This Mediterranean Shrimp Salad is a fresh twist on a traditional cold shrimp salad. It is a simple and delicious lunch option made with lots of veggies and a Greek vinaigrette.
Weeknight-easy
Minimal prep
You’ll Learn: The technique that guarantees shrimp stay tender
Worth It: It’s a satisfying, protein-forward option that actually keeps you full
Bonus: Easy to tailor to common diets
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Cold lunch – I always ask my Instagram friends for recipe suggestions and they almost ALWAYS ask for “Cold lunches that I don’t need to reheat at work!” So here is a cold shrimp salad that you can take out of the fridge and enjoy right away!
- Fresh Mediterranean ingredients – I love the combination of cucumber, olives, tomatoes, and fresh herbs in this salad.
- Weeknight dinner – This cold shrimp salad is great for lunches, but if you need a quick dinner, this would be a perfect option. It is perfect for hot summer days when you don’t want to turn on your oven.
Serving Suggestions
This mediterranean shrimp is delicious when served on its own chilled as a simple lunch. I also like to serve it over rice, orzo or a bed of lettuce.
You could also serve it in a lettuce wrap, or as a sandwich in a pita pocket. If you want to chop all of the ingredients even smaller, you can make it into a dip and use pita chips to dip into the shrimp salad dip.
This salad is great as part of a summer lunch spread. I like to serve it alongside some grilled options, like grilled chicken thighs, watermelon salad, or sweet potato wedges. For dessert, make some no bake oatmeal cookies or mixed berry cobbler.
Ingredients
- Large shrimp – use fresh or frozen shrimp that is peeled, deveined, tail on
- Salt – you will use this salt to poach the shrimp
- Bell pepper – I used green peppers, but you can use any color
- Cucumber – the fresh crunch of the cucumber with the seafood is so delicious in this salad
- Cherry tomatoes – I used cherry tomatoes, but you can use any tomatoes you have on hand
- Kalamata olives – kalamata olives are my favorite for a Mediterranean dish, but you can use any kind you like
- Fresh parsley – the fresh herbs make this salad so refreshing and bright
- Dried oregano – oregano adds to the Mediterranean flavor of this dish
- Extra virgin olive oil – I use extra virgin, but you can use any kind of neutral oil
- Red wine vinegar – the vinegar provides a bit of acid to brighten up the flavors
- Lemon juice – I love the addition of citrus in any Mediterranean salad. You could also add a bit of lemon zest
Ingredient Substitutions
This cold shrimp salad recipe is already low carb, gluten free, and dairy free, so it’s great for just about anyone!
I love salad recipes, because they are so customizable. If you don’t love shrimp, you could sub in a different protein.
Feel free to use any kind of bell pepper for this recipe. I prefer the sharpness of a green bell pepper, but a red bell pepper will add some extra sweetness.
If you think that the flavor of a kalamata olive is too strong or intense, feel free to use a green olive instead. If you want to add some more tang and flavor, mix some crumbled feta cheese into this shrimp salad recipe.
For extra crunch, you could dice up stalks of celery and add them. If you prefer a creamier salad, you could add some mayo and dijon mustard to your dressing. A quarter cup mayonnaise will thicken the dressing and coat the shrimp.
You can also add minced red onion for more flavor and some red pepper flakes for spice. Play around with any other spices you like. A bit of garlic would be so tasty. I also like to add a little bit of diced avocado.
If you don’t have parsley, fresh dill or basil would also be great. You could finish with kosher salt and black pepper to taste.
How to Make
Step 1: Poach the Shrimp
First, defrost your shrimp if necessary. Then, poach shrimp by boiling a pot of water with 2 tbsp of salt. Next, remove the cold water from the heat.
Add the shrimp to the pot. Let the shrimp poached uncovered for 3 minutes. Then, immediately move the shrimp to an ice bath to chill.
Step 2: Prep the Veggies and Dressing
Next, chop your bell pepper and cucumber, quarter your cherry tomatoes and half the olives. Then, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, lemon juice, oregano, and parsley to make a shrimp salad dressing.
Step 3: Mix it all up!
Next, pull the tails off the peeled shrimp and chop into bite size pieces. Finally, add the shrimp, veggies, and dressing to a large bowl and combine thoroughly.
Step 4: Serve and Enjoy!
Enjoy your Mediterranean Shrimp Salad on a bed of lettuce, with some roasted potatoes, rice, quinoa, couscous, or cauliflower rice!
Storage
This shrimp salad is best enjoyed immediately, but it can be enjoyed for up to 3 more days. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
Check out these Other cold lunch options
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
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Recipe
Mediterranean Shrimp Salad
Ingredients
- 24 large shrimp – peeled deveined and tail on
- 2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 cup chopped cucumber
- 1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 cup halved kalamata olives
- 2 tbsp fresh parlsey
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Defrost shrimp if frozen
- Add 2 tbsp of salt to a large pot and fill the pot 3/4 of the way with cold water
- Bring the water to a boil and then remove from the heat
- Add shrimp to the pot and let poach uncovered for 3 minutes
- Immediately transfer cooked shrimp to an icebath
- While the shrimp chill, chop the bell pepper and cucumber into 1/4″ pieces, quarter the tomatoes and half the olives
- Combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, 1/2 tsp salt, oregano and fresh parsley in a small bowl
- Pull the tails off the chilled shrimp and chop into bite sized pieces
- In a large mixing bowl combine the shrimp and vegetables
- Pour the dressing over the salad and mix until all pieces are coated in the dressing
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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