Chimichurri Shrimp Salad

This restaurant inspired Chimichurri Shrimp Salad is healthy, flavorful, and topped with the most irresistible cilantro chimichurri dressing!

Course Salad

Cuisine Pescatarian

Keyword Chimichurri Shrimp Salad

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 5

Total Time 25

Servings salads

Calories 504kcal

Author Jenn Laughlin - Peas and Crayons

Ingredients

SEASONED SAUTEED SHRIMP

½ pound raw shrimp (fresh or frozen + thawed)
½ tsp sweet paprika
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp ground cumin
⅛ tsp ground cayenne pepper (optional)
⅛ tsp salt
2 tsp avocado oil or olive oil
1 small lime for squeezing over shrimp and salad + optional garnish

FOR THE SALAD

2-3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup diced or sliced cucumber
¼ cup thinly sliced red onion (raw or pickled)
1 small avocado
2-4 TBSP crumbled feta cheese

CILANTRO CHIMICHURRI DRESSING

½ cup fresh chopped cilantro
⅓ cup fresh chopped scallions or green onion (white + green parts)
2 fresh garlic cloves (must be fresh – no jars or tubes)
1 small red chili pepper (optional) minced
¼-⅓ cup olive oil
1 TBSP fresh squeezed lime juice
1 TBSP red wine vinegar
½ tsp coarse kosher salt
¼-½ tsp dried oregano leaves
⅛-¼ tsp black pepper

Instructions

First make the cilantro chimichurri dressing.
Aim for 1/2 cup (packed) of cilantro. Mostly leaves with the smaller portions of stems left on for easy chopping. Finely chop. Remove the root portion of the green onions (scallions) and thinly slice/chop. Add to a medium bowl with the cilantro. Smash, peel, and finely mince fresh garlic.
To your bowl add the minced garlic, minced chili pepper, olive oil, freshly squeezed lime juice, and red wine vinegar. Season with adding salt, dried oregano leaves, and pepper.
Mix well and allow chimichurri to sit for 15-20 minutes before serving to help the flavors mingle. You can even make this dressing in advance and let it chill in the fridge overnight before using.
If raw onion is preferred, simply run thinly sliced onion under cold water to mellow the sharpness of the onion. For speedy marinated red onion (my FAVORITE!) add a splash of oil and vinegar to the onion in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Mix well and allow to marinate while the shrimp cooks.
Clean and peel shrimp, defrosting if needed. Lately we’ve been buying frozen, deveined, easy-peel shrimp. All I have to do is defrost, peel, and cook! You can also buy your shrimp already peeled if you’d like.
Pat shrimp dry and season with chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt. Mix well to coat both sides.
Heat a large pan or skillet to medium-high heat with 1 TBSP of oil and sauté shrimp. Cook on each side for about 2 minutes until shrimp curl and become opaque. The cook time will depend on the heat setting you choose and the size of your shrimp, but regardless they’ll be perfectly cooked in a matter of minutes. While the shrimp are still in it, deglaze the pan with fresh squeezed lime juice and mix well.
Divide chopped lettuce between two bowls. Lightly toss with 1-2 TBSP of chimichurri dressing. Add cucumber, red onion, and feta. Top with freshly cooked shrimp and serve with remaining dressing for drizzling and freshly diced avocado. Enjoy!

Notes

Nutrition Facts below are estimated for both salad and dressing using an online recipe nutrition calculator. Adjust as needed and enjoy!

Nutrition