Spicy Thai Shrimp Salad

This Spicy Thai Shrimp Salad has warm, gingery shrimp, a spicy chili-lime vinaigrette and a rich peanut sauce over crisp romaine, edamame and veggies. It's 21 Day Fix and Weight Watchers friendly, and a great change-up from your regular lunch salad!

This Applebee's copycat was only my second recipe on the blog (6 years ago!!) and was ready for an update! I've got some new prettier pictures for you and I tweaked the recipe a bit while I was at it 🙂 It's better than ever and I hope you guys love it!!

Ahh, salad. It's the word that potential "dieters" dread most, isn't it? The word that is used to talk oneself out of eating well, as in "I REALLY need to lose a few pounds, but I just can't take eating salad every day!"

Of course, this is said with the puckered face of the truly disgusted and/or truly terrified. I totally get it - and I want to help you get over it. (Also, you do NOT need to eat salad every day to lose weight, but I digress...)

That being said, many fixers and other healthy eaters (myself included) find it simplest when planning out their day to have a salad for lunch, especially this time of year and it's so easy to get stuck in a salad rut!

Such was the position I found myself in when I decided to work on a 21 Day Fix version of one of my favorite restaurant salads, the Applebee's Thai Shrimp Salad.

You guys, this is a salad that will make you smile when you say the word salad. Between the ginger-y shrimp (in my version anyway,) the sweet and spicy vinaigrette, crunchy veggies, optional but delish cilantro and the super yum peanut sauce, it's kind of ridiculous.

I also want to mention that I did change up a few things from the Applebee's version to make this more fix-friendly, but I promise it's still SO delicious. Bye-bye unnecessary fried wonton strips! See ya later you blue container-stealing sliced almonds! Though obviously, if you have some blue to use and want to add them, go for it!

Ok, let's do a little Q&A and then I'll show you how to make it!

Can this Spicy Thai Shrimp Salad be made ahead?

Yes! This recipe makes four servings and sometimes we'll have this for dinner, but most of the time I meal prep all 4 for my lunches. Just store the dressing, peanut sauce and shrimp separately from the lettuce and veggie mixture, then when you're ready to eat, just heat up the shrimp (the air fryer is great for this!), put them on top of the salad mixture and add the dressing and peanut sauce and you've got a perfect lunch!

What's the best way to cook shrimp for a salad?

I have to be honest, I'm not sure there's a bad way! You can roast them in your oven, sauté them on the stove, pop 'em in your air fryer or throw 'em on the grill! It's honestly all about not overcooking them - just keep a close eye on them because they cook super fast, and then pull them as soon as they're pink, opaque and firm.  

Is this Applebee's Thai Shrimp Salad Copycat recipe healthy?

Yes! It's 21 Day Fix approved, Weight Watchers friendly, and is waaaaay lower in sodium than the original!

Is this 21 Day Fix Spicy Thai Shrimp Salad gluten-free?

Yep! Just be sure to use a gluten-free soy sauce or gluten-free tamari in it!

How to make Healthy Applebee's Copycat Spicy Thai Shrimp Salad:

Whisk together all of the chili-lime vinaigrette ingredients and set aside. 

Whisk together all of the ginger peanut sauce ingredients and set aside.

Toss together the edamame, greens, shredded carrots, bell peppers and cilantro. Next, either roast, saute, air fry or grill your seasoned shrimp.

Toss the veggie mixture with the chili-lime vinaigrette, then top the salad with your delish ginger-y cooked shrimp and drizzle with the ginger-peanut sauce. 

Garnish with some extra cilantro if ya like and enjoy! 

If you guys give this Spicy Thai Shrimp Salad recipe a try, please let me know what you think!! You can leave a comment below or tag me on Insta @thefoodieandthefix. Or if you’re in my private Facebook group, I’d love to see a photo of your creation in there! I hope you enjoy ♥

Don’t forget to save this Spicy Thai Shrimp Salad recipe to Pinterest! ⇓

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📖 Recipe

Thai Shrimp Salad

Yield: 4 Servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 4 minutes

Total Time: 19 minutes

This Spicy Thai Shrimp Salad is full of sweet and spicy flavors and makes such an amazing change-up from your regular ol' salad!

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Ingredients

Chili-Lime Vinaigrette:

• 3 Tbs fresh lime juice
• 2 ½ Tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbs low-sodium soy sauce (use gluten-free tamari if you're GF!)
• 1 Tbs white distilled vinegar
• 1 - 1 ½ Tbs honey (depending on your preferred sweetness level)
• 1 teaspoon chili-garlic paste (Sambal Oelek)

Ginger-Peanut Sauce:

• 2 Tbs creamy peanut butter
• 1 Tbs honey
• 4 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce (use gluten-free tamari if you're GF!)
• 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger (or more, to taste!)

Veggie Mixture:

• 1 cup frozen, shelled edamame, thawed (I just thaw in the microwave per instructions, lightly sprinkle with salt and refrigerate until needed)
• 6 cups of your greens of choice (I usually use romaine)
• 1 cup thinly sliced sweet bell pepper
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• as much cilantro as you like (or leave it out completely if you're anti-cilantro!)
• *optional: I love adding some sliced almonds if I have any of my blue container to use that day!

Ginger-y Shrimp:

• 1 lb raw, peeled and deveined shrimp (any size)
• salt, pepper and ground ginger

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside. (Or if you don't want to turn on your oven, you can also saute, air fry, or grill them! - If air-frying, I would still do them at 400°, just keep a close eye on them because they'll cook faster in there!)
2. Whisk together all of the vinaigrette ingredients until it's fully emulsified. Give it a taste and add extra sambal if you want it spicier and/or the extra ½ Tbs honey if you prefer it a little sweeter.
3. Whisk together the peanut sauce ingredients in a small bowl adding water ¼ teaspoon at a time if it's too thick to drizzle (the amount needed will vary depending on which brand of peanut butter you're using).
4. Season your shrimp on both sides with salt, pepper and ground ginger, then place them on your prepared baking sheet. Bake approximately 4 minutes for medium-sized shrimp, until pink and firm, they'll take an extra minute or two if they're larger. Just keep a close eye on them so they don't overcook.

Assemble your Thai Shrimp Salad:

1. Each serving gets 1 ½ cups of greens, ¼ cup of bell pepper, ¼ cup of shredded carrots, ¼ cup of edamame, ¼th of the shrimp (about ¾ cup), 2 Tbs of dressing. After those are tossed together, drizzle with 1 Tbs of peanut sauce and top with as much cilantro as you like!
2. You can also serve this family-style by tossing together the greens, peppers, carrots, edamame, shrimp and cilantro in a large salad bowl and serving with the dressing and peanut sauce on the side.

Notes

21 Day Fix Container Counts per Serving: 1 Red, 2 Greens, ½ Yellow, 1 Orange, 1 ½ teaspoons, 1 ½ sweetener tsp

Weight Watchers Personal Points: Spicy Thai Shrimp Salad

Nutrition Information:

Serving Size: ¼th of recipe (see instructions for specifics)
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 325Total Fat: 15g