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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.
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!
CourseDinner, Lunch, Main, Main Course, Salad
CuisineGluten Free, Grain Free, Greek, Mediterranean
Keywordeasy greek vinaigrette recipe, greek chopped salad, greek shrimp salad, healthy greek chopped salad recipe, lemon garlic shrimp recipe, mediterranean chopped salad, mediterranean shrimp salad, shrimp chopped salad, summer shrimp salad recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Servings 4
Author Molly | Spices in My DNA
Ingredients
For the salad
- 6cupschopped romaine
- 1(15.5 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1cupgrape tomatoes, halved
- 1cupsliced seedless cucumber
- 1/4of a medium red onion, very thinly sliced
- 1yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1/3cupchopped roasted red peppers
- 1/3cupcrumbled feta cheese
- 1/2cuppacked flat leaf parsley, chopped
- 1/4cupmint leaves, chopped
- 2tablespoonschopped fresh oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
For the lemon garlic shrimp
- 1poundlarge shrimp, peeled and deveined
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1large clove garlic, finely chopped
- 2tablespoonsolive oil
- 1/4teaspoonsalt
- 1/4teaspoonpepper
For the lemon shallot Greek vinaigrette
- zest of 1/2 a lemon
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/3cupred wine vinegar
- 1clove garlic, minced
- 2tablespoonsfinely chopped shallot
- 1/2teaspoondried oregano
- 1/4teaspoonsalt
- 1/4teaspoonpepper
- 1/3cupextra 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!
Related Posts:
- One Pan Mediterranean Shrimp Orzo
- Grilled Salmon with Marinated Zucchini Greek Salad
- Grilled Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs with Whipped Feta
