Grilled Shrimp Salad
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Published Jul 15, 2022, Updated Jan 19, 2024
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Grilled shrimp salad with quinoa, broccoli and roasted asparagus! Prepare everything ahead of time and throw it into a bowl for a quick and easy lunch or dinner.
Busy summer weeknights don’t have to mean a quick stop at the drive-thru. With a bit of meal prep, this shrimp salad – with marinated and grilled shrimp, hearty quinoa, blanched broccoli and roasted asparagus – will be on your table in no time! It’s a healthy, protein-packed, flavorful meal that will fill you up without taking a ton of time to prep.
Why You’ll Love This Salad
- It’s a perfect meal-sized salad that is filling enough to be served for dinner, but also great for lunchtime.
- This recipe is loaded with flavor and is packed full of protein thanks to shrimp and the quinoa.
- You can easily prep parts of this salad ahead of time for quick assembly.
Ingredients Needed
- grilled shrimp – the main protein in this salad. The shrimp is marinated and grilled for 2-3 minutes per side for an easy addition to this salad.
- blanched broccoli – blanching keeps some of the crunch, but softens the broccoli a bit, making it easier to digest. Plus it brightens the color and eye appeal!
- roasted asparagus – roasting the asparagus caramelizes it a bit, elevating the flavor and texture, and making it nice and crisp, especially the tips. If you have an air fryer this air fryer asparagus is a great option as well.
- shredded red cabbage – provides extra crunch and color.
- sliced cucumber – for fresh flavor and more crunch.
- grape tomatoes – bite-sized pieces of tomato add color throughout the salad.
- sliced avocado – for a creamy texture and added healthy fats.
- quinoa – add extra protein, flavor and healthy carbohydrates with cooked and chilled quinoa! Check out my full post on how to cook quinoa. Instead of quinoa, you can totally swap in another grain like farro or rice.
- spring mix – the base of this salad! It’s a combo of mild, baby greens that pair well with the rest of the ingredients, but you can swap for any leafy green you have on hand if needed.
- lemon vinaigrette dressing – the perfect light and fresh dressing for this salad. It combines apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, water, dijon mustard, maple syrup, dried oregano, garlic, salt and pepper.
How to Make Grilled Shrimp Salad
Prep your quinoa: I like to make my quinoa a day in advance, let it cool and chill it in the fridge overnight and then use it for the salad the next day. Prepping it in advance helps bring this salad together even quicker and so the quinoa doesn’t heat up the other salad ingredients. Of course it’s fine to cook it the same day and just let it cool a bit before using. I do this all the time when I’m in a rush!
Prep your veggies: Shred cabbage, dice tomatoes and slice cucumber and avocado.
Blanch your broccoli: Cook in a pot of boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes, just enough time for it to tenderize and turn bright green. Scoop out and immediately place in a bowl of ice water for about 30 seconds to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.
Roast your asparagus: Follow this recipe for the roasted asparagus. Set aside.
Grill your shrimp: Follow this recipe for the grilled shrimp. Don’t have a grill? Try this recipe for air fryer shrimp instead!
Assemble your salad: To a base of spring mix, layer on shrimp, broccoli, asparagus, cabbage, cucumber, tomato, avocado and quinoa. Drizzle with dressing and enjoy! Add
Customize Your Salad
The beauty of this grilled shrimp recipe is that you can easily tweak it by using your favorite grains, vegetables and protein. I’m sure grilled salmon or tofu would work great instead of the shrimp. Here are some ideas for switching things up:
- Use a different grain: Instead of quinoa, swap in another grain like farro, rice or cauliflower rice.
- Use raw veggies: Blanching and roasting take little to no time, but you can totally use raw broccoli and raw asparagus for this recipe.
- Use a different protein: I love the grilled shrimp in this salad, but you can totally swap it for another protein. This grilled tofu or grilled BBQ tempeh are both great options for a vegan version. For a non-vegan version this air fryer chicken breast or balsamic glazed salmon would both be delicious options instead of the shrimp.
- Swap your veggies: Feel free to use whatever vegetables you have on hand. I like to add veggies that provide color and crunch but aside from that have at it! Corn, bell peppers, red onion and zucchini would all be great options.
- Use a different green: Feel free to swap the spring mix with your favorite green. Spinach or romaine lettuce would be my second choice.
- Use a different dressing: I love the simple lemon dressing, but you can totally switch it up! This salad would also be delicious with my apple cider vinaigrette dressing, white balsamic vinaigrette dressing, balsamic vinaigrette or just a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil
Prepping Grilled Shrimp Salad Ahead of Time
This salad is super simple to throw together, and prepping it in advance helps it come together so quickly! Here’s what I recommend to do the day before:
- Chop cabbage, dice tomatoes and slice cucumber. Store in an airtight container in fridge.
- Cook your quinoa and store in a container in fridge.
- Whisk together dressing and store in a mason jar or separate container in the fridge.
- Roast asparagus. Cool and store in fridge.
- Blanch broccoli. Although it only takes minutes, this could still be done in advance. Store in fridge in an airtight container.
- Grill shrimp and once cooled store in a separate container.
- When you’re ready to serve – place spring mix in two bowls, add all prepared ingredients evenly between bowls, slice and add avocado and drizzle with dressing.
