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.
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.
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
- Lemongrass Vermicelli Salad (noodles in a salad is our love language)
- Rainbow Chicken Salad with Almond Honey Mustard Dressing (we won’t judge if you lick the salad bowl clean here)
- Super Quick Avocado Shrimp Salad (so fresh, so herby)
- Brussels and Kale Caesar with Cheezy Garlic Croutons (a vegan spin on the classic Caesar)
Watch How To Make This Recipe
Common Questions About This Shrimp and Avocado Salad
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.
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.
Sure! Our peanut-soy dressing or our creamy-sweet-sesame dressing would be good subs here.
Shrimp and Avocado Salad with Miso Dressing
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
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
For the salad:
- 1 teaspoon 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
- fresh chopped cilantro for topping
- peanuts for topping
- optional: fried wonton strips (see FAQs)
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 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- 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.
- Arrange all the salad veg in a bowl with the shrimp.
- 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
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Notes
Use more shrimp to make it, well, more shrimpy! Also – if you have fresh crab, heap that on there too!
- 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!
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.
Sorry to hear that, Sally! We appreciate the feedback!
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Wow, this is DELICIOUS! I was scared as I’ve never made anything with MISO paste and the flavor is outstanding!
So glad you enjoyed it, Eva! I thought the exact same thing when I used miso paste for the first time!
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.
Holy cow this is an awesome salad. This dressing is amazing. What a great combination of flavors!
So glad you enjoyed it!
This was SO GOOD! My husband and I absolutely loved it. He already wants me to make it again next week.
So glad it was a hit, Emma!
You mention oil in the dressing but don’t specify which one. Which do you recommend?
Many thanks,
Juliette
Hi Juliette! Olive oil will work just fine!
Where do you come up with these million dollar creative food dish ideas? L 😛 L
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.
This was such a standout dish!!! INCREDIBLE.
Awesome recipes, never knew that avacado dressing was so simple and easy.Thanks and looking forward to many more delicious recipes.
So glad you like the recipe!
What kind of oil should be used for the dressing? Would toasted sesame oil be good?
We probably wouldn’t recommend toasted sesame oil – we used olive oil here. 🙂
I just have to tell you this is my husband’s FAVORITE. We like to have one big entree salad for dinner a week, and he requests this one all the time. Thank you for a wonderful recipe 🙂
This recipe is the BEST. The dressing is sooooo good, super flavorful and tasty with minimal effort and work. My kind of cooking!
can i sub out the shrimp for salmon? salmon and miso is soo good.
For sure!
Bought a container of miso for another recipe. Have been looking for creative ways to use it. Think I’ve found it. Really liked the dressing.
Yay! Here’s another great one for miso: https://pinchofyum.com/clean-broccoli-salad
UNBELIEVABLY delicious!! This is was so crazy easy to make, too. The hardest part was finding the miso at a grocery store. This was good restaurant quality. Loved the combination of sweet and spicy. I ate more than just a forth of the recipe.
THIS DRESSING!!!!! I made this for dinner tonight and wow. I want to make it over and over. I thinned the dressing out a tiny bit with water, but other than that, I stuck to the recipe exactly. Soooo delish
I forgot – 5 stars!
I rarely take the time to comment on Pinterest, although it use it almost daily, (I know I should) however as I was making this recipe AGAIN, and I felt compelled to do so. This is our absolute favorite and I’ve probably made it 30+ times. It’s simple, healthy, and delicious. My 14 year old granddaughter requests it every time she’s here for dinner. Thanks for sharing.
today i repeat all the steps and believe me it’s become very tasty thank’s for your effort 🙂
I make this frequently as Scott loves it but I love it more! On the shopping list for tonight! YUM!
This looks amazing. Unfortunately my husband is allergic to cayenne and chili pepper. Can you think of any other good alternatives?
Hmmm you could try a little bit of cumin or cajun seasoning!
Made this tonight and it was amazing. Substituted the cayenne and chili pepper for cumin and smoked paprika since my husband can’t do spice. I also used brown rice miso since the store ran out of white miso. Will definitely be making again!
This recipe is absolutely amazing!
Delicious! Because I am trying to cut down on Sugar, I cut the agave nectar in 1/2. It was absolutely sweet enough.
Love how quick, healthy and delicious this turned out!