Even if you’re not a fan of organ meats, I bet you would enjoy these healthy and delicious Asian-style chicken livers and onions with sticky honey soy and garlic sauce. Serve over cauliflower rice or stir-fried vegetables for a low-carb, paleo-friendly meal or with regular rice or noodles.
This recipe is included in my free paleo program meal plans. You can also enjoy it during my low-carb challenge.
Why Try Chicken Livers
If you’re interested in including more organ meats in your diet, chicken liver is probably the easiest place to start.
As with most offal, chicken liver is highly nutritious and just one serving of these guys will give you a massive boost of B-vitamins, iron, folic acid, zinc and vitamin A.
Chicken livers have a milder flavour than other types of liver and are commonly available from your butcher and large supermarkets.
What Goes With Chicken Livers
The tastiest way to enjoy chicken livers, in my opinion, is when they are cooked with bold flavours, ideally something sweet and tangy.
They go superbly well with onions, bacon and fruit. In this Asian-style recipe, chicken livers are cooked with onions and finished with honey, garlic and soy sauce. I used gluten-free Tamari sauce and you can also swap for coconut aminos for a soy-free version.
Note: Chicken liver should be consumed in small amounts when pregnant but totally fine when breastfeeding and is as a great way to top up those depleted nutrients!
What To Serve With Chicken Livers & Onions
If you’re trying to stay low-carb, I would serve these chicken livers with steamed or stir-fried vegetables, cauliflower rice or broccoli rice, or zucchini noodles.
They are rich in protein and are quite satiating. Otherwise, they are great with regular rice or rice noodles or on top of an Asian-style slaw salad or my rainbow red cabbage slaw. A simple side of potatoes is also delicious.
More Liver Recipes To Try
Description
Healthy and delicious chicken livers and onions finished with garlic, honey and soy sauce. Serve over rice or noodles or with stir-fried/steamed vegetables or cauliflower rice for a low-carb version. This chicken liver recipe might change your mind about organ meats!
You will need two frying pans for this recipe, or do it in two parts.
- Part 1. In one frying pan, sauté the onions two tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt for 4-5 minutes, until golden and softened. Then add the garlic and stir for a minute. Follow by honey, tamari (or coconut aminos) and fish sauce. Stir through and take off the heat.
- Part 2. In another skillet, heat coconut oil or olive oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chicken livers and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat for 2 minutes on each side. Then transfer to the pan with the onions and place back on the heat. Stir for about 20-30 seconds to coat the liver pieces in the onion and the sauce. Garnish with some chopped spring onions/scallions, sesame seeds and chilli.
Notes
Lamb or beef liver can be used instead of chicken livers. For AIP: Omit fresh chilli. For Whol30: replace honey with orange juice. For soy-free: use coconut aminos instead of Tamari soy sauce.
Serve with steamed or boiled veggies of choice (e.g. kale, cauliflower, broccoli and carrots) drizzled with some olive oil and, lemon juice; or, with cauliflower rice or regular rice.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: About 200 g livers with half of the onions
- Calories: 451
- Sugar: 11.9 g
- Sodium: 1395.3 mg
- Fat: 26 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Carbohydrates: 18.5 g
- Fiber: 1.1 g
- Protein: 36 g
- Cholesterol: 690 mg
Keywords: Chicken livers, liver, organ meats, offal, gluten-free, low-carb
Garlic Shrimp and Tomatoes with Parmesan Orzo Recipe
Shrimp laced with buttery garlic and thyme and a burst tomato sauce served on a creamy Parmesan orzo.
Juicy, succulent shrimp laced with garlic, butter, and thyme, tucked into a silky burst tomato sauce, and piled high on creamy, luscious Parmesan orzo. WHAT A DREAMBOAT DINNER. I love this recipe!
In This Post:
How To Make This Garlic Shrimp and Tomatoes (with Pictures)
Step 1: Blister and Smash the Tomatoes
Get the tomatoes hot and blistery; then give ’em a gentle smash with the back of a spoon or a small plate. It’s… very fun.
Step 2: Cook the Shrimp
Make a little clearing right in the center of the tomatoes where you can add your shrimp to cook for a couple of minutes. Salt it up!
