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 you will love 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
Ingredients needed
- 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.
A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
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.
More prawn recipes
If you’ve tried this prawn and avocado salad, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Chilli and Lime Prawn and Avocado Salad
Ingredients
- 240 g (9 oz) Mixed lettuce leaves
- 180 g (6.5 oz) King prawns
- 0.5 teaspoon Olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Red chilli flakes
- 1 Lime - juice only
- 10 g (0.66 cups) Fresh coriander (cilantro) - finely chopped
- 2 Garlic clove - crushed
- 1 Avocado - sliced
- 0.25 Cucumber - sliced
- 1 Red onion - thinly sliced
- 100 ml (0.5 cups) Lemon vinaigrette
Instructions
- Mix 180 g King prawns with 0.5 teaspoon Olive oil, 10 g Fresh coriander (cilantro), 2 Garlic clove, juice of 1 Lime and 1 teaspoon Red chilli flakes. Add to a hot pan and fry for 2 minutes.
- Make 100 ml Lemon vinaigrette and dress 240 g Mixed lettuce leaves. Transfer to a serving bowl.
- Top the lettuce with 0.25 Cucumber, 1 Avocado, 1 Red onion and the cooked prawns.
Recipe 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.
Nutritional Information
The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
Everything Mummy
This sounds so up my street! Love prawns love avocado great recipe xx
Candice Nikeia
Officially making this tonight! Yummy!
xoxo, Candice
This Mama Life
I'm not a big prawn fan but I love the sound of the flavours in this and it looks super yummy. How good do those tomatoes look?!x
amanda
Wow this looks delicious. I love all of these flavours! xx
Steph Oakes
This looks delicious and some of my favourite flavours. Thanks for sharing x
Melanie Edjourian
What a great salad, it looks like it would be very filling with a good range of flavours ;-)
Hannah
This looks so tasty, love how much colour is in the bowl!
Tara
Another fabulous looking recipe, thanks so much!
Baby Isabella
Sounds good but we'd probably leave the chilli flakes out as we're not a big fan of heat xx
Fashion and Style Police
I love anything with tomatoes in it. This recipe will be tried here for sure.
Anosa
Looks and sounds delicous, love tomatoes in everything over the summer! This is the kind of dish I would make for my lunch when at work, will be trying it this next week. Thanks for sharing... and congratulations!
anna nuttall
Yum this look amazing! i might make this sometime soon. xx
Rachel
I always grow tomatoes, there is something about the scent of them that I adore, and I love the idea of having them with an avocado and some prawns x
Vikki Beno
I never knew that cucumbers grew like that! I would love some more helpful gardening posts, as we are moving at the end of the year and I want to plant some things next summer, but nothing too complicated.
Cara
I have made this for my lunch tomorrow. It's too hot for anything other than a salad and I have loads of avocado that needs using up. I have put a whole avocado on this.
Tandy | Lavender and Lime
My tomatoes failed dismally but I'm going to move the pot and try again. On weekends when I'm doing a lot of cooking for the blog I manage more than 10 000 steps with ease. Not so during the week when I'm working. Lovely salad Dannii
mira
Healthy and delicious! This salad looks beautiful!
WhatLauraLoves
Oh this looks absolutely gorgeous, the perfect lunch! I prefer my avocado all smashed up so I reckon I'd do that then blob it on! xxx
Liz Mays
Oh yum! I know I'd like this. It would be a nice way to incorporate shrimp in a healthy way. My family loves shrimp.
Rhian Westbury
Chilli flavoured prawns are my favourites, this looks like such a nice salad x