This is probably my favorite dinner salad. Something about this shrimp and avocado salad screams summer, refreshing and satisfying all at the same time. And it tastes better the longer you let the shrimp marinade, so it can be made ahead if you’re expecting company or are like me and have more time to prepare supper in the afternoon (during nap time) than in the evening (when everyone is starving and wants to eat right now).
Prep Time: 10 minutes (plus 1-3 hours to marinade cooked shrimp)
Cook Time: 0
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients (Cilantro Dressing/Marinade):
- 3 Tbsp fresh Lime Juice
- 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1/8 tsp fresh cracked Pepper
, to taste
- pinch Salt
, to taste
1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix.
Ingredients (Salad):
- Cilantro dressing
- 1 lb cooked shrimp, deveined and tail removed
- 2 ripe avocados
- 4 cups lettuce or baby greens
1. Pour cilantro dressing/marinade over shrimp (make sure any excess water is poured off if you are using thawed frozen shrimp). Stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (2 or 3 is better).
2. Wash and dry lettuce (use a Salad Spinner
3. Cut avocado into bite-size wedges. Sprinkle over lettuce.
4. Top with marinated shrimp and leftover dressing. Enjoy!
Liz S. says
It looks amazing! Do your kids eat it? If not, what (if anything?) do you fix for them on nights when they turn their noses up at dinner? Just curious – always looking for kid-friendly seafood recipes… (I’m actually at a real computer today! lol)
ThePaleoMom says
My 2.5-year old loves shrimp and my 5.5-year old will eat it begrudgingly. If I’m making this for supper, I usually have some filler foods for the kids, like a green vegetable (because they don’t eat tons of lettuce) and something like sweet potato as a starch. Both my kids also prefer the avocado plain, so I leave some aside without dressing on it for them.
Anonymous says
Why don’t the recipes published on your blog show up under the recipe tab? It would be much easier to search for them there instead of having to scroll back through the blog.
ThePaleoMom says
Are you not getting linked to this page? https://www.thepaleomom.com/p/recipes.html
I switched to this visual menu a couple of months ago because the list of recipes under the recipe tab was getting so cumbersome. Let me know if you still can’t browse the recipes, and I’ll see if there’s some way I can fix it.
Angela Donner says
This sounds so yummy! Maybe I’ll make it sometime when my mom visits because I would be the only one who would eat it.
Ecuagirl says
I made this and your honey garlic chicken wings. My kids (8 & 6) didn’t care for the shrimp, but DH and I could not get enough of it. The kids loved the chicken wings. I like the fact that everything was super easy to fix.
ThePaleoMom says
My kids are the same. This salad becomes more of a grown-up meal for us. They might eat some plain shrimp and steamed veggies instead. 🙂
buttoni says
This sounds soooo good! I love all types of shrimp salads provided they don’t have noodles. I look forward to trying this!
Kristie says
This sounds fantastic! Is there anything you would recommend using instead of cilantro? I’m allergic. Cheers!
ThePaleoMom says
I bet chevril would be tasty. or maybe basil.
shannon says
Is there anyway to find the nutritional value?
lin says
it’s paleo, it’s healthy! no need for nutritional value #’s……….it’s full of nutritional value 🙂
Vicky says
The nutritional info would be helpful for those on calorie limited plans.
Lindie says
Made it before church to eat as our lunch afterward and it was great! We added olives and tomatoes to give it a bit more flavor. Also, I think I’ll drizzle olive oil on top before serving. My hubby and I thought this was a hit! The kids liked it okay, but didn’t like the “sour” flavor of the lime juice. I say, “oh well”. More shrimp for us!
Thanks for the recipe!
kstee403 says
Just a note of gratitude for this awesome recipe! My spouse has several auto-immune issues, and hates the idea of “giving up” the foods that make her feel ill. Preparing meals like this makes her see the light!
Andrea says
This was fantastic. I used basil instead of cilantro. Thanks so much!
Dayna says
Thanks for the tip! I’m not a cilantro fan in general so I was looking for someone who swapped it out!
Michael says
Curious as to how you cooked your shrimp, but I boiled mine.
I just made this and it tasted pretty bland. Really like oily meat. So I doctored it up a bit by throwing it all in a skillet, putting a few pressed cloves of garlic, adding more lime, and finally some hot sauce (spicy vinegar) because there was no acidity to balance out the flavor. (limes are alkalide)
Now thinking back, I wonder/wish I had tried the hot sauce first. (or something else that’s acidic)
But I ate a whole pound of the end product, because why not? Next time, I may just go scampi instead.
Also, I got my shrimp “fresh” from the grocery store, but I grew up on the gulf coast and know that fresh doesn’t have any chemicals/odd flavor. Would you recommend frozen shrimp? Or do they have a downside as well?
ThePaleoMom says
I almost always use frozen pre-cooked shrimp for this recipe. If not, I usually sauté in butter or ghee, maybe with a tablespoon of white wine (a lot more flavor than boiling, unless you’ve got shell-on fresh shrimp)
LaRae Eldridge says
I have the recipe book without the pictures!! Will try some now! LaRae
carol says
I made this tonight, but I didn’t use any greens…just the avocado, shrimp and the dressing (as directed). My lettuce was bitter, I guess the freeze has gotten to it. It was quite good. My honey even ate it, and he doesn’t like boiled shrimp. I can’t use those pre-cooked shrimp that you mentioned. Something in the way they are treated for freezing, or possibly boiled in, gives me indigestion really badly.
I will definitely make this again.
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Dawn says
This salad is unbelievably amazing! When I first tried the dressing (right after I made it), I thought whoa, that’s strong. But then I just put the shrimp in the dressing, stirred, waited a few minutes, and holy cow it tasted absolutely delicious. Thank you!!!
Susan says
This looks so delicious.. i want to make it as soon s possible. Unfortunately I can’t stand cilantro. I see it is the main ingredient in the dressing. Can you suggest a replacement herb so it can taste just a fresh & yummy, please?
Tamar England says
Chevril or basil. — Tamar, Sarah’s assistant
Peg says
Thank you. I will use Basil. I too cannot eat the pungent cilantro, the taste of it in my mouth, ruins the entire meal for me until I rinse my mouth out.
viv says
Me either, it tastes like shampoo!
Susan says
will do.. thank you!!
Sally says
Can you give the nutritional value of this salad?
Sarah says
My kids love shrimp, love this recipe! Just wondering- can you make this a day ahead?
Melissa says
I served it for my girls night and my friends went NUTS! SO yummy! Instead of putting it on a bed of lettuce, I used butter lettuce leaves to make them like little taco wraps. It was a fun way to serve it as a finger food! Maybe your kids might like it more that way? Worth a try 🙂
Melissa says
Oops my comment posted to the wrong comment haha. Oh well 🙂
You can let the shrimp marinate the day before but I would toss in the avocado last minute. It will brown even with the lime juice in there.
I grilled my shrimp first and then cut into half. SO yummy!!
Bob says
I know cilantro is an herb that doesn’t have a middle ground on whether people like it or not; count me as one who does like it even grow my own. However IMO this dressing as in the recipe was way to strong! Glad I tasted it before ruining a whole lb of shrimp. I rescued by adding some minced garlic and about half a cup of olive oil mayo.
Marianne says
I don’t see how much dressing to use as marinade and therefore how much is left. Help!
Amy says
How does this keep? I’m the only one in my house who would eat this (and would love it!). If I made a batch, would it keep okay to take to work for my lunches throughout the week?