Grilled Shrimp Louie Salad
This Shrimp Louie Salad is fresh, satisfying and bursting with flavor! It’s packed with succulent grilled shrimp, hard boiled egg, avocado and plenty of veggies, and it’s served with a creamy louie dressing. It may be prepped in advance so it’s great for busy weeknights or meal prep lunch!
I order loaded salads instead of entrees when I go out to eat most of the time, and I have several favorites that have inspired me to recreate them at home.
My salmon nicoise and chicken Cobb salad recipes have been favorites for years, and this Shrimp Louie salad is on top of my list of favorites as well.
The combination of shrimp, avocado, hard boiled egg, avocado and olives with fresh greens, juicy tomatoes and creamy louie dressing make this salad like no other.
It’s completely crave-worthy!
If you crave salads as much as I do, be sure to check out this collection of 30 Best Salad recipes!
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- Shrimp louie is fresh, satisfying and bursting with flavor.
- It’s dairy and gluten-free, and makes a healthy dinner or meal prep lunch.
- You can prepare components of the recipe in advance so it’s perfect for busy weeknights.
- It can be customized with your favorite seafood, veggies and can be made vegetarian as well.
Recipe ingredients
It doesn’t get better than a shrimp louie. It’s chock full of wholesome, satisfying ingredients and it can be customized based on what you have on hand.
Ingredient notes
- Shrimp. I love using grilled shrimp for this recipe because of its smoky flavor, but you can also use my blackened shrimp for added flavor. Cooked bay shrimp or fresh crab may also be used as well.
- Beets. I love prepping my oven roasted beets in advance to make assembly a breeze, but pre-cooked beets can also be purchased at most grocery stores.
- Hard boiled eggs. See my post on how to hard boil eggs for the perfect doneness, or purchase store bought to save time.
- Lettuce. I used a spring – butter lettuce blend, but any type of greens will work well.
- Veggies. Cherry tomatoes or diced tomato are a must, but if you don’t have any hand red bell pepper is a great substitution. Consider adding roasted asparagus or cooked green beans as well!
- Black olives. Sub with your favorite variety of olives.
- Dressing. I used my favorite homemade louie salad dressing to make this recipe.
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!
See the recipe card below for full instructions.
- 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 preheat the grill.
- Grill the shrimp for 2-3 minutes per side until cooked through.
- Divide the lettuce, beets, hard boiled egg, cherry tomatoes, olives and avocado between four large plates. Top with shrimp and drizzle with dressing.
FAQs
Louie salads (or Louis salads) are 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.
The salad originated in the early 1900’s on the West Coast of California. There were a few restaurants on record in San Francisco that served it as early as 1914.
The shrimp may be cooked on the grill, sautéed in a pan on the stove top, or you can use cooked bay shrimp as a time saver.
Yes, omit the seafood and serve with chickpeas or white beans.
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.
- Purchase peeled and deveined shrimp for a huge time saver!
- If you prefer not to grill the shrimp, you can either sauté it or serve cooked bay shrimp. This salad is also wonderful with fresh crab meat!
- For a vegetarian option, omit the seafood and serve with chickpeas or white beans.
More salad recipes you’ll love:
- Butter lettuce salad
- Horiatiki
- Italian chopped salad
- Santa Fe chicken salad
- Roasted beet salad
- Wedge salad from The View From Great Island
Grilled Shrimp Louie Salad
Ingredients
- 16 ounces large raw shrimp thawed if frozen, peeled and deveined
- 1 large lemon halved and divided
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 6 ounces spring lettuce or your favorite greens
- 2 oven roasted beets sliced (sub with pre-cooked beets)
- 4 large hard boiled eggs
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 avocado pitted and sliced
- 1 cup black olives drained
- Louie Salad Dressing
Instructions
Prepare the shrimp.
- Preheat the grill to medium. Place the shrimp in large bowl and toss with the juice from half of the lemon (reserve the other half), and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.16 ounces large raw shrimp, 1 large lemon, salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Place the shrimp on the skewers and grill for 2-3 minutes per side or until pink. Remove from heat and remove from the skewers once cool enough to handle.
Assemble the salads:
- Cut the remaining half a lemon into (4) wedges.
- Divide the lettuce, beets, hard boiled egg, cherry tomatoes, olives and avocado between (4) large plates. Top with the shrimp then drizzle with the desired amount of dressing. Serve with lemon wedges and enjoy!6 ounces spring lettuce, 2 oven roasted beets, 4 large hard boiled eggs, 2 cups cherry tomatoes, 1 avocado, 1 cup black olives, Louie Salad Dressing
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.
- Purchase peeled and deveined shrimp for a huge time saver!
- If you prefer not to grill the shrimp, you can use blackened shrimp or serve cooked bay shrimp. Louie salad is also wonderful with crab meat!
- For a vegetarian option, omit the seafood and serve with chickpeas or white beans.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
**This recipe was originally published in August 2018. Step by step photos have been added, and the text has been modified to include more recipe information.
11 Comments on “Grilled Shrimp Louie Salad”
Marcie, I’ve never heard of a louie salad, but I can tell you that your salad here is definitely one I want to try!! Especially that dressing!
I hope you get to try it Katherine — I think you’ll love it! 🙂
I love the variations of this salad, Marcie! I think I would like it topped with all three too, but shrimp sounds perfect for today. I’ve got to try your dressing and this salad looks gorgeous! So perfect for the summer, too. I can’t get enough of salads, especially this time of year!
Thanks so much Gayle — I hope you get to try it!
Okay I have to admit I’ve never heard of louie salad before but it sure does sound delicious!! So pretty too with all those colors! I love it!
Thanks Ashley! It’s pretty popular out here on the west coast…I hope you get to try it! 🙂
I love customizable salads. When you have a good salad dressing and base ingredients, it’s so fun to play with different add-ins. I’ve been on a shrimp kick lately, so this one is calling my name Marcie! Hope you have a great weekend!
I do too…you can always put a delicious salad together when a great dressing is in the fridge! Thanks Leanne!
Now, THIS is my type of salad! My husband doesn’t care for seafood but he’ll nosh on shrimp so this salad is an excellent way for us to enjoy some seafood before summer is over. It looks amazing!
Sounds like a win-win situation! Thanks Christina!
This salad is making a come back…I saw it last week at a restaurant in Florida. Yours certainly does look good.