This fresh, citrusy shrimp orange and avocado quinoa salad is a healthy, delicious meal bursting with flavor! Meal prep ahead for an easy lunch, or serve warm for a light and easy spring dinner. (gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free)
One of my secret weapons for quick and easy meals? Frozen shrimp! Because it thaws and cooks so quickly, I always keep peeled, deveined shrimp on hand in my freezer. This is one of my absolute favorite meals to make for both myself and my family when I'm in the mood for something light, fresh, and easy to make, especially when I haven't planned anything ahead of time.
Why You'll Love This Shrimp Orange and Avocado Quinoa Salad
You'll want to make this shrimp, orange, and avocado quinoa salad well into spring and summer. It's bursting with citrusy, herby freshness, with just a hint of spice from the shrimp and onion. Balanced with creamy avocado and nutty quinoa, it's a light meal that is also filling and satisfying. With quick-cooking ingredients like quinoa and shrimp, this meal comes together quickly and effortlessly. It's delicious served right after cooking, or just as good served chilled for an easy make-ahead option.
What Makes This Meal Healthy?
This salad has all the components of a balanced, filling meal. Whole grains, healthy fat, protein and fiber with plenty of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants! We could all stand to eat more seafood in order to get the recommended 2 servings per week, and this shrimp salad is a great way to do that!
How To Make Shrimp Orange and Avocado Quinoa Salad
- If it's not cooked already, cook the quinoa by bringing dry quinoa and broth to a boil. Cover and simmer 15 minutes, or until all fo the liquid has been absorbed.
- Segment the orange. You can use this tutorial. Reserve the juice for the shrimp marinade.
- Combine orange juice, 1 tbs olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Stir in the shrimp.
- In a separate bowl, combine orange segments, onion, cilantro, avocado, lime juice, remaining olive oil and herbs. Gently stir and set aside.
- Heat a grill, grill pan or skillet to medium heat and cook the shrimp for 2-3 minutes.
- Plate quinoa, spoon orange mixture over it, and top with shrimp.
Make Ahead Tips
- The quinoa can be made up to 4 days in advance. I love using leftover quinoa to make this dish even easier!
- The entire salad can be made and stored in the refrigerator up to 3 days in advance. I recommend adding the avocado just before serving to avoid browning.
More Quinoa Salads You'll Love
- Roasted Eggplant and Kale Quinoa Salad
- Strawberry Avocado Quinoa Salad
- 3 Bean Quinoa Salad
- Blood Orange Quinoa Salad
- Red White and Blue Berry Quinoa Salad
If you made this recipe, please leave a star rating in the comments!
PrintEasy Shrimp, Orange and Avocado Quinoa Salad
This fresh, citrusy shrimp orange and avocado quinoa salad is a healthy, delicious meal bursting with flavor! Meal prep ahead for an easy lunch, or serve warm for a light and easy spring dinner. (gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: main dish
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the quinoa:
- ¾ cup dry quinoa
- 1 ½ cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
For the shrimp:
- 2 large navel oranges
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 ½ lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
For the salad:
- Juice from 2 limes
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ small red onion, very thinly sliced
- ¼ cup fresh mint, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 large avocado, thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, bring quinoa and broth to a gentle boil. Cover and simmer 15 minutes, or until quinoa has absorbed all of the liquid. Remove from heat and let stand. Fluff before serving.
- Meanwhile, segment oranges by cutting away outside peel and membranes, then working around the orange, separating the segments from the membranes. See this tutorial for more detail. Set orange segments aside.
- Squeeze juice from orange membranes into a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine. Stir in peeled shrimp.
- In another large bowl, combine orange segments, lime juice, remaining 2 tablespoon olive oil, onions, mint, parsley, cilantro and avocado. Gently stir to combine. Set aside.
- Heat a grill, grill pan, or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook shrimp 2-3 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Remove from heat.
- Plate quinoa, top with orange mixture, then top with shrimp.
Keywords: shrimp orange avocado salad, shrimp with oranges avocado herbs and quinoa
This post was originally published March 2018 and has been updated.
Janice Edwards says
I will try this recipe, I love shrimp salad.
Kaleigh says
Thanks G! It's Landon's favorite!
chicagojog says
This looks so fresh and healthy! Perfect for spring.
Kaleigh says
Thank you!