Shrimp Salad with Creamy Lemon Dill Dressing and Crisp Vegetables
By Ethan Parker
Cook
3 min
Total
3 min
Servings
4
Level
Easy
Choose large shrimp for this cold shrimp salad; gently poaching them keeps the meat succulent and tender. Tossed with a creamy mayonnaise dressing, lemon juice, and plenty of fresh dill, the salad gets bright flavor alongside sweet bell pepper, celery, and green onion crunch.
Bell pepper, celery, and green onion supply sweetness, color, and crispness against the shrimp. Mayonnaise makes the dressing creamy, while lemon juice cuts through its richness and dill brings the classic herb note paired with shrimp. The recipe allows pre-cooked shrimp, though it recommends cooking the shrimp for the best result. Good-quality store-bought or homemade mayonnaise is specified.
Once the water has boiled, turning off the heat before adding shrimp is the central technique. Large shrimp poach in the hot water in approximately three minutes, giving a gently cooked texture. The recipe does not provide a visual doneness cue, so use the stated timing rather than continuing to boil them. Overcooking is the main risk, since the method relies on gentle heat for succulent shrimp.
Serve the chilled salad with saltine crackers, spoon it into buttered rolls, roll it in flour tortillas, or use lettuce or endive leaves. If time permits, cover and chill it for an hour after mixing so the dill, lemon, and vegetable flavors have time to develop without adding another sauce.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Large shrimp stay the focus, and the gentle off-heat poaching method is designed to keep their texture succulent rather than aggressively boiled.
- Fresh dill appears in generous quantity, giving the creamy mayonnaise dressing the classic herb flavor that the recipe specifically pairs with shrimp.
- Bell pepper, celery, and green onion stretch the shrimp with sweetness, color, and crunch, so each scoop has more than one texture.
- Lemon works twice in the recipe: a whole lemon scents the poaching water, while lemon juice brightens the finished mayonnaise dressing.
- Good-quality or homemade mayonnaise provides a straightforward creamy base, allowing the shrimp, dill, and crisp vegetables to remain clearly noticeable.
- An hour of chilling gives the lemon, dill, and vegetables time to mingle, while immediate serving remains an option when time is short.
Ingredients
- •large shrimp
- •bell pepper
- •celery
- •green onion
- •mayonnaise (good-quality store-bought or homemade)
- •lemon juice
- •fresh dill
- •water (for poaching)
- •garlic (for poaching)
- •lemon (for poaching)
- •salt (for poaching and salad)
- •pepper (for salad)
Instructions
- 1
Bring water to a boil with garlic, lemon, and salt.
- 2
Turn off the heat and add the large shrimp.
- 3
Poach the shrimp in the hot water for approximately 3 minutes.
- 4
Toss the poached shrimp with mayonnaise, lemon juice, dill, bell pepper, celery, green onion, salt, and pepper.
- 5
Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for 1 hour to let the flavors develop.
- 6
Serve with saltine crackers, in buttered rolls, in flour tortillas, or spooned into lettuce or endive.
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