This Mexican Shrimp Salad (Gluten Free) has all the flavors and spices needed for a satisfying meal salad! It’s loaded with fruit and vegetables; juicy mango, charred buttery corn, fire roasted red peppers and Pasilla peppers, tangy or sharp cheese, tomatoes, and cucumber, as well as having a delicious smoky and creamy dressing.
You can top it with thin fried corn tortilla strips or roasted pumpkin seeds or pepitas.
Even though this Mexican Shrimp Salad (Gluten Free) has a lot of ingredients, it’s so easy to make it! Start by making the dressing first.
Next, make the marinade. Then, you can choose to put the salad together most of the way (getting this out of the way early) or marinate the shrimp while you put the salad together.
Finally, cook the shrimp at the end of the marinate time and decorate the top of the salad with them.
Prepare most of the salad earlier in the day if desired
This salad can be put together for the most part, earlier in the day. Having time free just before dinner works well for me. So, preparing the meal early makes a lot of sense for me.
You can prepare the salad early, saving the cooking of the shrimp until just before you plan to eat. The dressing, the marinade, the fire roasting of the peppers and the grilling of the corn, can all be done in advance.
As well, you can skip the grilling of the corn. Just use a can of corn if you like! Another time saving idea is to microwave an ear of corn for this salad.
Microwaving an ear of corn takes just a few minutes, and is easily done in a covered bowl or dish. Just shuck the corn as you normally would and rinse it. Add to a dish and cover. microwave for 2-3 minutes for doneness (depending on the size and the microwave strength).
You can also save time and use a jar of fire roasted red peppers. I like to use Mezzetta Roasted Red Bell Peppers brand or Trader Joe’s Fire Roasted Red Peppers. I’ve used both of these brand and they have great taste.
The shrimp cook in just a few minutes just before serving
Shrimp is such an easy protein to use in a recipe. It is relatively inexpensive, or at least compared to some proteins. You can use fresh or thawed frozen shrimp in this recipe.
We like our shrimp grilled best, but pan cooking these is a simple and straightforward way to prepare them.
Often we purchase 4 lb bags (21-25 shrimp per pound size) at Costco and thaw the number of shrimp we need. You can thaw in a large container in the refrigerator for about 4 hours, or on the counter for a few hours. Just be sure to refrigerate after they are thawed and before preparing these.
We also use fresh or previously frozen shrimp. Sometimes, we actually think the frozen shrimp is a little better texture and taste.
With everything else that is in this Mexican Shrimp Salad (Gluten Free), I would plan on approximately 4-6 large size per person.
If you prefer grilling the shrimp for this recipe, it will certainly be very delicious!
I hope you enjoy this yummy salad!
~Laura
Mexican Shrimp Salad (Gluten Free)
Equipment
- 1 grill or bbq optional
- 1 Skillet or cast iron
Ingredients
Shrimp Salad Dressing
- ¼ cup olive oil or avocado oil or vegetable oil
- ⅛ cup rice wine vinegar, gf
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 1-2 adobo chilis in sauce 1-2 depending on the heat you like
- 1 large clove garlic, finely minced or pressed
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 3 tbsp Mexican Crema, mayonaise, or plain yogurt gf
- ½ teaspoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon oregano, gf
Marinade for Shrimp
- 2 teaspoons Shrimp Salad Dressing
- ½ tbsp olive oil or avocado oil or vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely minced or ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder, gf
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder, gf
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cumin, gf
- ⅛ teaspoon dried oregano, gf
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- pinch of sugar
Mexican Shrimp Salad
- 1 lb large shrimp, deveined, tail on or off
- 1 5 oz. bag or box of spring mix or romaine lettuce
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1 mango, peeled and cubed
- 1 ear corn on the cob shucked, roasted (slightly charred with ½ tbsp butter and light salt), kernels sliced off the cob
- 1 red bell pepper fire roasted over a gas stove or bbq grill, or under broiler. Then peeled, seeds removed and sliced
- 1 Pasilla pepper or Anaheim pepper, optional fire roasted over a gas stove or bbq grill, or under broiler. Then peeled, seeds removed and sliced
- 1 cucumber, peeled, sliced and quartered
- 4-6 oz baby tomatoes or Roma tomatoes, diced
- ¼ large red onion, thinly sliced
- 3 oz Cotija or Casera Cheese or sharp cheddar
Instructions
- Combine the dressing ingredients in a jar with a lid or a glass measure. Shake the jar or whisk if making in a measure cup.
- Make the marinade for the shrimp. Add 2 teaspoons of the dressing to a bowl and refrigerate the rest of the dressing until ready to serve. Add the remainder of the marinade ingredients to the bowl. Stir together. Cover and refrigerate until 35-40 minutes before serving time.
- Roast the whole bell pepper and pasilla pepper, if using, over a gas stove burner, turning every minute until charred black. You could also do this step on a broiler pan or tray (on foil for easy clean up), for 1-2 minutes on each side, under the broiler of the oven. Set aside to cool.
- Once the peppers are cool, peel the charred skin off and discard. Remove the stem and seeds and slice each pepper into ¼" strips.
- Prepare the salad. Add the lettuce to a bowl or divide between 3-4 single serving bowls. Make piles of each, avocado slices, mango, corn kernels, red pepper slices, Pasilla pepper slices, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, and cheese on top of the lettuces in each bowl or in the larger serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Just 35-40 minutes before you want to serve, add the shrimp to the marinade. Stir to coat. Set aside for 30 minutes.
- Heat a cast iron or skillet over high heat with 1-1½ tbsp vegetable or avocado oil. Remove the shimp from the marinade and add the the hot skillet. Cook for 1½-2 mintues per side. Remove from the heat.
- Cool for a minute before adding to the top of the salad or divide evenly between single serving salads. Pass the dressing with the salad or drizzle on the top.