I realize that after Labor Day everyone basically stops wearing white and gears up for Pumpkin season – but I’m a rebel and I don’t subscribe to that notion! So I’m opting for some Grilled Shrimp with Cilantro Pesto and a side of grilled bread!!
It still feels like summer here in LA so I’m soaking that up until October. So….let’s start with the grilled bread. Have you had it before? It basically makes any slice of bread the best thing you’ve ever tasted. Clearly, I have a thing for it. Just give your favorite loaf a thick slice, liberally drizzling it with olive oil and then grill it until it’s just toasty! Perfection.
Then you’ve got the shrimp. I skewered all the shrimp and then drenched them in some lemon juice, olive oil and some cilantro sauce and let them marinate for a bit. The flavor is gonna be off the charts.
Once the grill is ready, everything gets slightly charred and smoky and then finished with some extra lemon juice and more cilantro vinaigrette! 100% perfection.
Alternatively, if you’ve put away the grill for the season, this entire recipe could be done on an indoor grill pan over medium high heat!
Check out some of my favorite Shrimp Recipes here:
Grilled Shrimp and Bread with Cilantro Pesto
Ingredients
For the Cilantro Sauce
- 1 shallot roughly chopped
- 2 cups tightly packed fresh cilantro leaves stems removed (about 4 ounces)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the Grilled Shrimp and Bread
- 2 lbs medium shrimp peeled and de-veined
- Wooden skewers soaked in water or metal
- 1 loaf of bread sliced into 1 1/2 inch pieces on a bias
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- olive oil for drizzling
- 3 lemons halved and grilled
Instructions
For the Cilantro Sauce
- Combine all the ingredients in a high powered blender and blend for 60 seconds until very smooth. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Serve immediately. Or you can refrigerate the vinaigrette for up to 5 days.
For the Grilled Shrimp and Bread
- Thread about 6 shrimp on each of the soaked wooden skewers and set them on a large plate of cutting board while skewering the rest.
- Drizzle about 1/3 of the vinaigrette over the skewered shrimp along with the juice of the lemon, red pepper flakes and some salt and pepper. Set the shrimp aside to marinate for about 10-20 minutes while you prepare your grill.
- Arrange the thick slices of bread on a large platter and drizzle liberally with olive oil.
- Prepare your gas or charcoal grill to medium high heat. Place the pieces of bread over the heat and grill for a few moments on each side until the bread has grill marks. Using a pair of tongs, flip the bread over and let the other side grilled for a minute or so more until both sides have nice grill marks. Remove the bread from the grill and set aside.
- Place the shrimp skewers on the grill over medium high heat and grill for about 2-3 minutes on each side until the shrimp are pink. Remove the skewers from the grill and set aside.
- Serve the shrimp and bread with the remaining cilantro vinaigrette and grilled lemon halves.
I’m a vegetarian but my fiance would love this recipe & I’m loving the pesto recipe! I might use the pesto recipe tonight instead of my store bought pesto (I’m a very novice chef) – I was planning on cooking pasta with pesto, potatoes, and green beans. Definitely pinning this for the future! Love your blog; I’m a new follower!
Thanks Mya!!
I could get into this one for summer. Looks yummy!
Such a perfect summer recipe!!
I would skip the bread, but the shrimp looks great!
I am drooling on my keyboard….
this is SO perfect for the grill!!!
I love grilled shrimp but have never thought to drench them in pesto!! YUM
Wow! This looks like the PERFECT weekend dinner! It screams summer! So flavorful – can’t wait to try this.
This looks amazing. I have a Big Green Egg. It’s pricey, and you have to use hardwood charcoal, but it will get smoking hot for grilling, or you can set the temp low and slow and smoke pork butts for 18 hours. I absolutely love it. It’s actually really easy to use.
Great summer recipe!
This is seriously perfect for summer! I have a serious obsession with grilling bread – delicious!!
Looks great Gaby! On your grill question, I’ve had a Weber Performer for 19 years and absolutely love it. There’s a gas ignition system to light the charcoal so it’s as convenient as a gas grill. If you have any questions about it let me know. http://www.amazon.com/Weber-1411001-Performer-Charcoal-Grill/dp/B00645513G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1370451432&sr=8-3&keywords=weber+performer
THANK YOU~!!!
