Mexican Shrimp Cobb Salad
Hubby absolutely adores cobb salad. He’s been known to order it at restaurants over and over again. It’s no wonder he loves it, with all the eggs, avocado, bacon, and chicken. This Mexican Shrimp Cobb Salad has the same vibe as your standard cobb salad, but it’s kicked up with a few of my favorite flavors.
Cilantro, cumin, and avocado just scream Mexican flavors and they’re very prevalent in this salad. Add in a crispy crunch from the bell peppers and the familiarity of black beans, and you can see why I was drawn to this recipe. I only wish I had made this when we had a grill so I could have grilled the shrimp instead of cooking them on the stovetop.
I made this when we were living in our apartment. Along with a grill, we didn’t have a blender or food processor. So my dressing was a bit chunkier than it would be if I had one of those appliances to make it in. Instead, I just chopped the ingredients and whisked them together.
Hubby and I really enjoyed this salad. Actually, that’s an understatement. We loved it. And it made a HUGE amount of salad. So we were eating leftovers for a few days. For the leftovers, I put the shrimp in one container, the dressing in another, and the rest of the fixins in a third. Then you could nuke the shrimp for a bit to heat it up and stir everything together without dealing with a wilted gross leftover salad.
One Year Ago: Homemade Yeast Doughnuts and My 1000th Post
Two Years Ago: Frito Cupcakes
Three Years Ago: Oreo Cupcakes and Mini Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownie Cupcakes
Four Years Ago: Creme Brulee Cupcakes
Five Years Ago: More cheese I can eat!
Mexican Shrimp Cobb Salad
Cobb salad gets kicked up with Mexican flavors just in time for Cinco de Mayo
Ingredients:
For the Dressing
1/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
2 Tbsp light mayonnaise
2 Tbsp fat free Greek yogurt
1 small jalapeno, seeds partially or entirely removed
1/4 cup of fresh cilantro
1 tomatillo, husks removed, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
juice of 1/2 lime
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp salt
For the Salad
2 lb cooked large shrimp, peeled
chipotle chili powder to taste
1 Tbsp lime juice
salt, to taste
1 large bunch romaine lettuce, shredded
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 bell pepper (orange, red, or yellow)
1/2 medium red onion, chopped
2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
juice of 1/2 lime
1 seedless cucumber, diced
2 cup diced tomatoes
1 ripe hass avocado, diced
Directions:
For the Dressing
Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Can be made and refrigerated up to three days in advance.
For the Shrimp
To prepare the shrimp, rinse and chop into large chunks. Toss with chipotle powder, lime juice, and salt.
For the Salad
In a small bowl, combine drained beans, red onion, cilantro, lime juice and salt to taste.
On a large platter (or in a clear trifle bowl), layer the salad ingredients in the following order: lettuce, black bean mixture, cucumber, tomatoes, avocado and shrimp.
Recipe adapted from Apple a Day
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I’m with you–every ingredient in this salad is a winner on it’s own. Together? Forgetaboutit! The colors are beautiful and I can imagine how great it tastes with the balance of bitter, sweet, and tart.
Love the new layout, also. Way to go!
Yum! I am also addicted to kale since doing a CSA here in Boston 🙂
It’s so funny, because as I was scrolling through Tastespotting tonight and saw this post, I had to click because it looked so familiar to my winter couscous bowl… and then, I couldn’t believe it when I saw my blog credited at the bottom! This is a first for me 🙂 Thanks so much for the credit!
So you’ve recently moved back to Cincinnati? Which part? My family and I live in Anderson Township.
beantownbaker — January 13th, 2013 @ 10:02 am
Thanks so much for the recipe!!
We work in West Chester and are living in Oakley right now. Trying to find a house at some point…
I think this sounds amazing, Jen! And I love how colorful it is. I am always looking for new winter salads that are colorful, flavorful, and interesting.
beantownbaker — January 13th, 2013 @ 10:06 pm
This is definitely colorful, flavorful, and interesting. I have seriously been OBSESSED with pomegranates this winter, and this salad totally feeds into that obsession.
I’m on a major quinoa AND kale kick so this salad is right up my alley. So colorful and pretty, too!
beantownbaker — January 14th, 2013 @ 3:47 pm
Pretty food is definitely always tastier than ugly food 🙂
looks a lot like the one i posted last week 🙂 obviously, i’m all over it!!
beantownbaker — January 14th, 2013 @ 3:48 pm
Very similar indeed!
This is perfect for that kale and pomegranate I have in the fridge! I’m always excited to find new things to put together ahead of time for lunches and dinners, thanks! Hope you are settling in nicely 🙂
beantownbaker — January 14th, 2013 @ 3:49 pm
I couldn’t agree more. Making food ahead of time saves the day during the week! I can’t imagine not eating leftovers… Things are going pretty well for us in Ohio so far. Hope things are going well for you and your little bundle on the way!
Sounds great to me! I love the ingredients. And the colors 🙂
This sounds right up my alley! YUM!!
I was thinking about an easy and colorful, flavorful, and power-packed healthy side dish to bring for a potluck lunch after a trail work party this coming weekend. I had these amazing cute pumpkins to harvest from my garden and love both kale and quinoa. I thought to myself, mmmm, what if I made some kind of pumpkin kale quinoa and goat cheese salad to share? One quick internet search and I came across this gem! I modified and concocted a tad, which is normal for me. Thanks so much for the recipe and ingredient confirmations! The honey, olive oil, and smokey / spicy combo was the secret ingredient for me! Happy fooding!
beantownbaker — November 3rd, 2013 @ 12:35 pm
Glad you enjoyed it! I am always tweaking recipes to make them fit what I have on hand and what we like too.