Shrimp and Avocado Salad with Miso Dressing Recipe - Pinch of Yum
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Shrimp and Avocado Salad with Miso Dressing

60 reviews / 4.8 average

This Shrimp and Avocado Salad is topped with spicy shrimp, crisp cucumbers, spinach, creamy avocado, and a generous drizzle of miso dressing. The happiest green salad ever!

Hello! This is a happy little green salad loaded with tender juicy shrimp, buttery avocado, crisp cucumber bites, peanuts, cilantro, limes, homemade wonton strips if you are gonna go all out, and a heavy-handed pour of light, creamy, and perfectly sweet miso dressing. And it wants to be friends with you.

This salad reminds me of one of my most locked-in-pre-orders of all time from California Pizza Kitchen. That’s right, I just brought CPK back into your life. The locations near us have since closed (honestly, why? RIP) but I vow to never forget my favorite order of all time: their miso shrimp and crab salad. Oh my good greens. It was piled high with crab and shrimp, and avocado, and crispy wontons, and miso dressing. It was deliciously fresh, crispy, and wonderful. Or is it still? Are CPKs open somewhere near you? Please go order this salad if you are so lucky.

Shrimp and Avocado Salad with Miso Dressing in a Bowl.

What’s In This Delicious Shrimp Salad?

This is a completely simplified version, because maybe I didn’t happen to remember to look for a daikon radish at the grocery store this weekend, and maybe I don’t keep crab stocked in my fridge, and maybe my thumb was too tired from phone usage to shred carrots. AND MAYBE I LIKE SIMPLE.

So for all the above reasons, I just kept this shrimp and avocado salad pretty straightforward.

  • Shrimp (a teeny bit spicy, because duh)
  • Avocado
  • Spinach or Baby Kale
  • Cucumber
  • Some Lil’ Fried Wonton Strips (if time and energy allow)
  • and Creamy, Sweet, Fabulous Miso Dressing.
Close-up of Shrimp and Avocado Salad with Miso Dressing in a bowl.

Let’s Discuss Homemade Wonton Strips

A word about those homemade wonton strips: just cut wonton wrappers into strips and fry them in a little bit of oil over low heat; drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

You will most likely find yourself in the same predicament that we did, which was sitting down to a big bowl of shrimp and avocado salad only to find that WOOPS we ate all the wonton strips already. Very addicting.

The Miso Dressing Is a Must

And now for one final note about the dressing: it’s a MISO DRESSING. It’s not too hard to find miso paste if you ask (I shop at very mainstream grocery stores and can usually find it tucked away in the refrigerated food section) but it’s worth noting that miso does have a really unique taste.

BA says that miso is “a fermented paste that’s made by inoculating a mixture of soybeans with a mold called koji (for you science folks, that’s the common name for Aspergillus oryzae) that’s been cultivated from rice, barley, or soybeans.” Being NOT one of the food science folks, all I know is that the lighter varieties of miso are sweet-ish and add a really yummy depth to sauces and soups and roasted veggies and the like.

Don’t let that description scare you. This dressing is SO good! But if you’re not sure, or if you just can’t find it, use this more basic creamy-sweet sesame dressing. Or this peanut-soy creamy dressing. You have options for deliciousness, is what I’m saying.

More Flavorful Salads To Love

Watch How To Make This Recipe

Common Questions About This Shrimp and Avocado Salad

How do I make the homemade wonton strips?

Just cut fresh wonton wrappers into lil’ strips and fry them in a little bit of oil over low heat; drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

Can I use a different variety of miso paste here?

Yellow or red miso would each lend a bit of a different flavor compared to white miso and we’d really recommend white miso here.

I can’t find white miso. Any dressing substitutes?

Sure! Our peanut-soy dressing or our creamy-sweet-sesame dressing would be good subs here.

Print
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Avocado and Shrimp on a bed of greens.

Shrimp and Avocado Salad with Miso Dressing


Description

This Shrimp and Avocado Salad is topped with spicy shrimp, crisp cucumbers, spinach, creamy avocado, and a generous drizzle of miso dressing. The happiest green salad ever! 


