Grilled Shrimp Salad with Avocado and Oranges

Looking for a great seasonal winter salad? Look no further, this green Shrimp Salad with Avocados and Oranges is packed with flavor for a delicious healthy meal! This Grilled Shrimp Salad includes citrus marinated shrimp, a homemade Orange Vinaigrette, and a ton of fruits and vegetables!

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Grilled Shrimp Salad with Avocado and Orange Vinaigrette

It can be very hard for me to get into salads during the winter season so I have been working on this amazing salad to fill that void!

Using A LOT of fresh oranges this salad is fresh and packed with flavors from those oranges as well as avocados, mangos, red bell pepper, and red onions.

This is truly one of those salads where the simple ingredients combine together to make it truly amazing. And with a simple homemade vinaigrette it is also something you can feel good about too!

Supplies and Equipment

This recipe is so simple you don’t need a lot outside of typical kitchen supplies. The hardest part is figuring out if you are going to grill the shrimp or cook them on the stove. I am prefer cooking the shrimp on the outside grill but when that is not available they still cook up quickly on the stove!

So you will need:

• A Cutting Board and nice Knife, you will be cutting quite a bit of fruit and vegetables
• Either a Small Bowl & Whisk OR a clean jar with a tight lid to make the vinaigrette, if you haven’t tried making vinaigrette’s in a jar yet I highly recommend it is one of my favorite ‘hacks’
• If you have one a handheld Juicer for the oranges as well as a zester
• Tongs are great for cooking the shrimp
• If you are cooking on the stovetop you will simply need and Large Pan, if you are cooking on the grill there are two things that could make it easier, since shrimp are so small and plenty they have a habit of falling in the grill. I suggest using a Grill Basket, like the kind most commonly used for vegetables or put the shrimp onto Skewers to keep them together. I prefer the grill basket because it is easier.

Ingredients for Green Salad with Shrimp

• Oranges – lots… like I said it is a winter salad, you will be using two for the vinaigrette and three to cut up into the salad, I used navel oranges but you can use what variety looks best, I think this would also be pretty good with blood oranges
• Olive Oil – For the vinaigrette so make it a nice olive oil
• Rice Vinegar – I found this gives a nice roundness with the orange juice
• Kosher Salt – All home cooks should be using kosher salt, if you haven’t gotten some yet use sea salt instead
• Minced Garlic – Just a little for the vinaigrette
• Raw Shrimp – I found that the medium sized worked best for this salad, I like to keep the shells on for presentation but if you find that frustrating when it comes time to eat go ahead and take the shell and tail off for marinating and cooking
• Mixed Greens – Or a spring mix, I found that a nice lettuce mix works best in the salad
• Red Onion – You won’t use a ton of onion, just enough too offset some of the sweet ingredients
• Red Bell Pepper – I love this in the salad for the crunch
• Mango – If you can find pre-diced mango at your grocery store buy that, such a time saver
• Avocado – Although avocados can be found year round I find them to be most plentiful and way cheaper in the winter, and on the plus said surprisingly avocado goes amazing with citrus, especially in this salad

For a complete detailed list of the ingredients continue towards the bottom of the page.

How to make Citrus Shrimp and Avocado Salad

First up the vinaigrette which will also double as the marinade. I love this approach using it as a dressing and marinade, makes life easy!

So to make the vinaigrette you will start by zesting two of the oranges. Add about 2 teaspoons of the zest to a small bowl (or jar), I really recommend not skipping the zest, that is where so much of the flavor comes from!

Now juice those two oranges into the bowl. Add in the olive oil, rice vinegar, salt, and garlic. Whisk to combine (or shake all together in a jar). 

Next you will add the cleaned shrimp to a bowl, remember you can remove the shells and tail if you wish or keep them on. Pour about half of the orange vinaigrette over the shrimp and toss to coat.

Cover the shrimp and transfer to the fridge to marinate at least 15 minutes but as long as 8 hours. I typically will try to give it 2 hours if I can.

Keep the remaining vinaigrette in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to add to the salad (you might have to re-whisk before serving).

Now to build and make the salad. To be honest a lot of this salad is just chopping a lot of fruit and vegetables. You also have to decide how you want to cook the shrimp.

You have two options to cook the shrimp on the grill or the stovetop. If you are using the grill make sure to preheat the grill to high and give it plenty of time to heat up, the grill takes linger to heat up then the stove. If using the stovetop you will want to preheat a large pan to medium-high before cooking. Either way you choose the shrimp will be cooked the same way, just a few minutes on each side.

So while the grill in warming up it is time to prepare all the fruits and vegetables for the salad.

The avocado and mango need to be sliced and diced (and like a said above finding pre-cut mango at the store is so helpful). The red onion and red bell pepper should be thinly sliced.

The remaining oranges should be segmented or cut into a wheel, either way you will want to cut off the peel. To start cut off the peels of the oranges by very carefully cutting a slice from each end of the orange. With one of the sliced ends on a cutting board cut the peel off the oranges from the top to the bottom, turn over and remove any more peel you missed. You can then either carefully slice the oranges (like in the photos) or carefully cut out each segment of the orange. If this step is freaking you out you can of course just peel and segment the oranges as if you were eating them for a snack, I just find for that salad that I prefer to have as must of the peel off.

Once all the fruits and vegetables are cut its time to cook the shrimp, whichever method you chose you will cook the shrimp 3-4 minutes per side until the shrimp are cooked through and pink. 

To serve your Shrimp Salad with Oranges and Avocados add the mixed greens to large serving bowls, top with all of the fruits, vegetables, and cooked shrimp. Drizzle and toss with the orange vinaigrette. Enjoy!

Tips, Tricks, and Questions

Note: This recipe will make 2 very large salads, it could pretty easily feed 3 adults if needed add more lettuce and toppings to feed 4 adults. In my case this salad easily feeds 2 adults and 2 young children. 

What are some good side dishes to serve with shrimp salad?

To be honest I let this salad pretty much stand on its own but if I were serving this and wanting more I might add a Cheese Plate with Crackers to the table or like most salads a Bread Roll would be a good addition.

You might also like:

• The Best Crunchy Asian Chopped Chicken Salad
• Summer Berry Salad with Grilled Chicken
• Simple Spinach Salad
• Easy Panzanella Salad with Grilled Chicken
• Roasted Pear & Pecan Salad
• Oven Baked Shrimp Recipe

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