Simple and Easy Cold Shrimp Salad

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This simple and easy cold shrimp salad with mayo, chives, red onions, celery, and horseradish is one of my favorite light and crunchy cold salad recipes.

Shrimp Salad w/ Horseradish, Chives, Lemon In A White Bowl.

The addition of horseradish to cold shrimp salad gives it a gentle spiciness. Add more or less to your shrimp salad depending on your spice level preference. The lemon juice and zest give shrimp salad a touch more pizazz and tang.

Shrimp season, summer, and cold salad recipes = happiness.

Stainless steel bowl of headless, shell on raw shrimp on ice. — *Keep raw shrimp on ice while you peel and devein them.*

How To Make Cold Shrimp Salad

It's so easy to make cold shrimp salad, especially if the shrimp are already peeled and deveined. Watch the video in the recipe for tips on peeling and deveining shrimp.

Shrimp salad can be made whole, chopped into chunks, or diced into tiny and small pieces. It's a preference thing. Generally diced shrimp salads are easier to eat, but larger chunks are more "rustic".

Dice the shrimp and set aside. I like to mix all the ingredients except the shrimp first and then fold in the shrimp.

So, in a mixing bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, lemon zest and juice, horseradish, herbs, and onions. Fold in the shrimp. BOOM! Cold shrimp salad for everyone!

Now, the hardest part - place the chopped shrimp salad in the refrigerator and wait for it to chill for a couple hours. That will give the time for all the ingredients to meld together and get cold and work together for the best tasting shrimp salad.

Chopped Cooked Shrimp on wood Cutting Board with chef's knife. — *Finely chopped cooked shrimp.*

FAQS About Cold Shrimp Salad Recipe:

What flavors go well with Cold Shrimp Salad?

Change up the herbs and spices to make a similar but different salad. Try old bay seasoning to cook the shrimp in, or lime zest and juice instead of lemon zest and juice. Any herb will really elevate and change the flavor. Try chopped fresh dill, cilantro, mint, or tarragon instead of parsley.

What do I serve Shrimp Salad with?

Serve shrimp salad over greens, as a taco, on a sandwich, with crackers, in an avocado half, over vegetables, or with cold cooked macaroni pasta.

Can I freeze Shrimp Salad?

Nope. Don't do it. Just don't. 🙂

How long does Cold Shrimp Salad stay good for in the refrigerator?

3-4 days in an airtight container. Let your nose and tastebuds be your guide.

How healthy is Shrimp Salad?

Healthy is a relative term dependent on what we are trying to accomplish with our diet and lives. I'm calling this shrimp salad healthy. It's keto, low carb, whole30 (pick an approved mayo), paleo (pick an approved mayo), and gluten free. But honestly, it's healthy because it's all real ingredients in my opinion.

Chopped shrimp salad w/ herbs on 2 pieces of toast on a wood cutting board. Golden Beets in background. — *Throw shrimp salad on some toast or bread or make a sandwich.*

Simple and Easy Cold Shrimp Salad

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5 from 2 reviews

EatSimpleFood.com

This easy and simple cold shrimp salad with mayo, chives, red onions, celery, and horseradish is one of my favorite light and crunchy cold salad recipes.

Author: beckie
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4
Category: Main Dish
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: Coastal
Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

1 lb shrimp, peeled & deveined
½ cup (2 stalks) celery, finely diced
2 tablespoon chives, finely sliced
3 tablespoon red onions, finely diced
½ cup mayonnaise
zest from one lemon
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tablespoon prepared minced horseradish
2 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
salt
black pepper

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add ½ teaspoon salt. Add shrimp and cook ~ 3-5 minutes or until done.
Blanch shrimp in ice cold water to stop the cooking process and make them cooler to handle.
Drain water and chop shrimp.
Mix all ingredients, except shrimp, in a large bowl. Add chopped shrimp and stir.
Add more mayonnaise, salt and pepper to taste. Toss in more horseradish if you like it spicier.
Serve cold shrimp salad over lettuce greens, or with crackers, toasted bread, or as a sandwich. Happy Eating! Beckie

Notes

This shrimp salad recipe tastes best when it has time to chill in the refrigerator for a couple hours.
Keep the raw shrimp on ice while you peel and devein it. This step is not necessary if working with a small amount of shrimp or if you're fast with your "peel and devein shrimp game".
Don't like peeling and deveining shrimp? Buy them already done. Most grocery stores will also sell cooked shrimp which would work for this recipe.
Raw frozen shrimp that have been defrosted will also work for this cold shrimp salad recipe.
Keep the shells and combine with water, salt, and your favorite herb or spices to make a killer homemade seafood stock / broth.

What Goes With Shrimp Salad

Eat cold shrimp salad as is by the spoonful or with

some lettuce or greens
on toast with a little more mayo and avocado
as a sandwich
or mixed with some cold pasta like macaroni

Some of my favorite side dish recipes to serve with cold shrimp salad are:

Pickled Golden Beets
Lemon Dill Orzo Pasta (Cold Pasta Salad Recipe)
Addicting Avocado Cucumber Salad Recipe
Easy And Simple Summer Salad

The "LowDown" On Shrimp:

Don't like peeling and deveining shrimp? Buy them already done. Most grocery stores also sell cooked shrimp which would work for this cold shrimp salad recipe.

Shrimp can also be peeled and deveined after boiling if you don't like to peel and devein raw.

Raw frozen shrimp that have been defrosted will also work for this cold shrimp salad recipe.

TIP: Keep the shrimp shells and combine with water, salt, and your favorite herb or spices (YUM - Old Bay Seasoning is delicious!) to make a killer homemade shrimp broth.

Things In My Kitchen:

Shrimp peeler & deveiner– There’s a lot of fancy & expensive shrimp peelers & deveiners out there. This inexpensive, plastic one works the best for me. I am lost without it.

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Serving Suggestion

Serve this Cold Shrimp Salad recipe with a complementary dish like a cold soup, a salad, or try it with another summer favorite, a tomato tart.