This nutritious and tasty shrimp Caesar salad recipe nutritious, tasty, quick and easy to make – perfect for a weeknight dinner or lunch. Featuring juicy, sweet prawns/shrimp (chicken could also be used), crispy bacon, fresh lettuce, peppers and cherry tomatoes, this gluten-free and keto-friendly salad is smothered in the most delicious, creamy Caesar dressing. It’s high in protein and nutrients. Paleo & dairy-free modifications provided.
Shrimp Caesar Salad Notes
I’ve always loved a good Caesar salad and my favourite thing about it is probably the dressing. If the dressing is done well, then it doesn’t matter what veggies or protein you toss in it.
I wanted to do a variation of a Caesar salad with grilled shrimp instead of chicken and add some extra colourful veggies like cherry tomatoes and sweet peppers.
This recipe is for two servings and you simply increase the ingredients for a larger batch. You can use grilled chicken instead of shrimp/prawns or throw in some grilled tofu/tempeh or chickpeas for a vegetarian version.
Feel free to use any other salad vegetables such as cucumber, radish, fennel or steamed asparagus. As I said, it’s more about the dressing than anything else.
Recipe Tips
I often make this shrimp Caesar salad for a quick, high-protein lunch. I make the dressing ahead of time as it keeps for up to 7 days in the refrigerator. I have a couple of bags or containers of pre-washed, pat-dried lettuce ready to go so that saves quite a bit of time.
I keep a bag of frozen de-shelled shrimp in the freezer, so I take a handful of those out and place in a bowl of hot water 10 minutes before I want to grill or pan-fry them. If I work from home, I will cook the shrimp, cut the vegetables and shave Parmesan at lunchtime.
If I have to take it somewhere, I will usually do these steps the night before and pack the salad ready to go (mind you, shrimp could be pan-fried in the morning as it only takes a few minutes). I take the dressing in a separate container.
More Quick & Easy Salad Meals
- Simple Paleo Kale & Egg Caesar Salad
- Kale Apple & Chicken Salad
- BLT Salad With Prawns & Avocado
- Warm Spiced Chicken & Avocado Salad
- Avocado Halloumi Salad With Mediterranean Dressing
Full Recipe
Find the full list of ingredients, instructions, and nutritional breakdown below. If you have questions or cook this recipe, please let me know in the comments, and make sure to rate this shrimp Caesar salad recipe so it’s easy for others to find.
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil
- 4 rashers bacon
- 12-14 large raw prawns shrimp peeled, tails on
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 cups cos or gem lettuce roughly chopped
- 1 cup pepper capsicum, red and yellow, diced
- 10 cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese optional
For the Caesar dressing
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise good-quality
- 1 teaspoon Dijon or wholegrain mustard
- 2 tablespoons Greek yoghurt
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 clove of garlic minced or crushed
- 2 anchovies finely diced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
- A pinch of pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the bacon. Cook on both sides until crispy, then remove to a plate and add the prawns. Season with a little pepper and garlic powder and cook for 2 minutes on each side. Set aside.
- Roughly slice the bacon and prepare other salad ingredients.
- Whisk the dressing ingredients and toss through the salad in a large bowl. Stir through the bacon and shaved Parmesan if using. Top with the grilled shrimp.Â
Notes
- 3 tablespoons mayo
- 1.5 tablespoons almond milk
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 anchovies
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
- Pinch of pepper
- Keto modifications: The salad is gluten-free and low-carb but if you want to reduce the carbohydrates intake even further, replace peppers and cherry tomatoes with lower-carb veggies like cucumber, radish, celery, fennel or lightly grilled/blanched asparagus or snow peas.
Nutrition
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Super tasty recipe. I made it with chicken and added homemade GF croutons for added crunch.
Agreed, equally delicious with chicken or any other protein. All about the dressing 😉