This shrimp avocado salad is perfect for a quick and healthy lunch! It combines fresh vegetables with juicy shrimp and a delicious homemade lime vinaigrette.
Love quick and easy salad recipes? Then this recipe might be just what you’ve been looking for! This shrimp avocado salad is one of my favorites whenever I want to make something healthy and delicious for lunch that doesn’t take too much time.
Plus, this salad definitely isn’t lacking in flavor! The juicy shrimp are tossed in delicious Cajun seasoning, the vegetables are super refreshing, and the homemade lime vinaigrette adds the perfect amount of zing to this salad.
Ingredients
To make this shrimp avocado salad, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Raw shrimp: I recommend using raw jumbo shrimp as they tend to be juicier, but you can use any kind of shrimp you like.
- Vegetables: Romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, and red onion are needed to make this salad. You can add other vegetables if you want, I just like to keep things simple and easy.
- Cajun seasoning: I absolutely love to use Cajun seasoning for shrimp! It adds a lot of flavor and you don’t need any extra spices as it already is a delicious spice blend.
- Homemade lime vinaigrette: For the homemade lime vinaigrette, you’ll need extra virgin olive oil, lime juice, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, red chili flakes (optional), salt, and pepper. I recommend keeping these ingredients in your pantry/refrigerator as they can be used to make delicious vinaigrettes that go well with a variety of salads!
How to make shrimp avocado salad
Making this shrimp avocado salad is super quick and easy! Just follow these steps:
- Marinate the shrimp: First, toss the peeled and deveined shrimp in vegetable oil and Cajun seasoning. Then set them aside.
- Prepare the vinaigrette: Next, add all dressing ingredients to a small bowl and stir until they are combined.
- Sear the shrimp: Now preheat some oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Sear the shrimp from both sides until they are cooked through. Depending on the size of the shrimp, this usually takes 3-4 minutes per side.
- Prepare the salad: While the shrimp cook, chop all the vegetables. Add them to a large bowl, pour the dressing over the vegetables, and toss.
- Combine: Now serve the seared shrimp on top and enjoy!
Tips & Notes
Before you make this shrimp avocado salad, be sure to read through the following notes.
- Cook the shrimp in batches. If you overcrowd the pan with shrimp, they are hard to sear as they do lose water when cooked. So if a nice sear is important to you, cook the shrimp in batches so they have more space in the pan. If you care more about time, feel free to cook them in one large batch. Just know that they might not look as nice and that they are going to taste a little different.
- Don’t overcook the shrimp. Overcooking leads to rubbery shrimp, so don’t cook them for too long. For most shrimp, 3-4 minutes is perfect.
- Toss the shrimp with the salad. I love to serve the shrimp on top of each salad serving to enjoy it as a main dish, but feel free to mix the shrimp with the salad. You could also cut the shrimp into smaller pieces and toss them with the vegetables to make a delicious appetizer or side dish!
Variations
As with most recipes, there are many ways to change the flavor of this dish. Here are some ingredients that I like to add when I want to switch things up.
- Cilantro: Cilantro is probably my favorite ingredient to add to this salad! Since it can be harder to find (depending on where you live), I didn’t add it to the recipe box you’ll find at the end of this post. But it is a fantastic addition to this salad that tastes great! So I highly recommend adding cilantro if you like it.
- Garlic: Garlic is another delicious addition to this salad! You can either add it to the dressing or to the shrimp before searing them.
- Chile pepper: And if you love things extra spicy, add some finely diced chile pepper to the shrimp before searing them! It’s super delicious.
- Corn: Corn is another ingredient that perfectly complements this shrimp avocado salad! You can use fresh, frozen, or canned corn for this salad.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can! I just like to sear the shrimp myself as I think that it tastes better. But if you prefer to use pre-cooked shrimp, feel free to do so.
Whenever I serve this shrimp avocado salad as a main dish, I enjoy it with some delicious bread or roasted sweet potatoes. This makes the meal more satiating and tasty. Another option is using this recipe to make delicious lettuce wraps (omit the romaine lettuce if you do this).
You can chop the vegetables, sear the shrimp, and prepare the dressing in advance. I recommend cutting the avocado shortly before serving, as it browns when stored in the refrigerator.
More simple and delicious shrimp recipes
If you love shrimp, I recommend trying one of the following recipes. They are all super simple and tasty!
- Baked Feta Pasta with Shrimp
- Cashew Cajun Shrimp Alfredo
- Shrimp Chow Mein
- Spicy Cajun Shrimp Pasta
- Zucchini Noodles with Garlic Shrimp
Shrimp Avocado Salad
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- ½ pound raw shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or avocado oil
- ½ tablespoon Cajun seasoning
- 2 cups romaine lettuce chopped
- 1 cup Roma tomatoes or cherry tomatoes diced
- ⅓ cucumber diced
- 1 avocado diced
- ¼ red onion finely diced
Lime Vinaigrette Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoon lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon maple syrup
- salt and pepper to taste
- red chili flakes (optional) to taste
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the shrimp, avocado oil, and Cajun seasoning. Toss until combined.
- In a small bowl, whisk together all vinaigrette ingredients. Then set aside.
- Next, preheat some avocado oil or vegetable oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Sear the shrimp from both sides until they are cooked through (3-4 minutes from each side). Adjust the heat as needed.
- While the shrimp cook, chop all vegetables. Add them to a bowl and pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Toss until combined.
- Top the salad with the shrimp and enjoy!
Notes
- If you want to serve this shrimp avocado salad as an appetizer or side dish, you might want to omit the romaine lettuce (especially when you serve it as lettuce wraps).
- If you want to enjoy this salad as a main dish, I recommend serving it with some bread or roasted sweet potatoes to make it more satiating.
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