Shrimp Salad
Shrimp salad makes the perfect lunch, snack, or salad topping. Flavorful and bold, this creamy shrimp salad with Old Bay is light enough to serve all summer long.
We live in Maryland. If you live in Maryland, you pretty much have to love seafood and Old Bay seasoning. It’s like the unofficial state flavor combination.
And this shrimp salad recipe is the perfect combination of the two. Delicious Old Bay seasoning tossed with perfectly cooked shrimp, some celery for crunch and just a little bit of mayo to make it creamy. You thought you loved our avocado tuna salad, this take it to the next level!
There is no shortage of what you can do with this seafood salad. You can eat it as a sandwich, wrap (make it a lettuce wrap to keep it keto!), topper on a salad, on its own, or even over crackers or toast.
If you’re looking for more easy creamy salad recipes for easy low carb lunches try our Curry Chicken Salad and Ham Salad. They are all easy to throw together for busy weekdays!
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Ingredients You’ll Need
For this delicious shrimp salad with Old Bay, you’ll need:
- Apple cider vinegar – You add this to the water to add a hint of flavor but also make the shrimp easier to peel when they are done cooking.
- Water – This is just plain old tap water, used to cook the shrimp.
- Old Bay seasoning – When you are from Maryland, like we are, you put Old Bay on everything, especially shrimp. Old Bay has more than enough flavor to season the salad. And we even season the water with it. It’s that good.
- Uncooked medium-sized shrimp – You should look for deveined shrimp that still has the shell and tail on.
- Celery – For added crunch and flavor in the salad.
- Mayonnaise – We use regular, full fat mayo to help bring the ingredients together.
- Lemon juice – Freshly squeezed juice helps brighten the flavors and tastes fresher than bottled varieties.
Instructions
Here’s what you’ll need to do to make this recipe.
Step 1 – Boil the shrimp. Mix the apple cider vinegar, water, and 3 tablespoons of Old Bay seasoning in a large pot and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling, add the shrimp and cover with the lid cooking until the shrimp turns pink. This will take about 3 to 4 minutes.
Drain the shrimp and set aside to cool.
Step 2 – Peel and cut the shrimp. Once cooled, peel the shrimp and chop into large chunks.
Place them in a large bowl with the celery.
Step 3 – Mix the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, and remaining Old Bay seasoning. You’ll want to make sure they are combined well.
Step 4 – Toss the salad. Once the dressing is ready, pour over the top of the shrimp and celery and then gently toss together until it is well coated.
Serve immediately or cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Is It Keto?
Yes! Shrimp is a great keto protein if you pair it with a fat to balance out those macros. Celery adds some fiber as well. It’s a great make ahead keto recipe that you can keep in your fridge. Pair it with keto avocado coleslaw for a quick and easy meal.
Fresh or Frozen Shrimp
We buy cleaned and deveined shrimp with the shell still on. This way, you don’t have to go through the hassle of deveining the shrimp yourself.
We’re lucky enough to live in an area where we can get fresh shrimp. But If you don’t have good quality fresh shrimp in your area, you can use frozen uncooked shrimp instead. When using frozen, allow them to defrost according to the packaging instructions before boiling them.
If you want to save time, you can use pre-cooked shrimp. We prefer the flavor you get from cooking it yourself because it absorbs the flavor of the Old Bay as it cooks. To get a similar flavor, you can toss it in 2 teaspoons of Old Bay seasoning with the shrimp before adding to the recipe.
How to Make it Ahead of Time
You can make this salad ahead of time for an easy lunch. You just need to store it in an airtight container in the fridge. It should last about 3 to 4 days.
To save time making the salad, you could boil and store the shrimp a day or two ahead. This can save you time when you put it together.
Looking for More Easy Salads?
- Curry Chicken Salad
- Tuna Pasta Salad
- Ham Salad
- Avocado Chicken Salad {Keto}
- Curry Chicken Salad
- Mango Chicken Salad for a Fiesta!
- Turmeric Chicken Salad
- Chicken and Avocado Salad
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Shrimp Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup Apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups Water
- 5 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning, divided
- 2 pounds Un-cooked medium shrimp, de-veined, shell and tail on.
- ½ cup Celery, sliced
- ¼ cup Mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
Instructions
- In a large pot with a lid combine the apple cider vinegar, water, and 3 tablespoons of Old Bay seasoning. Bring to a boil.
- Add the shrimp and cover with the lid cooking until shrimp turns pink, approximately 3 – 4 minutes.
- Drain shrimp and set aside to cool.
- Once cooled peel shrimp and chop into large chunks. Place in a large bowl with the celery.
- In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, and remaining 2 tablespoons of Old Bay seasoning. Whisk together.
- Pour the mayonnaise mixture over the shrimp and celery and gently toss together until everything is well coated.
- Serve immediately or cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
