Shrimp Salad Recipe

➤ Introduction for Shrimp Salad Recipe

I’ve been making this shrimp salad for years, and I can’t tell you how many times it has saved me when I needed to bring something that looked fancy but I wasn’t going to want to work over a stove! There is just an association with cold shrimp and crisp vegetables and summer, even if I am eating it in my pajamas on an average Tuesday afternoon.

Most of all, I love how forgiving this dish really is. I take whatever vegetables have been lying around in my crisper drawer – usually it’s celery, maybe some bell peppers if they aren’t wrinkly yet, and sometimes cucumber if I’m feeling fancy. The shrimp does all the flavor heavy lifting, so I don’t really stress about having the “right” vegetables. I have made this dish with the fancy gulf shrimp from the fish counter and I have made this dish with the frozen bag from the grocery store. Both times the finished dish was emptied by my guests.

The real magic happens when I put the bowl in the fridge and forget about it for a couple hours. When I come back, it will be like everyone got together to make up – the dressing is no longer sitting on top, the celery is not trying to steal the show, and somehow the entire thing is just… right.

Honestly, I normally end up eating it straight out of the serving bowl while standing at the kitchen counter. For whatever reason that first cold, creamy bite makes me actually put my phone down and pay attention to the food. The crunch of the vegetables coupled with the tenderness of the shrimp, finally I am not mindlessly licking food into my mouth while checking on Instagram. It is one of those rare dishes that makes me actually stop and think, “Damn, I made this and it’s actually real.”

➤ Why I Love This Shrimp Salad Recipe

• Look, I won’t hide it – I’m cheap, and I love that I can grab a bag of frozen shrimp from the grocery store and turn it into something that makes people ask for the recipe. My friends think I’m a cooking mastermind, when I just know how to make regular ingredients look tres chic.
• The entire thing comes together in about 15 minutes, which is good because I have no patience for recipes that take up my whole afternoon, because I bide my time in the kitchen. I toss everything together in a bowl, stir, and I am finished.
• I also feel decent about serving it because it is nutritious – lean proteins, good fats, fresh veggies. It’s one of those unicorn dishes, where I can relive something people want to eat without guilt.

➤ Shrimp Salad Recipe Ingredients

Shrimp salad items are:

•two pounds of cooked and peeled shrimp (and who needs the shells taking your time and nerves?)
•1/2 cup mayo (do not go cheap on the mayo; the creaminess of mayo is what it is.)
•Juice from a couple of lemons — fresh, and not that weird bottle stuff.
•two stalks of celery, very finely chopped.
•1/4 cup fresh red onion, minced very finely so no one ends up taking a tablespoon full and crying.
•Some dill (a couple tablespoons of minced dill would be nice) (or leave it out, sue me)

•1 tablespoon of capers, drained, but do not use the undrained capers; you’ll get a clammy ghost.
•1 teaspoon of Old Bay, then add more if you really want.
•1/2 teaspoons salt (taste it before you add) (because you know),
•A pinch or two of black pepper.

To serve:

•butter lettuce leaves (and probably the best lettuce type, but it does not matter like I already said, you can use any lettuce).
•lemon wedges for squeezing.
•dill sprigs if you want that “I’m a pro” appearance.
•Crackers or some crusty bread. because bread is everything.

➤ How to Make Shrimp Salad Recipe

1 • Prepare the shrimp:

•The first thing I deal with is the shrimp. If they are raw, I boil them before adding them to the salad. Nothing special, I just boil them for a few minutes. If I bought the pre-cooked frozen shrimp, I just let them thaw on the counter completely.

•Anyway, once the shrimp are ready, I take the tails off completely because nobody wants to take tails off while they are eating. Then, I chop most of the shrimp into bite-sized pieces, but I leave a couple of bigger pieces because I like to have a large piece to bite into.

2 • Make the dressing:

•For the dressing, I just dump mayonnaise, lemon juice, Old Bay seasoning, salt and pepper into a big bowl. I whisk it together until it is nice and smooth and creamy, this is the base that the shrimp salad is based off of.

3 • Prepare the produce:

•I am very picky on how my celery is cut—I go tiny, almost obsessively small, for the added crunch in every bite. Sweet red onion? I want it to be very small otherwise, it takes over the entire recipe. I chop some dill (fresh for sure), I drain the capers and pat them dry. Seriously, pat them dry. You don’t want caper juice ruining your mix.

4 • Mixxxxx:

•Shrimp goes in the dressing first and gentle, I learned that lesson. Be too aggressive and it’s shrimp paste at best. This can be an orderly blanket on a bed of veggies. Once the shrimp is dressed I dump the dressed shrimp, dill, capers, and the rest of the produce in and fold it together. Not stirring it angrily or like a maniac, just enough to combine each thing together.

5 • Taste test:

•This is where I start my chef thing. I get a spoon, take a taste, and channel Gordon Ramsay. Too salty? In goes more, too lemon-y? More lemon. Too peppery? I feel you buddy, spicy is good. The challenge is to be gentle so that you do not break down all those nice chunky shrimp. Yes, I taste multiple times and yes I have quality control issues.

