A very simple salad made with cooked shrimp, iceberg lettuce, fresh tomatoes and dressed with mayonnaise.
Shrimp and Iceberg Lettuce Salad
This is my version of what my mother and father-in-law and The Cajun call shrimp salad and I absolutely love it, even though I struggled with what to call it myself, since when I think of shrimp salad, I think of the shrimp and egg salad I grew up with and love so much.
It's a very simple salad that includes nothing but highly seasoned shrimp, iceberg lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. That's it!
Now first things first. I have been occasionally criticized for this "recipe" by some on social media. Generally, it's a drive by hit from somebody who doesn't know me or this website, and often just goes by the brief description under the photo, without even visiting the site!
These are folks that don't understand that before there were hundreds of salad dressings available on the grocery store aisle, folks used a simple mayonnaise dressing for their salads. Salads consisted then of iceberg lettuce, tossed with tomatoes, salt, pepper and mayonnaise.
It's old school and where this originates from.
Second, because my mother-in-law made this salad with iceberg lettuce, I respect that in my version too.
While I primarily use romaine lettuce in all of my salads, often along with some spring greens and baby spinach added in, I don't typically keep iceberg on hand most of the time, but that's what she used and when I want this salad, I pick up a head of iceberg. Frankly, it just works much better with this particular method.
Besides, not only does iceberg contain a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin K, a nutrient that is important for bone and blood health, it has other benefits too. It adds volume and even some fiber and protein, and it's hydrating and filling with very few calories, making it beneficial for weight loss too.
So, eat iceberg lettuce if you like it and ignore the naysayers.
Most often this salad comes about using leftover shrimp from a boil, but sometimes I just want the salad apart from that. For that, I just do a simple pan sauté in a skillet with hot oil or butter and a sprinkle of my fabulous favorite Slap Ya Mama {affil link} and some Old Bay. Either way works. I think my mother-in-law probably uses a bit more mayo than I do, but I found somewhere between a 1/4 to 1/2 cup for the full recipe is usually enough for us.
While y'all know that I use my shortcuts here and there, a few of the recipes that you see here are somewhat complex "homestyle" scratch cooking, at least ingredient-wise, because they involve building layer upon layer of flavors to reach the final result.
They're not hard - they just take a little hands-on work. Without a doubt that is delicious, and even if reserved for only weekend or vacation cooking, worth every single ounce of effort.
Sometimes though, it is the simplest of things that are just so good. This, is that.
Here's how to make this simple shrimp and iceberg lettuce salad.
For more of my favorite salad recipes, visit my page on Pinterest!
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