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Sheet-Pan Shrimp with Fennel, White Beans, and Blistered Tomatoes

Fennel wedges and red onion roasted hard on one tray, then cannellini beans, cherry tomatoes, and shrimp added at the end so everything finishes together in olive oil and lemon.

By Camille McLaughlin, RDN, LD, registered dietitian nutritionist

Built forMediterraneanDinner
Also fits High-Fiber High-Protein Low-Added-Sugar
Fennel goes bronze and almost sweet in a very hot oven, losing every trace of the licorice edge it has when sliced thin on a board. Cherry tomatoes split and run into the beans, the shrimp curl and go opaque in five minutes flat, and torn basil hits the tray while the pan is still ticking.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe

One tray, one bowl, and a hot oven is how I cook on the nights I have the least left in me. The fennel and onion go in first and get a real head start, which is the whole trick: by the time the beans and tomatoes and shrimp arrive, the tray is screaming hot and everything else needs only a few minutes. I put this on the table straight from the pan with lemon wedges and a spoon, and there is nothing to plate and nothing to drain. My daughter calls it the tray with the pink bits, and she eats the fennel, which is not nothing.

Roasting is what makes fennel worth buying. Sliced thin and eaten cold it is crisp and anise-forward, but under high dry heat the outer layers go dark and the sugars come forward until it tastes closer to a sweet onion. The cannellini beans do something quiet and important underneath: they soak up the tomato juice and the olive oil and turn the tray from a plate of vegetables into an actual dinner. Shrimp go on last because they need almost no time at all, and five minutes past done they turn rubbery and there is no getting them back. Watch the pan for those last few minutes and nothing else.

This is a summer dinner that works in February, because cherry tomatoes are the one tomato that is decent all year and blistering them concentrates whatever they have. It eats well hot, and it eats just as well at room temperature twenty minutes later, which makes it a good choice when people are arriving at different times. If you want something to catch all the juice at the bottom of the tray, a thick slice of grilled bread does the job, though there is enough on the pan to make a full plate on its own. I have also spooned the cold leftovers over greens the next day and called it lunch.

A dark sheet pan crowded with bronzed fennel wedges, split cherry tomatoes leaking juice, pale cannellini beans, and curled pink shrimp. Save
Prep: 10 minsCook: 19 minsTotal: 29 minsMakes: 4 servingsServing: about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

Serves4Amounts change with the number. The nutrition panel is per serving, so it stays the same.
  • 1 1/3 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on, patted dry
  • 1 large fennel bulb (about 12 oz), cored and cut into 1/2-inch wedges, fronds reserved
  • 2 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes (about 14 oz), left whole
  • 2 cups no-salt-added cannellini beans, drained and rinsed well, from one 25 oz jar or two 15 oz cans
  • 1 small red onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges through the root
  • 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
  • 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice, from 1 lemon, plus wedges for the table
  • 3 tbsp kalamata olives, pitted and torn in half
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn just before serving
  • 1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped, plus the reserved fennel fronds
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne, or more if you like heat
  • 3/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven and the pan together: Put a rack in the upper third of the oven, set a heavy rimmed sheet pan on it, and heat to 450°F. Preheating the pan itself is what gets browning on the fennel rather than steam. While it heats, cut the fennel and onion and toss them with 2 tbsp of the olive oil, the oregano, the black pepper, and half the salt.
  2. Roast the fennel and onion: Pull the hot pan out and tip the fennel and onion onto it, spreading them into one layer with space between the pieces. They should hiss on contact. Roast for 12 minutes, turning once at the halfway point, until the cut faces are deeply browned and the thin outer layers have started to frizzle.
  3. Season the shrimp: While the fennel roasts, toss the shrimp in a bowl with the remaining olive oil, the sliced garlic, the cayenne, and the rest of the salt. Do this at the last minute rather than early, because salt on shrimp draws out water and you want them dry when they hit the tray.
  4. Add everything else: Scatter the beans, whole cherry tomatoes, and olives over the fennel and give the pan a shake. Lay the shrimp on top in a single layer, scraping in every bit of the garlic and oil. Return to the oven for 6 to 7 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and opaque and just curled into a loose C, and the tomatoes have split.
  5. Finish on the pan: Squeeze the lemon juice over the hot tray and stir once, scraping the browned bits up off the bottom so they get into the beans. Scatter the parsley, fennel fronds, and torn basil over the top and take the whole pan to the table with lemon wedges.
Nutrition Facts
4 servings per recipe
Serving sizeabout 1 1/2 cups
Calories400
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 12g16%
Saturated Fat 2g9%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 239mg80%
Sodium 659mg29%
Total Carbohydrate 36g13%
Dietary Fiber 10g36%
Total Sugars 7g
Includes 0g Added Sugars 0%
Protein 41g
Vitamin D 0.1mcg1%
Calcium 221mg17%
Iron 4.9mg27%
Potassium 1401mg30%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Values are computed from USDA FoodData Central and are estimates. Per serving (about 1 1/2 cups).

