Grilled Shrimp Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette: A Fresh & Flavorful Summer Delight
Embark on a culinary journey with this exquisite grilled shrimp salad, a vibrant and healthy dish that perfectly balances crisp salad greens, succulent grilled shrimp, creamy avocado, and the unexpected delight of fresh raspberries and tender hearts of palm. This recipe isn’t just a meal; it’s an experience that awakens your taste buds with its harmonious blend of sweet, savory, and tangy notes. It’s truly become one of our most cherished and frequently requested entree salads, promising a burst of freshness in every bite.
The beauty of this recipe lies in its convenience and adaptability. Imagine having extra grilled shrimp from a weekend barbecue. Instead of letting them go to waste, they transform into the star of a delightful lunch the following day. This salad was born out of such a serendipitous moment: a bowl of vibrant arugula, chilled grilled shrimp, a handful of fresh raspberries (because who can resist?), perfectly ripe avocado, and a can of versatile hearts of palm – essentially, a delicious improvisation from ingredients readily available in the fridge. The result was a stunning dish where every color and flavor element united to create a truly memorable meal. Whether you have a charcoal grill, a gas grill, or simply a grill pan on your stovetop, achieving perfectly cooked shrimp for this salad is a breeze.
This grilled shrimp salad is more than just a quick fix; it’s a testament to how simple ingredients, thoughtfully combined, can create an extraordinary dish. The zesty raspberry vinaigrette not only marinates the shrimp to perfection but also serves as the ideal dressing, tying all the diverse textures and flavors together. It’s a versatile dressing that you’ll want to keep on hand for other salads too!
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Why You’ll Adore This Grilled Shrimp Salad Recipe
This grilled shrimp salad is designed to impress with minimal effort, offering a refreshing and satisfying meal that caters to both your palate and your busy schedule. Here’s why it’s destined to become a staple in your kitchen:
- Prep Ahead Convenience: The shrimp can be grilled in advance and chilled, making it an ideal option for meal prepping. Enjoy a gourmet lunch the next day without any fuss.
- Quick & Easy Assembly: Once the shrimp are ready, assembling this salad takes mere minutes. It’s the perfect solution for a fast, high-protein meal on busy weeknights or for a leisurely weekend lunch.
- Bursting with Flavor: The combination of sweet raspberries, creamy avocado, crisp greens, and savory grilled shrimp creates a symphony of flavors and textures. The homemade raspberry vinaigrette is a game-changer, elevating the entire dish and proving versatile enough for other culinary uses.
- Nutrient-Rich: Packed with lean protein from shrimp, healthy fats from avocado, and antioxidants from fresh berries and greens, this salad is a powerhouse of essential nutrients, contributing to a balanced and wholesome diet.
- Visually Appealing: The vibrant colors of the ingredients – pink shrimp, green avocado, red raspberries, and deep green arugula – make this salad a feast for the eyes, perfect for entertaining or simply brightening your day.
Essential Ingredients for Your Salad
Crafting this incredible grilled shrimp salad begins with selecting the freshest, highest quality ingredients. Each component plays a vital role in the overall flavor and texture profile.
For the Grilled Shrimp Salad:
- Shrimp: Opt for large shrimp, ideally wild-caught, for the best flavor and texture. Large shrimp (like 16-20 count per pound) hold up well on the grill and provide satisfying bites. Freshness is key here!
- Avocado: A perfectly ripe avocado adds a luscious creaminess that contrasts beautifully with the other ingredients. To check for ripeness, gently press the stem end; it should yield slightly without being mushy. If it feels hard, it needs more time; if it’s too soft, it’s overripe.
- Berries: Fresh raspberries are highly recommended for this salad. Their sweet-tart flavor and delicate texture are unmatched. Frozen and thawed raspberries tend to be too watery and may fall apart, making them better suited for smoothies or sauces. If fresh raspberries are unavailable, other fresh berries like strawberries, blueberries, or blackberries can be used.
- Heart of Palm: This unique vegetable is harvested from the inner core and growing bud of certain palm trees. You’ll typically find hearts of palm in cans or jars, packed in brine, usually located near artichoke hearts in your grocery store. Its mild, slightly sweet flavor is reminiscent of a delicate cross between artichoke hearts and asparagus, adding a delightful tender-crisp texture to salads. It’s a fantastic way to introduce an exotic touch to your meal.
- Salad Greens: The base of any great salad! Choose your favorite crisp greens such as peppery arugula, delicate red lettuce, or a mixed baby greens blend. For a heartier option, thinly sliced kale or romaine lettuce can also work wonderfully, providing a satisfying crunch.
- Fresh Herbs: A sprinkle of fresh herbs adds a layer of aromatic freshness and visual appeal. Fresh cilantro offers a bright, citrusy note, while fresh parsley provides a clean, herbaceous flavor. Choose one or both based on your preference.
For the Raspberry Vinaigrette:
This vinaigrette pulls double duty, serving as both a flavorful marinade for the shrimp and a zesty dressing for the salad. Its vibrant taste is truly the secret weapon of this dish.
