Shrimp Avocado Cucumber Salad

This nourishing and cooling Shrimp Avocado Cucumber Salad is perfect for hot summer days! It’s a no-cook recipe full of hydrating veggies, shrimp, refreshing mint, and an avocado oil dressing.

If you love shrimp as much as I do, then you’ll want to try this Easy Shrimp Stew and Sheet Pan Mediterranean Shrimp as well!

My favorite way to cool down in summer is with nourishing, hydrating, and cooling foods. It’s even better if I don’t have to turn on the oven! That’s exactly why this Shrimp Avocado Cucumber Salad is a must-make during the hot weather months.

Just like my Shrimp Salad Sandwich and Cucumber Shrimp Salad, this shrimp and avocado salad puts refreshment at the forefront. It features a colorful mix of cucumber, tomatoes, avocado, mint, and shrimp that not only looks beautiful but tastes amazing as well! To finish, these fresh ingredients are tossed in simple dill and lemon vinaigrette to help every bite pop.

Ingredients and substitutions

• Mini shrimp – Frozen and pre-cooked mini shrimp is the most convenient option for this salad. They’re bite-sized, low-maintenance, and thaw very quickly! You can also boil or steam raw shrimp, then place them in an ice bath before using them in the salad.
• Cucumbers – They’re so refreshing and cooling! English cucumbers are fine but Persian cucumbers are extra tart and crisp.
• Tomatoes – You need both big tomatoes, like Roma tomatoes, and small cherry tomatoes. Making this salad with two kinds of tomatoes brings a nice blend of flavor, acidity, and sweetness.
• Red onion – Serve the red onion as-is or tone down the tart flavors by soaking the sliced onion in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes.
• Avocado – So creamy and filling! It’s not to be missed in this salad.
• Mint – Fresh spearmint leaves add another layer of refreshment. You can use fresh parsley or cilantro instead.
• Avocado oil – Or use olive oil.
• Dill – Fresh dill is a must in the vinaigrette.
• Lemon juice – Lime juice would work well as a substitute.
• Salt and pepper

How to make a shrimp avocado cucumber salad

I like to start this recipe off by boiling the mini shrimp in lemon water. It infuses a nice flavor in the otherwise bland pre-cooked shrimp and only takes 1 minute. It’s an optional step, though, so feel free to move on to Step 2 if you don’t feel like cooking.

Step 1: Fill a medium pot with water. Salt it generously and add in some lemon slices. Bring it up to a boil, add the shrimp, and cook for 1 minute. Immediately transfer the shrimp to a bowl with ice water to stop them from cooking further.

If you want to skip this step: Simply follow the package instructions on how to thaw shrimp before adding them to the salad.

Step 2: Add the cooled shrimp and the rest of the salad ingredients (except the mint) to a large bowl.

Step 3: Whisk the salad dressing ingredients together in another bowl.

Step 4: Pour the dressing over the shrimp and cucumber salad, then toss to combine. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and enjoy!

What goes well with shrimp salad?

Shrimp cucumber salad is one of the best healthy lunches and summer side dishes. For lunch, serve it over a bowl of leafy greens or cooked quinoa. It’s also perfect for stuffing into vegetable wraps or pita bread.

When dinner rolls around, enjoy a scoop on the side of more of your summer favorites, like Pineapple Lime Grilled Branzino, Churrasco Steak, and Stuffed Zucchini Boats.

Variations

This simple salad leaves plenty of room for customization. Mix up the ingredients and flavors with these suggestions:

• Add more protein – Bulk up the salad with even more protein, like grilled chicken.
• Add more veggies – Like corn kernels, lettuce, jalapeno, bell peppers, or radishes.
• Add cheese – Crumbled feta cheese is always welcome in a cold shrimp salad!
• Instead of cold shrimp – Grill or air fry the shrimp if you prefer warm shrimp salads.
• Leafy green salad – Stuff the shrimp avocado salad in a wrap with your favorite salad greens or add fresh arugula to the salad ingredients.
• Shrimp pasta salad – Toss in some cooked and cooled pasta noodles, like penne, macaroni, or farfalle.

Make ahead and storing

This recipe comes together quickly but you can get it on the table even faster by preparing the ingredients 1 day ahead of time.

To make ahead: Place the frozen shrimp in the fridge, chop all of the salad veggies (except the avocado), and mix the dressing. Keep everything in separate airtight containers in the fridge. This way, all you need to do the next day is stir everything together and serve!

To store: Shrimp salad is best stored without the dressing or avocado (up to 2 days in the fridge). If you end up with leftover assembled salad, keep it in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy it within 1 day.

Hungry for more refreshing salads?

• Quinoa Chickpea Salad
• Strawberry Avocado Spinach Salad
• Watermelon Feta Salad
• Cantaloupe Peach Salad
• Strawberry Arugula Feta Salad

SaveSave