Recipe for shrimp and black bean salad with chipotle-lime dressing {gluten-free}

Never underestimate the power of color to inspire what we cook. I'd been working nonstop on my new e-book (Dress Up Your Salad, available now!), and testing lots of salad dressings and salad combinations. One day a few weeks ago, while my kitchen overflowed with jars, and herbs, and prepped ingredients, I took a break and treated myself to a little spree at my favorite local discount store, where I found this bowl. You know the rest: bowl meets black beans meets gorgeous red bell pepper meets kicked-up chipotle lime salad dressing. The shrimp were a bonus, and absolutely perfect, but you could swap in some shredded rotisserie chicken if that's what you have on hand. Go ahead and add some chopped avocado, cold cooked rice, or sliced onion, too. This is a light main-course salad to celebrate the arrival of Spring, and it will carry you straight through summer picnic season.

Shrimp and black bean salad with chipotle-lime dressing

From the pantry, you'll need: canned black beans, frozen shrimp, chipotle peppers in adobo, lime, agave nectar, plain yogurt, kosher salt.

The dressing recipe is from Dress Up Your Salad. Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

For the dressing:
1/4 cup neutral oil (rice bran, vegetable, canola)
Juice of 1 lime
1 Tbsp agave nectar
1-2 chipotle chiles in adobo, to taste
1 Tbsp plain yogurt (low fat or nonfat)
1/2 tsp kosher salt

For the salad:
1/2 lb large (26-30 size) shrimp, defrosted, peeled and deveined
15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 red bell pepper, diced
2-3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1-2 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro leaves (substitute flat-leaf parsley if you don't like cilantro)

Directions

Starting with one chipotle pepper, combine all of the ingredients for the dressing in a blender. Process until smooth. Taste, and adjust seasoning by adding an additional pepper, more agave, or more lime. Transfer the dressing to a jar, cover, and refrigerate. (You can make this up to 1 week ahead.)

In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Reduce to simmer, add the shrimp, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the shrimp are just pink and curled. Drain the shrimp and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Dry the shrimp, and add to a large mixing bowl.

In the same bowl, add the black beans, red pepper and chopped lettuce. Stir gently.

Pour in just as much of the dressing as you need, and not more. Stir again, then toss in the cilantro.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Note: You can make the salad several hours before you want to serve. Taste, and add additional dressing if necessary.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More shrimp salad ideas:
Caesar salad with shrimp
Picnic-perfect tortellini and shrimp salad
Orzo and shrimp salad with asparagus, bell peppers and feta cheese
Lemon-basil shrimp (or lobster) salad rolls
Shrimp, couscous, feta and herb salad with tomato vinaigrette

Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Grilled shrimp tostadas, from Panini Happy
Chinese shrimp with black bean sauce, from Appetite for China
Black bean, shrimp and corn burritos, from Poor Girl Eats Well
Cilantro lime shrimp, from Skinnytaste
Easy shrimp cocktail with creamy Sriracha cocktail sauce, from Kalyn's Kitchen

Disclosure: The Perfect Pantry earns a few pennies on items purchased through the Amazon.com links in this post. Thank you for supporting the blog when you start your shopping here.

Need some new ideas to turn your same-old salad into exciting salad? Get Dress Up Your Salad, my e-book packed with easy mix-and-match recipes, full-color photos and a few fun videos. Fantastic salad recipes can be just one click away, on any computer, tablet or smart phone, with the FREE Kindle Reading app. Click here to learn more.

Shrimp and black bean salad with chipotle-lime dressing

From the pantry, you'll need: canned black beans, frozen shrimp, chipotle peppers in adobo, lime, agave nectar, plain yogurt, kosher salt.

The dressing recipe is from Dress Up Your Salad. Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

For the dressing:
1/4 cup neutral oil (rice bran, vegetable, canola)
Juice of 1 lime
1 Tbsp agave nectar
1-2 chipotle chiles in adobo, to taste
1 Tbsp plain yogurt (low fat or nonfat)
1/2 tsp kosher salt

For the salad:
1/2 lb large (26-30 size) shrimp, defrosted, peeled and deveined
15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 red bell pepper, diced
2-3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1-2 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro leaves (substitute flat-leaf parsley if you don't like cilantro)

Directions

Starting with one chipotle pepper, combine all of the ingredients for the dressing in a blender. Process until smooth. Taste, and adjust seasoning by adding an additional pepper, more agave, or more lime. Transfer the dressing to a jar, cover, and refrigerate. (You can make this up to 1 week ahead.)

In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Reduce to simmer, add the shrimp, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the shrimp are just pink and curled. Drain the shrimp and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Dry the shrimp, and add to a large mixing bowl.

In the same bowl, add the black beans, red pepper and chopped lettuce. Stir gently.

Pour in just as much of the dressing as you need, and not more. Stir again, then toss in the cilantro.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Note: You can make the salad several hours before you want to serve. Taste, and add additional dressing if necessary.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More shrimp salad ideas:
Caesar salad with shrimp
Picnic-perfect tortellini and shrimp salad
Orzo and shrimp salad with asparagus, bell peppers and feta cheese
Lemon-basil shrimp (or lobster) salad rolls
Shrimp, couscous, feta and herb salad with tomato vinaigrette

Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Grilled shrimp tostadas, from Panini Happy
Chinese shrimp with black bean sauce, from Appetite for China
Black bean, shrimp and corn burritos, from Poor Girl Eats Well
Cilantro lime shrimp, from Skinnytaste
Easy shrimp cocktail with creamy Sriracha cocktail sauce, from Kalyn's Kitchen

Disclosure: The Perfect Pantry earns a few pennies on items purchased through the Amazon.com links in this post. Thank you for supporting the blog when you start your shopping here.

Need some new ideas to turn your same-old salad into exciting salad? Get Dress Up Your Salad, my e-book packed with easy mix-and-match recipes, full-color photos and a few fun videos. Fantastic salad recipes can be just one click away, on any computer, tablet or smart phone, with the FREE Kindle Reading app. Click here to learn more.

Comments

mmmmm you had me at Chipotle dressing! Looks delicious.

Bec, me too. The dressing is so good, you'll want to put it on everything.

Funny but I love salads, dressings and this kind of meal but end up making the same things over and over again. This one is fabulous and I need to buy your book before summer!

Enticing! and, beautiful bowl really brings it out. And, why are limes so expensive now?

Jamie, I'm in the biggest salad rut (which of course is why I wrote a book about salads, to help me get out of my rut!). Enjoy!

Susan, there's a lime shortage, so if you find limes, freeze the juice and make this dressing.

This is my kind of dinner salad Lydia - congrats on your latest e-book!

Looks and sounds delicious. Love the bowl, too! :-)