Shrimp Salad Recipe
This Shrimp Salad comes together in 30 minutes and is one of my favorite light meals. I mix tender shrimp with mayo, fresh dill, and crunchy celery for the perfect balance of creamy and crisp. It’s simple, flavorful, and great on its own or piled onto toasted bread.
Ingredients
For the Shrimp:
- 2 pounds peeled and deveined fresh 26/30 shrimp
- Juice of 2 lemons, about 4 to 6 tablespoons
- 3 tablespoons pickling spice
- coarse salt to taste
For the Salad:
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ peeled and small diced large red onion, about 1/3 cup
- 2 small diced ribs of celery
- 1 small diced garlic clove
- 1 ½ tablespoons minced fresh dill
- ½ seeded and small diced red bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons finely minced fresh fennel
- juice of ½ lemon, about 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons
- Coarse salt and freshly cracked pepper
Instructions
- Remove the shells and devein the shrimp.
- Add 2 quarts of water to a medium-sized pot and bring it to a boil along with the juice of 2 lemons, the squeezed lemons, and pickling spice.
- Generously season the liquid with coarse salt until it is as salty as the ocean. This will be about 2 to 3 tablespoons.
- Place the shrimp in the boiling seasoned water and cook for 90 seconds. Do not overcook the shrimp.
- Remove the shrimp and add them to a container of ice water to help stop the cooking process. This is known as shocking. The shrimp should be in a loose C shape, not a tight C shape.
- Strain the shrimp and chill them until you need them.
- In the meantime, prepare the onions, celery, garlic, dill, bell pepper, and fennel.
- In a large bowl mix together the shrimp, mayonnaise, lemon juice, onions, celery, garlic, bell pepper, fennel, salt, and pepper.
- Serve as is or on toasted bread with lettuce and optional sliced tomatoes and thinly sliced red onions.
Notes
I highly recommend for making my shrimp salad is to keep a close eye on the shrimp while they’re in the ice water. If they sit too long, they soak up too much water and lose that nice tender texture. Just a quick chill does the trick.
Use a binder: I make this a bound salad by mixing everything with mayonnaise or a creamy dressing to hold it all together.
Make it your own: This recipe is super flexible, so I always say go ahead and swap or skip ingredients based on what you like or have on hand.
Serve it low-carb: When I want to keep things light, I scoop the shrimp salad into a halved avocado instead of using bread.
Cut large shrimp: If I’m working with bigger shrimp like 16/20 or 13/15, I chop them into 1” bite-sized pieces after cooking to make them easier to eat.
Flavor the water: I make sure the poaching liquid is well-seasoned. I’m not drinking it, but it’s key to flavoring the shrimp from the inside out.
Make-Ahead: You can make this salad up to 1 day ahead for freshness. You may need to drain slightly, add in more mayonnaise, and re-season before serving.
How to Store: Cover and keep the shrimp salad in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This will not freeze well.