Ingredients

Units Scale

For the Salad

  • 1 clove minced garlic
  • 1/2 pound raw shrimp, tails removed
  • 1/2 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1 1/2 cups sliced avocados (2 small)
  • 1 cucumber, diced
  • 4 cups spinach or baby kale, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro for topping
  • 1/4 cup peanuts for topping

Fried Wonton Strips (optional, but not really)

  • 1 package wonton wrappers
  • 1 cup canola oil

For the Dressing

  • one 1-inch piece of fresh peeled ginger
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • 3 tablespoons lime juice (more to taste)
  • 2 tablespoons agave nectar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons white miso (it’s a paste – you can buy it at many grocery stores these days)
  • 1/2 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Heat the butter in a small skillet over medium high heat. Add the garlic and shrimp; sprinkle with the chili powder and cayenne directly in the pan. Sauté for a few minutes on each side until the shrimp are no longer clear and have a nice golden color on the outside.
  2. Make the homemade wonton strips by cutting fresh wonton wrappers into lil’ strips and fry them in about 1 cup canola oil over low heat; drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.
  3. Arrange all the salad veg in a bowl with the shrimp.
  4. Puree all the dressing ingredients together in a food processor until smooth. Taste and adjust to your preferences. Pour the dressing over the salad and serve immediately (or store the individual parts separately in the refrigerator until ready to serve). Top with fresh cilantro and peanuts for crunch.

Equipment

Notes

Use more shrimp to make it, well, more shrimpy! Also – if you have fresh crab, heap that on there too!

  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 15 mins
  • Category: Lunch
  • Method: Sauté
  • Cuisine: American

Keywords: shrimp and avocado salad, miso dressing, shrimp salad


One More Thing!

This recipe is part of our collection of easy shrimp recipes. Check it out!

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212 Comments

  1. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Delicious! For 2 people I kept everything basically the same but just used half an avocado and half a cucumber. I also added half a cup of frozen mukimame

  2. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I am in love with this wonderful way to plan a week’s worth of fantastic meals!

  3. Pinch of Yum Logo

    This is so so easy and delicious! Perfect balance of flavors and textures. I’ve never used white miso before and really liked it.

  4. Pinch of Yum Logo

    If it makes you feel any better, we have CPK near me and that salad is not on the menu. I’m sad I can’t go get it, but I will sure make yours. It sounds delish!

  5. Pinch of Yum Logo

    OMG love a salad with shrimp! such a great way to make salad interesting, and a miso dressing? such a great idea, never heard of that!

  6. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I love this recipe! It’s a great lunch or appetizer salad and the dressing is pure genius!

    If I wanted to make a large batch of this dressing for other salads, how long do you think it would stay fresh in a sealed container?

  7. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Very good!

    I left out the crispy wontons and added some garlic chives to the salad and some hot pepper flakes into the dressing!

  8. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Thank you very much for this recipe. I really loved it. Long live vegan!!! Long live marketing!
    Here is a quinoa salad recipe you must try
    200g white quinoa
    Salt (two spoons)
    Tomato (1)
    Cucumber
    Shallot (1)
    Parsley
    For the vinaigrette
    Lemon
    Vinegar
    Olive oil
    Garlic.
    Prepare the ingredients and place them next to each other. Then make the dressing in the correct order. Pour the quinoa into the dressing and chop the vegetables. Mix everything well. Try to eat it fresh.
    Well, I get a bit carried away when it comes to cooking.
    I wrote an article on the benefits of quinoa
    https://www.marocorganic.ma/6-benefits-of-quinoa-the-supergrain/?lang=en
    Take a look if you want to learn more.
    Thank you again!

  9. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I did not like this salad at all. The dressing was waaaaay too salty for me. I don’t know why you would add salt to a dressing with miso paste. I followed the directions exactly with one exception, I only used about one tablespoon of olive oil, any more and it would be too much. It didn’t look very appealing, very monochromatic with the exception of the shrimp. It definitely could have benefited from some grape tomatoes and red onion. I really wanted to like it but the saltiness killed it for me.

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      When I make a recipe, I leave the item that I don’t like out and/or replace it with something else. I can control my salt intake by reducing the amount called for, or omitting it altogether.

    2. Pinch of Yum Logo

      I cut the saltiness and made the dressing a little creamier with some heavy cream. It was delightful.

  10. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Wow, this is DELICIOUS! I was scared as I’ve never made anything with MISO paste and the flavor is outstanding!

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      So glad you enjoyed it, Eva! I thought the exact same thing when I used miso paste for the first time!

  11. Pinch of Yum Logo

    If that’s not the most appetizing salad I’ve ever tasted, I don’t know what is. I love it, but fresh avocados of good consistency are so hard to find.

  12. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Holy cow this is an awesome salad. This dressing is amazing. What a great combination of flavors!

  13. Pinch of Yum Logo

    This was SO GOOD! My husband and I absolutely loved it. He already wants me to make it again next week.

  14. Pinch of Yum Logo

    You mention oil in the dressing but don’t specify which one. Which do you recommend?

    Many thanks,

    Juliette

  15. Pinch of Yum Logo

    This recipe caught my eye while browsing e-mail. Always looking for quick meals for the two of us. This one satisfies our desire for seafood & eating healthy. Thank you.

  16. Pinch of Yum Logo

    What kind of oil should be used for the dressing? Would toasted sesame oil be good?