Name: Garlic Grilled Shrimp with Mediterranean Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 16 oz Open Nature raw shrimp (shelled with tails on, defrosted, washed and dry); 6 tbsp unsalted butter (melted); ½ tsp smoked paprika; 1 ½ tsp kosher salt; 1 medium lemon (zested and juiced); 4 cloves garlic (grated); 4 tbsp cilantro (finely chopped); 1 large avocado (cubed); 10 oz cherry tomatoes (quartered); ¼ cup cilantro (finely chopped); 1 small lemon (juiced); ½ red onion (minced); ½ cup kalamata olives (halved); 2 tbsp olive oil; salt ( to taste)

This delectable and satisfying Garlic Grilled Shrimp with Mediterranean Salad is the perfect summer meal. Light and refreshing, this buttery garlic shrimp and chopped salad is ready in under 30 minutes and loaded with a ton of flavor!

Overhead shot of orange grilled shrimp on skewers, stacked on a plate

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Safeway. All opinions are 100% mine.

Ocean Safe Shrimp

I’ve partnered with Open Nature® to develop this recipe because their frozen shrimp is wild caught with no preservatives and has the Responsible Choice label. This label shows customers that the Open Nature seafood products have been raised or caught in ways that help safeguard future supplies, helping to keep ocean ecosystems thriving.

I found my Open Nature® shrimp at Safeway, but you can also find it at many Albertsons Companies family of stores, including Albertsons, Safeway, ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Randalls, Shaw’s Supermarket, Star Market, Tom Thumb, and Vons. Safeway also offers Grocery Delivery and Drive Up & Go™ for convenient ways to shop!

Fire Up The Grill

Summer is here and it’s time to fire up the grill!

Shrimp just happens to be one of those easy foods that takes almost no time to grill. I love it on top of fresh greens, cooked rice, or in tacos. Whether it’s dressed up or down, shrimp will still taste amazing.

This garlic grilled shrimp will be a welcome protein on top of the fresh Mediterranean salad, especially when marinated in the irresistible butter sauce. No need to worry about washing tons of greens! This is a chopped salad with lots of veggies, like creamy avocado, kalamata olives, and tomatoes, then finished with an easy oil-lemon dressing.

Overhead shot of orange grilled shrimp on skewers, stacked on a white plate

How To Grill Garlic Shrimp

The best way to grill shrimp is to first baste or marinate them in the garlic butter mixture, then pierce them with a skewer. This will help prevent the shrimp from falling through the grates.

Here’s how to grill garlic shrimp on skewers:

Set your grill to 500ºF and allow it to come up to heat. Once it’s hot, turn the grill down to medium heat and turn off the middle for indirect cooking.
Place the shrimp skewers either on direct or indirect heat, depending on how long you want them to cook. Shrimp on direct heat only need 1 to 2 minutes to grill, and indirect only needs 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove the shrimp from the grill once it’s done cooking. Add chopped cilantro to the reserved half of the butter sauce and pour it over the hot shrimp.

Buttery Garlic Shrimp Ingredients

You can feel good about serving Open Nature shrimp because they contain zero preservatives and are sustainably sourced. We’re dressing up this tasty shrimp with a garlic butter dressing to make it even more delicious. This sauce soaks into the Open Nature Shrimp when on the grill.

This is all you need to create a garlic butter sauce:

Unsalted butter
Garlic
Smoked paprika
Kosher salt
Lemon zest and juice

Toss 1 pound of Open Nature shrimp with the butter sauce 20 minutes before cooking. Reserve leftovers for a delicious dipping sauce.

How To Thaw Frozen Shrimp

I like to thaw frozen shrimp by adding cold water inside the bag. This method will thaw the shrimp in about 10 minutes. Afterward, drain the water and peel the skin off of the shrimp and leave on the tail.

An easier way to thaw frozen shrimp is to leave it in the fridge overnight. This way, the shrimp will be ready for you to enjoy as a quick appetizer or meal the next day!

Mediterranean Summer Salad Ingredients

A chopped summer salad is so easy to whip up and doesn’t require you to wash and chop tons of greens. The flavors in this salad are authentic to the Mediterranean region and are, of course, delicious!

Here’s what you need to make my Mediterranean Summer Salad:

Avocado
Cherry tomatoes
Cilantro
Lemon juice
Red onion
Kalamata olives
Olive oil

How To Make Mediterranean Summer Salad

Save yourself some time and make this salad while your shrimp is thawing. Together, the shrimp and salad make a satisfying summer meal or separate appetizers.

There are only 3 steps to a tasty Mediterranean summer salad:

Add all of the salad ingredients to a large mixing bowl.
Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice, then toss thoroughly to mix everything together.
Feel free to add salt if the kalamata olives aren’t salty enough.

Tossed salad in a large white bowl with shrimp skewers on top

Helpful Cooking Tips

Should I remove the shrimp tails? Leaving the shrimp tails on offers a nice presentation, but it’s not necessary. Feel free to remove them if you wish.
Soak wood or bamboo skewers before cooking so they don’t catch fire on the grill. Place them in a bowl of water and allow them to soak for about 10 minutes.
Don’t overcook the shrimp. Remove the shrimp from the grill as soon as they turn pink. Leaving them on the grill for too long will result in unappetizing, rubbery shrimp.
Over marinating shrimp will make it mushy! Toss the shrimp in the garlic butter sauce 20 minutes before adding it to the grill for the perfect flavor. Any longer and it’s mush city.
Place up to 5 pieces of shrimp on each skewer. This will ensure that each piece cooks evenly.

Orange grilled shrimp on skewers, stacked on each other on a plate

How To Serve

This completely gluten-free summer meal is delicious and light on its own. Place the salad in individual bowls with 1 skewer each, or enjoy the salad and shrimp as separate appetizers.

Try the garlic shrimp and Mediterranean salad with a variety of other summer-ready dishes:

If you give this Garlic Grilled Shrimp with Mediterranean Salad recipe a try, let me know what you think! Leave a comment and don’t forget to take a picture, tag it with #lenaskitchenblog, #OpenNature, and #ResponsibleChoice on Instagram. I love seeing what you come up with!