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This easy shrimp paella recipe is stunning and works for entertaining or a weeknight dinner. Here’s how to make this traditional Spanish recipe!
This post was created in partnership with Simply Organic. All opinions are our own.
Show of hands: who loves a good date night in? Much as I love the dress up-dinner-drinks routine, some my favorite memories are nights where Alex and stayed in cooking together. It’s not always pretty, mind you! There are shirts splattered with tomato sauce and burnt bread and broken pizza stones. But there’s something so comforting about pouring a glass of red wine, turning on some tunes, and ultimately chowing down on the fruits of your own labor. Date night in — it’s a thing. And the perfect date night in recipe? This easy shrimp paella. Of course — it works for weeknights and family dinners, too! Here’s why you should make it.
What is paella?
Four years ago, Alex and I started our date night in tradition with this easy vegetable paella. I discovered paella (Pie-A-Yah) while I was studying in Spain in college. It’s a traditional Spanish recipe featuring rice, vegetables, and seafood or meat, flavored with spices like smoked paprika and saffron. Paellas are celebratory, many times cooked over an open fire. Some of my favorite memories in Spain are sharing paella with new friends. Our newest take on paella? This shrimp paella recipe covered with juicy shrimp and tangy artichokes.
The stars: smoked paprika and turmeric (or saffron)
As you know, we eat mainly a whole food plant based diet over here (or really, the Mediterranean diet). But occasionally we’ll splurge with a little seafood or meat. Alex was set on creating an easy shrimp paella recipe, since it’s traditional for a seafood paella and looks stunning as well. I must say I became a believer: the dish turned out as delicious as it is beautiful.
What makes this shrimp paella is the spices! First off, there’s the smoked paprika, called pimentón in Spanish. (Here’s more about smoked paprika.) It lends a sultry, smoky flavor that’s instantly intriguing. We have several sources for smoked paprika, but Simply Organic is our favorite. The other key spice for the dish is traditionally saffron. But since it’s the world’s most expensive spice, we went with a common substitute: turmeric! It gives a bit of earthy flavor and a brilliant yellow color. (Here are more turmeric recipes, if you’re interested.)
How to make shrimp paella: the basic steps
Here are the main steps for making a shrimp paella (or go to recipe below):
- Saute the shrimp: In a large skillet or paella pan, saute the shrimp in olive oil for 1 minute per side until barely opaque. Then set aside.
- Saute the veggies: In the same pan, heat olive oil, then saute onion and garlic for 3 minutes. Add canned tomatoes and cook for 6 to 7 minutes.
- Add the rice, spices, & broth: Add the rice, smoked paprika, and turmeric and saute for 1 minute. Add veggie broth and spinach. Bring to a simmer and arrange the artichoke quarters on top of the rice.
- Simmer (don’t stir!): Simmer until the broth cooks through the rice, about 20 minutes, and do not stir. In the last 3 minutes, arrange the peas and shrimp on top. Enjoy served directly from the pan.
Do you need a paella pan to make this recipe?
You’ll see in the photos that we’ve used a paella pan when we made this shrimp paella recipe. But is it required? Nope! Don’t worry if you don’t have a paella pan; a large skillet works just as well! A paella pan is shallower than a skillet, so it cooks a bit differently. But it can be hard to balance it across the burners on your stove, depending on the size. While purists would argue that paella is only cooked in a paella pan, for an easy paella your largest skillet will do.
Looking for paella recipes?
Outside of this easy shrimp paella recipe, here are some of our favorites for different occasions:
- Spanish Paella Recipe — super classic! The easiest stovetop recipe (and you don’t even need a paella pan).
- Seafood Paella Recipe on an Open Fire — feeds a crowd!
- Easy Vegetarian Paella — vegetarian for weeknights!
- Grilled Paella Recipe — perfect in the summer on the grill
This shrimp paella recipe is…
Pescatarian, gluten-free, and dairy-free.
Easy Shrimp Paella
This easy shrimp paella recipe with artichokes is stunning and works for entertaining or a weeknight dinner. Here’s how to make this traditional Spanish recipe!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- ½ pound raw deveined shrimp, shell on or off (thawed if frozen)
- ¼ cup olive oil, divided
- 1 pinch oregano
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- 15-ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
- 1 ½ cups uncooked white arborio rice
- 1 tablespoon Simply Organic smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon Simply Organic turmeric (or 1 pinch saffron)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 3 cups baby spinach leaves (or chopped standard leaves), packed
- 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, quartered
- ¼ cup frozen peas
Instructions
- Dice the onion. Mince the garlic.
- In a large skillet or paella pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high. Add the shrimp and saute until just barely opaque, about 1 minute per side, sprinkling with 1 pinch kosher salt, 1 pinch oregano, and 1 pinch red pepper flakes. Set the shrimp aside.
- In the skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil on medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic until just translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until all liquid is reduced, about 6 to 7 minutes. Stir in the rice, smoked paprika, turmeric (or saffron), and kosher salt for about 1 minute. Add the broth and spinach and stir in the spinach so that it is covered by the liquid. Bring to a medium simmer; do not stir. (The goal is to slowly cook down the liquid through the rice without stirring, so make sure the heat is not too high.) Arrange artichoke quarters on top of the rice. While you wait, clean the kitchen, set the table, assemble a simple green salad or dessert.
