In this shrimp salad recipe, poached shrimp are mixed with a zippy, creamy, lemony dressing, and then tossed with fresh avocado, parsley, and green onions. Rich and refreshing all at the same time!
With its seasonally flexible ingredient list, you can easily make this shrimp salad recipe year-round. But to me it screams a hot summer afternoon, where you stick a bottle of white wine or rosé in an ice bucket and head out to your backyard, fire escape, the park down the street—whatever you’re working with—and pass around fresh lemony things to share.
The trick to lightening an otherwise rather classic creamy shrimp salad is plenty of lemon zest, juice, and herbs. This simple recipe combines a Caesar Salad-inspired dressing with a whole lemon’s worth of juice, zest, and extra lemon for squeezing.
I added green onions to bridge the sweet and savory gap without overpowering the flavor, and avocado just because I think avocado and shrimp should get together more often!
It’s delicious at room temperature but even better chilled, so you can make it a day ahead and have an easy lunch, dinner, or appetizer at the ready. And it’s versatile: use prawns, leave the tail on, swap in your favorite herbs, serve in lettuce cups or on toast. And, sure, make it in winter too.
Table of Contents
Ingredients and Substitutions
Herbs and veggies add freshness to this shrimp salad recipe, while pantry ingredients like capers and Dijon add depth of flavor to the dressing. You’ll need:
For the Shrimp Salad
- Shrimp: Look for large shrimp–frozen is perfectly fine, just be sure to thaw it before cooking. Prawns work well too.
- READ MORE: Guide To Buying And Cooking Shrimp
- Celery: Adds a refreshing crunch. Persian or English cucumber would bring a similar quality.
- Green onions bring that sweet and savory flavor without dominating the salad, but feel free to swap in shallot, chives, or red onion which are also rather mild.
- Chopped parsley adds a refreshing, peppery note. I would not substitute with dried herbs, as they lack the lifting quality of fresh and would overpower the flavor. Fresh tarragon, dill, or a combination would also work well here.
- Avocado brings a creamy richness without weighing the salad down.
- Romaine lettuce gives a great crunch for balance, but little gems, butter lettuce, or arugula would also work–or really any tender salad green you like.
- Kosher salt and black pepper enhance the flavor.
For the Dressing
- Fresh garlic adds depth to the dressing.
- Egg yolk enriches the dressing, giving its signature creaminess and body.
- Extra virgin olive oil makes up the bulk of the dressing. Be sure to use a high-quality extra virgin variety (more info below).
- Lemon is used throughout to add zing, lifting the richness.
- Dijon mustard adds a peppery kick. I prefer the flavor of a grainy or stone-ground variety.
- Capers add an extra punchy, briney element. Cornichons can work in their place.
- Sweet paprika, which we carry at our spice shop, adds a subtle bright, and peppery flavor. I wouldn’t substitute with smoked as it’ll be too dominant, but if you like spice a pinch of cayenne works well too.
- Worcestershire sauce is optional but adds a deeply savory flavor to the dressing. You can leave it out or substitute ground anchovies if you’d like.
Ingredient Spotlight
The dressing for this shrimp salad is essentially a lemony aioli, which typically uses at least some neutral oil. I like the richness and flavor of an olive oil aioli, but you could certainly go half and half with something like sunflower or avocado oil.
Either way, a nice extra virgin olive oil is essential, as its flavor gets pretty loud once you whisk it into the egg yolk. I like a smooth and light olive oil for this recipe, like our Italian Nocellara or California Arbequina. But you can use any olive oil you have, so long as you enjoy the flavor.
- READ MORE: How To Taste Olive Oil: A Step-By-Step Guide to Go from the Basics to the Pros
- TRY IT: Browse our hand-picked selection of Mediterranean-style olive oils at our shop.
- BEST SUBSTITUTE: High-quality neutral oil, like sunflower or avocado.
How to Make this Shrimp Salad Recipe
Shrimp takes just 2 minutes or so to cook, and you can use pre-peeled and deveined shrimp to save time. You also don’t have to devein them, it’s just a personal preference. The one thing you can’t speed up is the dressing: incorporate the oil very slowly, whisking constantly so the sauce doesn’t break.
- Get ready. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Line a sheet tray with paper towels.
- Poach the shrimp. Once boiling, season the water generously with salt and turn the heat to medium. Add the shrimp and simmer until they turn opaque about 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the prepared sheet tray and spread them in one layer so they get nice and dry.
- While the shrimp dry and cool, get ready to make the dressing. Make a nest for your mixing bowl by holding two opposite corners of a kitchen towel and spinning (like you’re going to ring it out). Connect the two ends to make a circle and set on your counter, then set a small, narrow mixing bowl in the middle. This will prevent the bowl from sliding as both of your hands are busy whisking and pouring. Add 1 grated garlic clove and 1 egg yolk to the bowl and whisk to combine.
- Make the dressing. As you whisk, very slowly incorporate the olive oil. Start with one drop at a time and whisk to incorporate, then another drop, then a drizzle. Add in small drizzles until you’ve emulsified 1/2 cup of olive oil, adding a pinch of salt halfway through (about 1/4 teaspoon). The sauce should be thick and pale yellow.
