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Lime Cilantro Shrimp and Black Bean Salad

Averie Sunshine

4.70 from 40 votes

Updated: Jun 23, 2025

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🥑🍤🥗 My Cilantro Lime Shrimp Salad with Black Beans and Avocado is an easy, Mexican-inspired salad ready in 10 minutes! With tender, juicy shrimp, black beans, avocado, cilantro, and more are coated in a lime sauce, creating a fiesta in your mouth!

Warm Shrimp and Avocado Salad

This shrimp and avocado salad is one of my go-to quick lunches. Not only is it fresh, nutritious, and ready in 10 minutes, but it’s also packed with flavor from cumin-seasoned shrimp, creamy avocado, black beans, crunchy cucumbers, and just the right amount of heat from jalapeño (or a serrano if I’m feeling bold).

Then, everything is tossed in a honey-lime dressing that I literally could drink with a spoon. Light, easy, and so dang good, I could eat this every day!

I think this is my new favorite recipe of yours Averie. I was skeptical at first, thinking there wasn’t enough ingredients to make it interesting but this was fabulous and healthy and low calorie. I’m going to make this over and over again!!

Carol Samford

Ingredients and Notes

To make this cilantro lime shrimp salad, you’ll need the following easy-to-find ingredients: 

• Black Beans – Use Instant Pot black beans or canned black beans that have been drained and rinsed
• Produce – Avocado, jalapeño pepper, serrano chile pepper, cucumber, fresh cilantro
• Extra virgin olive oil – I do not recommend substituting any other oil for the dressing!
• Ground cumin, salt, and pepper
• Fresh lime juice – The acidity helps tenderize the shrimp and adds a bright taste
• Honey – Maple syrup will also work, but the flavor will be slightly different
• Shrimp – I used one pound of fresh, raw shrimp that were deveined but still had the shells on. You do not want to use shrimp that have already been cooked. I used large shrimp, 12-15 count. meaning there are 12 to 15 per pound. You can use smaller shrimp if you prefer, but I like the flavor better of larger shrimp

Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.

How to Make an Easy Cilantro-Lime Shrimp Salad

This is an incredibly easy cilantro lime shrimp salad to make, and it’s best served immediately while the cooked shrimp are still warm. Here’s a look at how it comes together:

1. Simply add cleaned shrimp in an even layer to a large skillet with olive oil, and sprinkle with cumin. Work in batches, if needed!
2. Cook for about 2 minutes per side or until the shrimp are pink and opaque. Shrimp cook very quickly, and you don’t want to overcook them or they’ll be rubbery and tough. Just a couple of minutes on either side (for large shrimp) is all they need! 
3. After you flip over the shrimp, add lime juice and honey to the pan. This sauce becomes the salad dressing that coats the black beans and veggies, and there’s no need to prepare any other dressings or use any store-bought dressings, which is handy.
4. Transfer the shrimp, and assemble the salad. Add the sauce to the bowl, and place the vegetables on the top of the salad.
5. Stir to combine, and enjoy!

Ingredient Substitutions to Try

While I used black beans, avocado, cucumbers, cilantro, and jalapeno and serrano chiles, feel free to get creative and mix and match. Try adding:

• Romaine, butter lettuce, or baby greens
• tomatoes
• corn
• zucchini
• red onion or green onion
• radishes
• garbanzo beans
• queso fresco or feta cheese
• queso panela

What to Serve with Cilantro Lime Shrimp Salad Recipe

Instant Pot Refried Beans

Baked Tortilla Chips

Pineapple Chipotle Salsa

Sweet Mango and Lime Corn Salsa

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4.70 from 40 votes

Lime Cilantro Shrimp and Black Bean Salad

By Averie Sunshine

Lime Cilantro Shrimp and Black Bean Salad – Tender juicy shrimp, black beans, avocado, cilantro, and more coated in a lime sauce that’s a FIESTA in your mouth!! An EASY and HEALTHY Mexican-inspired salad that’s ready in 10 minutes!!

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients 

• ▢ one 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed (I use no salt added)
• ▢ 1 medium ripe avocado, diced into bite-sized pieces
• ▢ 1 medium jalapeno pepper, sliced into thin rounds
• ▢ 1 small serrano chile pepper, finely minced (remove seeds for less heat); optional
• ▢ ½ medium cucumber, diced into bite-sized pieces
• ▢ ⅓ cup fresh cilantro finely minced, or to taste
• ▢ 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1 pound shrimp, cleaned and deveined (I used 12-15 count large shrimp)
• ▢ 1 to 2 teaspoons cumin, or to taste
• ▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
• ▢ 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• ▢ ¼ to ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• ▢ 2 to 4 tablespoons honey, or to taste

Instructions 

• To a large bowl, add the black beans, avocado, jalapeno, optional serrano chile, cucumber, cilantro; set aside
• To a medium skillet, add the olive oil, shrimp, evenly sprinkle with cumin, salt, pepper, and cook over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes.
• Flip shrimp over, turn the heat to medium-low, add the lime juice, honey, stir to combine, and cook until shrimp are done, about 2 minutes. Taste the sauce. If desired, add additional lime juice, honey, salt, pepper, or cumin.
• Transfer the shrimp and all the sauce to the bowl with the lettuce and vegetables. Stir to combine. Taste and make any other seasoning adjustments if necessary (I sprinkled with another 1/2 teaspoon cumin) and serve immediately. Salad is best fresh but will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 2 days, noting the avocado will oxidize and the vegetables will soften and release their natural juices as time passes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 495cal, Carbohydrates: 49g, Protein: 36g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 14g, Cholesterol: 239mg, Sodium: 2112mg, Fiber: 12g, Sugar: 18g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Skinny Mexican Bean and Corn Salad – Such a fast and easy recipe to make. Plus, it’s loaded with flavor and textures galore. Two kinds of beans, juicy corn and tomatoes, crisp peppers, and green onions are tossed in a lime-chili-cumin vinaigrette that’s perfectly light.

Chicken Avocado Black Bean Salad — A Mexican-inspired salad with tender chicken, black beans, creamy avocado, juicy tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice and more! EASY, ready in 20 minutes, HEALTHY, and packed with fiesta FLAVORS galore!

Creamy Corn and Zucchini Salad— A healthy EASY salad that’s ready in 15 minutes and so flavorful! Corn, zucchini, cilantro, queso fresco and more are tossed in a DELISH creamy lime sauce!

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