Variations

  • Tomato and chile: Double the cayenne and add a sliced jalapeno with the garlic for a tray with real heat running through it.
  • Green beans on the tray: Add a half pound of trimmed green beans with the fennel so there is something with snap against the soft beans.
  • Feta at the end: Crumble a couple of ounces of feta over the hot pan just before the herbs so it softens without melting away.
  • Over a grain: Spoon the whole tray, juices and all, over warm farro or bulgur to stretch it to six servings.
  • Anchovy garlic: Mash two oil-packed anchovy fillets into the oil you toss the shrimp in for a deeper, saltier savor.

Storage & Leftovers

Leftovers keep three days in a sealed container in the refrigerator. The beans go on drinking the tomato and lemon juice overnight, so the second day tastes rounder even as the shrimp firm up a little. Keep any leftover basil off until you serve it, since it blackens sitting in the cold liquid.

Eat it cold or at room temperature if you can, spooned over greens or piled on toast. If you want it hot, warm it in a wide skillet over medium for three minutes rather than in the microwave, which cooks the shrimp a second time and turns them tight and squeaky.

This does not freeze well, mostly because of the shrimp and the tomatoes, both of which go watery on thawing. What you can do ahead is roast the fennel and onion earlier in the day and leave them on the pan. Reheat that at 450°F for four minutes before adding the rest, and dinner is six minutes out.

Notes & Tips

A few notes from my kitchen, mostly about heat and timing, since the whole recipe hangs on the tray being hot before anything touches it.
  • Preheat the pan, not just the oven: Vegetables laid on cold metal sit in their own steam for the first four minutes. A pan that is already at 450°F starts browning on contact and that is where the flavor is.
  • Give the fennel a head start: Everything else on this tray cooks in under seven minutes. If it all went in together the fennel would still be squeaky when the shrimp were overdone.
  • Dry the beans: Beans tipped wet from the can onto a hot pan drop the temperature and end up simmering. A minute spread on a towel makes the difference between browned edges and mush.
  • Watch for the loose C: A shrimp curled into a loose C is done. Curled into a tight O it has gone too far. Pull the tray at the first sign and let carryover heat finish them.
  • Leave the tomatoes whole: Whole cherry tomatoes hold their juice until they split in the oven, and then release it all at once into the beans. Halved ahead of time, they give it up early and dry out.
  • Add the lemon on the hot pan: Juice squeezed over a screaming hot tray steams up into everything at once. Added later at the table it only sits on top.

Nutrition & Mindful Eating

A one-tray dinner where fennel and tomatoes go sweet under high heat, white beans give it substance, and the shrimp are on and off in six minutes.
  • Shrimp, beans, and roasted vegetables are three different jobs on one tray. The shrimp bring the protein, the cannellini beans give the plate its body and its fiber, and the fennel, tomatoes, and onion carry the sweetness that high heat pulls out of them.
  • Shrimp cook in minutes and come out firm and faintly sweet, and they deliver a lot of protein for how quickly they are done, along with selenium and the iodine that seafood is one of the few reliable sources of.
  • Cannellini beans are the soft, creamy part of this. They take on the tomato juice and olive oil around them, and their fiber is the slow-digesting kind that gives a fast dinner some staying power.
  • Fennel roasted at high heat is a different vegetable from fennel sliced onto a salad. The anise note recedes, the edges caramelize, and it brings potassium and a good amount of fiber in something that eats like a sweet roasted onion.
  • Olive oil is doing the cooking and the seasoning here. It carries the garlic and oregano into the beans, it is where the browning comes from, and its monounsaturated fat is what makes the whole tray taste rich on three tablespoons.
  • As you eat, notice the juice pooling at the bottom of the pan and how much of it the beans have taken up, and slow down enough to chase the last of it with a wedge of lemon.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use frozen shrimp?

That is what I use most weeks. Thaw them in a colander under cold running water for about five minutes, then dry them thoroughly on a towel. Wet shrimp steam on the tray and never brown, and they release enough water to cool the whole pan down.

My fennel came out tough in the middle. What happened?

Wedges cut too thick, or a pan that was not preheated. Half an inch is the number, and cut through the root so the layers hold together while still letting heat in. If your bulb is very large, give it three extra minutes before the shrimp go on rather than cutting it smaller.

What can I use in place of the cannellini beans?

Butter beans, navy beans, or chickpeas all work and behave the same way on a hot tray. Chickpeas hold their shape most firmly and get a little crisp at the edges, which some people prefer. Rinse whichever you use well and dry them before they go on.

Can I make this with fish rather than shrimp?

Yes. Cod or halibut cut into large chunks goes on at the same moment and takes about eight minutes, a couple of minutes longer than shrimp. Set the pieces on top of the beans rather than directly on the metal so the undersides do not stick.