Healthy Shrimp Salad
Published 8/1/2020 • Updated 8/8/2022
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Eat the rainbow with this Healthy Shrimp Salad that’s packed with fresh ingredients, perfectly sautéed shrimp and a creamy dressing (no mayo!). Enjoy!
Light and Bright Salad
This shrimp salad is light and bright and the perfect fresh side dish. From the rainbow color of healthy ingredients packed into this salad, to the creamy (no mayo!) dressing, to the perfectly sautéed shrimp — and did we mention this salad comes together in under 30 minutes?!
Prepping Shrimp Before Cooking
This recipe calls for peeled, deveined raw shrimp, and most grocery stores will carry this, but if you end up buying unpeeled or veined raw shrimp, simply peel and / or devein before cooking.
If your shrimp is frozen, you’ll need to thaw your raw shrimp before cooking. Do so by placing frozen shrimp in a strainer and run cold water over the frozen shrimp until they are thawed to the touch.
How to Cook Shrimp for Shrimp Salad
- Heat a large skillet over medium/high heat, and add olive oil once the skillet is hot. We used a cast iron skillet for this recipe, but any skillet will do!
- When olive oil is fragrant, add the garlic cloves to the pan. Let the garlic cook for 1 minutes before adding the shrimp to the pan, making sure to distribute them evenly in the pan.
- Sprinkle the shrimp with salt and lemon juice. Cook the shrimp for 3 minutes and then flip. Cook the shrimp for an additional 3-4 minutes. Pro tip: the shrimp will be fully cooked when it turns a pale pink color.
- Remove from heat, and pour the shrimp into a large bowl. Let the shrimp cool completely before adding to the salad.
Easy Swaps for Shrimp Salad
- White navy beans: Any light bean will work with this recipe. We recommend cannellini, white northern, or white kidney beans as suitable alternatives if you don’t have white navy beans.
- Red bell pepper: Any color of bell pepper will do!
- Fresh herbs: This recipe calls for flat leaf parsley and mint, but curly leaf parsley will work as well. Fresh Dill would be delicious if this is all you have on hand as well.
- Red onion: Red onion adds great color and flavor to this salad, but if you only have a white or yellow onion on hand at home, either will absolutely work as well.
Healthy Shrimp Salad Dressing
This shrimp salad dressing is oh so creamy without using ANY mayo! Its light and bright flavors come from just 6 simple ingredients. Combine the following and give it a shake shake shake in a mason jar:
- Lemon juice
- Lime juice
- Tahini
- Apple cider vinegar
- Olive oil
- Salt
How Long Does Shrimp Salad Last in the Fridge?
Because this shrimp salad and its dressing use so many delicious fresh ingredients, it will only last up to 3 days when stored in an air-tight container in the fridge, and is fresh and crunchiest on day 1 or 2.
Small batch? If you don’t think you’ll be able to finish this healthy shrimp salad in 3 days or less, feel free to make a 1/2 batch!
Healthy Shrimp Salad
Ingredients
White Beans
- 15 oz. can white navy beans, rinsed
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- pinch of salt
Dressing
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 2 teaspoons tahini
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Shrimp
Salad
- 1 large red pepper, thinly sliced
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
Instructions
White Beans
- Place the white beans, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, and salt into a bowl. Mix all the ingredients together. Place the beans into the microwave and cook them for 90 seconds on high.
- Remove them for the microwave and let them sit for at least 20 minutes.
Dressing
- Add the olive oil, lemon juice, lime juice, tahini, apple cider vinegar, and salt to a mason jar.
- Cover the jar and shake the jar until all of the ingredients are combined. Set aside.
Shrimp
- Heat a large skillet over medium/high heat. Add olive oil.
- When olive oil is fragrant, add the garlic to the pan. Let the garlic cook for 1 minutes and then add the shrimp to the pan.
- Sprinkle the shrimp with salt and lemon juice. Cook the shrimp for 3 minutes and then flip. Cook the shrimp for an additional 3-4 minutes or until the shrimp turn a pale pink color.
- Remove from the heat and pour the shrimp into a large bowl. Let the shrimp cool completely.
Salad
- When the shrimp are cooled, add the red pepper, onion, parsley, and mint to the bowl with the shrimp.
- Then, add the white beans and dressing. Mix all of the ingredients together until all of the ingredients are covered in dressing.
- Eat immediately or place the salad in the refrigerator for 30 minutes and serve cold.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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If I am making this for lunch prep, is it better to leave dressing off until I eat or is it one of those salads that get better as it sits and marinates a day or two?
The fresh veggies will definitely be most crunchy on day 1 when this salad is dressed, but is still good after a day or two!