This dish was inspired by a wonderful trip to Mexico that I took with my husband last month. The weather was perfect and we spent the sun-drenched days relaxing on the beach, drinking frozen cocktails and enjoying the delicious Caribbean cuisine comprised mostly of fresh seafood and vibrant salads.My Tropical Shrimp Salad with Honey Chipotle Dressing is a light and refreshing dish with a tasty combination of sweet and spicy flavors. Cumin, garlic and chipotles in adobo add just the right amount of heat to the shrimp, which are grilled to perfection. The fiery shrimp are served over a fresh salad packed with tropical ingredients including mango, avocado and jicama, which provide several important vitamins and minerals as well as a good amount of fiber. Jicama is a crispy, sweet root vegetable that is common in Mexican cuisine. It can be eaten cooked or raw and adds nice texture when tossed into salads. If you can’t find it, you can substitute a firm pear or apple. To complete the dish, the salad is coated with a lime and cilantro dressing which has a hint of sweetness from honey and touch of smokiness from the adobo sauce.This is a good dish if you’re counting your carbs. It’s also a great way to incorporate more seafood into your diet. It’s light and refreshing but hearty enough to be a main course. So treat yourself to this tasty salad and in no time at all you’ll feel like you’ve been transported to your own tropical paradise!
Tropical Shrimp Salad
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1-2 teaspoons minced chipotles in adobo (depending on how spicy you like it)
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- Kosher salt and black pepper
Dressing:
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon adobo sauce from the chipotle can
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 4 teaspoons lime juice
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
- Kosher salt and black pepper
Salad:
- 1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1 mango, peeled and diced into cubes
- 1 medium jicama, peeled and julienned
- 1 avocado, peeled and sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Instructions
- To make the marinade, pour the oil, cumin, chipotles, lime juice and garlic into a large resealable plastic storage bag. Add the shrimp, seal the bag and mix all of the ingredients together to coat the shrimp with the marinade. Let the shrimp marinate while you prepare the rest of the salad ingredients.
- To make the dressing, whisk the mustard, adobo sauce, honey, lime juice, canola oil and cilantro together in a bowl. Season the dressing with salt and pepper.
- Heat a grill pan over medium high heat and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and add them to the grill. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side until opaque. Remove from the grill.
- To plate the salad, toss the lettuce, mango and jicama with enough dressing to just coat all of the greens. Top the salad with the shrimp and arrange the avocado slices around them. Garnish with cilantro.
Nutrition
This looks very good. I will try it but definitely will not use canola oil.
Thank you for your comment Lynda. Canola oil is definitely a controversial topic! I like to use it because it is high in healthy monounsaturated fat, has a neutral flavor and has a high smoke point, making it very versatile. There have been reports of canola oil being unhealthy which stems from the misperception that canola oil is made from the rapeseed plant which contains high levels of erucic acid, a substance that can be toxic at high levels. While the canola plant was developed through crossbreeding with the rapeseed plant, canola oil is made from the canola plant, not the rapeseed plant and contains less than 2% erucic acid. Here's a brief summary from the Mayo Clinic website which explains this: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/canola-oil/AN01281
The good news is that if you don't want to use canola oil, you can use any type of oil that you like in this dish. Enjoy!
That is a great explanation about Canola oil and a wonderful recipe! THANKS!
Wow, I am totally making this tomorrow night. I have most of the ingredients so a quick trip to the store will be no big deal. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for trying the recipe- I hope you liked it!
I could have almost made it to your house in time for dinner, Sonali…if I only knew this was being served tonight! All that goodness on one plate! Yummmmm!
Ha ha, I'll let you know next time I'm making it!
Wow, now this is a salad. I love shrimp in my salads…love all the flavors and different textures going on here. YUM!!!
Thanks, Aggie! I like to add different textures and flavors to salads to keep things interesting 🙂
This looks just delicious!!! Light and healthy. I rarely put shrimp on salad, but I love it – this is a great reminder!
Thanks, Katherine! I agree with you- I use other proteins a lot on salads, especially chicken. But shrimp makes a great (and healthy) alternative!
You have managed to incorporate so many of my favorite ingredients in this salad. I love main course salads, and this one is on my to-do list!
Thanks for stopping by, Lynda!
This looks amazing. Im cutting out carbs for a while and this looks a perfect meal for me.
Good luck- cutting carbs is difficult! But this salad would definitely be a good, healthy option.
Good evening! I featured this recipe on my blog today for my weekly seafood round-up. It looks great, thanks for allowing me to share. Here is the link http://carriesexperimentalkitchen.blogspot.com/2012/05/week-18-seafood-frenzy-friday-top-50.html
Thanks Carrie! You know I love Seafood Frenzy Fridays!
Tropical shrimp salad is my only choice for every Sunday lunch.Ingredients described here for this delicacy is absolutely perfect.
Wow, sounds like your a real tropical shrimp salad! So glad you like my version!
mmmhh looks scrumptious! Im going to have to try this recipe plus its naturally gluten free!
Please check out our blog at http://krisandtgogfree.blogspot.com/ ! We review restaurants, gfree products, and recipes!
Thanks for stopping by! I'm heading over to your site now!
Absolutely beautiful! I could seriously eat this right now at 11:00 pm! Thank you for sharing on Thursday's Treasures Week 39. Please join again next week. <3 and hugs! http://www.recipesformyboys.com/2012/06/thursdays-treasures-week-39.html
Thanks, Debi!
I just shared this dish on http://www.ameessavorydish.blogspot.com for her Fit & Fabulous Fridays!
There are so many of my favorite things in here…mango, shrimp, avocado…delicious!!! I love it, Sonali! Thank you for bringing this beautiful dish to Fit and Fabulous Fridays. 🙂
I just shared this dish with Katherine Martinelli for her mango blog hop:
http://www.katherinemartinelli.com/blog/2012/mango-orange-smoothie-and-a-mango-blog-hop/
This salad looks beautiful. I can't wait to try it.
Wow, I made this tonight, with a few additions, and it was just incredible! My fiance raved and raved about it. We will certainly be making this one again. I used all the ingredients you mentioned and they were really superb together. Thanks for sharing your creation!
I just made this and it was amazing! I made it exactly as you said, and I'm glad I did! It's the first time I've ever used jicama. I'd love to see more recipes with this vegetable!
This looks so amazing and fresh! The chipotle dressing sounds amazing!
Thanks! It's definitely one of my favorites salads to make 🙂
Hi Sonali,
I made this salad last night for dinner. It was a nice, light meal. My family & I enjoyed the flavors. Thank you for sharing. Keep up the great work. I have more of your recipes planned for the remaining week.
😀 Karissa
So glad you enjoyed this salad, Karissa! I like to make it in the summertime when we're looking to eat lighter meals. Thanks for stopping by!