Grilled Shrimp Salad with Homemade Lime Vinaigrette
Filled with colorful vegetables, perfectly grilled shrimp and topped with homemade lime vinaigrette, Grilled Shrimp Salad is an excellent lunch of dinner. This easy salad recipe comes together in less than 20 minutes. Makes 2 servings.
Building off our Grilled Shrimp Skewers recipe from earlier this summer, we’re making a salad with ‘em! Because if you’ve ever had leftover shrimp, THIS is the recipe you want to make with it.
Or, you know, if you just want a salad with your shrimp instead of eating it off the skewer. 😉
Grilled Shrimp Salad is so incredibly easy to put together and customize. It also has a bit of a TexMex flair, which we really dig, too!
Why we love this recipe:
What’s NOT to love about this Grilled Shrimp Salad with its homemade lime vinaigrette recipe?
- It’s quick to make! Literally, we’re chopping, peeling and tossing this together to make a flavor bomb recipe.
- You can use leftover shrimp.
- It makes a really fast, colorful, flavorful lunch.
- You can customize what goes into the salad based on your tastebuds!
Basically—there’s a ton to love about this easy salad recipe, and it’s something we should all make before too long.
Other salad recipes to try: Grilled Peach Salad with Burrata | Chicken Spinach Salad with Apples and Strawberries | Cranberry Feta Brussels Sprout Salad with Candied Pecans and Warm Bacon Vinaigrette | Ramen Noodle and Clementine Salad | Summer Quinoa Salad
Need dinner inspiration? Check out my Dinner Recipe Index for some ideas!
What you’ll need to make this salad recipe
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- A large mixing bowl
- Sharp knife and cutting board
- Tongs
- Zester
- Citrus juicer or a citrus reamer
- 8 oz. mason jar
In addition to these tools, you’ll need a handful of ingredients. Since this salad calls for so many fresh ingredients, you’re probably going to need to run to the store to grab everything you need, but it’s all easy to find.
- Grilled shrimp—whatever grilled shrimp you’ve got is perfect for this salad, though I’m partial to the flavors of these Grilled Shrimp Skewers, which combine butter with lime juice and zest, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper.
- Butter lettuce
- Cucumber—you can use a regular cucumber or an English one
- Red onion—also known as purple onion
- Whole corn—just a single ear! I peeled mine and threw it on the grill when I grilled the shrimp. You can also blister the corn kernels on the stovetop over an open flame
- Avocado
- Cherry tomatoes
- Orange bell pepper—you could also use a red bell pepper, if you’d rather
- Radishes
- Cotija cheese—this aged Mexican cheese is salty and delicious. It reminds me a little bit of feta cheese in its crumbles and saltiness. You can usually find it in the specialty cheese section at your grocery store.
- Lime—we need both the juice and the zest of one
- Salt and pepper
A note on substitutions:
Homemade salads are easily customizable since you can add or take away things that you don’t like.
This Grilled Shrimp Salad was made to look like a rainbow and be super colorful, but if you’re not into some of these ingredients, feel free to leave them out and only add the ones you like.
A quick and easy substitution is to turn the Lime Vinaigrette into a Lemon Vinaigrette. Swap the lime for lemon in the recipe. Combine the olive oil and lemon juice with the lemon zest, salt and pepper in the mason jar.
How to make Grilled Shrimp Salad with Lime Vinaigrette
Grill the shrimp! If you haven’t already, follow the instructions found in my Grilled Shrimp recipe. Make sure your wooden skewers are soaked, the shrimp are peeled and seasoned before you toss them on the grill.
No grill? You can make these shrimp skewers on a grill pan on the stovetop or under the broiler (between 500-550°F). Just be sure to keep an eye on ‘em because they cook quickly—in 2-3 minutes per side, just as fast as the grill.
Grill the corn. This is great to cook while the shrimp are on the grill, too. Just roll it when you check on the shrimp. It’ll be done when the corn kernels have char marks on them. Remove and let cool before cutting the kernels from the ear.
