Cucumber Shrimp Salad

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This cucumber shrimp salad is a deliciously fresh twist on a classic. Juicy, bite-sized shrimp gets tossed with crisp cucumbers, green onion, fresh dill, and a creamy lime dressing. It will hit the spot for an easy-to-make and protein-packed lunch or dinner idea!

Cucumber shrimp salad in a large serving bowl next to limes

It’s a Chopped Shrimp Salad!

Just when I thought I created the best shrimp salad ever, in comes this cucumber version with a creamy lime dill dressing. As luck would have it, it miraculously came together with leftover veggies in my fridge, plus a new frozen bag of shrimp. But it’s these types of “throw together” recipes that always turn out the best (similar to my salmon salad).

This cucumber shrimp salad is crisp, creamy, and one of those meals you can just keep on eating – yes, it’s that good. Plus, it’s the perfect balance of protein and veggies. So if healthy meal prep is on your mind, consider this a quick-to-make, super tasty shrimp recipe that will elevate your weekly meal prep in a heartbeat.

Ingredients for cucumber shrimp salad on a table

Cucumber Shrimp Salad Ingredients

Think of this as a classic creamy shrimp salad, with an extra green spin. And with how bite-sized the pieces are, it’s almost like a creamy shrimp ceviche. Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Shrimp: You can use freshly caught shrimp (if you live near the water) or a frozen bag of peeled and deveined shrimp. Either works!
  • Cucumber: I’m using an English cucumber for a heartier, crunchy bite. But you could also use Persian cucumbers if that’s more your thing.
  • Green Onions: A few green onions keep the green theme going!
  • Creamy Things: The base of the dressing is a combination of mayonnaise, sour cream, and a hint of Dijon mustard.
  • Limes: If you can, grab a bigger lime for this recipe. But if you only have access to smaller limes, grab two.
  • Herbs: Fresh dill is the best herb to complement the rest of the flavors happening in this salad. But you could also use parsley, cilantro or tarragon.

Find the printable recipe with measurements below

Diced cucumber and green onions on a board for cucumber shrimp salad

How to Make Cucumber Shrimp Salad

30-minute meals are something we all love to hear, and this cucumber shrimp salad is just that. Heck, this can even be made in 25 minutes if you’re speedy in the kitchen! Here’s how you make it:

Make the dressing. Stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lime zest and juice, dill, mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper. Set aside or place in the fridge.

Mixing lime dressing in a bowl for cucumber shrimp salad

Cook the shrimp. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Then add the shrimp and cook for a short 2 to 3 minutes, until cooked through and pink.

Boiling shrimp in a pot for cucumber shrimp salad

Chill the shrimp. While the shrimp are cooking, prep an ice water bath. Transfer the shrimp to the ice water bath with a skimmer. Let them cool for 3 minutes, then drain them in a colander.

Chilling shrimp in a bowl for cucumber shrimp salad

Stir everything together. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the chilled shrimp (that you’ve chopped into bite-sized pieces), green onion, diced cucumber, and dressing until it’s all combined. Now, it’s ready to serve!

Mixed cucumber shrimp salad in a glass bowl

Ways to Serve Shrimp Salad

This cold shrimp salad works wonders for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I personally love to wrap it with butter leaf lettuce. But here’s some other tasty options to use as the base for this salad.

  • Lettuce wraps: Spoon this salad on top of butter leaf lettuce or romaine lettuce. And if you want this as more of a salad, top it on a bowl of your favorite leafy greens.
  • Stuffed Avocados: Since this shrimp salad is diced up into smaller pieces, you can stuff a spoonful in avocado slices (just like my tuna stuffed avocados).
  • Tortilla wrap: Use any type of tortilla to wrap this up with some spinach or alfalfa sprouts. And if you’re gluten-free, I highly recommend my cassava flour tortillas. They mimic that soft and chewy flour tortilla we know and love.
  • Sandwich: Make this into a shrimp salad sandwich with layers of spinach in between.
A large bowl of cucumber shrimp salad

Storage Tips

Fresh shrimp salad is always best (and will probably get devoured the day you make it). But you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days if you decide to meal prep it.

Helpful tip: Since this has mayo in it, don’t leave it out at room temperature past a few hours. It will spoil quickly!

Close up of cucumber shrimp salad

More Easy Shrimp Recipes

It’s always a good idea to incorporate shrimp into your protein rotation. And if you want more fresh salad ideas for summer, this list of salad recipes won’t disappoint.

This cucumber shrimp salad is truly a summer staple, or any time of year for that matter. If you make it, let me know how it turned out in a comment below!

A large serving bowl of cucumber shrimp salad

Cucumber Shrimp Salad

5 from 21 votes
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Lisa Bryan

Description

This cucumber shrimp salad is a deliciously fresh twist on a classic. Juicy, bite-sized shrimp gets tossed with crisp cucumbers, green onion, fresh dill, and a creamy lime dressing. Watch the video below!

