High Protein Shrimp and Avocado Salad

Quick answer: This salad has 47 grams of protein and 441 calories per serving, with 11 grams of net carbs. Cooked shrimp, avocado and cucumber over green leaf lettuce, in a creamy lime and yogurt dressing. Fifteen minutes, no cooking, serves 2. At 226 mg of sodium per serving it’s the lowest of any recipe on this site — provided you use unsalted shrimp, which is covered below.

Shrimp is the leanest route to a high protein number that exists in a supermarket. Twenty-four percent protein by weight, and 0.3 grams of fat per 100 grams — which is why a 150-gram portion delivers 36 grams of protein for under 150 calories.

That leanness is also why this salad needs the avocado. Shrimp on lettuce is 200 calories and you’ll be hungry in an hour. Shrimp with a whole avocado between two people is a meal.

It’s the second-highest protein recipe in the high protein salad collection, behind only the turkey cobb, and by a wide margin the lowest in sodium.

Why This Salad Has 47 Grams of Protein

Shrimp does three-quarters of it, and it’s worth understanding why the number is so high. Most protein sources come attached to fat — chicken breast is about 31% protein and 4% fat, and salmon is 25% protein and 13% fat. Shrimp is roughly 24% protein and 0.3% fat. Almost nothing else in a fish counter is that lean.

The Greek yogurt in the dressing adds another 7.5 grams, which is the same trick used in several recipes here: a dressing that does nutritional work rather than just adding fat.

The Lowest Sodium Recipe Here — With One Condition

At 226 mg per serving, about 10% of the WHO’s 2,300 mg daily limit, nothing else on this site comes close. The next lowest is the edamame and crispy tofu salad at 442 mg, and several recipes here run five or six times higher.

If you’ve been reading the sodium sections on the smoked salmon or halloumi recipes and wanting an alternative, this is it. There’s no cheese, no cured fish, no canned legumes and no added salt.

The condition: these figures are calculated on cooked, unsalted shrimp, at 111 mg of sodium per 100 g. A large share of the frozen shrimp sold in supermarkets is brined or treated with sodium-based additives before freezing, and that shrimp can carry several times as much — sometimes over 800 mg per 100 g.

The difference is on the package rather than in the recipe. Look for shrimp with nothing in the ingredients list but shrimp, or shrimp and salt. If the list includes sodium tripolyphosphate or similar, the salad will still be good but the sodium figure on this page won’t apply to it.

What You Need

Serves 2.

For the salad

• 2 cups cooked shrimp (300 g / 10.5 oz), peeled
• 1 large avocado, diced (200 g)
• 1½ cups sliced cucumber (200 g), about 1 medium
• About 5 cups torn green leaf lettuce (150 g)

For the lime dressing

• ⅔ cup plain 2% Greek yogurt (150 g)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (30 g), about 1 lime
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro (15 g)
• 1 small red chili, finely chopped (10 g)
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil (10 g)

Notes on the ones that matter:

Frozen cooked shrimp is the practical choice, and it’s what most people will use. It’s cheaper than fresh, consistently good, and already cooked. See the tips for how to thaw it without ruining the salad.

One whole avocado between two servings. This isn’t a garnish — the avocado supplies 29 of the 44 grams of fat in the recipe, and without it this is a salad that doesn’t hold you.

Green leaf lettuce, not romaine. Softer leaves suit a creamy dressing better here, and they don’t compete with the shrimp texturally.

Fresh chili, not flakes. Ten grams is one small chili, and it’s there for brightness as much as heat. Remove the seeds if you want the flavor without much of the burn.

How to Make It

1. Thaw and dry the shrimp if frozen — see the tip below. This is the step that decides whether the dressing stays creamy.
2. Make the dressing: whisk the Greek yogurt with the lime juice, chopped cilantro, chili and olive oil.
3. Toss the shrimp in about a third of the dressing and leave them for 5 minutes.
4. Slice the cucumber and tear the lettuce into a wide bowl.
5. Dice the avocado last, just before serving.
6. Combine everything with the remaining dressing, folding gently so the avocado stays in pieces.

Getting Frozen Shrimp Right

Two things go wrong with frozen shrimp, and both are avoidable.

Thaw it in cold water, not at room temperature and not in the microwave. Ten minutes in a bowl of cold water is enough for a bag of small cooked shrimp. Warm thawing makes the texture soft and slightly mealy, because the outside warms long before the inside.

Then dry it properly. Thawed shrimp holds a surprising amount of water on its surface, and that water goes straight into your dressing. Greek yogurt thinned with shrimp water is exactly as good as it sounds. Spread the shrimp on paper towels, press gently, and give it two minutes.

If you’re buying raw shrimp instead, cook it just until the flesh turns opaque and the shape tightens into a loose C. A tight, curled O means it’s overcooked, and overcooked shrimp is rubbery in a way that no dressing fixes.

Tips

Dice the avocado last. It browns within minutes of being cut. Everything else can be ready and waiting.

Marinate the shrimp for five minutes in part of the dressing before assembling. Shrimp is mild, and lime and chili get into it quickly.

