Shrimp Avocado Salad
Updated Sep 17, 2025
This low-carb Shrimp Avocado Salad is made with only a few simple ingredients with a zesty lime olive oil dressing that adds a fresh flavor!
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Easy Shrimp Salad
This Shrimp Avocado Salad is one that I learned from my dad and now make it for my kids often. There’s something about the combination of shrimp and avocado that tastes so good! It’s a simple salad made with 5 ingredients and basic vinaigrette and it’s high protein and high in fat (the good fats you want!) We usually make this shrimp avocado salad in the summertime because it’s light and fresh, but it works any time of the year!
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Shrimp Avocado Salad Ingredients
- Shrimp: Use large shrimp if possible, either raw or pre-cooked. I share the steaming method in the Recipe Tips below if you bought it raw. You can leave the shrimp whole or chop it up into thirds to make them more bite-sized pieces.
- Avocado: Make sure they are ripe but firm for best consistency with the salad. Add them right before serving.
- Red onions: Cut the red onion into small pieces. If the pieces are too large they can over power the other ingredients. If you are not a fan of red onion you can substitute them with green onions.To make them less pungent, you can let them sit in the dressing for 5 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Dressing: The homemade dressing is made with extra virgin olive oil and fresh squeezed lime juice, along with some cumin, salt and pepper. If you don’t like the taste of cumin, you can definitely skip that.
How to Make Shrimp Avocado Salad
Shrimp Avocado Salad
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound large cooked shrimp thawed
- 2 cups shredded lettuce
- ¼ red onion diced
- 2 avocados sliced
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
Dressing
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- To thaw frozen, cooked shrimp, run cold water over them for 5-10 minutes until thawed or place frozen shrimp in a bowl, cover it, and thaw in the fridge overnight. Drain off any excess water and pat dry with paper towels.
- To make the dressing, use a bowl large enough to hold all the salad ingredients. Whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, cumin, salt and pepper until emulsified.
- Transfer thawed shrimp on top of the dressing. Add the shredded lettuce and red onions and combine with the dressing in the bowl. Tuck the sliced avocados around the shrimp and garnish with fresh cilantro.
- Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Recipe Tips
- Steam the shrimp easily: Thaw it with cold running water and steam it in a steamer basket or colander over a pot of boiling water. You only need about 5-6 minutes until the shrimp turns opaque. If the shell is on the shrimp, it will peel off easily when cooked.
- Make it faster with pre-cooked shrimp. Then you don’t have to worry about cooking the shrimp and it becomes an assembly situation.
- Toss avocado last. To keep the avocado from browning or breaking down, fold it in gently just before serving. If you’re prepping ahead, dice the avocado and drizzle it with lime juice to slow oxidation.
FAQs
Store any leftovers in an airtight container. They will last about 2 days in the fridge. But it’s best to enjoy it within 24 hours since the avocados will slightly brown the next day.
You can make this salad up to two days ahead of time and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. It’s best not to pour over the dressing until just before serving or the lettuce can become soggy. The dressing will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Comments
Delicious – I had a Napa cabbage I wanted to use, I substituted it for the lettuce – worked well with this recipe. Thank you!
Love that!! So glad you liked the salad, Darlene! Thanks!
“The best salad ever!!” These were the words from my brother and my husband. And I truly agree with them. I decided to add cucumber as well and it’s refreshing, filling and delicious all in one. It tasted like Mexican ceviche but with added greens, which made me very happy.
Wow, thank you so much!! So glad you all loved it!
Great flavor on the dressing. I needed some sweetness so I added honey to taste. I used bagged salad and added avocado, shrimp, tomato and mushrooms. Very tasty!
Yay, so happy you liked it!! Thanks, Tammy!
Made this salad today for lunch with family! It was wonderful! However, I’m learning, I put the dressing on and out in refrigerator about an hour before serving and it was soggy! Next time, I’ll pour the dressing on just before serving. One of the best salad dressings ever.
So happy you loved it, thank you! Yes, great point—I always add the dressing right before serving to make sure salads stay fresh and crisp!
We made about half the amount, I added a blob of mayo to make the dressing a little bit more creamy. Turned out delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
You’re welcome! So happy you liked it, Mir!
Yum! Made a few tweaks to personal taste. Less cumin, no cilantro, added splash of maple syrup, subbed baby greens and added shredded carrot. Made it a smaller version for a quick, healthy, personal size dinner. Will definitely make again and would add any of red pepper, mushrooms, cucumber, radish, salmon.
I love that you made it your own and have thought up so many great additions! I especially like the idea of making the salad with salmon. I’ll have to try it out myself sometime!
Perfect summer dinner!
I agree!! So glad you liked it!
What is a serving size? Like a cup? I know it says 4 servings but we’re doubling it and I am doing keto and would like to know. The recipe is absolutely delicious! My husband and I enjoyed making it together too.
Yay! So happy you liked this one, Brandy!! One serving is about 1 cup.
Could this also be made with bite sizes of sautéed salmon? Some of my family members don’t eat certain seafoods or are allergic. Salmon is a favorite.
Me, I’ll make your salad just for me!!!! It not only looks delicious, but sounds delicious. So glad I outgrew my younger year allergies to not only shrimp.but other shell fish!!!😋😋😋😋😋🥰🥰🥰
Yes, that would be delicious!
Thank you for a very delicious simple recipe.
You are so welcome!
Looking very great
Thank you!
Making this for my third time. It’s delicious, healthy and could eat it everyday!
Yay! Thanks so much.
Hmmmm, looks so yummy. I could eat it right now. Very nice presentation. Love it.
Hope you like it! You’ll have to let me know what you think when you make it.
