Caribbean Shrimp Quinoa Salad

In a week and a half, Matt and I will be hitting the high seas for our cruise with Carnival! The cruise takes us to the Eastern Caribbean – the Bahamas, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, and Grand Turk. I am so excited. So excited, in fact, that I decided to get into the spirit early with this yummy Caribbean Shrimp Quinoa Salad recipe.

I whipped this up last week on a day I was working from home for a quick and easy lunch, but it would also make a nice simple dinner.

To make this recipe, the first step is cooking up your quinoa, which only takes about 12 minutes. While the quinoa is cooking, throw together your sauce. This came out amazing – it would be a good marinade for any fish, or even chicken or tofu!

Then you simply toss your shrimp (I used frozen and you don’t need to bother defrosting it) in the marinade, stir it around, and pour it all into a large pan.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, flipping the shrimp frequently until they are fully cooked. This should only take a few minutes.

Once the shrimp is cooked, stir in the (now fully cooked) quinoa.

Plus some peppers (any kind – I used green) for a little veggie power.

Then, toss the mixture (hot is fine, or let it cool first if you prefer a cold salad with crisp greens) on top of a bowl full of arugula.

Garnish with some extra cilantro and lime, if you like, and top with avocado for a little “good fat.”

Enjoy!

Here’s the full recipe – this is definitely going on my “to make again” list.

Caribbean Shrimp Quinoa Salad

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 1 cup dry quinoa, cooked according to package directions
• Juice from one large orange (1/2 cup juice)
• Juice from two limes (1/4 cup juice)
• 1/8 cup olive oil (or coconut oil, melted)
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 12 oz. fresh or frozen shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• One 5 oz. package arugula
• 1 avocado, sliced
• Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cook quinoa according to package instructions.
2. In a large bowl, mix together orange juice, limes, olive oil, cilantro, garlic, cumin, turmeric, and cayenne pepper.
3. Add shrimp to the bowl and toss to coat.
4. Pour shrimp/sauce mixture into a large pan. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook, turning shrimp frequently, until shrimp is fully cooked and no longer transparent. This should only take a few minutes.
5. When shrimp is fully cooked, add chopped green pepper and cooked quinoa; stir together.
6. Place arugula in a large bowl. Pour quinoa/shrimp mixture over arugula. Top with avocado and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve chilled or warm.

This post was created as part of my collaboration with Carnival. As always, all of the opinions, thoughts, and ideas in this post are my own.