Healthy quinoa, avocado, and blackened Cajun shrimp bowls are loaded with flavor and texture. They make a light and fresh lunch or dinner!
These shrimp, avocado, and quinoa bowls are my go to when I’m craving a flavorful filling meal but want to eat clean and keep the calories as low as possible. You can’t really go wrong with this delicious blackened Cajun shrimp. It makes a great addition to the quinoa and the creamy avocado. This nutritious meal is loaded with vitamins and will keep you full without adding to your waistline!
Add your favorite greens and top it off with your favorite dressing, sour-cream/yogurt, or try my healthy creamy avocado and cilantro lime dressing or the 5-minute skinny chipotle sauce!
Shrimp Avocado Quinoa Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 avocado, pitted and sliced
- 2 cups chopped romaine lettuce or your favorite greens
- 1/2 cup tomato, diced
- 1/4 cup onion, diced (optional)
- Lime for dressing
- For the quinoa
- 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, any variety white or golden, red, or black
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- For the Shrimp
- 1/2 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 clove garlic, crushed (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 1/4 teaspoon EACH salt, onion powder, thyme, oregano, black pepper, cayenne pepper
Instructions
- To cook quinoa: Start by boiling water for the quinoa. Bring 1 cup of water to boil in a large saucepan. Rinse quinoa under cold water and drain well. Stir in salt and quinoa. Lower heat and cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let rest, covered, for 5 minutes.
- To Cook the shrimp: While the quinoa is cooking, In a medium bowl, combine the shrimp, garlic, oil, and spices. Heat a large heavy-duty non-stick pan over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Once the pan is hot, coat the pan with a light drizzle of oil (if using a non-stick pan) and cook the shrimp in batches for 2 minutes per side or until charred and cooked through. Do not over-crowd the pan.
- Divide lettuce (or greens) into two large serving bowls. Top each bowl with half the quinoa, shrimp, avocado, tomato, and onion. Drizzle with lime, sour cream, or your favorite dressing or try our healthy avocado dressing!
Equipment
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Yum! Yum! This recipe is fantastic. I used a Cajun spice blend instead of the individual spices.
Should the quinoa and shrimp be hot or cold when assembling the salad?
Fantastic recipe! Easy to make and super delicious! Bet it would taste good with chicken instead of shrimp. Something to try in the near future. I have made this bowl several times now.
This was delicious! there was enough flavor for me just from the shrimp seasonings.
Absolutely delicious! My husband and I truly enjoyed this bowl for our dinner. Followed the recipe as stated. But, after reading the comments, adding some other veggies and broth to the quinoa could really perk it up.
I also made the avocado dressing which I thought was very tasty and added the right touch to the bowl.
Once cooked could they be served cold as an appetizer
I LOVE THIS. My avocados weren’t ripe so instead I put in feta cheese (i know they aren’t similar) but i like it even better! I love the freshness of it and the shrimp is the perfect spice. This is such a light, refreshing meal.
This is a delicious recipe that my family of 4 loves. My teen daughter has requested this to be her birthday meal!
Made this tonight And it was awesome!
This is, lit, my new fav recipe! Its was easy to make and very delicious! I added mushr to the quinoa, however, and replaced the cumin with chili powder. I also prefer to cook my quinoa in broth, rather than water.
THE REcipe asks for garlic… where do we put the garlic?
The garlic is added to the shrimp mixture.
I haven’t made this yet, but it sounds great! I was wondering where all the sodium comes from. i see a total of 1/2 tsp in the recipe, but 1120 mg of sodium is almost a days’ worth of sodium for someone with high blood pressure and i don’t think 1/2 tsp divided by the # of servings equals that. Any ideas? thanks!
I’m not sure where it was getting that number from. I’ve updated it!
I made this last week and again today. It’s soooo good. Your recipes always come out perfect, lol.
This was delicious! my young children loved it and asked for it in their lunch the next day.My spin was to cook diced tomatoes with the shrimp then mixed it together with the quinoa, and served a side of diced cucumbers with lime and salt.
So happy to hear the kiddos enjoyed it! Your spin sounds delicious, we will be sure to try that next time <3
OMG love this recipe.
Really delicious and easy recipe to follow. Made my quinoa in the instapot and i had this dinner on the table in like 20-25 min. Added a little feta Cheese and sliced almonds to the top. Everyone loved it. Thanks!
It was good. I added black beans, chopped red bell peppers, and corn. I used chicken broth instead of WATER and added cumin and cilantro to the quinoa for more flavor. It did make a LOT. I will make half for 4 people next time.We weren’t fans of THE plain lettuce. Maybe I’ll season it next time.
This was delicious, and made a huge serving. It was a bit spicy for my kiddos, but they liked it. I hae a vegetarian daughter, so I also made a batch with tofu, with the spices and some panko. That was amazing.
I’m not vegan but I would certainly like o try the tofu! Great idea!
Heaven ! Perfect for my office lunch ! Thank you !
43% sodium?!! Where is all the sodium coming from?
It’s 43% percent of the daily allowance. There’s only 1/2 teaspoon salt in the recipe. Also, shrimp is naturally high in sodium, which explains why the sodium in the recipe seems high.
I love it! You always surprise me with your recipes. It’s delicious, balanced meal and creative.
Thanks so much, Martin <3