- Oil: For a superb vinaigrette, use a high-quality extra virgin olive oil or a neutral-flavored avocado oil. Both provide a smooth base that allows the raspberry vinegar to shine.
- Vinegar: The star of the dressing is raspberry vinegar. If you’re new to fruit-flavored vinegars, you’re in for a treat! It offers a beautifully balanced sweet and tangy profile that effortlessly enhances vinaigrettes. You can find it in many specialty markets and online. If raspberry vinegar isn’t accessible, explore other fruity options like pomegranate, strawberry, or blackberry vinegar for a similar effect.
- Salt and Pepper: Essential seasonings to enhance and balance all the flavors in the vinaigrette. Adjust to your taste.
For precise measurements and detailed ingredient specifications, please refer to the complete recipe card below.
Chef’s Tip on Shrimp: For superior flavor and texture, I highly recommend purchasing shrimp with the peel on and shelling and cleaning them yourself. This process takes just a few minutes and yields a much better product, as the shell protects the fragile flesh during storage and cooking. Plus, they’re often a little less expensive! For this grilled shrimp salad, I typically choose 16-20 count shrimp, meaning there are 16 to 20 pieces per pound. This size offers a substantial bite and grills beautifully. However, larger or smaller shrimp will also work; simply adjust cooking times accordingly. If you’re short on time or prefer convenience, buying “P&D” (peeled and deveined) shrimp is perfectly acceptable and still results in a delicious salad.
Creative Substitutions and Exciting Variations
This grilled shrimp salad is wonderfully adaptable, allowing you to customize it based on your preferences or what you have on hand. Don’t hesitate to experiment!
- Fruit Swaps: If fresh raspberries are out of season or unavailable, don’t fret. This salad is equally delicious with other fresh berries like sliced strawberries, sweet blueberries, or tart blackberries. Even thinly sliced peaches or nectarines can offer a delightful sweetness.
- Vinegar Alternatives: While raspberry vinegar provides a signature flavor, you can certainly experiment with other fruit-infused vinegars such as pomegranate, strawberry, or blackberry vinegar for a similar vibrant profile. For a different twist, a good quality balsamic vinegar can also be fantastic.
- Classic Vinaigrette: If you only have red wine vinegar on hand, you can easily make a classic French vinaigrette by combining it with olive oil, Dijon mustard, and a touch of honey or maple syrup for sweetness.
- Add a Crunch: Enhance the texture with toasted nuts like slivered almonds, pecans, or walnuts. A sprinkle of crunchy croutons or toasted seeds (sunflower, pumpkin) would also be excellent.
- Cheese Please: Crumbled feta cheese or a mild goat cheese can add a lovely salty tang and creamy texture to the salad.
- Extra Veggies: Feel free to toss in additional vegetables like thinly sliced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, or bell peppers for more color, crunch, and nutrients.
- Different Protein: While grilled shrimp is the star, cooked chicken breast (grilled or shredded), seared scallops, or even a firm white fish could be substituted if desired.
Simple Steps to Your Perfect Grilled Shrimp Salad
Creating this flavorful salad is straightforward. Follow these steps for a delicious and satisfying meal:
Step 1: Prepare Your Cooking Surface. Get your grill fired up and ensure the grates are clean to prevent sticking. If you don’t have an outdoor grill, a cast-iron grill pan on your stovetop works beautifully, or you can even cook the shrimp under a broiler for a quick and easy alternative.
Step 2: Clean and Marinate the Shrimp. Peel and devein the shrimp if necessary (see detailed instructions below). Next, prepare the raspberry vinaigrette. Whisk together the oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a bowl or shake them vigorously in a jar until emulsified. Reserve about half a cup of this vinaigrette to use as your salad dressing later. Add the cleaned shrimp to the remaining vinaigrette to marinate. Allow them to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes to absorb all those wonderful flavors. While the shrimp marinate, you can prepare the rest of your salad ingredients.
How to Master Cleaning Shrimp
Cleaning shrimp is a simple process that ensures the best texture and taste for your dish. Here’s how to do it effectively:
Start by peeling off the shells and legs from each shrimp. You can leave the tail on for presentation if you prefer, but removing it makes for easier eating. Once peeled, use a small paring knife to make a shallow slit along the curved back of the shrimp. This cut will expose the dark digestive tract (the “vein”), which you can then gently lift out with the tip of your knife or your fingers. Rinse the shrimp under a gentle trickle of cold water to remove any remaining debris. After rinsing, place the cleaned shrimp on paper towels to thoroughly dry. This step is crucial for achieving a good sear when grilling.
Marinate and Perfectly Grill Your Shrimp
The raspberry vinaigrette acts as a fantastic dual-purpose marinade and dressing. First, prepare the full vinaigrette recipe. Then, use half of it to marinate your cleaned shrimp for about 30 minutes at room temperature. This brief marination infuses the shrimp with incredible flavor and tenderizes them slightly. Meanwhile, preheat your chosen cooking surface – whether it’s an outdoor grill, an indoor grill pan, or your broiler – to a medium-high heat. Shrimp cook incredibly fast; they’ll tell you they’re done by turning opaque and pink. Grill them for approximately 2 minutes per side, just until they’re cooked through but still tender and juicy. Be careful not to overcook, as this can make them tough.
