A simple, but flavour packed salad that is ready in under 10 minutes. Add some extra flavour to prawns (shrimp) with a little lime and chilli and pair with creamy avocado for a light summer salad. This Chilli and Lime Prawn and Avocado Salad is a tasty lunch or light dinner that proved that salads don't have to be boring.
In the warmer months, we practically live on salads. But, having the same one all the time can get a little boring, so we are always creating new and exciting salads, and this is one of our favourites. Slightly crispy prawns cooked in a chilli and lime marinade on a bed of greens with creamy avocado. This is a simple salad, with just a few ingredients, that has a lot of flavour.
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Why should you try it?
- A light and fresh salad
- Ready in under 10 minutes
- Just a few simple ingredients
- A new way to enjoy prawns
- Easy to adapt
What you will need
- Salad greens - The base of any good salad, we like to have a good mixture. We have used romaine for crunch, and then spinach for a nutrient boost. Feel free to use your favourite, or whatever you have that needs using. Something like rocket lettuce (arugula) adds a nice peppery flavour too.
- Prawns - We used cooked king prawns. If you are using raw prawns, then cooking times will vary.
- Lime and chilli - This is where all the flavour comes from. You might need to use a whole lime if your lime isn't very juicy. If you don't like spicy food, then take the seeds out of the chilli and it won't be as spicy.
- Avocado - This adds lots of creaminess to the salad and healthy fats too. See below for our tips on choosing the perfect avocado.
- Herbs - We used coriander, as it goes really well with the lime and chilli. Fresh parsley would work well too.
- Red onion and cucumber - An easy way to add some crunch and colour to the salad.
- Salad dressing - We used our Lemon Vinaigrette as a dressing for the salad leaves.
Step by step
One: Mix the prawns with the oil, coriander (cilantro), garlic, lime juice and chilli flakes. Add to a hot pan and fry for 2 minutes.
Two: Make the lemon vinaigrette and dress the salad leaves. Transfer to a serving bowl.
Three: Top the lettuce with the cucumber, avocado and cooked prawns.
How to pick the perfect avocado
The key is to pick a ripe but not over-ripe avocados. We like Hass avocados. Try to look for avocados that give a bit to a gentle squeeze. But you don't want one that it too soft, as it will be over ripe.
Don't worry if when you cut in to it there are some bruised or brown bits, as you can scoop those out and discard before chopping up the rest up.
Take a look at our post on different ways to eat avocados.
Marinated prawns
The majority of the flavour in this prawn and avocado salad comes from the sesame oil, chilli, lime and herbs that the prawns are cooked in. They are flash fried for just a minute, to take on the flavours and give them a little crispiness. A splash of soy sauce adds some nice flavour too.
You don't have to add these though, and you could swap them for your favourite seasoning blend like Mexican or Cajun.
Salad Dressing
This prawn and avocado salad doesn't have a dressing in the traditional sense. We have used our Lemon Vinaigrette for the salad leaves.
However, you could add a dressing if you prefer. A balsamic based dressing would work well with the creaminess of the avocado.
How to adapt it
The great thing about salads is that they are so easy to adapt. Switch and swap ingredients to suit your own tastes, or just use whatever you have in the fridge to help reduce food waste. Here are some of our favourite ingredients to add:
- Grains - Anything like giant couscous, bulgar wheat, wild rice, pasta or orzo works to bulk this salad out and make it a more filling meal.
- Beans - Give this prawn and avocado salad a protein boost with some cooked beans. Butter beans, chickpeas or black beans all work well, and they add some creaminess too.
- Vegetables - We love anything that we can add some extra vegetables to, and this salad it just that. Grated carrot is an easy way to do that, and it adds lots of colour too. We also like roasted peppers and artichokes.
- Fruit - We love fruit in salad (have you tried our Grilled Peach Salad?). Add some sweetness to this salad with some grilled mango or pineapple.
- Nuts or seeds - To add some crunch to this salad, finish it off with a sprinkle of pine nuts or toasted flaked almonds. Peanuts work well too.
What to serve it with
If you want a really light and low calorie salad, then serving this by itself works well. However, we like to turn this in to more of a filling meal with a few sides. Here are some of our favourites:
- Easy Homemade Flatbreads
- Air Fryer Roast Potatoes
- Easy Spanish Rice
- Baked Tortilla Chips
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Roasted Lemon Asparagus
- Spanish Olives
- Greek Potatoes
- Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
FAQs
This is a delicious and nutrient dense salad. Avocados can be quite high in fat, but they are the healthy mono-saturated fats, which are good for the heart. Avocados are also abundant in vitamins K, C, B5, B6, E, folate and potassium. They are full of fibre and can also help to reduce cholesterol and help with eye health. Pretty much the ideal superfood!
Prawns are not lacking either! Prawns are a good source of selenium, which is one of the most effective antioxidants at maintaining healthy cells. They also contain high levels of zinc, which is important to develop a healthy immune system.
This salad stores for 2 days in the fridge in an air tight container as long as it hasn't been dressed. Adding the dressing will make it go soggy. So, if you think you are going to have leftovers, transfer the extras in to an air tight container before dressing and store it in the fridge.
Extra tips
- To store unused halves of avocado, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and place in fridge - it will be good until the next day. Don't worry if it goes a little brown, as you can just scrape that bit off and you will be left with bright green avocado.
- If you are using raw prawns, then cooking times will vary. Make sure prawns are fulling defrosted if you are using frozen prawns.
- Sprinkle some chopped spring onions (scallions) on top for some extra crunch.
More prawn recipes
If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on the blog then let us know how you got on in the comments below, we love hearing from you!
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Recipe
Chilli and Lime Prawn and Avocado Salad
Ingredients
- 240 g mixed lettuce
- 180 g cooked king prawns
- 0.5 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon red chilli flakes
- 1 lime - juice only
- 10 g coriander (cilantro) - finely chopped
- 2 garlic clove - crushed
- 1 avocado - sliced
- 0.25 cucumber - sliced
- 1 red onion - thinly sliced
- 100 ml lemon vinaigrette
Instructions
- Mix the prawns with the oil, coriander (cilantro), garlic, lime juice and chilli flakes. Add to a hot pan and fry for 2 minutes.
- Make the lemon vinaigrette and dress the salad leaves. Transfer to a serving bowl.
- Top the lettuce with the cucumber, avocado and cooked prawns.
Notes
- To store unused halves of avocado, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and place in fridge - it will be good until the next day. Don't worry if it goes a little brown, as you can just scrape that bit off and you will be left with bright green avocado.
- If you are using raw prawns, then cooking times will vary. Make sure prawns are fulling defrosted if you are using frozen prawns.
- Sprinkle some chopped spring onions (scallions) on top for some extra crunch.
Stephanie
I have never got on with avocados but I keep seeing people using them. I need to try some more recipes.