- Cook until the rice is al dente and the liquid is fully cooked down, about 20 minutes. In the last 3 minutes, arrange the peas and cooked shrimp on top.
- After the liquid is almost completely cooked out, remove from the heat and let sit for a few minutes (a little more of the liquid will absorb as it sits). Make sure not to leave on the heat too long or the paella may burn — though crusty bits on the bottom are both traditional and desirable! Serve immediately.
Notes
Note: A large skillet works for this recipe, but you can use a paella pan if you have it! We placed ours across two burners to get even heat. This recipe serves enough for 4, so if you make it for a date night you’ll also have leftovers!
Looking for more healthy seafood recipes?
Outside of this shrimp paella recipe, here are a few more healthy seafood recipes:
- 5 Minute Seared Tuna Recipe
- Baked Salmon with Chimichurri Sauce
- Broiled Salmon with Bourbon Glaze
- Truffled Egg with Smoked Salmon
- Baked Shrimp with Feta and Tomatoes
- Roasted Tomato Shrimp Over Creamy Polenta
- Quick Garlicky Shrimp Couscous
- Garlic Grilled Shrimp
- Easy Grilled Shrimp
- Grilled Shrimp and Vegetable Skewers
- Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro Sauce
- How to Cook Shrimp on the Stove
- Grilled Shrimp Tacos
- Salmon en Papillote with Roasted Potatoes
- How to Buy Sustainable Fish & Seafood
- Best Shrimp Dinner Ideas
This was absolutely delicious and hearty. Thanks for sharing Sonja!
This is one of our FAVORITE all-time recipes (& I’m finally getting around to leaving a comment here) so THANK YOU. My husband loves, loves, loves, paella and always requests that I make it whenever we feel like celebrating. I also love your writing – this is the perfect recipe to read through to get you into the mood of relaxing and enjoying an evening at home. So thanks again!
This was SO good. They didn’t have Arborio rice at Trader Joe’s and I was not feeling a second stop so I used the shirt grained white rice I had at home but it still turned out great, although if you’re subbing the rice, you’ll want to cover and stir. I’ll be trying this as written very soon. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.
This looks delicious! Do you think that the rice could be substituted for cauliflower rice? My husband and I are doing a Whole30, so unfortunately rice is out for us. I’ve had good luck swapping rice for cauliflower rice in the past, but I’d be curious on your thoughts on doing so in this recipe. Thanks!
That’s a good question! I think you could try it with cauliflower rice, but I would cook it like a stir fry using the same spices and veggies instead of as a paella. You wouldn’t need to do the step of using broth and cooking the rice down for 30 minutes– does that make sense? Let me know if you have further questions!
So I’m reporting back here MONTHS later on my success! The cauliflower rice worked perfectly for this recipe – so good! I ended up adding some chicken broth to give the cauliflower rice something to soak up, but I probably didn’t add more than 1 cup of broth total. The flavors in this dish were so good, and I can’t wait to make it again!
Paella is amazing, and I love getting ideas for variations. I strongly disliked artichokes for a long time, but turned a corner after trying them in a traditional Spanish dish (same with olives!). Can’t wait to experiment with paella this weekend, artichokes included :) Thanks for the inspiration!
You’re so welcome! I also did not like olives for a very long time — they do have a very strong taste! So glad you turned the corner with artichokes!
This looks like a perfect recipe for my husband as he loves all of the ingredients in this dish. He also loves paella, so I will have to cook this recipe for him.
I think it’s a sign! Let’s us know if you made it and if he liked it :)
Oh, I love this style of writing recipes. One of my favorite date night stations is Hipster Cocktail Party on Pandora, and I’m definitely going to check out Indie in the Kitchen. Paella is such a fantastic dish, and this one looks like a stunner.
Thank you, Allyson! And hipster cocktail party?! We’re in!
This looks delicious, I LOVE artichokes!! I also love date nights in…trackies and all :) the only down fall is the washing up after :) My biffy and and I made a seafood paella for our Valentines dinner last year, such a fun dish to make.
Huge fan of date nights in and HUGE fan of your friend(not without salt)s book!
Oh hooray, I’m so glad to hear you love Ashley’s book! And yes I agree — dishes aren’t the most fun. That was the biggest thing I had to get over when we started cooking together! Now I don’t mind so much… :)
I didn’t have paella until a friend who’d studied in Spain made some for me and I was instantly hooked!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
How fun is that?! You will have to try it in Spain too :)
This does look delicious, I love the artichokes and the smoked paprika in it. This is a lot more elegant for a date night, but we’re thinking along the same lines as I just made a Spanish shrimp dish too that I want to publish soon. ;-) And two hands raised over here for date nights in….I agree, there’s nothing more comforting.
Hooray for date nights in! Can’t wait to see your Spanish shrimp – yum!
Quite good. I added red pepper strips and a splash of white wine to the cooking liquid. Also cooked quite a bit longer before adding shrimp and artichokes to get a crustier rice base So not so quick a paella but definitely easy.