Thanks for posting the Shrimp and Acocado recipe. Just got back from Portugal and Maderia Island. Had several versions,but yours resembles the best one at Bruno’s Restaurant on Madeira Island. What I like is the avocado stretches out the enjoyment of the shrimp. Thanks a million.
So glad you liked this!
This is delicious. Looking forward to serving it at my next get together.
So glad you liked it, Sarah! Thank you so much for sharing it with your friends!
I found the cumin overpowering and I didn’t think the flavour of it fit very well with the shrimp and avocado. I’ve made similar salads to this but with mango and some sugar added to the dressing (and no cumin) and I prefer it.
So sorry this recipe wasn’t to your taste, thank you for the feedback!
Great recipe…easy to prepare and delish.
Thank you Kelly!
Excellent recipe. To make it a full meal instead of a side dish, I made some quinoa boiled in sodium free chicken stock. For serving, I put the quinoa in a bowl, then the salad (I added some freshly chopped tomatoes for additional color), and I topped off each portion with generous amounts of sliced avocado and shrimp. Perfection! My family gobbled it up!
Oo I love that idea! Sounds so good!
Made this for supper tonight. Had it with a side of watermelon. Very delicious!
So happy to hear that you liked it!
Very refreshing, we like cumin so used the amount stated. I also marinated the shrimp for an hour in some of the dressing then grilled it. It made the shrimp stand out more. Next time we might swap the cumin for chilli flakes to give it some heat. 🙂
So glad you liked it, Don! Love the idea of the chili flakes!
The Shrimp avocado salad was amazing!!! Thank you for sharing!!! 🥰
You’re so welcome!
I made this beautiful salad today and it was delicious. I made a change, I omitted the cumin.
So glad you liked it, Ella!
Look really good
The salad was great. The dressing needs some help, imo. Maybe a touch of honey or agave would balance the bitterness.
Thanks for the feedback, Becky!
Delicious! I had perfect avocados and cooked shrimp, so it was a breeze putting this together. The dressing was extra special and I will be using on other fresh salads this week. Thanks for the perfect lunch!
So glad you like it, Diane!
This was really great. I often do a first course with seafood using shrimp and avocado, but this recipe is light and refreshing. The cumin melts away into the background and the cilantro gives a nice pop. The lime is a nice change and it does remind one of a ceviche. Excellent-thank you!
Thank you so much! I’m glad to hear all those components paired together nicely. You’re welcome!!
Just made this and it came out delicious! Thank you. It was so refreshing. I reminded me of ceviche.
That’s great to hear! You’re so welcome!!
Hit the spot! Thanks
Yay! You’re so welcome!
Just had to try this! So perfect for the hot days we are having. I added chopped radish. Served with Monterey Jack cheese quesadilla for the kiddo’s.
Happy to hear you enjoyed it! It’s just so refreshing. Yum!
I hate it when you suggest a recipe that I can’t easily print. Why should I have to join a sub group to print?
If you scroll to the recipe card, there’s a printer icon. When you click on it, I have it formatted in a way to print on 1-2 pages maximum with no images, no large font or anything that takes up too much ink. Can you try that? It should work fine.
Do you mind if I ask what kind of shrimp these are? I buy the frozen shrimp from the grocery store but they are always more orangy-white-pink than red. The local seafood is amazing in my area and the seafood market I go to is known for having the best cocktail shrimp, and they look red like these do but won’t tell me for proprietary reasons how they prepare them or even what kind of shrimp they are. They charge 25-30 dollars a pound for them so I can’t get them often. I honestly think they just steam them, but the red color must be the type of shrimp they are. Any thoughts would be appreciated! They just look so delicious!
This is Argentinian wild caught shrimp, but you can use any shrimp for this recipe!
Fantastic recipe. Loved it!
Thank you so much!
I love seafood always like a new recipe so I will try the shrimp ,& avocado salad looks delicious.
Hope you enjoy! Thank you!
Can I use cocktail shrimp
It should work!
Look so delicious amd healthy!
Thank you!
Checking this out for dinner
Let me know what you think!
This was easy and delicious. I added shelled pistachios. Really good. Thanks.
Yay!! You’re so welcome!
Very good salad and quick to whip up for supper. I added shelled salted pistachios- delicious. Thank you.
Thank you so much! Love the sound of that!
Love it
Yay!!
I made this salad for girls game night out last night. Such a hit! I was afraid the cumin would be over powering but I put it in anyway. Boy, am I glad I did. The dressing was fantastic. This is a recipe I’ll definitely do again. Thanks!
I’m glad you ended up going through with is! Thank you!!
Very light and refreshing! This is a great summer meal 🙂 I left the cumin out of the dressing since I’m not a big fan.
Thank you! It really is!
Can you clarify if this recipe is intended to have red peppers in it? It isn’t listed in the ingredients list, but is referenced in the directions. Thank you!
Sorry about that, I had it in it at one point but recently updated the photos and decided not to include. I’ve updated the recipe. Thank you!
No problem, thanks for clarifying. We made this last night and it was a hit! It was really yummy over spiralized zucchini.
I bought some frozen pre-cooked shrimp for this! I don’t need to cook them again, do I?
Not necessary. Just make sure to the prepare the pre-cooked shrimp properly!
Simple ingredients but super flavorful and easy to prepare. Great for anyone on a Keto/low carb diet. Also added some grape tomatoes and served over baby spinach in a salad the second time making it. Will be making again for sure 🙂
So glad to hear that you enjoyed it! And yes, such a great low carb option!
It was very good, and was so sad when the meal was over
Aww, glad to hear you liked it!
Looks so good. I will try the shrimp avocado salad
Hope you like it!
I tried this at my last dinner party! It was a hit!
Nice! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I tried this and have been making it at least 2, 3 times a week since, it’s delicious! Thank you
Yay! So glad to hear it!