Cajun Shrimp Chef Salad
Topped with grilled Cajun shrimp, this Cajun Shrimp Chef Salad makes for one heck of a delicious summer meal!
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Have you guys ever heard of a Diner en Blanc? It’s essentially a dinner party where you bring everything with you. And I mean everything. Tables, linens, food, candles, floral arrangements…the whole nine yards. And everything is white. Apparently this concept began back in the late 80’s in Paris, and the organizer set a public park as the venue. In order to know who the diners were, he asked everyone to wear white. Well, the concept took hold and is now repeated in cities throughout the world.
A Diner en Blanc has been organized in New York City for the last several years, and guests have numbered over 4,000. It’s a massive undertaking to organize that many people, but remember…everyone brings their own, well, everything. And diners go all out. I’m talking fancy white dresses for the ladies and white slacks and hats for the men. I’m talking fancy meals and elaborate floral and candle displays on your table.
A couple of weeks ago, our neighbors hosted a Diner en Blanc in their backyard. I had never heard of this concept before that, so I immediately googled it to figure out what was going on. My wife and I toyed with all sorts of fun ideas for our meal and table decorations…and in short it was an incredibly fun evening! Our neighbors were nice enough to supply the tables and linens (white, of course) along with a guitarist playing/singing classics from James Taylor, Paul Simon and even an R.E.M. song or two.
So what did we bring for our meal that night? Well, seeing that we live right next door, we realized that we had a unique advantage over the other guests. We have an electric fondue pot that I had gotten after college, and it’s been stashed in a bin in the basement for years. But this was the occasion to bring it out of retirement! The day of the event, I secretly ran an extension cord off of our deck, through the trees and into the neighbors’ backyard. Once everyone sat down for dinner, we pulled out our cheese fondue (I had made it ahead of time) and put it into our fondue pot. Yeah, that happened. It was the first time I’d ever dressed all in white and eaten fondue in someone else’s backyard. And I hope it’s not the last!
Cajun Shrimp Chef Salad
Cajun Shrimp Chef SaladThere were about 25-30 people at the party, and other guests brought along some of the most amazing meals. In particular, the couple sitting next to us had the most delicious looking chef salad. That got my mind whirring (and my tastebuds working overtime), and I decided to make a chef salad for dinner recently. Instead of going the traditional deli meat route, I grilled up some Cajun shrimp and created this Cajun Shrimp Chef Salad.
It might not have been served under candlelight in the backyard, but this salad was delicious! Bacon, hard-boiled eggs, swiss and pepperjack cheese, avocado, croutons…am I making you hungry yet? Then we topped it off with Newman’s Own Ranch Dressing. Not only are Newman’s Own dressings quite tasty, but they also give money back to charity for every bottle sold. Since 1982 (when the company first started), Paul Newman and the Newman’s Own Foundation has donated more than $430 million to thousands of charities. For me, that makes a huge difference. If I can pick up a tasty salad dressing and know that my purchase also helps a charity in need, then count me in!
For this Cajun Shrimp Chef Salad, we used lettuce that we are growing in our garden this year. We’ve only grown lettuce one other time, but the rabbits leveled it before we really got to eat it. This year, we fenced in our garden, and we’ve been enjoying fresh lettuce almost every night for dinner. If you’ve never grown lettuce, give it a shot…it’s actually very easy to grow! (Just make sure to fence the garden as rabbits love salads, too.)
Did you make this Cajun Shrimp Chef Salad at home? Leave a comment. Or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog)!
Looking for more salad inspiration? Check out these other favorite recipes, too:
Grilled Steak Salad with Strawberries + Blue Cheese
Easy Black Bean Salad
Cold Cucumber Salad
Smoked Salmon Potato Salad
Greek Salad Wraps with Shrimp
Cajun Shrimp Chef Salad
Ingredients
For the Cajun Shrimp
- wooden skewers
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 Tbsp oregano
- 1 pound 16-20 count shrimp peeled and deveined but with tail still on
For the Salad
- 6 cups Romaine or Bibb lettuce rinsed
- 6 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 3 medium eggs hard boiled and cut into wedges
- 1 cup croutons
- 2 ounces swiss cheese cut into 2” long matchstick pieces
- 2 ounces pepperjack cheese cut into 2” long matchstick pieces
- ¼ cup green onions finely chopped
- 1 avocado sliced
- ½ cup Newman’s Own Ranch dressing
Instructions
For the Cajun Shrimp
- Soak the wooden skewers in water for at least 30 minutes before grilling.
