Shrimp and Avocado Salad With Peanut Dressing

By Ashley Lonsdale

Updated March 9, 2026

  • Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Media 1 of 1
Ready In
20 min
Rating
5(714)
Comments
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To coax out the very best flavors in nuts and spices (in this case, peanuts, sesame seeds and fennel seeds), a quick and gentle fry in extra-virgin olive oil is all that's needed. This yields a fragrant fried-peanut dressing, a testament to fat as a conductor of flavor. The crunchy dressing revolutionizes a simple salad of shrimp, sliced avocado and tender-crisp lettuce, transforming it into a much more compelling and surprisingly filling main dish. Any number of proteins — salmon, chicken or steak — could take center stage in this dish, but speedy shrimp keeps the timing under 20 minutes. 

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 3 to 4 heads Little Gem lettuce, leaves separated, or 1 head romaine lettuce, roughly chopped

  • 2 ripe avocados, halved, pitted and sliced lengthwise

  • Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

  • 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined 

  • 1 tablespoon plus ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

  • 3 scallions, thinly sliced

  • 1 garlic clove, minced

  • ½ cup roasted unsalted peanuts

  • 2 tablespoons white sesame seeds

  • 1 tablespoon honey

  • ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds

  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

38 grams carbs; 183 milligrams cholesterol; 659 calories; 28 grams monounsaturated fat; 9 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 45 grams fat; 21 grams fiber; 1942 milligrams sodium; 38 grams protein; 13 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    On a large platter, arrange lettuce leaves in an even layer. Nestle the avocado slices on and around the lettuce. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

  2. Step 2

    Pat the shrimp dry and season with salt and pepper. In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high. Cook the shrimp for 3 to 5 minutes, turning once, until just opaque and cooked through. Transfer to a plate to cool.

  3. Step 3

    In the same pan, heat the remaining ¼ cup of olive oil over medium. Add the scallions and garlic and fry, stirring frequently, for 2 to 3 minutes, until fragrant and garlic is just golden. Add the peanuts, sesame seeds, honey and fennel seeds, and fry for about 1 minute, stirring occasionally, until peanuts and sesame seeds are fragrant, toasted and warmed through.

  4. Step 4

    Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the vinegar. Season the dressing with salt and pepper. Add the cooled shrimp to the salad and spoon the dressing over top.  

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Ratings

5 out of 5
714 user ratings
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Comments

Andi Coniglio

Easy to prepare. A bit bland, consider adding some red pepper flakes to the scallion oil mix and double the garlic. Squeeze a bit of lime on top.

Eva Lockhart

I added a drizzle of home made peanut sauce thinned with a bit of soy sauce and it was amazing.

RW

A bit bland, consider adding some red pepper flakes to the scallion oil mix and double the garlic. Squeeze a bit of lime on top.

H.E.

If you are unbelievably lucky and have some Thai fried peanuts kicking around (mine made from the Night Market cookbook), use them! Like others, I subbed rice vinegar, roasted black sesame seeds, doubled garlic/scallions, and added 0.25 tsp of Fly by Jing chili crisp. I served the salad on a rice base to bulk it up. Loved it.

Laker Boy

After reading comments about bland flavor, I did add red pepper flakes as suggested. Also threw a bit of bacon grease in with the oil, and a dollop of creamy peanut butter with the peanuts. Then added the cooked shrimp to the pan at the end and stirred to get them coated with the dressing. Turned out fabulous and we will make it again!

Matt Nousak

The apple cider vinegar is very forward. A rice or white wine vinegar might work better, or citrus in its place would let the textural ingredients shine more.

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