Mango Shrimp Salad

So, now that I’ve caught up on posting a bunch of delicious salad recipes from my big balsamic glazed chicken bender last year, seems like it’s about time to share my calamansi shrimp mango salad!

This is probably my absolute favorite of the lot, just a really great summer salad.

I love everything about it. It’s a colorful salad with a ton of fresh summer ingredients, and has a variety of textures in play.

The juicy shrimp is perfectly accented by the sweet and tropical flavors from both the juicy mango, and the calamansi based salad dressing.

Oooh that Calamansi Dressing! It’s the perfect way to dress any shrimp mango avocado salad!

Anyway, even just looking at this salad makes me happy - especially when we have watermelon radish for it.

The colours, the flavours, the textures - it’s a really great salad.

The best part?

It’s kind of like the little black dress of salads.

It’s quick and easy enough for a casual weeknight dinner, but fancy enough for a dinner party. A great salad to serve in the summer, and it’s a great way to bring some brightness to your life in the winter.

It’s a light lunch, but also satisfying and packed with protein and nutrients .

Finally, it’s really inclusive. Not only is it a gluten free salad, it’s dairy free, grain free, AND complies with both paleo diet and AIP diet restrictions.

What’s not to love?

Ingredients

This recipe uses some pretty basic ingredients - for the most part - but you should be able to find almost everything you need in most larger grocery stores.

I have some ingredient notes for you, though:

Raw Shrimp

You can use fresh shrimp or frozen shrimp, just be sure that frozen shrimp are fully thawed and drained before using them.

You’ll also want to be sure they’re deveined and peeled, whether you bought them that way, or do so yourself.

Finally, you can use any size shrimp you want, my personal preference is for medium or medium-large shrimp, just for the ease in cooking them through without scorching the glaze.

Calamansi Juice

I LOVE Calamansi juice, and I buy a ton of the stuff any time I go to Seafood City.

It’s basically a Filipino lime, but I feel like that doesn’t do it justice. It’s got an obviously citrus flavour, but also *tropical*. It’s complex and amazing, I’m totally addicted to the stuff.

You can find calamansi juice in Filipino grocery stores, and some larger Asian grocery stores in general.

Yuzu would be a great option as a substitute, but fresh lime juice will also work - just without that “tropical” edge.

Fresh Mango

For best results, avoid using unripe mangoes - the best flavor comes from perfectly ripe (or slightly over ripe) mangoes.

We usually use atulfo mangoes, or “honey mangoes”. They have a great texture, and is a nice, sweet mango. We find they tend to be sweeter than regular mangoes.

Fresh Ingredients

Beyond the mango, there’s a bunch of other fresh produce you’ll need.

In terms of the base salad, you can use whatever crisp greens you like: iceberg lettuce, mixed green leaf lettuce, spring mix, romaine lettuce, maybe a bit of arugula.

Sometimes we’ll add a bit of shredded cabbage for a little bit of crunch - red cabbage/purple cabbage, green cabbage, napa cabbage, it’s all good.

Rounding out the produce, you’ll need:

Avocado
Celery
English Cucumber
Fresh Cilantro
Green Onion
Watermelon Radish

If you can’t find watermelon radish, use regular - the bite is a great contrast to the sweetness of the shrimp and mango. I like to use a mandolin slicer to get really thin, even slices of radish.

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Avocado Oil or Olive Oil
Honey
Fresh Garlic Cloves
Salt

... I just don’t have anything else to say, as far as these last few ingredients go. Pretty straightforward!

How to Make Calamansi Mango Shrimp Salad

The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, here is a pictorial walk through with detailed instructions.

Calamansi Vinaigrette

Measure all of the vinaigrette ingredients into a blender or the cup of an immersion blender, blitz until smooth.

Season with salt, to taste, then cover and chill until ready to serve.

Honey Calamansi Shrimp

Thaw, peel and/or devein shrimp, as necessary.

Heat avocado oil in a large nonstick pan over medium high heat. Add garlic, cook for 1 minutes.

Add shrimp to the pan, saute 1 more minute.

Continue cooking until the glaze thickens and coats the shrimp.

Note: If you’re using small shrimp, remove them from the glaze when they’re almost cooked. As the glaze thickens, add them back to the pan to finish cooking and get well coated

Remove from heat, allow cooked shrimp to cool slightly as you prepare the salads:

Salad Base and Assembly

Divide your salad ingredients between 4 large serving bowls or plates, arranging as desired.

Divide the cooked shrimp between the salads, serve with the Calamansi vinaigrette.

Leftovers or Meal Prep

If serving fewer than 4 salads when you make it, I like to assemble all 4 salad bases - without the shrimp - and wrap each unused one with plastic wrap.

Then - after cooling to room temperature - I store the leftover shrimp separately, to be heated just before serving. It will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container in the fridge.

The balsamic vinaigrette should also be stored separately in the fridge, I usually keep it in a small mason jar.

More Gluten Free Main Course Salad Recipes

Looking for more healthy salad recipes that are substantial enough to serve as a main dish AND are gluten free? Look no further!

Asian Chicken Salad with Lychee Vinaigrette
Balsamic Chicken & Peach Salad
Balsamic Chicken Salad with Grapes & Grape Vinaigrette
Balsamic Salad with Chicken & Berries
Big Mac Salad
Buffalo Chicken Salad
Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad
Cobb Salad
Cranberry & Pear Balsamic Chicken Salad
Curried Chicken Vietnamese Noodle Salad
Grilled Halloumi & Peach Salad
Harvest Chicken Salad
Hazelnut Crusted Chicken Salad
Honey Ginger Shrimp Salad
Italian Sub Salad
Keto Taco Salad
Mandarin Glazed Chicken Christmas Salad
Mediterranean Chicken Salad
Salad Meal Prep
Seafood Cobb Salad
Seared Tuna Salad
Sesame Ginger Chicken Salad
Shawarma Chicken Salad
Steak Salad with Creamy Wasabi Dressing
Teriyaki Chicken Salad
Thai Pesto Salmon Salad