- In a small bowl, combine all of the spices (salt, garlic powder, paprika, pepper, onion powder, cayenne and oregano). (Note: Feel free to use a prepared Cajun spice mix to save on time here!)
- Preheat grill to medium-high.
- Rinse shrimp and pat dry with paper towels.
- Toss the shrimp in the spice rub until well coated.
- Thread the shrimp onto the skewers; set aside.
- Place skewers on grill; grill for 2-3 minutes per side, or until shrimp are pink in color and fully cooked.
- Remove shrimp from grill and place on prepared salad.
For the Salad
- Wash lettuce and tear into bite-sized pieces. Place in a large bowl.
- Add all remaining ingredients (except for dressing). Toss until well combined. (Tip: Save some of the cheese and eggs to garnish salad once made.)
- Before serving, add dressing and toss until well coated. Top with warm Cajun shrimp and any reserved cheese and eggs from above.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Newman’s Own.
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What a fun party! This salad sounds so great! Love the shrimp!
Thanks so much, Kathy! I gotta admit that finding n all white outfit was a bit of a challenge…but I figured it out. And this salad was indeed delicious…perfect for summer! 🙂
WAIT JUST ONE SECOND! IS THAT BACON I SEE? Ok, I already know that has to be good because there is bacon and plenty of it, but what I’m REALLY loving on this plate is that shrimp concoction! BRING ON THE FLAVOR! I love the addition of that cayenne, and OMG they look utterly flavorful 😉 Thanks for sharing!
Haha! I couldn’t agree with you more, Kennedy! Bacon makes everything better. Salads? Yup. Burgers? Yup. Ice cream? Of course. But yes, these shrimp are one of my favorite summer grilled recipes…they were a great addition to this salad! 🙂
Love this salad! Never attended a Diner en Blanc sounds fun, but I’ve had my share of all white parties where you BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle) 🙂
Well that’s definitely heading in the same direction. The only difference is the Diner en Blanc is you gotta bring food, tables, chairs, place settings, etc…oh, and you don’t share with others. Haha! It was indeed a fun experience though. I’d do it again in a heartbeat!
David!!! that grilled shrimp! LOVE!!! and LOVE this cajun shrimp chef salad!!! I LOVE the Newmans Own dressings!! they are so good and give back to charities!! love it!
Thanks so much, Alice! I love Newman’s Own as well…not only does it taste great, but the charity side is pretty darned awesome. 🙂
Definitely perfect for summer, love this!
Thanks, Matt! Anything that allows me to use my grill in the summer is pretty much a win around here!
Hi David! Oh my yes, more Cajun! We grow four to five different lettuces and this year we put in what was labeled a grape tomato plant, except that’s not was it is. That single plant is four feet tall and at least four feet in diameter! The tomatoes grow in clusters and are more like Roma tomatoes only smaller, but much larger and more meaty than grape tomatoes and very prolific! We’ll be eating LOTS of salads!
Yes, yes and more yes to the Cajun food, Dorothy! I like to mix things up here on the blog, but Cajun food is never far from my mind. 🙂 But this tomato plant? Sounds intriguing…and awesome! Our tomato crop looks terrible this year. It kinda makes me want to cry. We’ve always had great tomato crops, but this year they look awful. We had a TON of rain in June, so that could partially explain it. Oh well. There’s always next year, right? 🙂
Dave this Diner en Blanc sounds so cool AND fun. I gotta figure something out here for all our friends! Now after reading your post and finding you had your own salad greens I am VERY impressed, our dogs always eat everything I plant, so I miss out!
And BTW, the fact all that lovely bacon & shrimp is on the platter makes this salad a real tasty meal. Nice – go #WolfpackFondueMan!
