Shrimp Salad is a perfect summer meal. The bright & creamy dressing pairs perfectly with sweet succulent shrimp for a bite you won’t forget!
Why We Love Easy Shrimp Salad
- Shrimp Salad is a light and refreshing dish that I love serving during summertime. I don’t have to turn on the oven and everyone has full stomachs at the end of the meal.
- When my family has a potluck get-together, I’ll make a big bowl of this salad and then have lettuce leaves, cut rolls, and croissants on a plate for everyone to build their own sandwiches.
- The flavors of this salad are super yummy. I love the creamy dressing with bright pops of lemon. The bite from the onions is great and the celery gives it a nice crunch for some texture.
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Shrimp Salad Sandwiches
SHRIMP: You have some options here. I like to buy frozen shrimp, thaw it in the fridge, and then cook it myself. I like large shrimp so you don’t lose it in the dressing, but you can buy whatever size is on sale. If you want to cut down on the prep time, you could absolutely buy precooked shrimp at the store. Just be sure you still pat it dry before using it in this recipe.
ADD-INS: To round out the salad you’re going to add celery, red onion, green onion, and parsley. You could use white onion instead of red, but the additional color is really pretty.
SHRIMP SALAD DRESSING: For the dressing, you’ll need mayonnaise, a lemon (for the zest and juice), Dijon mustard, fresh dill (or swap in tarragon, basil, or chives), garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, celery salt, salt, pepper, and paprika.
FOR SERVING: My family likes to spoon this salad onto hoagie rolls with some lettuce to make sandwiches.
How to Make Shrimp Salad
Jump to RecipeSTEP 1 Fill a large pot 2/3 full with water. Bring it to a boil over high heat. Add the shrimp to the pot and cook it for 4-5 minutes until the shrimp is pink and opaque. Then drain the shrimp and run them under cool water for a minute.
STEP 2 Transfer the cooked shrimp to an ice water bath in a large bowl. Let the shrimp sit for 10 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients and the dressing.
STEP 3 Grab a medium mixing bowl and add all the dressing ingredients into it. Whisk everything together until it’s smooth and evenly combined. Check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper to your taste. Set that aside for now.
STEP 4 Once the shrimp is cooled. Drain if water and pat the shrimp dry with paper towels. You want them really dry or they’ll water down the dressing and make it runny. Put the shrimp into a large mixing bowl along with the celery, red onion, green onion, and parsley, and then stir that all together.
STEP 5 Pour the dressing over the shrimp and veggies and stir until everything is coated. Dig in immediately or store the shrimp salad in the fridge until you’re ready to eat. Just be sure to put some plastic wrap over the bowl if you’re waiting for later.
Tips & Tricks
- Want to dress up this salad a little more? Add in some cherry tomatoes that have been cut in half, some diced cucumber, or even some diced avocado to make shrimp avocado salad.
- Boost the flavor of your shrimp by cooking them on the grill instead. Place the raw shrimp on skewers and grill them for 2-3 minutes per side until pink and opaque. Let them rest on the skewer and once they’re cool enough to touch, take them off and proceed as directed. Grilled shrimp salad is fantastic!
- You can use smaller shrimp if desired, or chop up the large shrimp once they’re cooked, cooled, and dried. This is a nice option if you have jaw restrictions (like me) or are serving the shrimp on crackers or small toasts.
- This salad is well-dressed. If you prefer less dressing, you can cut the dressing part of this recipe in half.
- Store any leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Shrimp Salad Recipe FAQ
How long does homemade shrimp last in the fridge?
Raw shrimp will last for about 2 days in the fridge. Cooked shrimp will last for 3 to 4 days. Just remember to keep it in an airtight container.
How to jazz up cooked shrimp?
There are so many yummy things to make with cooked shrimp. I like to make more shrimp than I need for a given recipe so I can use the extra for other dishes and cut down on prep time. Cooked shrimp is great to throw on a simple salad or just dip in cocktail sauce.
Here are some of my favorite recipes to through cooked shrimp into:
- Shrimp and Corn Chowder with Bacon
- Mango & Shrimp Quesadillas
- Shrimp Alfredo
- Shrimp Ceviche
- Shrimp Avocado Salad
What goes good with shrimp salad?
When I make shrimp salad sandwiches, I usually serve them with some potato chips. If you’re serving the shrimp salad on its own or in lettuce cups I recommend making some deviled eggs, corn on the cob, sour cream & onion biscuits, tomato and cucumber salad, and mac and cheese. You could spoon it onto Ritz crackers, spoon some salad into half an avocado, or even stir in 8 ounces of cooked short pasta to make shrimp pasta salad. (Don’t half the dressing recipe if you’re going to make it into pasta salad!)
Other Recipes You May Like
Shrimp Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds large tail-off shrimp peeled and deveined (thawed if frozen)
- 1 cup celery thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons red onion peeled and finely minced
- 1 green onion thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 lemon zested (see note)
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill minced (or chives)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ teaspoon celery salt (or onion salt)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Fill a large pot about ⅔ of the way full with water. Place it onto the stove over high heat and bring the water to a boil.
- Add the shrimp to the boiling water and cook until pink and opaque, about 4-5 minutes. (If you want to check to make sure they are done, an internal temperature should read at least 145 degrees F. )
- Strain the shrimp and run cold water over them. Then place the shrimp into a large bowl with an ice water bath. Let them sit for at least 10 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the mayo, lemon juice, dijon, lemon zest, dill, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, celery salt, salt, pepper, and paprika until smooth. Check the seasoning and adjust the salt and pepper to your taste. Set aside.
- Once the shrimp are cold, remove them from the ice bath. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels as best you can. (You have to make sure the shrimp are dry when adding them to the salad or the dressing will be too watery.) If you want to chop the shrimp into smaller pieces, do that now.
- Add the shrimp, celery, red onion, green onion, and parsley to a large bowl, and stir to combine. Add the dressing to the bowl with the shrimp and stir until everything is well coated.
- You can serve the shrimp salad immediately or chill it in the fridge until you're ready to eat. We like to put some lettuce on hoagie rolls and then pile on the shrimp salad to make shrimp salad sandwiches
Notes
- You should get 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice from one lemon. So buy one and zest it and juice it for the dressing.
- You can use smaller shrimp if desired or chop up the larger shrimp once they’re cooked too.
- This salad is well-dressed. If you prefer less dressing, cut the dressing part of this recipe in half.
- Store any leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.
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