Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This nourishing bowl is packed with 35 grams of protein, 8 grams of fiber, and a ton of flavor, making it perfect both for meal prepping or big family meals.
Happy Sunday, meal preppers! I don’t have a full meal plan to share with you this week but what I do have is a new recipe for these Lemon Garlic Shrimp Bowls with Tahini Dressing. I think you’re going to love this one – this is the 2nd time I’ve made this recipe as part of my meal prep and it’s just so bright and fresh, with so many pops of flavor.
Hearty, chewy farro serves as the grain for this bowl, and is accompanied by butternut squash and asparagus for plenty of veggies and vitamins. Gorgeous jumbo shrimp get pan-seared, then drenched in a simple butter, lemon, and garlic pan sauce. It’s all topped off with a tangy lemon tahini dressing that’s balanced nicely with a bit of honey. For extra flavor and texture, add fresh chopped parsley and toasted pine nuts. Finally, devour and swooooooon! 😉
Note: this recipe was updated in 2026 to increase the amount of dressing per serving, clarify the instructions, and improve the cooking technique for the lemon garlic butter. Oh yeah, and new photos, of course!
What’s Tahini?
If you’ve never had tahini before, you’re in for a treat here! It’s basically just sesame seeds ground into something that resembles natural peanut butter. The flavor is savory and nutty, with a sesame seed flavor that’s kind of subtle in my opinion. For this recipe, I used a roasted garlic flavored tahini for a little extra kick – if you’re using plain tahini, you’ll probably want to add some garlic powder or other seasoning to bump up the flavor factor a bit.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Here are the key ingredients you’ll need to make these Lemon Garlic Shrimp Bowls with Tahini Dressing recipe:
- Shrimp – I love the looks of peeled, deveined shrimp that come with the tail on, but use whatever shrimp you prefer. I like the jumbo ones to get the most protein with the least work! The ones pictured here are 26/30 count per pound.
- Farro – Farro is a nutty, earthy whole grain that I love for bowl recipes like this. If you don’t like it or don’t have it, brown rice or quinoa will work as substitutes.
- Butternut squash – I love the flavor and color of butternut squash, but you can easily swap in whatever other veggies you like! Sweet potatoes or another type of hard squash would work great.
- Asparagus – I steamed the asparagus to keep it simple and bright, but cook it however you like! You can easily swap this out with another veggie like broccoli if you prefer.
- Butter – This serves as the base of a really simple pan sauce that makes the most of the yummy browned bits left in the pan after cooking the shrimp. While you don’t have to make the pan sauce, I think it’s totally worth the extra couple of minutes (and calories)!
- Lemon – We’re using both the juice and the zest from the lemon and I don’t recommend skipping it!
- Garlic – To get the best flavor and avoid any bitterness, the garlic isn’t actually cooked with the shrimp, it’s cooked into a simple pan sauce after and poured over the shrimp.
For the tahini dressing, you’ll also need these ingredients:
- Tahini – I don’t recommend subbing this out since it’s the star of the dressing, but if you must – an all natural sunflower butter or cashew butter would work.
- Apple cider vinegar – Another type of vinegar like white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar would work too.
- Lemon juice – There are a few types of acid going on in this dressing, but be sure to include lemon juice for a fresh one and to tie together the flavors of the dish!
- Honey – A bit of sweetness is necessary to balance out the tang of the dressing, plus it complements the sweetness of the shrimp nicely.
- Dijon mustard – Adds a boost of bright flavor while secretly holding the dressing together! While the tahini keeps it together well, the mustard actually helps emulsify the dressing so that the oils in the tahini and the water, vinegar, and lemon juice don’t break.
- Water – Depending on the brand of tahini, you’ll need some water to help loosen up the dressing so you can drizzle it over the bowl. The amount will vary, so add the water to the dressing last and adjust it to your desired consistency.
tips for
Meal Prep & Reheating
One of the great things about this bowl is that it’s really no fuss when it comes to meal prepping and reheating! For meal prep, I just throw everything except the dressing into one, single compartment container and add a little dressing container that can be easily removed when it’s time to reheat.
I usually go for about a minute on high in the microwave to reheat, then drizzle the dressing over top after it’s warm. If you prepped toasted pine nuts, keep those in separate dressing container too and add them at the same time as the dressing so they don’t get soggy sitting with the other ingredients.
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Lemon Garlic Shrimp Bowl with Tahini Dressing
Ingredients
Lemon Garlic Shrimp
- 1 1/2 lbs raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, tail on
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1/2 tsp Flavor God Garlic Lover's Seasoning
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp olive oil
Tangy Lemon Tahini Dressing
- 2 1/2 tbsp Roland Roasted Garlic Tahini
- 2 tbsp water, adjust to reach desired consistency
- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp salt
Other
- 3 cups butternut squash, cubed
- 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
- 2/3 cup farro, cooked according to package directions
- 1/4 cup fresh curly parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp Flavor God Garlic Lover's Seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
- Optional: toasted pine nuts
Instructions
- Make the dressing. Whisk together 2 1/2 tbsp Roland Roasted Garlic Tahini, 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 2 tbsp water, 1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard, and 1/2 tsp salt until smooth. Adjust water to reach your desired consistency, adjust salt to taste, then set aside in the refrigerator.
- Roast the butternut squash. Pre-heat oven to 425° and line a baking sheet with foil. Add 3 cups butternut squash, cubed to the baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil, then season with 1/2 tsp Flavor God Garlic Lover's Seasoning. Toss squash to coat evenly with oil and seasoning, then arrange in a single layer on the baking sheet. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until it begins to get golden brown and is fork tender. Set aside.
- Steam the asparagus. Add 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed to a large, microwave safe bowl. Cover bowl with a damp paper towel. Microwave for 2-3 minutes or until asparagus is bright green and tender-crisp. Immediately transfer asparagus to an ice bath to stop cooking, then pat dry and cut into 2″ pieces. Set aside.
- Prepare the shrimp. Rinse 1 1/2 lbs raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, tail on and pat dry with paper towels. Season with 1/2 tsp Flavor God Garlic Lover's Seasoning and 1/4 tsp chili powder.
- Heat 1 tsp olive oil over medium-high heat (7 or 8 out of 10) in a large skillet. Add half the prepared shrimp in a single layer, being careful not to crowd the skillet. Cook for about 2 minutes or until browned on one side, then flip and continue cooking until the shrimp are opaque and cooked through. Remove the shrimp to a bowl and repeat with remaining olive oil and shrimp.
- Prepare lemon garlic sauce. In the same skillet, add 2 tbsp unsalted butter, 5 cloves garlic, minced and 1/2 lemon, juiced, and cook while stirring until fragrant and the garlic begins to get golden brown, about 1-2 minutes. Pour over the shrimp and grate 1 tsp lemon zest over top. Gently toss the shrimp to coat evenly.
- Assemble the bowls. Add cooked farro, butternut squash, asparagus, and shrimp to a large bowl. Drizzle with lemon tahini dressing. Top with fresh chopped parsley and toasted pine nuts, if desired.
Tips & Tricks
Nutrition Information