- Season the dressing. Zest in one lemon, then slice it in half, squeeze in half the juice, and whisk to combine. Mix in 1 tablespoon chopped capers, 1 tablespoon grainy Dijon mustard, 1 pinch paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (if using). Taste and add more lemon juice and/or salt if you’d like.
- Mix the salad. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels one more time and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add 1 chopped celery rub, 2 thinly sliced green onions, and 1/2 cup chopped parsley. Toss to combine. Mix in the dressing to taste.
- Chill. Put in your fridge for 20 minutes or so to chill.
- Finish. Slice an avocado in half, remove the pit, then cut the flesh into large cubes, about the same size as the cooked shrimp. Very gently fold the avocado into the shrimp salad.
- Serve. Line a serving platter with torn romaine lettuce and squeeze on half of a lemon. Top with the shrimp salad and finish with freshly grated black pepper and more parsley. Slice any remaining lemon into wedges and place along the platter for everyone to help themselves.
Ways to Mix it Up
The dressing and ingredients in this recipe are pretty friendly–you can tweak things here and there to your liking. Some ideas:
- For an eggless version: Steal Suzy’s Greek yogurt dressing from her Salmon Salad, which is a bit tangier but will be light and refreshing.
- For an appetizer: Serve in lettuce cups or on top of crostini. If you’re serving on top of bread, you may want to chop the shrimp to make it easier to eat.
- Add a peppery note: I absolutely love this salad with a touch of freshly grated horseradish root.
- If you have Garlic Aioli in your fridge, skip the dressing steps and whisk 1/3 cup of aioli with the zest and juice from 1 lemon. It will be a bit more garlicky, but you might prefer it that way.
- Add seasonal veggies, like blanched green beans, snap peas, and radishes.
What to Serve with Shrimp Salad
With protein from the shrimp and plenty of richness from the avocado, this salad is a full lunch or dinner all by itself, particularly for 2 people. But add a few mezzes and sides and you have a lovely spread for a hot summer day. Dolmas, Grilled Vegetables, and a chilled green soup like our Asparagus Soup all come to mind.
More Shrimp Recipes
Appetizer and Mezze
Shrimp Ceviche
Mediterranean Diet Recipes
Mediterranean Chickpea Farro Salad with Shrimp
Browse all Mediterranean recipes.
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Shrimp Salad
Ingredients
For the Shrimp Salad
- Kosher salt
- 1 pound large shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 celery rib finely chopped
- 2 green onions trimmed and thinly sliced
- 1 large ripe avocado
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley leaves and tender stems
- 1 head romaine lettuce cut into large pieces, rinsed, and dried in a salad spinner
- Freshly grated black pepper
For the Dressing
- 1 small garlic clove finely grated or minced
- 1 egg yolk
- Kosher salt
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 lemons
- 1 tablespoon grainy/coarse ground Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon chopped capers
- Pinch paprika
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce optional
Instructions
- Get ready. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Line a sheet tray with paper towels.
- Poach the shrimp. Once boiling, season the water generously with salt and turn the heat to medium. Add the shrimp and simmer until they turn opaque, about 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the prepared sheet tray and spread in one layer so they get nice and dry.
- Make the dressing. Add the garlic and egg yolk to a small mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. As you whisk, very slowly incorporate the olive oil. Start with one drop at a time and whisk to incorporate, then another drop, then a drizzle. Add in small drizzles until you’ve emulsified all of the oil, adding a pinch of salt half way through (about 1/4 teaspoon). The sauce should be thick and pale yellow (see note).
- Season the dressing. Zest in one lemon, then slice it in half, squeeze in half the juice, and whisk to combine. Taste and add more lemon juice and/or salt if you’d like. Mix in the capers, Dijon mustard, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce (if using).
- Mix the salad. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels one more time and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add the celery and green onions and toss to combine. Mix in the dressing to taste (I use all of it).
- Chill. Put in your fridge for 20 minutes or so to chill, or up to overnight.
- Finish. Slice an avocado in half, remove the pit, then cut the flesh into large cubes, about the same size as the cooked shrimp. Very gently fold the avocado into the shrimp salad.
- Serve. Line a serving platter with the romaine lettuce and squeeze on half of a lemon. Top with the shrimp salad and finish with freshly grated black pepper and more parsley. Slice any remaining lemon into wedges and place along the platter for everyone to help themselves.
Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including the olive oil and paprika used in this recipe.
- You can use thawed frozen shrimp or prawns for this recipe.
- If you’d like to serve on crostini instead of lettuce, coarsely chop the shrimp after boiling.
- If you have Garlic Aioli in your fridge, skip all the dressing steps and whisk 1/3 cup with the zest and juice from 1 lemon. (Will be more garlicky.)
Yesterday was hot and muggy and I did not feel like dealing with a hot kitchen for dinner. Shrimp salad is perfect for those days. I made a few tweaks for ease and what I had on hand.
1. I used fresh dill instead of parsley.
2. Arugala instead of Romaine
3. I made the mayo using an immersion blender which is faster and easier.
The salad was delicious. I served it with a piece of pita and a cold beer. I recommend you follow the 20-Minutes chilling directions. It makes a difference.
A+
Thanks so much for sharing your process here, Michael!