Shrimp Salad
This Shrimp Salad is a light, protein-packed dish that can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. You can stuff it into wraps for lunch, serve it in endive cups as an appetizer, add it to salads as the main protein, and more!
My grocery store puts 41/50 shrimp on sale every couple months for $7 per pound, and I like to stock up and keep it in the freezer for shrimp salad recipes like this one.
This recipe is really easy to make, and hinges mostly on the freshness of the ingredients we add to it.
It’s kind of like my Salmon Salad recipe, or even Egg Salad and Cranberry Chicken Salad, in that it’s a great lunchtime staple, and can be eaten in many different ways.
Why This Recipe Is So Great
Packs well for lunches, picnics, etc. – I love putting this shrimp salad into wraps for lunch, or packing a container of it to enjoy at the park. It travels beautifully.
Nutritious and filling – There’s a ton of protein and nutrients here from the shrimp. It’s satisfying too!
Refreshing and delicious – This is wonderful served chilled, and the balance of creaminess from the sauce and brightness of the herbs is perfection.
Economic option for enjoying seafood – Shrimp is one of the cheaper options for seafood, and you can also tweak the shrimp size per your cost needs. As much as I love things like lobster or crab (hello Crab Stuffed Avocado and Crab Cakes), they are pricey.
How to Make It Step by Step:
Shrimp salad is mostly all about prep work. We’ll need to chop up all the vegetables and herbs, and mix together the dressing.
Prep the veggies and herbs, and combine
Finely chop some celery, dill, chives, and shallots, then add them to a bowl with some mayonnaise, olive oil, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper:
Mix well to coat:
You can see that the mayonnaise dressing here is very light. Add more if you wish, but I like it on the lighter side.
Add the shrimp
My recommendation is to purchase pre-cooked shrimp from the store, because it’s easy to thaw and use, and they do a great job of not overcooking the shrimp.
However, you can certainly cook raw shrimp in a skillet for a couple minutes, until it turns pink, then cool it and add to the salad.
Give everything a thorough toss, so every shrimp is coated in herbs and dressing:
Toss well, and chill if desired
Serve extra lemon wedges on the side if you desire, and store it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to eat.
You may find you enjoy it nice and cold, or maybe you enjoy it closer to room temperature. It’s personal preference!
Curry Chicken Salad, Zucchini Ribbon Salad, and Shrimp Avocado Salad are some of my other favorite light dishes. Enjoy!
Recipe FAQ:
Stuff it into avocado halves, add it to salads as the main protein, serve in lettuce cups, place into New England style hot dog buns like lobster rolls, put it into sandwiches or wraps, serve in endive cups, etc.
No, the textures of all the fresh ingredients, like the celery and herbs, will get damaged by freezing.
Up to 3 days. Seafood doesn’t last as long as other food.
Yes, it is Whole30 friendly, paleo, gluten free, dairy free, and low carb.
Did you enjoy the recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. Or, follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest!
Shrimp Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
- 1/3 cup chopped chives
- 1/4 cup chopped dill
- 1/4 cup minced shallot
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
- 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper or to taste
- 2 pounds cooked 41/50 shrimp*
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients except for the shrimp.
- Add the shrimp and toss to coat.
- Serve cold, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
15 Comments on “Shrimp Salad”
Can’t wait to try it.
Can you send me the recipe for the chicken using the aji Amarillo paste I can’t find it in my email. And would love to make it.
Hi Joanne! Your shrimp salad recipe looks fresh, simple, healthy, & delicious. My question is about the sodium content. This recipe has 1339mg in one serving, but with only 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 cup mayo in the entire recipe (6 servings) I can’t see where that’s coming from. Could you explain? I’m new to watching for sodium content, but my father is now strictly limited to under 2,000mg/day and we’re anxious to try your recipe!
Hi Lisa, the nutrition has to be taken with a grain of salt (pun not intended but don’t know how else to say it lol). I pay for a nutritional calculator and it’s calculated using a database, much like many diet websites, it’s based off certain ingredients in the database. So even the mayo, salt content probably varies between those. If your father has a medical condition, I would make sure to look at all the ingredients you’re using individually, particularly the shrimp. I think even varieties of shrimp (farmed vs wild) will vary in salt. Good luck.
Lisa, My mother was on an extremely strict sodium diet 4 years ago and what i did was read every label on the jar or box I was using. I also bought Mrs.Dash no-salt seasoning. If I made a shrimp salad I would add up all the items in it to get the sodium content. If a recipe called for salt I would use the salt-free seasoning or just leave it out altogether. Hope this helps you.
Hello Joanne! I hope your household is safe, happy and doing well! I have a question for you: what brand of mayonnaise do you use? Are you allowed to tell me? I usually buy Hellman’s Light just to save myself some calories, but the taste isn’t always great. I’ve learned that I can trust your taste buds!
Hi Jennifer, likewise! This is a tough question. I don’t honestly have one that’s my go-to because I’ve in the past year become more concerned with the health aspect. Most mainstream mayonnaises are made with industrial seed oils like soybean oil, sunflower, etc, and I generally don’t consume those anymore. My favorite based on true flavor is Sir Kensington, but I don’t consume sunflower oil anymore and that’s what they use. They have one that’s made with avocado oil but I find the flavor to be dreadful. There’s one from Thrive Market made with coconut oil, which sounds weird, but I sometimes find myself using that. I’m looking for a new one still. Sorry I can’t be more help!
Your shrimp salads/appetizers look amazing! Just enough ingredients to make it wonderful. I hate recipes that have so many ingredients it’s a pain to make…thank you! Going to try the shrimp salad first for Thanksgiving!
You list 2 pounds, 41 to 50 shrimp. A pound of frozen shrimp is 41 to 50 shrimp so am I to use 1 pound of frozen, or am I to use 2 pounds which would be 82 to 100 shrimp?
41 to 50 refers to the size category of the shrimp just as a reference point. You need 2 pounds no matter what size you use. Does that make sense?
Ohh such a great seafood salad to have in my back pocket.
I’ve been looking for a shrimp recipe forever. Thank you!
Perfect low-carb lunch!
such a great dish , thanks so much
I love shrimp salad lettuce wraps..yum!!