Creamy Shrimp Risotto with Homemade Shell Stock

Do you love shrimp too? Then you’ll love this shrimp risotto recipe!

When I eat shrimp risotto at a restaurant, I always crave a little more shrimp because it’s my favorite part of the dish. So, I decided to make this recipe at home, to make it just the way I like it and to share it with you! It’s simple, relatively quick, and incredibly delicious.

This shrimp risotto took about 1 hour to make. The broth took about 30 minutes to make, and the rice took about 15 minutes to cook. Other than that, I just had to prep all the ingredients!

If you prefer to buy the broth ready-made (don’t!), you can make this shrimp rice in about half an hour, which is incredibly quick considering the recipe it is!

Creamy Shrimp Risotto with Homemade Shell Stock

Shrimp Risotto – Ingredients (Serves 3)

For the stock:

• Shells and heads from 10 shrimp
• 1 medium carrot, sliced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 7 cups water
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• ½ lemon (optional)

For the risotto:

• 9 oz cooked shrimp meat, thawed (≈ 250 g, about 2 cups)
• 1 ¼ cups Arborio or Carnaroli rice (≈ 250 g)
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• ⅓ cup dry white wine (≈ 80 ml)
• 3–3 ½ cups shrimp stock (≈ 700–800 ml, kept warm)
• 4 tablespoons butter (≈ 60 g), divided
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Fresh parsley or chives, chopped (optional)
• Lemon zest, for garnish (optional)

Eay Step-by-Step for The Stock:

In a pan, add a dash of olive oil to brown the shrimp heads and shells; they will release a lot of flavor, even if they are pre-cooked! Mash everything with a potato masher so that the heads release their tasty juicy bits.

Add the chopped onion, bay leaves, pepper, tomato paste, a sprinkle of salt and water. Now you only need to let it simmer for about half an hour, but if you have more time, you can let it simmer for up to an hour.

Strain the broth and keep it on the stovetop, keeping it hot (but not boiling!) so that when you add it to the rice, it won’t cool down.

Easy Step-by-Steo for The Risotto:

In a large saucepan, sauté the chopped onion and garlic in olive oil for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir for about 1 to 2 minutes, until translucent. Add the white wine and let it evaporate.

Now you can add the hot broth you reserved, one ladle at a time. This part is important; you should add 1 ladle of broth and stir slowly, letting the rice absorb the broth, and only then add 1 more ladle of broth. Do this until you’ve added about 2 ½ cups of the broth.

This process will take about 13 minutes, you will notice the rice getting creamier and creamier!

Finally, add the rest of the brosth, the butter and the thawed shrimp meat (if pre-cooked, as it just needs to be heated and absorbed into the flavor). Adjust the salt and pepper if necessary.

Keep stirring well for about 4 to 6 minutes or until the rice is super creamy.

You can finish with fresh parsley, cilantro, or squeeze half a lemon (I usually add it but unfortunately I didn’t have any), because besides giving it a fresher look, it looks prettier and adds a little more flavor!

The shrimp rissotto is ready and it was delicious! I hope you enjoyed it!

This recipe is one to make again, so before you go, don’t forget to save it to your Pinterest boards for later.

Have fun cooking!