauce (check out all our grilled seafood recipes for more inspiration), or layer on some veggies to make these extra filling.
Though the toppings here are customizable, there's one thing we definitely don't recommend you skip: soaking your wooden skewers! Not surprisingly, wooden skewers are super flammable and can easily catch fire. You don't want to have to deal with that! To avoid this, soak your skewers for at least 15 minutes for quick-cooking proteins and veggies, and up to thirty for a heftier meat. Another way to avoid it? Use reusable metal options—we've outlined some of our fave grill skewers here.
Made these shrimp skewers? Let us know how it went in the comments below!
Ingredients
- 1 lb.
medium or large frozen shrimp, deveined, thawed
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup
store-bought or homemade pesto, plus more for serving
- 3
lemons, halved
Equipment Needed
- 8
skewers (if using wooden skewers, soak in water at least 20 minutes before using)
Directions
- Step 1Prepare a grill for medium-high heat (or heat a grill pan over medium-high heat); preheat 5 minutes. Skewer shrimp and drizzle with oil; season with salt and pepper. Brush with pesto.
- Step 2Grill, turning occasionally, until shrimp is opaque, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a platter.
- Step 3Grill lemons cut side down until charred in spots, 2 to 3 minutes. Arrange next to shrimp for squeezing over. Serve with more pesto alongside.