This Shrimp Caesar Salad is a delicious shrimp twist on the classic Caesar salad. It's made with easy homemade dressing and croutons, and the shrimp are cooked in spicy Cajun seasoning. It comes together quickly, and it makes a great lunch or a light dinner for the summer!
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Why You'll Love This Shrimp Caesar Salad
The perfect mix of flavor - My extra creamy, Easy Caesar Dressing, spicy Cajun shrimp, fresh romaine, and Homemade Crispy Croutons create an amazing blend of flavors and textures. It's such a simple salad, but it's totally restaurant-worthy and so delicious. The shrimp make it more filling than a classic Caesar, but the salad is just as light.
Quick and easy - The salad takes about 30 minutes from start to finish, even if you make your own croutons and dressing! It's very straightforward and totally fail-proof!
Versatile - Once you make this recipe, you can keep it as an inspiration for other versions. You can make it with a different protein like chicken, fish, or even steak, or you can use different greens! Kale is a great alternative for fall, while mixed mesclun is perfect for summer.
Ingredients
- Shrimp - Look for raw, peeled, and deveined shrimp, 26-30 count. I recommend buying frozen shrimp and defrosting them in the fridge overnight or in a bowl of cold water in about 30 minutes (make sure they're fully submerged). Frozen shrimp are often fresher unless you live by the ocean.
- Cajun seasoning - I cook the shrimp with my homemade Cajun Seasoning, but you can use other seasonings that are less spicy, like Italian Seasoning as well.
- Romaine lettuce - Romaine lettuce for Caesar salads is often just torn up to look very rustic, but I like to slice it into somewhat bite-sized pieces for easier serving and eating. I highly recommend using a salad spinner here to dry the leaves to prevent a soggy salad.
- Homemade Caesar dressing - I'm using Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing, but you can always use store-bought as well. This one is super easy, made with mayonnaise instead of raw egg yolks and olive oil! It comes together in 5 minutes, and it's so good! It's made with anchovy paste, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, salt, black pepper, garlic, and Parmesan cheese.
- Homemade croutons - I made a version of my Sourdough Croutons for this salad. You can use any kind of torn-up or cubed bread. You can either toast the bread with just oil and butter, or you can add spices. I like adding some garlic powder, onion powder, and sea salt for a little bit of flavor.
- Butter and cooking oil - You can use either or for cooking the bread, but I like to use both because the butter adds flavor, while the cooking oil prevents the butter from burning. I like using pure avocado oil. You can use either salted or unsalted butter.
- Parmesan cheese - This is optional, but I like to add shaved parmesan to the finished salad. It adds more flavor and texture.
- Lemon - A squeeze of fresh lemon brightens the salad. I like adding a wedge of lemon to everyone's plate.
Variations and Substitutions
- Different greens - For more variety, you can use mixed greens, kale, or spinach instead of just romaine lettuce.
- Different protein - If you've made this recipe before and want to change it up, serve the salad with roasted or grilled salmon or chicken instead of shrimp.
Step-by-Step Instructions
If you're making your own salad dressing, I recommend starting with the croutons and while they're cooking, whisk your Caesar Dressing. While the dressing chills in the fridge, you can finish making the croutons and cook the shrimp.
Croutons
- Add butter and cooking oil to a hot large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the torn-up bread slices and toss to coat well with the oil and butter.
- Season with garlic and onion powder if desired and toss again.
- Cook over medium-low heat, stirring a few times, for 15 minutes or until golden and crispy.
- Set the croutons aside until ready to serve.
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Shrimp Caesar Salad
- Wash and chop the romaine lettuce and add it to a large bowl. Set aside.
- Add the raw shrimp to a bowl and toss with avocado oil.
- Sprinkle them with Cajun seasoning and stir to coat again.
- Heat a large pan over medium-high heat and add the shrimp.
- Spread them out so that none are overlapping.
- Cook the shrimp for 2-3 minutes on each side. Take them off the heat.
- Add your Caesar dressing to the chopped romaine and toss to coat well. Start with ¼ cup and add more if desired.
- Add the dressed romaine lettuce to a serving platter or individual plates and top with the croutons, cooked shrimp, and shaved parmesan. Alternatively, you can also toss everything together in the bowl. This salad is best enjoyed immediately.
Tips & Tricks!
- Defrost shrimp quickly: Are you short on time? Add your frozen shrimp to a large bowl and cover them with cold water. Make sure they're completely submerged and let them sit on the counter for about 30 minutes while you prepare the rest of the salad. Change the water once or twice to defrost them even quicker.
- Use both butter and oil for cooking the croutons: Butter gives the croutons lots of flavor and cooking oil prevents butter from burning.
Make-Ahead Options and Storage
You can make the dressing and the croutons ahead of time. The dressing will last for about 3-4 days in the fridge, and the croutons can be kept in a container at room temperature for 2-3 days. Make sure they're completely cool before closing the container to prevent them from molding.
The finished salad can be stored in the fridge for 1-2 days in an airtight container but the romaine lettuce wilts down under the weight of the dressing quickly. I don't recommend storing the shrimp past two days anyway but if you want the salad itself to last longer, I recommend swapping the romaine for heartier greens like kale.
FAQs
You can use full-fat Greek yogurt instead of the mayo in the dressing to lighten it up. Keep in mind, this will change the flavor, and it might make it runnier.
Other Shrimp Recipes
If you have lots of shrimp or just like them as much as I do, below are a few of my favorite recipes you should try! If you want to see more salads, head over to Salad Recipes.
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Print📖 Recipe
Shrimp Caesar Salad
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Low Calorie
Description
This Shrimp Caesar Salad is a delicious shrimp twist on the classic Caesar salad. It's made with easy homemade dressing and croutons and it's totally failproof! It comes together quickly, and it makes a great lunch or a light dinner for the summer!
Ingredients
Croutons
- 1 tbsp butter (salted or unsalted)
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 2-3 slices of sourdough bread, torn into bite-sized pieces
- ¼ tsp each garlic powder and onion powder (optional)
Shrimp Caesar Salad
- 1-2 heads of romaine lettuce, chopped (10 cups chopped)
- 1 lb raw shrimp (26-30 count per pound, peeled and deveined)
- 2 tbsp avocado oil (or other cooking oil)
- 1 tbsp cajun seasoning
- ¼-½ cup homemade Caesar Dressing
- ¼ cup shaved Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Croutons
- Add butter and cooking oil to a hot large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the torn-up bread slices and toss to coat well with the oil and butter.
- Season with garlic and onion powder if desired and toss again.
- Cook over medium-low heat, stirring a few times, for 15 minutes or until golden and crispy.
- Set aside until ready to serve.
Shrimp Caesar Salad
- Wash and chop the romaine lettuce and add it to a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Add the raw shrimp to a bowl and toss with avocado oil.
- Sprinkle with Cajun seasoning and stir to coat again.
- Heat a large pan over medium-high heat and add the shrimp. Spread them out so that none are overlapping.
- Cook the shrimp for 2-3 minutes on each side. Take them off the heat.
- Add Caesar dressing to the chopped romaine and toss to coat well. Start with ¼ cup and add more if desired.
- Add the dressed romaine lettuce to a serving platter or individual plates and top with the croutons, cooked shrimp, and shaved parmesan. Alternatively, you can also toss everything together in the bowl.
- This salad is best enjoyed immediately.
Notes
Success tips: I recommend using a mix of oil and butter for the croutons to prevent the butter from burning. You can also use just cooking oil.
Storing: The salad is best served right away, but you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days if needed. Ideally, you want to store the croutons separately at room temperature. They will lose their crunch when mixed with the salad.
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