I love how this looks! I need to get over my fear of raw shrimp. 🙂
This is going in my rotation too!!!
I recently bought a new grill – a Vision ceramic kamado grill from Costco – and I LOVE it .. it’s similar to the big green egg – but it’s black – and much better value … pricey – but such a wonderful grill… it can be used as a grill, a smoker, an oven … extremely versatile – here’s a forum where you can read about kamado cookers kamadoguru.com – they have a number of forums
your shrimp looks soooo delicious …and cilantro pesto .. why the heck not! Yum….
I have a Vision Grills ceramic grill – A kamado cooker – similar to the big green egg – but better value – purchased from Costco – I LOVE it … you can grill, smoke, bake – so it’s incredibly versatile. You can read about kamado grills at kamadoguru.com … highly recommended
These shrimp look perfect for grillin’ up a storm here in Austin! Love that cilantro pesto, too. I’m so looking forward to seeing ya at the Ziplist dessert party tomorrow! 🙂
This photo is STUNNING. Will be making this one…thanks! ~Carmen
That shrimp looks heavenly!
I would love to smear that pesto on just about everything!
Fantastic, fresh meal! Love it!
Brilliant idea for cilantro! Looks terrific, Gaby.
No room for a grill here in my tiny NYC apartment (BOO), but we go over to the park at least once a week and use the massive ones they have there – shrimp and bread coming with us FOR SURE next time!
Looks divine!
I looooove cilantro pesto! This is making wish I had some right now!
LOVE cilantro pesto….this looks great!
Cilantro just makes everything better! yum and yum!
I made this tonight and it was WONDERFUL!!! When I saw the cilantro pesto, I knew it would be good; didn’t know just HOW good! Thank you for sharing this.
Love this recipe! We made this last weekend while camping (just made the cilantro pesto ahead of time and threw it into the cooler. So delicious!
I think I’ll try this, albeit without the walnuts. Definitely a perfect summer recipe!
Can you make the pesto a day in advance?
yes!
Oh yeah!! And grilled bread is always the way to go 😉
rebel without a cause! Kidding, total cause! Gimme da GRILLIN foods
You had me at pesto! Can’t wait to try this, and to put this cilantro pesto on everything!
I’m all for still using the grill!
Pretty sure I could drink that cilantro pesto right from the bowl – sounds AMAZING!! And with shrimp – heaven!!
Love the look of that cilantro sauce – and I love anything on grilled bread too 🙂
I was out on Nantucket Island this weekend and I rocked my white shorts the whole time. Summer totes isn’t over yet! Lol. Love this fresh recipe SO MUCH. Pesto with shrimp is a great combo!
YESSSS- one of my favorites!!!
I remember this recipe used to be a cilantro walnut pesto but it’s different now. Is there any way to get the old recipe for the pesto? I can’t find it in your website anywhere, and it’s DELICIOUS!
sure is!! Here you go!
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1/3 cup walnuts
2 cloves garlic
3 ounces olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
In a blender or food processor, combine the cilantro, walnuts, garlic and olive oil and blend until a pesto like consistency is formed. Taste and add lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Blend for another few seconds until incorporated. Remove the pesto from the blender and set aside until read to serve.
My family loved this. We used the leftover cilantro pesto for our chicken, quesadilla, and roasted cauliflower. The best!
This looks delicious! What do you do with the grilled lemons?
squeeze on top!
I may even add a little angel hair pasta to this recipe. Sounds delicious!
My daughter will use this for 4H it’s SO useful!
Delicious and great to serve as app or main entree
I’m new to WGC so this was the first recipe I tried but I can promise it won’t be my last! The shrimp, the sauce, the happy-summer-vibes. It was all perfect. And it’s one of those recipes that I typically have all the ingredients on hand so I can’t wait to make it again and again!
Such a great dish for the summer!
What is your recipe for cilantro vinaigrette?
Thank you!
Meredith
Here you go: https://whatsgabycooking.com/cilantro-vinaigrette/
This was amazing! I doubled the garlic and seasoned the bread with Everyday Seasoning from Trader Joe’s. Will be making this again ❤️.
Can’t grill in winter BUT loving this recipe
Help with another way to cook?
cast iron pan on the stovetop!