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Get out of your salad rut with this fresh and flavorful Strawberry Shrimp Salad with creamy strawberry poppyseed dressing. It’s less than 300 calories, but packed with 28 grams of protein to keep you feeling satisfied.
When I first lost 80 pounds, I felt like I needed to eat the same foods over and over to maintain my weight loss, but that wasn’t the case! There are many foods and flavors available to you, no matter where you are in your weight-loss journey.
This delicious salad features protein-rich shrimp with greens, vegetables, and fresh strawberries all tossed in Greek yogurt-based dressing. It’s full of flavor, good for you, and is a great way to change up your salad routine.
If you like flavorful salad recipes, you will love my shrimp Greek salad and low-calorie taco salad!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Protein-Rich Salad: The biggest issue with salads is that they often aren’t enough to satiate hunger, but this shrimp strawberry salad has 28 grams of protein to keep you feeling full.
- Light and Refreshing Meal: The combination of fresh greens, shrimp, and a flavorful strawberry dressing makes for a light meal. It’s especially refreshing on a warm, sunny day.
- Toss and Go in 25 Minutes: You can make this salad in just 25 minutes, so it’s a great meal when you’re in a hurry. You can still eat healthy, even if you’re short on time.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Mixed Greens: A mixed greens blend is the best base for this salad, but you could also mix in arugula for a little peppery bite.
- Shrimp: You’ll need to clean, peel, and devein fresh shrimp before searing them. Add them to a pan with olive oil over medium-high heat and sear them for about 3 minutes on each side.
- Strawberries: Slice fresh strawberries for both the dressing and the salad.
- Pecans: Chopped pecans add a delicious crunch, plus a bit of fat to the salad. You could also use chopped walnuts or almonds if you prefer.
- Greek Yogurt: Use a full-fat or fat-free Greek yogurt to make the dressing creamy and to add more protein to the salad.
- Poppy Seeds: Add poppy seeds for another layer of flavor and crunch to the dressing.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations & Dietary Modifications
- Try Using a Different Protein: Instead of shrimp, you can make this salad with chicken, seared salmon or tofu. Both have protein and are great alternatives if you don’t like shellfish.
- Make the Dressing Dairy-Free: If you need this recipe to be dairy-free, you can use a dairy-free Greek yogurt, or swap the dressing for my healthy Italian dressing instead.
- Go Vegetarian: Add protein to your salad without using meat by adding tempeh, tofu, roasted chickpeas or white beans to the salad instead, like in my chopped antipasto salad.
How to Make Strawberry Shrimp Salad
This shrimp and strawberry salad is the perfect spicy and sweet meal. The strawberry dressing pairs well with the slightly spicy shrimp. Be sure your shrimp is fully cooked before assembling your salad.
- Step 1: Combine Dressing Ingredients. Add the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, strawberries, mayonnaise, maple syrup, and poppy seeds to the blender.
- Step 2: Blend Until Smooth. Blend the dressing until it is completely smooth. Place the dressing in the refrigerator to thicken while you assemble the salad.
- Step 3: Combine the Salad Ingredients. Add the mixed greens, chopped celery, chopped red onion, cooked shrimp, sliced strawberries, and chopped pecans to a large bowl.
- Step 4: Top with Dressing. Drizzle the chilled dressing over the salad, then toss everything together and serve it.
Expert Tips
- Be Sure the Shrimp is Fully Cooked: Whether you use precooked, fresh, or frozen shrimp, you need to ensure it is fully cooked before adding it to the salad. Cooked shrimp is pink and bends into a “C” shape. It should have an internal temperature of 145° F.
- Blend the Dressing First: Start the cooking process by blending the dressing so you can chill it in the refrigerator while assembling the salad. This gives it time to set and thicken a bit.
- Storage Directions: This salad is best enjoyed right after assembling it. You can store the salad, undressed, in the refrigerator for 2 days, but you shouldn’t store it after you’ve added the dressing.
Serving Suggestions
This shrimp salad with strawberry dressing is the perfect refreshing salad for summer, though you can enjoy it all year round. The flavor combination of the fresh veggies, strawberry poppyseed dressing, and warm shrimp is a great way to add variety to your diet.
This makes an excellent appetizer for a seafood dinner or a dinner party on a patio.
- Enjoy this shrimp salad with strawberries as a main dish with a bowl of broccoli squash soup or as a side dish with sheet pan halibut.
- Low-calorie oven-fried salmon would be a great substitute for the shrimp in the salad, or make an excellent main course for dinner.
- Enjoy a little surf-and-turf by serving this salad with a beef recipe, like healthy beef stroganoff.
Strawberry Shrimp Salad Recipe FAQs
If you skipped chilling the dressing, then it will turn out thin. The strawberries and lemon juice thin out the Greek yogurt, so it needs time in the refrigerator to thicken.
Yes, you can absolutely use precooked shrimp in this salad! You can add it straight to the salad cold, or heat it up a bit and add it to the salad warm.
The most likely reason why your salad is soggy is that you added the dressing too early. The liquid will wilt the greens and make the whole salad wet.
More Healthy Shrimp Recipes
If you tried this Strawberry Shrimp Salad recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below.
Strawberry Shrimp Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad:
For the Dressing:
- ½ cup Strawberries
- ⅓ cup Nonfat Greek Yogurt
- ⅓ cup Low Fat Mayo
- 2 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 1 tablespoon Maple Syrup
- 2 tablespoons Poppy Seeds
Instructions
- Add the mixed greens, chopped celery, chopped red onion, cooked shrimp, sliced strawberries and chopped pecans to a large bowl.
- Then add the ingredients for the dressing to a blender and blend until smooth. Top the dressing over the salad, toss to combine then serve!
Notes
- Fully cooked shrimp are pink and shaped like a “C.” Be sure you use well-cooked shrimp in your salad.
- Blend the dressing first and let it chill in the refrigerator to thicken up before adding it to your salad.
- This salad cannot be stored once you add the dressing. It’s best to enjoy it immediately after dressing it.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
you know i love this combo. Its like summer in bowl! GLOW BLOW! ohhh yea! You surviving summer ok? Heat wise? and catch me up on life!
Glow bowl! LOL Love that! I think I need to make a new recipe with that name. OMG it’s so hot here. Record highs this week! Everything is good here. I’m good, he’s good, just really hot!
It has always surprised me how well shrimp and berries go together. Blueberries are another good pairing!
Yummy! I wish I could order something as yummy as this when I eat out!
MMMmmmmm! This sounds light and perfect for summer! 🙂
It screams summer. Thanks Ashley!
Yum, I love strawberries in salad.
So good!
Ohh the salad looks so awesome and colorful, but that dressing looks like a show stopper! I love the sweet and savory mix.
Haha, the dressing really is yummy.