6 • Chill the Shrimp Salad:

•Now for the hard part: waiting. After tightly covering the bowl with plastic wrap, I toss Shrimp Salad into the fridge – it’s in hibernation mode (or I’m letting it rest). It’s important to give time for the ingredients to intermingle and bond. I’d say you won’t regret waiting more than thirty minutes. I promise that the thirty-minute period will reward you; when you taste and sample it will taste light years better than it did when you removed it from the mixing bowl. Seriously, you aren’t going to take a sneaky taste at this stage… It’s well worth the wait.

7 • Final prep:

•I take it out of the fridge about ten minutes before I want to eat. I mean, it’s not as if anyone is dreaming of biting into a not-so-fresh, ice-cold shrimp salad. You should give it a very gentle stir—don’t smash the shrimp! Or taste (which I hope you will). Also, it very well could be that t like it better because it needs more salt, or, on the other hand, it needs a squeeze of some fresh lemon juice. Either way, just remember: don’t skip this part.

8 • Serve it, style points optional:

•Okay, here is my moment to show off just a little bit. If I’m feeling fancy (which, let’s face it, is not that rare) I usually just pile the thing into lettuce cups and pretend I’m at some fancy brunch. If it’s a party, it definitely goes on crackers. Or, and I can’t lie to you guys, sometimes I take the whole thing and cram it between two slices of bread and call it lunch.Put on a few sprigs of dill and maybe a lemon wedge or two, and suddenly I looked much more professional than I was actually qualified to be. Fake it ’til you make it, right?

➤ Shrimp Salad Recipe Tips & Variations

• I usually get the medium to large shrimp because the tiny shrimp turn into a bizarre paste as soon as you touch them. I learned that lesson at my cousin’s wedding shower and everyone politely moved it around their plates.
• I don’t joke around when cooking raw shrimp, I practically hover above that frying pan like my life depends on it. The second they turn pink and do that little curl, I am pulling them off before they turn into those bouncy rubber erasers.
• I intentionally leave some chunks because I want to feel like I’m actually eating shrimp and not some unknown seafood spread. Also, it looks way less sad on the plate.
• If I have some hard-boiled eggs that are about to expire, I will chop them up and throw them in the shrimp salad. Or, I will take what is dying in my vegetable drawer – avocado, cucumber, whatever needs to be rescued. It makes me feel less guilty about wasting food.

➤Serving Suggestions for Shrimp Salad Recipe

• I am a fan of piling this on croissants when I’m trying to feel fancy – add some lettuce and tomato, and it feels like it came from a bistro. Brioche rolls also work for when I’m trying to impress.
• When I want dinner but don’t want to put much effort into it, I just dump this over whatever greens I have in the refrigerator. Add cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, and drizzle lemon vinaigrette – and voila – I’m grown-up eating.
• For parties, I will throw out some water crackers and watch people go nuts. If I’m feeling really Martha Stewart, I will spoon it into endive leaves, or put it on cucumber rounds when I want something that looks impressive but took literally NO effort.

If you are enjoying this shrimp salad, you will want to check out my chopped salad recipe as well. It includes fresh vegetables and nutritious proteins that will leave you full, instead of still hungry after an hour!

➤ Storage and Leftovers

• Do not let this sit out for over 2 hours, especially if it is warm outside. I had to learn this lesson the hard way at a summer picnic – no one wants to experience food poisoning from shrimp salad.
• I typically keep leftovers inside my refrigerator for 3 days in whatever airtight container I can find. Beyond 3 days things begin to get sketchy and I am just not risking it.
• Do not freeze finally this. The mayo gets weird and separates and the veggies are mush. I tried once, and I simply threw the whole thing away.
• I always pull Shrimp Salad out of the fridge about 10 minutes ahead of time when people are over. No one wants to eat shrimp salad ice cold, and it absolutely enhances the flavor when it is not freezing your mouth off.

➤ Shrimp Salad Recipe FAQs

Q: Is it okay to use frozen shrimp for this recipe?

⤷ A: Absolutely! I often prefer frozen shrimp half of the time because it is cheaper, and usually much fresher than the shrimp in the seafood case. Just be sure to thaw it thoroughly and dry it off well before you begin.

Q: How do I keep my shrimp salad from being watery?

⤷ A: This drove me crazy until I figured that out. You must pat everything dry – shrimp, vegetables, even those capers. Water is the enemy of shrimp salad.

Q: Can I make this without mayonnaise?

⤷ A: You sure can! I’ve used Greek yogurt when I was trying to be good, mashed avocado when I wanted some creaminess, or just put olive oil and lemon to keep it simple. They all work just fine.

Q: How long can shrimp salad sit out?

⤷ A: Two hours max, and I am being generous. If it is hot outside, I won’t risk it even that long. Nobody will spend their weekend in the bathroom!