Discovering the Delight of Hearts of Palm
If you’re new to hearts of palm, prepare to be delighted! This slender, ivory-colored vegetable is harvested from the inner core of specific palm trees, such as the cabbage palm or huasai palm. It boasts a wonderfully tender yet slightly crisp texture and a delicate, subtly sweet flavor profile often compared to a mild artichoke heart or even asparagus. Hearts of palm are a fantastic addition to salads, offering an intriguing texture and a gourmet touch. You can easily find them canned or jarred, packed in brine, usually alongside other specialty vegetables like artichoke hearts in your local grocery store. Once opened, any unused portion should be stored in an airtight container immersed in its liquid in the refrigerator for up to a week, ensuring its freshness and flavor are preserved.
The Versatile Raspberry Vinaigrette: Marinade & Dressing
The raspberry vinaigrette is truly the star that brings this salad together. I recommend doubling the vinaigrette recipe to ensure you have enough for both marinating the shrimp and generously dressing the finished salad. For the best results, I typically use quality extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil, paired with a vibrant raspberry vinegar. If you haven’t yet explored the world of flavored vinegars, raspberry vinegar is an excellent place to start! Its unique balance of sweetness and tanginess adds a fantastic depth of flavor to any dish. You can find it in most well-stocked grocery stores and readily available online. Should raspberry vinegar be hard to locate, consider other fruit-infused options like Black Cherry Balsamic or another berry-flavored vinegar to achieve a similar fruity essence. Always taste and adjust your vinaigrette; a classic ratio is 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, but feel free to tweak it to your personal preference, adding a touch of honey if you desire more sweetness.
Once your shrimp are perfectly grilled and cooled, it’s time to assemble your masterpiece. Arrange the fresh salad greens as the base in individual bowls. Artfully place the grilled shrimp, sliced avocado, fresh raspberries, and cross-cut hearts of palm on top. Drizzle generously with the reserved raspberry vinaigrette – typically about 2 tablespoons per person – and garnish with fresh cilantro or parsley for an extra flourish of color and aroma. Serve immediately and savor the delightful interplay of flavors and textures.
Health Benefits of This Vibrant Salad
Beyond its incredible taste, this Grilled Shrimp Salad is a nutritional powerhouse. Shrimp provides a lean source of protein and essential minerals like selenium and iodine. Avocados are rich in healthy monounsaturated fats, fiber, and potassium, supporting heart health and satiety. Raspberries contribute a wealth of antioxidants and vitamin C, boosting immunity and offering anti-inflammatory benefits. Hearts of palm add dietary fiber and a unique array of minerals. Combined with fresh, dark leafy greens, this salad offers a diverse profile of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, making it a truly wholesome and satisfying meal choice.
Storage and Reheating Tips
While this salad is best enjoyed fresh, you can certainly prepare components in advance. Store grilled shrimp and vinaigrette separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. Keep salad greens, avocado, and raspberries separate until just before serving to maintain their freshness and texture. Assembled salad with dressing tends to wilt quickly, so it’s always best to dress right before eating. If you have leftover dressed salad, it can be kept in the fridge for a few hours, but expect the greens to soften.
📖 Recipe
Grilled Shrimp Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette
Sally Cameron
Pin Recipe
Ingredients
Raspberry Vinaigrette
- ½ cup avocado oil or olive oil
- ⅓ cup raspberry vinegar see note below on vinegar
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
Grilled Shrimp Salad
- 1 ¼ pounds large shrimp preferably wild
- 1 large ripe avocado
- 1 container fresh raspberries
- 1 can hearts of palm drained
- 6-8 ounces dark salad greens of choice
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro or parsley optional
Instructions
Prepare shrimp
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If shrimp are not already cleaned, peel and devein them, rinse gently under a trickle of cold water and set aside on paper towels to dry.
Make marinade
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In a small bowl, whisk together the oil and vinegar. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Reserve ½ a cup of the vinaigrette in a small bowl to use for dressing the salad.
Marinate shrimp
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Add the cleaned shrimp to the rest of the marinade and toss to coat. Allow them to marinate at room temperature for about 30 minutes. While shrimp are marinating, prepare the grill, grill pan or broiler. Quarter the avocado, slice the hearts of palm crosswise. Place salad greens in four bowls.
Grill shrimp
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Cook the shrimp, turning once, just until they are pink, about 2 minutes per side. Add the shrimp to the salad bowl along with the berries, avocado quarter, and hearts of palm. Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro or parsley if desired. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of vinaigrette per person and serve.
Notes
For shrimp, I use the 16-20 size. If you can’t get them, smaller shrimp work just fine and are more budget friendly. Figure 16 ounces to serve 4 for lunch and 4-6 ounces for a dinner size or for bigger appetites.