Looking for a high-protein salad? This delicious Shrimp Avocado Salad recipe is fresh, hearty, and quick and easy to make!
Looking for more shrimp recipes? Try these ones too: Garlic Butter Shrimp, Air Fryer Shrimp, and Shrimp Fried Rice.
We are having warm and beautiful days in Toronto, and of course, I’m enjoying every minute of this nice weather. My mom is in town and we’ve been walking around the city. I’m glad the weather is good because last time she visited, it was February, and she did not like the cold weather.
Today, we walked by Lake Ontario and visited the Toronto Music Garden. What a gorgeous park, full of flowers. It was a lovely afternoon! I got home feeling much better and happy for living in a city with lots of green space and nature.
And of course, when the weather is nice, you want to eat fresh and colorful meals, especially salads (like my Chopped Red Cabbage Kale Salad!) At least I’m like that. For lunch, I love eating a big bowl of salad with some protein, just like this Shrimp Avocado Salad recipe.
What I love about this recipe is that it’s packed with protein from shrimp and eggs. You’ll feel very satisfied and energized to enjoy your afternoon. It’s also gluten-free, keto, and low-carb. If you don’t add feta cheese, it’s paleo-friendly too. This Shrimp Avocado Tomato Salad recipe is also so quick to prepare. Shrimp cooks very fast, and while you’re chopping the veggies, your eggs are being boiled.
The dressing is also very light, but flavorful. The combination of olive oil, lemon, and Dijon mustard goes really well with shrimp and eggs. It’s also great to make ahead of time and leave in the fridge for up to 7 days. This salad is really good and more than a simple side dish. It’s a main meal for lunch or even for a light summer dinner. You can even grill some veggies to complement your meal.
Shrimp is such a delicious protein that cooks up SO quickly, so I always have it on hand. For some more refreshing shrimp recipes, try my Super Fresh Shrimp Tomato Salad, Shrimp Avocado Cucumber Salad, Sweet Potato Green Beans Shrimp Skillet, or any of these 35 Healthy Shrimp Dinner Recipes. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- Olive oil — or whatever oil you prefer.
- Raw shrimp — peeled and deveined, tail-on. To save time, you can buy this pre-peeled and deveined.
- Salt and ground black pepper
- Romaine lettuce — washed and chopped beforehand. Make sure to get any dirt out near the root of the lettuce. You can also use arugula or spinach if you prefer.
- Cherry tomatoes — cut in half. You can use grape tomatoes as well.
- Red onions — you can soak the sliced red onions in cold water if you find the taste of onions to be too strong.
- Half an avocado — make sure they’re ripe by giving them a squeeze.
- Boiled eggs — here’s how to boil eggs.
- Feta cheese — for garnishing, and you can use any soft cheese of your choice.
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice or lime juice — I prefer fresh lemon juice to bottled lemon juice.
- Dijon mustard — you can use regular mustard if you don’t have Dijon mustard.
Instructions
Cook the Shrimp
- Using paper towels, pat the shrimp dry before seasoning with salt and pepper.
- In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add shrimp in a single layer and sauté about 2 minutes on each side or until they are cooked through. Set aside.
Make the Salad
- In a large bowl, add lettuce, red onions, cherry tomatoes, boiled eggs, and cooked shrimp.
- Slice avocados and arrange on the salad.
- In a mason jar, pour the lemon juice, olive oil, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. Whisk everything together.
- Toss everything in the dressing, top with feta cheese, and enjoy!
Optional: You can also chop some fresh herbs like dill, basil, and cilantro and sprinkle them on the top of the salad to add more flavor.
Both fresh and frozen shrimp are a great source of protein, so you can use either for this shrimp salad recipe. Fresh shrimp might not be as fresh in comparison to frozen shrimp, as we are not sure how long they were at the seafood counter, so be sure to check the shells, and if they feel soft or slimy, skip them.