Step 3: Get the Garlic and Butter Going In There
Throw in a bunch of freshly sliced garlic and a knob of butter. Stir it up a few times until it’s dreamy.
Step 4: Make a Creamy Orzo
Put a lid on the shrimp and make a quick creamy orzo – butter, Parmesan, cream, lemon, and salt.
Step 5: Put It All Together
Piping hot orzo goes on the plate first, and then we pull our shrimp and tomatoes back out to pile on top.
Lindsay’s Notes
This recipe is in heavy rotation at the moment – and it never fails to make me feel like I’m eating at a fancy restaurant and/or generally have my life together. Is my laundry all over my table? Yes. Have I been using dry shampoo for the last 4 days? Yes. But am I also eating a kind of fancy and beautiful dinner? YES! Three cheers for doable “fancy” recipes. 10/10 recommend.
Creamy orzo with the twang of Parmesan, sweet burst tomatoes gently bubbled into a sauce, and a pile of jumbo, delicate, buttery, garlic-laced shrimp. Pass me a glass of wine and I am living my best life.
As far as family approval goes, Bjork and I love the whole big, beautiful thing – no thyme for him (a true crime and I don’t want to spend any more time talking about it), and lots of thyme, salt, and pepp for me. The girls are hit and miss with the shrimp and tomatoes, but you better believe they love the creamy Parmesan orzo which is, of course, just mac and cheese in disguise. They’ll usually eat a few of the fresh little tomatoes on the side, too. Winning for everybody!
Description
Shrimp laced with buttery garlic and thyme and a burst tomato sauce served on a creamy Parmesan orzo.
Garlic Shrimp and Tomatoes:
Creamy Orzo:
- Cook the Orzo: Cook according to package directions. Drain, toss with a bit of oil, and set aside.
- Soften the Tomatoes: Add the tomatoes and olive oil to a pan over medium high heat so they can soften and get a bit blistered on the outside. I usually cover the pan to avoid extra splatters.
- Smash the Tomatoes: Once they’re soft (5 minutes or so), give them a gentle smash with the back of a spoon or applying even pressure with a plate or similar flat object. You want the tomatoes to be partially burst / smashed so they release some juices.
- Cook the Shrimp: Make a little clearing in the center of the tomatoes and add your shrimp right in; season them with 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook for 2 minutes on each side.
- Give it Some Flava-Flave: Add the garlic, butter, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the pan and stir to mix it all together. Let it get saucy and bubbly; then remove from heat and cover with a lid.
- Make the orzo: Mix the orzo with butter, half and half, Parmesan, and lemon. Stir to combine; warm it up over the heat if necessary.
- Pile it up: Serve immediately so the orzo doesn’t get too starchy and sticky! Pile it on a plate with a big scoop of steamy shrimp and tomatoes. Top with thyme. So good!
Notes
This amount usually makes enough for just Bjork and I to finish the shrimp, with plenty of orzo for us and the girls. If you wanted to serve 4 adults, I would use 2 pounds of shrimp!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Saute
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: shrimp and orzo, orzo recipe, shrimp and tomatoes
Recipe Card powered byFrequently Asked Questions For Garlic Shrimp and Tomatoes
What can I use instead of shrimp?Chicken would be delicious! I would probably pan-fry the chicken first, then take it out and set aside while you build your tomato sauce, then add the chicken back in at the end.
How long do the leftovers last?You can definitely eat this meal as leftovers for 1, maybe 2 days after you make it, but it’s one of those meals that really shines when it’s made fresh.
Can you make this vegetarian / meatless?Use zucchini in place of the shrimp! Or, similarly, this recipe is great.
How do you make this gluten-free and/or dairy-free?Use gluten free orzo, dairy-free butter (or olive oil), and something else creamy in place of the half and half and Parmesan – a knob of dairy-free cream cheese would be good!
Another option would be to skip the creamy orzo and serve this with quinoa or another gluten-free, dairy-free option.
My Favorite Shrimp Recipes
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Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
- Calories N/A
- Total Fat N/A
- Saturated Fat N/A
- Cholesterol N/A
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- Total Carbohydrates N/A
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Hi, I'm Alex!
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