Caesar salads are great as a starter or side dish for a meal, but as an main course? You’ve just made yourself an easy dinner that will leave you wondering, “why don’t I do that more often?” Making Caesar dressing from scratch is a breeze, even if you don’t have anchovies (I leave them out of my dressing). Homemade croutons take this shrimp Caesar salad to the next level, and the shrimp are just a little bit spicy to pair with the creamy dressing. In fact, I make the dressing a little bit spicy here. Putting chopped jalapenos in the dressing is totally optional, but I love the touch of heat that it gives this Caesar salad.
You can definitely use store-bought croutons for this salad, but since I always have a loaf of homemade sourdough in my kitchen, I like to use the last few slices for homemade croutons. Just drizzle with olive oil and garlic salt and croutons are ready after about 10 minutes in the oven! Put them in the oven while you’re cooking your shrimp and dinner is ready. Traditional Caesar salad uses romaine lettuce, but since I grow green and red leaf lettuces in my garden, I used green leaf for this salad. You can use any kind of lettuce that you like! I think romaine is popular because it’s extra crunchy, but any lettuce will work just fine. Peeling and deveining shrimp is super easy, and raw shrimp cook up in minutes for a tasty salad topping. I leave the tails on for the photos, but you can certainly take them off before cooking to make enjoying your shrimp Caesar salad easier.
I like to toss my salad in a large bowl with the dressing before topping with shrimp and croutons and serving, but if you’re going to be making this in advance, I recommend storing the lettuce and dressing separately from each other to prevent the greens from getting soggy. I like to wash and dry my lettuce in a salad spinner and leave it sitting in the refrigerator just like that before assembling and eating!
And of course, if you don’t eat shrimp, you can substitute chicken. But if you do eat shrimp and you’ve never tried in a Caesar salad, I highly recommend this spicy shrimp Caesar salad!
- 3 slices cubed sourdough bread
- 4 tbsp. olive oil, divided
- ½ tbsp. garlic salt
- 1 lb. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. onion powder
- 1 head romaine or green leaf lettuce, washed and chopped
- Shredded Parmesan cheese for topping
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- ½ tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1 small jalapeno, seeds removed, finely chopped (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spread the sourdough on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tbsp. olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic salt and toss with your hands to combine. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.
- Meanwhile, cook the shrimp. Heat the remaining 2 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet or frying pan. Add shrimp, salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, and onion powder. Cook until pink and no longer translucent, flipping over to cook on both sides evenly.
- To make the dressing, whisk together mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt, garlic powder, pepper, and chopped jalapeno (if using).
- To assemble the salad, place lettuce in a large bowl and toss with about half the dressing. Add more dressing as needed. Add shrimp and croutons and give a toss to combine. Serve immediately topped with Parmesan cheese.
- Enjoy!
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