Frozen shrimp also costs less than fresh shrimp, which is great if you are on a budget. Frozen shrimp comes in both wild-caught shrimp and farmed shrimp. When given the choice, I pick wild frozen shrimp as they are frozen immediately upon catching. Wild-caught shrimp also has a cleaner, shrimp-y flavor compared to farmed shrimp.
If you’ve forgotten to thaw the shrimp overnight in the fridge, not to worry! You can quickly thaw it by placing frozen shrimp into a bowl or colander in the sink. Then run cold water over it for 5 to 10 minutes, giving the colander a shake every so often so the water can reach all of the shrimp and thaw the shrimp evenly. It will take longer if your shrimp are larger compared to smaller shrimp. After the shrimp has thawed, you’ll have to pat them dry with a paper towel or the shrimp will steam instead of sear in the pan. This step is very important to get a nice colour on the shrimp.
I like to use a cast-iron skillet, but a non-stick pan will work as well. I find that cast-iron gives the shrimp a better-looking sear.
Shrimp Avocado Salad
Video
Ingredients
For the shrimp
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 lb raw shrimp peeled and deveined tail-on
- Salt and ground black pepper
For the salad
- 4-6 cups romaine lettuce washed and chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 3 slices of red onions
- Half avocado
- 2 medium boiled eggs sliced
- Feta cheese for garnishing
For the dressing
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
For the shrimp
- Using paper towels, pat dry shrimp and add in a medium bowl.
- Add salt and black pepper. Stir well.
- In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and cook for about 1-2 minutes each side or until they are cooked through. Set aside.
For the salad
- In a large salad bowl, add lettuces, red onions, cherry tomatoes, boiled eggs, and cooked shrimp. Slice avocados and arrange on salad.
- In a mason jar, pour the freshly squeezed lemon juice, olive oil, and dijon mustard. Add salt and pepper and whisk everything together. Continue to whisk while streaming in the olive oil dressing*.
- Taste to check the seasoning and pour over the salad. Top with feta cheese. Enjoy!
Notes
- Buy peeled and deveined shrimp to speed up the prep time.
- You can soak the red onions in cold water to remove some of the bite from them.
- Pat the shrimp dry before using as it can steam instead of sear in the skillet if there’s moisture.
- To store: Put leftover shrimp salad into an airtight glass container and keep them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Store the dressing separately, so it doesn’t make the salad soggy.
- To freeze: Freeze cooked shrimp in a freezer-safe bag once the shrimps have reached room temperature. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Delish – just adjust the shrimp to 1 lb for 3 people – yes that is a little high but you can munch on the leftover- use the large shrimp and a squeeze of lime.
Awesome!
Thanks for sharing. I love this dish! I have done, I am regaled, and your beautiful plate makes me want to regale me again
Happy you liked it.
it was really nice and appetizing but i didn’t really like how the egg just exploded all over the pasta i feel like the egg was only focused on.
How is this enough for 4 people?? Promoting this way of eating and stating 1/4 of this is a note mal adult portion could be very dangerous for a lot of people.. then we wonder why so many eating disorders. With “ recipe authors” like this no wonder.
This is for 4 people if you will serve this salad with other side dishes. Otherwise it’s for 2 people.
looks great
Thanks!
Hi Olivia, Just came across your recipe here earlier today, made it for our lunch since having most of the ingredients on hand and loved it only substituting cooked prawns and pineapple chunks for the avocado.
On the other hand I don’t understand how some people can comment with ingredients especially that aren’t even in the ingredients list – like pasta and egg exploding all over the pasta – Doh! Glad you just zipped up, but I couldn’t help myself and had a chuckle.
browsing through your site I’ve kept a few recipes for later on. Loved them, they sound wonderful.
Thank you, Josephine. I like your comment 😉
Happy you liked this recipe. Hope you like the recipes that you will try later.
It was okay. I don’t think I added enough lemon. It needs a little more omph! I think chili flakes would be a good addition next time I try it!
yes please add lemon juice. It adds a lot of flavor to this salad! And chili flakes too 😉
Love your recipes 💕 Thank you
Happy you liked it!