Black Bean Shrimp Salad with Corn & Pickled Onions
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This flavor-packed black bean shrimp salad is the perfect light weeknight supper, and it also screams summer potluck.
Inspired by the lovely cookbook Salads: Beyond the Bowl by Mindy Fox (Kyle Books, 2012), this main course black bean shrimp salad is the perfect light weeknight dinner or summer potluck dish. The recipe does involve a bit of preparation – first, you quick-pickle the onion, boil the corn, and sauté the shrimp – but, I promise, it all comes together quickly and easily. And it’s worth the effort: each separate element really makes the salad sing. For best results, use only high-quality canned beans, like Bush’s or Goya.
What you’ll need to make black bean shrimp salad
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by making the pickled red onions. In a medium skillet, combine the vinegar, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil, whisking to dissolve the sugar.
Add the sliced onion.
Reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, gently stirring, until the onions have wilted slightly, 1 to 2 minutes.
Transfer the onions and pickling liquid to a heatproof bowl and let cool.
Next, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the corn, then cover the pot and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 10 minutes, then remove the corn from the water and let cool.
Holding the cooled corn upright in a large mixing bowl, cut the kernels off the cob in strips.
To the bowl of corn, add the beans, scallions, cilantro, 5 tablespoons of the oil, the lime juice and lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and the cumin.
Toss well and set aside.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the shrimp and season with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Cook for 1 minute, then add the garlic.
Cook, stirring occasionally, just until the shrimp are cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes.
Transfer the shrimp to the mixing bowl with the corn, scraping all of the garlicky oil from the pan into the bowl.
Toss the salad, then taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary (be sure to taste the salad with the pickled onions and feta; they balance the flavor).
Transfer to a serving bowl. Crumble the feta over the salad, gently toss, and sprinkle with extra cilantro and fresh ground black pepper, if desired. Remove the pickled onions from their pickling liquid and serve on the side.
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Black Bean Shrimp Salad with Corn & Pickled Onions
This flavor-packed black bean shrimp salad is the perfect light weeknight supper, and it also screams summer potluck.
Ingredients
For the Pickled Onions
- ¾ cup distilled white vinegar
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
For the Salad
- 2 ears fresh corn
- Two (15-oz) cans black beans, best quality such as Bush's or Goya, rinsed and well-drained
- 3 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for serving
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ¾ teaspoon salt, divided
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, thawed if frozen
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
- Freshly ground black pepper, for serving
Instructions
For the Pickled Onions
- In a medium skillet, combine the vinegar, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil, whisking to dissolve the sugar. Add the onion, reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, gently stirring, until the onions have wilted slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the onions and pickling liquid to a heatproof bowl and let cool.
For the Salad
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the corn, then cover the pot and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 10 minutes, then remove the corn from the water and let cool. Holding the cooled corn upright in a large mixing bowl, cut the kernels off the cob in strips.
- To the bowl of corn, add the beans, scallions, cilantro, 5 tablespoons of the oil, the lime juice and lemon juice, ½ teaspoon of the salt, and the cumin. Toss well and set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the shrimp and season with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook for 1 minute, then add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Transfer the shrimp to the mixing bowl with the corn, scraping all of the garlicky oil from the pan into the bowl. Toss the salad, then taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary (be sure to taste the salad with the pickled onions and feta; they balance the flavor). Transfer to a serving bowl. Crumble the feta over the salad, gently toss, and sprinkle with extra cilantro and fresh ground black pepper, if desired. Remove the pickled onions from their pickling liquid and serve on the side. The salad may be served room temperature or cold.
- Make-Ahead: The salad is best served on the same day of assembling, but it can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Taste and adjust seasoning again before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 459
- Fat: 24 g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Sugar: 10 g
- Fiber: 11 g
- Protein: 23 g
- Sodium: 805 mg
- Cholesterol: 112 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Delicious! I found this when searching the site for a shrimp recipe, preferably without pasta, potatoes, or rice. Wow! So so good. The pickled onions are such a great pop of flavor and color. There’s an added bonus, too. If you stop the recipe before adding shrimp, feta, garlic and onions, you have a really good corn/bean side salad. I’ll make both in the future.
I’ve been trying to find more fish/seafood/veg recipes. My husband is Meat & 3. But he loved this. It’s a keeper. I served it on a bed of chopped romaine.
This is amazing!! So easy to make too!
This looks delicious. How many does it serve?
Hi Regina, it serves 4 to 6. Hope you enjoy!
Can I just put the sliced onions in a mason jar then pour in the pickling liquid? I’m not sure how long they will last but easy to store in the refrigerator.
Hi
I really detest feta cheese and goat cheese. Can you suggest an alternative or is it best to omit cheese altogether?
Hi Shelley, You could try queso fresco here. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Delish as always. Next time I would add about 8 more ounces of shrimp. My proportions (although I followed the recipe) didn’t look the same as the photo. I bumped up the cumin and added a touch of chitpotle pepper, because I omitted the cilantro (don’t like cilantro/tarragon). The pickled onions made it. I could be biased, because I LOVE pickled onions, but everything together just worked so well! (*NOTE* If you want to make it more keto friendly, sub out black beans for black soybeans, which are low carb – 1/2 cup has 8 gm carbs with 7 gm of fiber= 1 gm net carbs)
This is a great recipe. The pickled onions are the star, so don’t skip this step. I was lucky and had left over fresh corn from a previous dinner, so i got to skip the step of cooking corn. I was surprised about the addition of feta but it really complimented the flavors. I will definitely make this again.
This is a delicious recipe! I used canned corn, added chopped celery and left out the lime juice due to what I had on hand. We had it for lunch and my husband liked it so much he asked to have it again for dinner. A definite keeper!
Your site is just so jammed up – loading, recipes, ads – how come it is so confusing – loved it before. So clear – now jumping all over the place!
Hi Marion, I am so sorry you’re seeing too many ads! I know how frustrating it is. Couple questions:
-What type of device are you using? If it’s an iPad, the ads can move around depending on how you’re holding it.
-If you’re using a computer, do you have it in full-screen mode? If not, depending upon how narrow the page is displayed, if the ads don’t have room to be alongside the content, they will display on top of it. This will resolve itself with the full-screen view.
I do use an outside company to run the ads, and I have to constantly monitor to make sure that the site doesn’t get too ad-heavy. I wish I didn’t have to have any ads at all…it’s a balance between user experience and the high cost of running a site. Thank you for the feedback.
Thanks for explaining, Jenn. Understandably you deserve all the help you can get! Glad you keep an eye on the ads too.
You may want to take a screen shot. When it gets bouncy, that’s what I do.