Grilled Shrimp Louie Salad

Name: Grilled Shrimp Louie Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 75 min
Ingredients: 4 baby beets ((or pre-cooked beets)); 4 large hard boiled eggs; 16 ounces large uncooked (thawed shrimp, peeled and deveined); 1 large lemon (halved and divided); salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste); 4 large metal or wooden skewers; 6 ounces lettuce mix (I used spring and butter lettuce); 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes (halved); 1 avocado (pitted and sliced); 1 cup black olives (drained); Homemade No Mayo Louie Salad Dressing

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by Marcie // August 22, 2018 (updated 6/8/21)

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Grilled Shrimp Louie Salad is a loaded salad like no other! It’s filled with smoky grilled shrimp, creamy avocado and is drizzled with a fresh, creamy homemade louie salad dressing!

shrimp louie salad with dressing drizzled over

In my last post, I shared my creamy, delicious Louie Dressing, so you must’ve known a salad was coming next right? I forgot to mention it, which may have had you all on the edge of your seats in suspense.

That’s silly because the only logical recipe I could post for louie dressing is louie salad. The only suspenseful part would be whether I chose to top it with crab, shrimp or go rogue and do a vegetarian spin.

When I was developing my dressing, I tried out every variation I listed above. I enjoyed it with grilled shrimp, fresh crab and ate the leftovers with chickpeas.

While I loved each variation, there’s nothing like a Shrimp Louie Salad for me. 🙂

I’ve loved louie salads for years. Normally the shrimp is bay shrimp and I used to be happy with that until I came across one with grilled prawns at one of my favorite local restaurants.

The smoky, succulent prawns were so much better to me than cold bay shrimp, and now grilled shrimp is a must atop my louie salad.

You just have to try it and see for yourself.

What is a louie salad?

If you’re not familiar with louie salads, I’ll give you a brief rundown. The Crab Louie Salad (also known as Crab Louis Salad or the King of Salads) originated in the early 1900’s on the West Coast of California. There were a few restaurants on record in San Francisco that served the this salad as early as 1914.

They’re typically served cold or at room temperature with fresh crab meat or bay shrimp, hard boiled egg, olives, tomato and sometimes asparagus, and it includes a creamy dressing similar to Thousand Island, but it’s not as sweet.

If you’re in a really fine restaurant, you may even get lucky and come across a lobster louie salad. 🙂

Why you’ll love this recipe:

It’s packed with veggies and drizzled with a creamy shrimp louie dressing. Trust me, this is not your average lettuce salad!
You can prepare components of the recipe in advance, so throwing together a quick green salad with shrimp throughout the week is easily doable.
There are a variety of flavors and textures in every bite, so it’s impossible to get bored of this salad.

Recipe ingredients

If you’ve never had a shrimp louie salad before, the ingredients list may seem unconventional to you. However, the combination of roasted beets, juicy tomatoes, creamy avocado, and grilled shrimp never gets old.

Ingredient notes

Beets. I roasted my own beets in advance, but pre-cooked beets can also be purchased at most grocery stores.
Hard boiled eggs. I have entire post on how to hard boil eggs, so give it a read if you need some pointers.
Lettuce. I used a spring – butter lettuce blend, but use your favorite greens.
Black olives. Can be omitted, but their brininess offsets the creamy dressing perfectly.
Dressing. I used my favorite homemade louie salad dressing to make this recipe.

Close up of shrimp louie salad in white bowl

How to make this recipe

This shrimp louie recipe does require some extra prep work, but the majority of ingredients may be made ahead. Pro tip: Roast the beets, hard boil the eggs and prepare the dressing up to 2 days in advance!

If using fresh beets, roast them until tender. Remove the skins and cut into wedges.
Place the shrimp in large bowl and toss with the juice from half of a lemon, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Place the shrimp on skewers and grill until pink. Remove from heat and remove from the skewers once cool enough to handle.
Divide the lettuce, beets, hard boiled egg, cherry tomatoes, olives and avocado between four large plates.
Top with the shrimp then drizzle with the desired amount of dressing. Serve with lemon wedges and enjoy!

FAQs

Does the shrimp have to be grilled?

No, if grilling isn’t your thing, you can sauté the shrimp in a pan or use cooked bay shrimp.

Can the louie salad be made vegetarian?

Yes, omit the seafood and serve with chickpeas or white beans.

Can the shrimp louie recipe be prepared in advance?

The beets, hard boiled eggs and shrimp may all be made a day or two in advance to make the salad much easier to prepare the day that you’re serving it.

The dressing may also be prepared in advance and stored in the fridge for up to one week.

Recipe Notes

Pro tip: Roast the beets, prepare the hard boiled eggs and dressing up to 2 days in advance. The shrimp may be prepared a day ahead as well.
If you prefer not to grill the shrimp, you can either sauté it or serve cooked bay shrimp. This salad is also wonderful with crab meat!
For a vegetarian option, omit the seafood and serve with chickpeas or white beans.

Overhead shot of shrimp louie salad in white bowl with dressing and fork

More scrumptious salad recipes:

Horiatiki
Salmon nicoise salad
Santa Fe chicken salad
Chicken shawarma salad
Roasted beet salad
Wedge salad from The View From Great Island

If you make this recipe I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment and rating below, or snap a photo and tag me @flavorthemoments on Instagram!