This Keto Shrimp and Avocado Salad has a creamy dressing, ripe avocado and crunchy celery for a delicious low-carb lunch or dinner. And you can make it in just 15 minutes!
Why This Recipe Works
This crunchy and fresh keto shrimp salad recipe is a 15-minute lunch or dinner that everyone loves, whether they’re keto or not! If you like my Keto Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, you’ll love this new keto shrimp recipe too!
- The shrimp is lightly seared in under 4 minutes on the stove. If you prefer baking your shrimp, try this Baked Lemon Garlic Butter Shrimp And Asparagus.
- The recipe is low-carb and keto-friendly, but easy to mix up with your favorite ingredients and salad toppings. You can even swap the shrimp for another protein like Grilled Chicken.
- You can make a dairy-free version of this shrimp and avocado salad simply by using vegan mayo. It’s already gluten-free!
- This is a great recipe for meal prep. The salad is delicious cold and you can keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days. Enjoy it with my Keto Bread for a satisfying lunch.
What Goes into this Recipe
- Raw shrimp. You can use tail-on, but I perfer starting with peeled and deveined shrimp for easier eating.
- Celery. This adds fresh crunch to the salad. You can also use cucumber if you have it.
- Red onion. For less of a strong onion flavor, feel free to cook the onion alongside the shrimp.
- Avocado. Use firm, ripe avocados for added creamy flavor and healthy fats.
- Mayonnaise. This makes the thick, creamy, keto dressing for shrimp and avocado salad.
- Chili powder. Feel free to use more or less, depending on how spicy you like things.
- Butter. Use this to lightly sauté your shrimp. I use unsalted butter.
- Mustard. This adds a wonderfully complex flavor to the salad dressing.
- Dill. For a nice herby flavor. You can also use cilantro, parsley, oregano or basil if you like.
- Olive oil. Use a nice-quality oil with a flavor you love.
Ingredient Swaps
This salad is very forgiving. You can make any of the following swaps, and your salad will be just as delicious and healthy:
- Replace the shrimp with salmon. Sear the salmon in the skillet with melted butter until flaky. Allow it to cool for a bit, the flake and add it to the salad.
- Swap the shrimp with crab meat. You can find canned crab meat, which doesn’t need to be cooked, to make the salad even quicker.
- Replace the celery with chopped cucumber. It’ll still be fresh but with a different twist.
- Substitute the red onion with scallions, shallot or sweet onion for a less sharp flavor
How To Make This Recipe
Follow these steps to make your creamy shrimp salad recipe:
First, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter is melted, add the shrimp in a single layer and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Sauté the shrimp for 2 minutes per side, until light pink and cooked through.
Next, make the dressing in the salad bowl by whisking together the mayonnaise, chili powder, dijon mustard and lemon juice and zest.
Finally, dice the red onion, avocado, celery and dill. Add the chopped vegetables and cooked, cooled shrimp to the bowl with the salad dressing and toss everything well. Dig in!
FAQs
This dish is great with smashed or skillet-fried potatoes. To keep the meal keto, serve with roasted cauliflower steaks or baked cauliflower wings.
Of course! You can easily mix in your favorite salad ingredients. I love:
Greens like spinach, lettuce, kale, arugula, or a mix. Toss them with the creamy shrimp salad after you’ve dressed it.
Fruits like apple or mango. Peel and dice a small apple or mango (preferably a tart one), and toss it with the dressed salad.
Asparagus: chop fresh asparagus and sauté it with the shrimp.
Bacon: cook bacon until crispy and crumble it over the salad.
Pasta like macaroni, orzo or couscous. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Allow pasta to cool, then add it to the salad.
Grains like quinoa. Cook the grains according to package directions, cool, fluff, and add to the salad.
Beans like cannellini or black beans. Simply drain and rinse the beans well, then add it to the salad for more protein.
For a kick, add cayenne pepper to the salad dressing to taste. You can also add a few drops of tabasco sauce.
Thread the raw shrimp onto skewers and coat them with melted butter or oil. Grill the skewers on a hot grill for 1-2 minutes per side, or until lightly charred and pink.
Using cold or precooked shrimp makes this recipe faster. But when you cook the shrimp in butter, it adds flavor and extra fat for those on a keto diet. You can also always add an extra drizzle of olive oil to make up for that. Or, if you’re not on keto, you can certainly use cold shrimp. If you like, roughly chop the shrimp and toss with the rest of the ingredients.
Expert Tips
Here are a few key tips to keep in mind when making this avocado shrimp salad:
- A heavy bottom pan or skillet will nicely sear the shrimp and get them golden. I like to use a cast iron skillet, which maintains heat well.
- The cooking temperature should be a medium-high. If the butter starts to brown, then lower the heat to a medium.
- Don’t overcook the shrimp! Shrimp is ready when it’s fully pink and opaque. It usually takes around 3-4 minutes of cooking.
- If the raw onion flavor seems to much for you, then you can add it to the shrimp and sauté them together.
More Easy Keto Recipes
If you made this keto shrimp and avocado salad recipe, let me know how you like it in the comments below. Rate It, and make sure you share It with your friends and family. And if you want to see more recipe videos like it, follow me on YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook. For weekly updates be sure to sign up for my email list
Keto Shrimp And Avocado Salad
Equipment Needed
Ingredients
FOR SHRIMP SALAD
- 1.5 lb (680g) raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 tbsp (28g) butter
- Sea salt and Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 small red onion - finely chopped
- 2 ripe but firm avocados - pitted and chopped
- 2 stalks celery - finely chopped
- 2 tbsp (6g) freshly chopped dill
FOR DRESSING
- 1 cup (240g) mayonnaise
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp (15g) dijon mustard
- Juice and zest of 1 large lemon
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the shrimp in a single layer and season with sea salt and ground pepper. Cook for no more than 2 minutes per side, or until pink and opaque. Set aside and allow the shrimp to cool.
- Add all dressing ingredients to a salad bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Chop the red onion, avocado, celery and dill. Add them all to the bowl with the dressing, together with the cooked shrimp. Toss well to get everything nicely coated with the creamy dressing.
Recipe Notes
- Make sure you let the pan get nice and hot before you add the shrimp to stir-fry.
- The shrimp will only take 3 to 4 minutes to cook through, so keep an eye on them. Remove the shrimp from the skillet as soon as they’re pink and shaped like a “C”. They’ll continue to cook after you remove them from the skillet.
- You can add the onion to the skillet to cut back on some of the sharp flavor.
- For dairy-free shrimp salad, use vegan mayo.
- You can add any of your favorite salad toppings or mix-ins, including lettuce, red bell pepper, scallions, or cucumber for crunch.
- This salad will stay fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- If you want to make it spicy, add a few drops of tabasco sauce.
- You can also make this Keto shrimp salad recipe with grilled shrimp.
- Make this recipe with your favorite ingredients such as mango, apple, asparagus or beans, pasta, quinoa, or bacon.
Nutrition
*This post may contain affiliate links
love to see more Keto recipes