Prep the salad ingredients. When the shrimp are done and cooling, prep the ingredients. Clean and chop the butter lettuce. Dice the cucumber, red onion, bell pepper and radishes. Remove the corn kernels from the ear. Slice the avocado. Rinse off the cherry tomatoes.
Make the salad dressing. Combine the olive oil, lime juice and lime zest in an 8 oz. mason jar. Give them a shake, taste and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Make the salad. Throw all the ingredients together in a bowl. Drizzle on the salad dressing, and toss to perfection.
Enjoy immediately!
Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips
This Grilled Shrimp Salad makes an excellent side dish or even centerpiece for a dinner with friends. (I think this would be particularly lovely to have at a backyard barbecue or even an at-home tailgate because it’s easy to throw together once you’re there.)
Here are a few tips and tricks to make it as easy as possible:
- Double or triple the recipe. This original recipe makes a salad for 2-3 people, but if you’re feeding a crowd, you should have more on hand.
- Prep everything. That means chopping everything (minus the avocado) as well as making the dressing in advance so all you have to do is toss these together when it’s time to eat.
- Leave off the tails. While they make for a gorgeous visual, the tails will make for a bit of a mess with guests, so when you’re peeling the shrimp, remove the tails, too.
Frequently Asked Questions
This is going to depend on where you live. Unless you’re in a coastal area that sells fresh caught shrimp, you’re going to want to grab shrimp from the freezer aisle. I’m partial to wild caught Gulf shrimp because we lived close to the Gulf for years and they, in my opinion, are superior to the farm-raised shrimp because of their flavor, sweetness and size.
Since the grill is so hot and the shrimp are so small, it takes 2-3 minutes per side to grill these shrimp skewers when they’re cooking over direct heat. The shrimp will turn pink when they are done.
Yes, please thaw the frozen shrimp before grilling. I like to place mine in the refrigerator and thaw there before tossing with spices for this recipe.
If there’s an ingredient in this shrimp salad recipe that doesn’t sit well wit you, feel free to leave it off or swap it out for something else you like. Just make sure that the shrimp remain the centerpiece!
Quick tips and tricks for making the best grilled shrimp salad
- Double or triple the recipe! If you’re feeding a crowd, you definitely want to do this because this salad will be gobbled up quickly!
- Cook your shrimp in advance. I like cooking mine over medium high heat on an outdoor grill. You can use warm shrimp or cold shrimp to toss into this salad, so if it’s easier for you to make it earlier, then do that and store in the fridge in an airtight container.
- Make ahead. Prep, chop and cook your ingredients in advance, but keep them separate until it’s time to eat. You can also mix the lime vinaigrette early and store in the fridge. Let it come to room temperature and shake to combine the ingredients when it’s time to eat.
- How to store leftovers: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. The lettuce will wilt, but the other ingredients should keep their crispness.
Grilled Shrimp Salad with Homemade Lime Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1 head butter lettuce chopped
- 1 lb. grilled shrimp
- 1 cucumber peeled and diced
- ¼ large red onion about ½ cup sliced thin
- 1 ear corn grilled, with kernels removed
- 1 avocado sliced
- ¾ cup cherry tomatoes halved
- ½ orange bell pepper about ½ cup sliced thin
- 2-3 radishes about ¼ cup sliced thin
- ¼ cup cotija cheese
Lime Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- Zest of 1 lime
- Kosher salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
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Instructions
- Make the salad. Place the chopped butter lettuce in a large bowl.
- Layer the shrimp, cucumber, red onion, corn kernels, avocado slices, cherry tomatoes, orange bell pepper, radishes and cotija cheese.
- Make the vinaigrette. In a mason jar, measure in the olive oil, lime juice and lime zest. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Place the lid on, shake and taste, adding more salt or pepper if necessary.
- Pour the lime vinaigrette over the salad ingredients, and toss gently using salad tossers or tongs.
- Serve immediately, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
About the Author:
Erin Parker is a Southern gal living in Texas with her husband and two daughters. She started The Speckled Palate to share what she was cooking as a newlywed… and over the years, it’s evolved to capture her love for hosting. Specifically, the EASIEST, lowest key entertaining because everyone deserves to see their people and connect over good food. Learn more about her…
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