Salt is optional and probably unnecessary. Nothing in this salad is salted, which is the point of it. Taste first — most people find the lime and chili do enough.

Serve it cold but not fridge-cold. Very cold avocado is firm and tastes of little. Ten minutes out of the fridge improves both the avocado and the shrimp.

Substitutions

Cooked chicken breast instead of shrimp, if shellfish isn’t an option. Similar protein, though it changes the character entirely and adds a little fat.

Sour cream or crème fraîche instead of Greek yogurt for a richer dressing. Both are much lower in protein — expect the salad to land closer to 40 grams per serving.

Mango instead of cucumber if you want it sweeter. It works well with lime and chili, and adds about 8 grams of carbohydrate per serving.

Add-ins worth trying: thinly sliced red onion, radish, toasted pepitas, or a handful of arugula for a peppery edge.

No fresh chili? A pinch of chipotle in adobo gives smoke as well as heat, and works with the lime.

Storage

Same day. This is an assemble-and-eat salad.

The avocado is the limiting factor — it browns, and no amount of lime juice fully prevents that in a salad this wet. The dressed shrimp also softens after several hours.

You can prepare the dressing up to 3 days ahead, and it improves as the chili and cilantro infuse. Shrimp can be thawed and dried the night before and kept covered in the fridge. Assembly then takes five minutes.

For a low sodium option that genuinely keeps, the sesame ginger chicken slaw holds four days at 588 mg per serving.

Emily Carter

High Protein Shrimp and Avocado Salad

5 from 1 vote

A shrimp and avocado salad with 47g of protein and 226mg of sodium per serving, in a creamy lime and Greek yogurt dressing. No cooking, 15 minutes.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Servings: 2

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Calories: 441

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

Salad

• 300 g 2 cups cooked shrimp, peeled
• 200 g 1 large avocado, diced
• 200 g 1½ cups cucumber, sliced
• 150 g about 5 cups green leaf lettuce, torn

Lime dressing

• 150 g ⅔ cup plain 2% Greek yogurt
• 30 g 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 15 g ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
• 10 g 1 small red chili, finely chopped
• 10 g 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Method

 

1. If using frozen shrimp, thaw it in a bowl of cold water for about 10 minutes, then spread it on paper towels and dry it thoroughly.
2. Whisk the Greek yogurt with the lime juice, chopped cilantro, chili and olive oil.
3. Toss the shrimp with about a third of the dressing and leave for 5 minutes.
4. Slice the cucumber and tear the lettuce into a wide bowl.
5. Dice the avocado just before serving.
6. Combine everything with the remaining dressing, folding gently so the avocado stays in pieces. Taste before adding any salt.

Notes

• Nutrition is calculated on cooked, unsalted shrimp. Much frozen shrimp is brined or treated with sodium additives and can carry several times more sodium — check the ingredients list on the package.
• Drying the thawed shrimp properly is what keeps the yogurt dressing creamy rather than watery.
• Dice the avocado last. It browns within minutes.

Nutrition

Per serving (recipe makes 2):

These figures are calculated ingredient by ingredient from a USDA-sourced nutrition database and divided by the serving count. They’re calculated values rather than laboratory-tested ones, and they’ll shift with your brands. Shrimp is calculated as cooked and unsalted; brined or additive-treated frozen shrimp will raise the sodium figure substantially. Carbohydrates include fiber, following the US convention, so net carbs are about 11 grams per serving.

Almost all of the fat here comes from the avocado — 29 of the 44 grams across the whole recipe.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much protein is in shrimp?

About 24 grams per 100 g cooked, with only 0.3 grams of fat. That combination makes it one of the leanest protein sources available — a 150-gram portion supplies 36 grams of protein for under 150 calories.

How do you thaw frozen shrimp properly?

In a bowl of cold water for about 10 minutes, then dried thoroughly on paper towels. Room-temperature or microwave thawing makes the texture soft, and undried shrimp releases water into the dressing, which turns a creamy yogurt dressing thin.

Is shrimp high in sodium?

Plain cooked shrimp isn’t — around 111 mg per 100 g. But a large share of frozen shrimp is brined or treated with sodium-based additives before freezing, and that can carry several times as much. Check the ingredients list: shrimp, or shrimp and salt, is what you want.

Can I make this salad ahead of time?

Not assembled. The avocado browns and the dressed shrimp softens. The dressing keeps 3 days and improves as the chili and cilantro infuse, and the shrimp can be thawed and dried the night before, which leaves about five minutes of assembly.

Why does this salad need the avocado?

Shrimp is extremely lean, so a salad built on it alone comes in around 200 calories and doesn’t keep you full. The avocado supplies most of the fat in the recipe, which is what slows digestion and turns a high protein number into an actual meal.

More High Protein Salads

This is one of fifteen recipes in the high protein salad collection, grouped by no-cook, low carb, vegetarian and meal prep, with protein and calories compared across all fifteen.

For the only recipe here with more protein, the turkey cobb salad reaches 53 grams per serving.

Made this? Leave a rating and tell me how it went in the comments — especially if you changed something that worked.