More Shrimp Recipes to Try
- Easy Coconut Shrimp Curry
- Easy Shrimp Cocktail
- Cauliflower Grits with Blackened Shrimp
- Shrimp Scampi Sheet Pan Meal
- Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp
Popular Salad Recipes
- Mediterranean Salmon Salad
- Superfood Salmon Salad
- Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
- Blackened Chicken Cobb Salad
- Grilled Chicken Salad
Be sure to check out all of the shrimp recipes as well as the full collection of salad recipes here on EBF!
Grilled Shrimp Salad
Ingredients
- 12-14 grilled shrimp
- 2 cups raw broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
- ½ pound roasted asparagus
- ½ cup shredded red cabbage
- ½ cup sliced cucumbers
- ½ cup grape tomatoes, halved or quartered
- ½ avocado, sliced
- ½ cup quinoa, cooked and chilled
- 4 cups spring mix
- Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. In a large bowl, fill with half ice and water. Cut up the broccoli while you wait for the water to boil. Carefully, add in broccoli and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. The broccoli will become tender and bright in color. Scoop out broccoli with a slotted spoon quickly and immediately move into the ice water, keeping it in there for for about 30 seconds. Drain in a colander and set aside.
- Follow linked recipe for the roasted asparagus. Set aside.
- Add 2 cups of spring mix to each salad plate/bowl and top with the shrimp, broccoli, asparagus, cabbage, cucumbers, tomato, avocado, and quinoa. Drizzle with lemon dressing and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The recipe sounds wonderful! Also I am absolutely hooked on their olive oils and vinegars. The traditional balsamic is outstanding! Did you pick those up during your trip to Austin?
Looks awesome!! I love how I feel after eating a clean and healthy salad.
I just made an entire sheet pan of roasted veggies last night b/c I was getting so sick of preparing veggies for every meal throughout the day. I’m hoping to get at least 2-3 days out of them! Preparation is key when it comes to clean eating. It’s a lot easier to eat well when you have good options ready and in front of you!
This looks so yummy! I am on such a shrimp kick right now- definitely putting this on the list for this weekend 🙂
My hubby and I are huge fans of stir fries, because the combinations are seriously UNLIMITED. We just pick up a couple bags of mixed frozen veggies or grab what looks fresh from the produce aisles, along with whatever kind of meat we feel like having, and a few of our favorite seasonings/sauces.
Oh, and if not in a stir-fry: Blanched veggies are the bestest 🙂
Pineapple balsamic sounds awesome!! I agree about having things ready in the fridge – I am so much more apt to eat healthy if there is something I can throw together quickly! The salad looks awesome!
Such a great idea having roasted veggies and cooked quinoa (or other grains) on hand. I love to mix leftovers like roasted sweet potatoes or a little wild rice into dinner or lunch salads to make them a little heartier and filling.
This shrimp salad looks lovely – and very healthy, too. I have some shrimp in the freezer so might have to give this a go this weekend 🙂
We tend to eat pretty clean generally, and cook our dinner every night rather than relying on something frozen or packaged. I am used to waiting for a good meal! Anytime my boyfriend is out, though, I go for something like primal Pad Thai or something with shrimp (hence why I keep some in the freezer) since he isn’t a big fan. Yum!
I totally agree, freshly cooked foods beat frozen and packaged meals any day! I’m intrigued by your primal Pad Thai. Do you have a recipe?
Yum! I’ve been eating quinoa bowls non-stop! This looks so delicious. I’m glad I finally had a chance to visit. I’ve been just swamped with work and school. Argh. I wish I had more time right now. But as always, your post brought a smile to my face. Thank you for sharing!
I also always keep cooked quinoa on hand for easy lunches at home or on the go, and also to cut down on bread. I definitely have to start roasting veggies more often, looks really good!
this salad looks really. really. really. really tasty Brittany! And you are quite the food stylist. seriously.
Thought I would pop in and I am glad I did! Lovely blog. Your recipe is lovely and well rounded and a perfect spring meal! Well done!
Congrats on Top 9! This one looks like a winner ;).
yummm! I love quick and easy and this looks de-liciousss! I always have some cooked quinoa laying around too 🙂 Its so perfect for throwing together a fast and healthy meal!
Congratulations on your foodbuzz top 9, today!
Thank you CJ!
Congratulations on Top9! Scrumptious looking salad!
Yummm!!! I need to try balsamic on my veggies the way I do on my salad! I actually just bought some yesterday!
Can’t wait for our run tomorrow!!! 🙂
I don’t even remember what I was looking for when I came across your blog. I’ve enjoyed it but I just had to comment on how much I have enjoyed this salad! This quickly became one of my favourite meals!
Steve
This salad looks absolutely amazing!
Outstanding post Brittney. I am a huge seafood lover and that salad recipe has been added to my favorites. You have a great blog as well. Continued success.
This salad is amazing! I switched out the protein with garlic butter shrimp and Trader Joe’s hot smoked lemon pepper salmon!! It was amazing!
YUM! Sounds absolutely amazing, Oriana. Thank you for sharing your review + star rating, it means so much to me!
Do you think I can make it in a mason jar? What would be the order?
Hi Anastasiia! Of course, I would start with the dressing at the bottom then add your veggies, quinoa and spring mix. I would recommend storing your shrimp and avocado in separate containers and adding when you are ready to eat. Hope that helps and you enjoy this recipe!