Haha…sounds like you need a fence in your garden, my friend. We wanted that nice pretty fence-less garden, but it took one year of rabbits mowing everything down to realize that we should just fence the whole thing with chicken wire (tall chicken wire) every year.
Oh, and you should totally host a Diner En Blanc out there. Just google it and you’ll see all sorts of stuff. Our neighbors’ version was awesome b/c they strung white lights up and had candles (white, of course) everywhere. Oh, and the guy playing guitar and singing in the background was a really nice touch, too. 🙂
David, you have some of my favorite summer flavors on plate! Cajon Shrimp with fresh crunchy salad! yumm!
Thanks, Savita! This Cajun shrimp is indeed super flavorful…the perfect topping for a fresh summer salad!
What a fun party and party idea! That’s really hilarious and awesome that you whipped out a fondue pot! I tried growing lettuce in my garden this year, but I think it just got too hot. It isn’t doing so great and I’m totally jealous of yours! I love the cajun shrimp twist to the classic chef salad. Excellent example of genius, my friend!
Yeah, we tried growing lettuce last year from seed, and it was just so-so. It kinda worked, but I thought it was way too much work for the results. This year, we bought little 75cent lettuce starter plants from a local nursery. Wowzers. Those things are going nuts…we have enough lettuce for an army! I foresee lots more salads in our future before the summer is out. 🙂
Never heard of this Diner en Blanc. And, David, if you ever invite me for this party, you know what kind of food you should anticipate from me, right? Indeed, we should alter the concept and introduce lavender colors, haha! But seriously, you’ve got the great stuff here. Grilled shrimp, bacon, eggs…that’s even better any lavender recipe! Nicely done!
Lies, Ben, lies!! You know there is nothing in this world that can top a lavender recipe…don’t even pretend. Haha! But yes, this salad was definitely a favorite around here. And the party? Awesome! You guys should host one up there…they are a LOT of fun! (And honestly, they require very little effort unless you decide to provide tables and tablecloths like our neighbors did. Other than that, the guests bring everything they need…even the lavender!)
Some of my favourite salad ingredients here, especially the grilled shrimp. I really do love ranch dressing. Too much though, sometimes I feel like I could just drink it.
Oh, geez…me, too, Dannii! I have never actually tried drinking ranch dressing, but I sure hope no one ever issues me that challenge. The stuff is delicious…especially on a salad with grilled shrimp!
I am obsessed with Newman’s Owns dressings, especially their balsamic- I need to hunt down this ranch now!
Now as for the….white event. The concept sounds awesome but I’d be so worried of some spillage- I guess I’d just down the dressing because it’s…almost white.
Yes! We’ve been eating their Balsamic dressing on simple summer side salads this week, and it has been awesome. You need to track down the ranch for sure! Yeah, the all white thing did product some interesting results when our tablemate had a bit too much wine and knocked his glass of red wine over. Urgh! But it was still a really fun event overall!
I’ve been to Diner en Blanc several times it’s so much fun.
And what about this salad? I literally love everything about it.
#WolfpackCrunch
That doesn’t surprise me one bit. Somehow I always knew that you had a white suit and white tophat hanging out in your closet, Alpha. And maybe a white cane, too? I could picture that.
Wow I have never even heard of Diner en Blanc but sounds so much fun! I especially love the part that everyone is supposed to dress in white, yes relaxing and calm! 🙂 I need to try this ranch dressing, sounds delish!
Diner en Blanc parties are so much fun, Manali! I’d never heard of them before our neighbors hosted one, but man, that was a fun night! 🙂 And yes, this salad is delicious…we just used some of the ranch tonight on a garden salad. Yum!
That party sounds like it was amazing! I’m not a fan of wearing all white, but it does look great when a group of people wear it. Now, this salad? Yum!! I love a good chef salad. All of your ingredients look so fresh and tasty! I’m super impressed that you grew your own lettuce. I picture you having a mini farm up there in NY. LOL! I’m so jealous!
Yeah, I’m with ya, Tamara! Just randomly dressing all in white is a bit odd…but it sure was fun when an entire group went all out. Haha…we do indeed have a mini-farm going on in our garden, although our tomatoes are looking really bad this year. I blame all of the rain we had in June. But at least our lettuce is going nuts!