Southwest Salad with Shrimp
This southwest salad with shrimp has it all – crisp romaine, creamy avocado, hearty black beans and straight-from-the-cob corn with sliced red onions and cilantro. Then, it’s topped with perfectly, pan-seared shrimp and finished with a drizzle of honey chipotle vinaigrette for a nice little kick of heat.
Why you’ll love this keyword
- The dressing is incredible. It’s a great balance of sweet, savory and spicy. Plus, it’s super easy to make (everything gets thrown in a blender or food processor).
- It’s easy to make. Only about half of the salad ingredients need to be chopped, and the other half just get rinsed and/or dumped into the bowl.
- This salad is filling. With more than one protein and tons of fiber from all the veggies, this dinner salad will more than satisfy your hunger.
Get ready to fall in love with chilly weather and shorter days with fresh new recipes for autumn!
Ingredients & substitutions
- Shrimp – We normally purchase large or extra large shrimp. Tails on or off is your preference, just make sure to your shrimp are peeled and deveined.
- Baking soda – This is really important in the brine for shrimp.
- Romaine lettuce – To make this recipe easier, I buy a bag of prepped romaine lettuce salad.
- Black beans – You can use any kind of beans you want, or feel free to leave them out.
- Red onion – I chose a red onion because they’re great in salads and they add color to the recipe. You could also use a sweet onion, or even sliced green onions.
- Tomatoes – I used grape tomatoes for this salad, but you can use whatever tomatoes you like the best.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
How to make this southwest salad
Pan sear the shrimp. In a large bowl, cover the shrimp with cold water and stir in salt & baking soda. Let the shrimp brine for about 30 minutes. Then, drain and pat dry with paper towels. Lightly season the shrimp with garlic powder, salt & pepper.
Working in batches, sear the shrimp in a large non-skillet over high heat, turning once, until the shrimp have turned pink and are completely opaque (about 1-2 minutes per side). Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Make the dressing. Combine ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Process until smooth. Use immediately or transfer to an air tight container to refrigerate until ready to use.
You may also have a bit of extra dressing leftover, depending on how much you use. Feel free to store it in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Prep the veggies. Wash and clean your lettuce. Chop tomatoes and cilantro. Drain and rinse black beans. If needed, remove your corn from the cob. Slice and rinse your red onion to take away some of their intensity. Wait to slice avocado until just before serving.
Assemble the salad. When you’re ready to serve your salad, add all of the ingredients to a large salad bowl and top with your desired amount of dressing.
Everything you need to know about this southwest salad
You will likely have leftover salad dressing after making this salad. If kept properly stored inside of your fridge, you can expect your dressing to last up to 4 days and still taste great. You can double the recipe if you would prefer to have some extra leftover. Pro Tip: You can also store your honey chipotle salad dressing in a squeeze bottle for easy pouring and less mess!
Yes, you absolutely want to start with oil in the pan. The oil helps prevent sticking, but it also will help conduct heat and adds to the flavor of the dish. It’s important to heat the oil in the pan fully before adding the shrimp.
More shrimp recipes you will love
More dairy free salad recipes to try
- Avocado, orange and beetroot salad
- Arugula zucchini salad
- Romaine wedge salad
- Tropical salad with mango dressing
Southwest Salad with Shrimp
This southwest salad with shrimp has it all – crisp romaine, creamy avocado, hearty black beans and straight-from-the-cob corn with sliced red onions and cilantro. Then, it’s topped with perfectly, pan-seared shrimp and finished with a drizzle of honey chipotle vinaigrette for a nice little kick of heat.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Ingredients
For the shrimp:
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the salad:
- 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 2 ripe tomatoes tomatoes
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
- 1/2 cup sliced red onion
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
For the dressing:
- 6 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1–2 chipotle peppers
- ½ – 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
Instructions
For the shrimp:
- In a large bowl, cover the shrimp with cold water and stir in salt & baking soda. Let the shrimp brine for about 30 minutes. Then, drain and pat dry with paper towels. Lightly season the shrimp with garlic powder, salt & pepper.
- Working in batches, sear the shrimp in a large non-skillet over high heat, turning once, until the shrimp have turned pink and are completely opaque (about 1-2 minutes per side). Transfer to a plate and set aside.
For the dressing:
- Combine ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Process until smooth.
- Transfer to an air tight container and refrigerate until ready to use.
For the salad:
- Combine ingredients in a large bowl.
- Top with vinaigrette and toss to combine. Serve immediately.
- Category: Salads
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 351
- Sugar: 8.9 g
- Sodium: 511.2 mg
- Fat: 21.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 26.8 g
- Fiber: 8.5 g
- Protein: 17.6 g
- Cholesterol: 91.2 mg
Keywords: southwest salad, spicy southwest salad, southwest avocado salad, southwestern salad dressing, southwestern salad, southwest salad recipe, recipe southwest salad, dressing southwest salad, recipes for southwest salad
Published: June 5, 2017. Updated: August 30, 2023.
This post contains affiliate links. I may earn commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. I will never recommend a product I don’t use or trust.