Video

Ingredients 
 

  • 2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1 English cucumber, small diced
  • 3 green onions, thinly sliced

Creamy Lime Dressing

  • cup mayonnaise
  • cup sour cream
  • 1 large lime, zested and juiced (about 2 teaspoons zest and 2 tablespoons juice)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions 

  • Make the dressing. To make the dressing, stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lime zest and juice, dill, mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper. Set aside or place in the fridge.
    Mixing lime dressing for cucumber shrimp salad
  • Cook the Shrimp. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the shrimp and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until cooked through and pink.
    A pot of boiled shrimp for cucumber shrimp salad
  • Make an Ice Water Bath. While the shrimp are cooking, prepare an ice water bath. Remove the shrimp to the ice water bath using a skimmer. Let them cool for 3 minutes, then drain them in a colander. Chop them into bite-sized pieces.
    Shrimp with ice in a bowl for cucumber shrimp salad
  • Stir it all together. In a mixing bowl, stir together the chopped shrimp, green onion, diced cucumber, and dressing, until creamy.
    Mixing cucumber shrimp salad in a glass bowl

Lisa’s Tips

  • Make sure you’ve got a good, juicy lime. If you have smaller Mexican or Persian limes, you may want to grab two of them.

Nutrition

Calories: 188kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 315mg | Potassium: 190mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 327IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Cucumber Shrimp Salad, Shrimp Salad
Did you make this recipe?Mention @downshiftology or tag #downshiftology!

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About the author

Lisa Bryan

Lisa is a bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, and YouTuber (with over 2.5 million subscribers) living in sunny Southern California. She started Downshiftology in 2014, and is passionate about making healthy food with fresh, simple and seasonal ingredients.

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Recipe Rating




52 Comments

  1. Perfect balance of lightness from the cucumber and creaminess with the yogurt! So versatile too! I can put it into a wrap with some additional greens or just eat it the way it is.5 stars

  2. I made 1/2 recipe. Loved the fresh vegetables and fresh dill. I added radish to it and this added a beautiful red color.5 stars

  3. Everybody loves when I make this. I may be addicted to it-it’s so fresh and filling and super easy to make- it’s ridiculous. Thank you for this recipe!! <3<3<35 stars

  4. Delicious! My Book Club ladies were impressed and almost smacking their lips. My daughter forwarded this recipe to me. Thanks Robyn.5 stars

  5. This salad was absolutely delicious. It was easy to make and my family loved it, so much so I will need to double the recipe next time around. What a cool refreshing salad on a hot and humid Florida summer day.5 stars

  6. I’m in south Florida, out gardening in 90+ degrees. I came in and found this in my emails. This is just what I needed! Super easy, super good! I added fresh avocado since my tree has been overproducing this year. (I always follow a recipe exactly the first time I make it but the avocados are taking over my kitchen!) Thank you for a wonderful, delicious treat.5 stars

  7. I don’t care for boiled shrimp so I made a marinade with lime juice olive oil and garlic then sauted also added chopped romaine was easy and delicious …TY5 stars

  8. What a spectacular salad!! I rarely make changes to your recipes, but as I didn’t have sour cream at home, I substituted it with Greek yogurt. The result was surprisingly creamy and divine – simply wow! I absolutely adored this recipe. Although it’s perfect for the summertime with its refreshing qualities, the addition of shrimp gave it a comforting and cozy twist. Thank you for this wonderful dish!5 stars

  9. Lisa, you were right about quick meal prep!
    I cheated by using precooked large prawns, which made it even easier! I also added fresh English celery for added crunch.
    I served in a seeded wrap with leaves of romane lettuce. One was plenty with our yoghurt and fresh fruit pudding 😋
    Keep the ideas coming… very inspirational 👏
    Dawn

  10. This recipe was easy, tasty and refreshing. The ingredients were readily available and so simple to make for meal prep.5 stars

  11. Oh Lisa!! New favorite salad hands down!! Thank you so much! This one is probably going to be on constant repeat for me!! 5 stars

  12. Hi Lisa I love your recipes! I’m dairy free and would very much like your suggestions on making this salad without sour cream.  Thank you for all your hard work! 

  13. Super delicious! This salad packs a punch of flavour but it’s so simple to prepare. I love the creaminess and freshness it has. It’s a perfect, tasty meal to prepare for the summer months.5 stars

  14. We made this last night. It was ok, I think it might have been better if I had chopped up the shrimp – I didn’t see that as a step. We recently made the Downshiftology ultimate chicken salad and that was off the charts!! This, by comparison, was a nice meal but not sure I’d make it again. I tend to make shrimp salad with bell peppers, avocado, mango and lime dressing and that’s incredible. But I’m still a huge Downshiftology fan, this recipe is just less for me :o)

  15. This was a great recipe, so easy to make.
    I actually purchased precooked shrimp and just took the tails off, so made it even easier and faster. I was able to eat this over a couple days, dinner the first night and then lunches for a few days.
    I also added avocado for extra creaminess. I used new avocado every serving, so they didn’t get brown.5 stars

  16. Thanks for the delicious recipe. It is the perfect dish for a hot summer day! Your blog and pictures show ground black pepper but it is not listed on the recipe so I missed it the first time.

  17. I have never EVER put mayo in anything in my life but I knew I could trust you with this.
    As I didn’t have enough shrimp, I added some celery and it turned out perfect 😍
    Really yummy summer salad!5 stars

  18. Just made this and it taste so good! I was surprised recipe calls for 2lbs of shrimp but I followed it and it was good with all those shrimps in it!5 stars

  19. Oh my gosh! This might be one of my favourite salads! The dressing really pulls everything together. I had my friend take a bite and shes a fan as well!5 stars

  20. This was a pleasant surprise!  The salad is delicious.   Crunchy and creamy and light!  The dill dressing is fantastic.  The only alteration I made was to use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic (due to dietary restriction) and also I added 1 teaspoon of sugar to take the edge off the lime a bit. This recipe is easy to make and it’s a real hit!   5 stars