Mediterranean Chopped Salad with Lemon Garlic Shrimp is the ultimate, flavor-packed, loaded salad. It’s filled with romaine, chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, bell peppers, roasted red peppers, feta, fresh herbs, lemon garlic shrimp, and a zesty Greek vinaigrette. The combination of flavors is insane – trust me when I say it will be your new favorite meal-sized salad!
This Mediterranean Chopped Salad is the salad I want to eat every single day. Every time I’ve made it recently, I’ve thought this is literally the only salad I want, ever. It’s similar to a Greek salad, but kicked up a notch. Or, 20 notches. I can’t even put into words how much I love it. IT’S SO GOOD!
If you love Greek salad, you will go absolutely crazy for this. If you know me, you know I’m never one to eat a sad salad. Salad is probably my favorite food (I know, I’m that annoying person), and you can bet that you’ll never see me with a plain ol’ salad with just lettuce and dressing. No, no.
In order to be a worthy salad, it has got to be loaded in the best way. 2-3 different greens as the base, a mixture of crunchy raw veggies, roasted/sautéed veggies, something crunchy like nuts/seeds/crispy chickpeas, something creamy like avocado or cheese, and some kind of protein.
And the best part, a ridiculously flavorful dressing. Here, we’re talking about my favorite lemony shallot Greek vinaigrette. It’s punchy and zesty in the best way.
We’ve Got The Perfect Mediterranean Shrimp Salad Recipe
Let’s talk about these gorgeous marinated shrimp for a sec. If I’m making shrimp, you can almost always bet that it’s going to be of the lemon-garlic variety. Because honestly, what tastes better with shrimp? Maybe a close runner-up would be coconut or lime. But garlic and lemon zest?! You can’t go wrong, ever. Because everyone loves that combo, right?!
This time, I sautéed the shrimp in a skillet on the stove, but since it’s June and grilling season is officially here, you should 1000% grill these babies for even MORE flavor.
An indoor grill pan works great too, if you live in an apartment or condo like me, and don’t have access to an outdoor grill!
One of the key parts of this salad is the big handful of fresh herbs. Here, we’ve got flat leaf parsley, mint, and fresh oregano. Putting fresh herbs in salad is one of the best things ever because it adds so much fresh, bright flavor. And it’s not done nearly enough! If you’ve never tried it, prepare to be amazed at what a few fresh herbs can do to your salad.
For the rest of the ingredients, we’ve got:
- romaine
- chickpeas
- grape tomatoes
- diced seedless cucumber
- thinly sliced red onion
- yellow bell pepper
- chopped roasted red peppers
- crumbled feta
- and all the herbs of course (parsley, mint, oregano)
- zippy lemon shallot Greek vinaigrette
- lemon garlic shrimp
Pretty much obsessed with this combination. I know it sounds like a lot of prep, chopping, etc., and it kind of is, but that’s the hardest part, by far. It’s so simple. And, if you’re a weirdo and enjoy chopping like I do, then you’ll love this even more.
If you’re looking to make this ahead of time for a party, you can:
- make the vinaigrette up to 3 days in advance
- marinate the shrimp the day of, and just keep them in the fridge
- clean and chop your greens and vegetables up to a day in advance, or the morning of
- cook/grill the shrimp once you’re ready to serve, and you’re there!
If shrimp isn’t your thing, you can marinate chicken with the same marinade, grill it, and chop it up! This would be delicious with salmon, too. Or, you could certainly double up on the chickpeas to add more plant-based protein to this.
I can seriously taste this salad right now! I’m just looking forward to how many times I’m going to make and entertain with it this summer and I cannot wait!
This is another one of my fave Greek salads, which will also be happening in my kitchen this summer!
Mediterranean Chopped Salad with Lemon Garlic Shrimp
Mediterranean Chopped Salad with Lemon Garlic Shrimp is the ultimate, flavor-packed, loaded salad. It's filled with romaine, chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, bell peppers, roasted red peppers, fresh herbs, lemon garlic shrimp, and a zesty Greek vinaigrette. The combination of flavors is insane - trust me when I say it will be your new favorite meal-sized salad!
Ingredients
For the salad
- 6 cups chopped romaine
- 1 (15.5 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup sliced seedless cucumber
- 1/4 of a medium red onion, very thinly sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup chopped roasted red peppers
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 cup packed flat leaf parsley, chopped
- 1/4 cup mint leaves, chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
For the lemon garlic shrimp
- 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
For the lemon shallot Greek vinaigrette
- zest of 1/2 a lemon
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Begin by making the shrimp. In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Add the shrimp and toss to combine. Let marinate for 20-30 minutes.
In the meantime, make the vinaigrette. In a medium bowl, combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, garlic, shallot, oregano, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Whisk to combine. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper if desired. Set aside.
Once shrimp is finished marinating, preheat a skillet, grill pan, or outdoor grill to medium-high heat. Once hot, add the shrimp and cook for 2 minutes per side, depending on the size of your shrimp, until cooked through.
To assemble the salad, add romaine to a very large bowl. Top with the chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, bell pepper, roasted red pepper, feta, parsley, mint, oregano, and a couple generous pinches of salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Toss to combine. Add the shrimp and desired amount of the vinaigrette and toss again to combine. Serve immediately with extra vinaigrette!
Kate Berkey
I was looking for a salad recipe for the whole family and I stumbled on this article. I read and followed the instructions carefully and I made it deliciously! Every member of my family is so happy! Thanks for this!
Spices in My DNA
Thank you so much Kate! So happy your family enjoyed it!!
Christin Thorpe
This was absolutely amazing! So many amazing flavors!
Spices in My DNA
Thank you so much!! I’m so happy to hear it was a hit!
Patty
Do you have the nutritional value for this salad?
Spices in My DNA
Hi Patty! I don’t calculate nutritional information for my recipes, but there are a bunch of free calculators online that you can plug the ingredients into! Let me know if you try the recipe 🙂
Nelly
I used a website and it said
Calories: 497.8
Fat: 32.3
Carbs: 28.8
Sugar: 6.83
Protein: 25.17
Sodium: 1329.65
There’s more but it’s a lot. The calories and fat seem so high…. does thus seem right?
Angela
Trying to eat more salads each week. This will be a great one.
Nelly
I loved it! One of my new favorites!
Spices in My DNA
Thanks so much Nelly!!
Sherril
I loved it, I left out the chick peas to make it low carb. I made it with chicken for my husband and shrimp for me. This will definitely be a favourite go-to salad recipe.
Spices in My DNA
I am so glad! Thanks so much Sherril!