These Chimichurri Shrimp Bowls are so full of flavor and so easy to make. Tons of herbs, garlic, oil, vinegar, and lime juice make a delicious sauce that is slathered over shrimp and served with quinoa, avocado and limey cabbage.
Ingredients
Chimichurri has so many fresh ingredients it's a perfect lightened up sauce or topping. Then just add a few more and you have these chimichurri shrimp bowls loaded with flavor.
- Shrimp: (prawns) frozen and defrosted at home or defrosted at the store are both great
- Shallot: A bit more mild than an onion which is what makes it perfect here
- Garlic: Gives so much flavor to the sauce, make sure to chop it up really finely
- Fresh herbs: This recipe uses a combination of fresh parsley and cilantro – if you hate cilantro just double down on the parsley
- Red wine vinegar: Usually you can swap around vinegars and be okay but I really do recommend using red wine vinegar specifically for this recipe
- Lime juice: Fresh lime juice - not anything from the jar
- Quinoa: This is my grain of choice but you can use whatever you like – rice, farro, cauliflower rice, and so on
- Avocado: A perfect topping that adds a creamy bite
- Cabbage: Red or white cabbage both work
Step by step instructions
This chimichurri shrimp comes together in just a few minutes because it uses fresh ingredients and minimal cooking. This makes it perfect for an easy weeknight meal or even weekday lunch. You can also use it for meal prep and eat throughout the week!
Prep: cook the quinoa and squeeze some lime over the chopped cabbage.
1. Cook the shrimp. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. When hot, add the shrimp and cook 3-4 minutes per side until no longer translucent. Set aside.
2. Make the chimichurri. While the shrimp are cooking, combine the shallot, garlic, cilantro, parsley, olive oil, red wine vinegar, lime, salt and pepper.
3. Combine the shrimp and sauce. Toss the cooked shrimp with ½ of the chimichurri sauce.
4. Serve. Serve the shrimp over cooked quinoa with avocado, limey cabbage, a drizzle of extra chimichurri sauce, and a lime wedge.
Tips and tricks
- Picking good shrimp:
- Use frozen shrimp if you have access to it. Usually the shrimp that are on display at the fish counter in the grocery store are previously frozen and defrosted, so you're better off buying straight from frozen and defrosting when you need it. **Unless you have access to fresh fish, in which case buy fresh!
- 1lb of large shrimp is usually around 15-20 shrimp
- Get peeled and deveined shrimp with the tail-on. Cooking with the tail on helps keep a lot of flavor in.
- Defrosting frozen shrimp:
- Place the frozen shrimp in a plastic bag.
- Place the plastic bag in a large bowl and fill with room temp water to fully submerge the shrimp. You may need to place a heavy object on top.
- Leave the shrimp in the water for about 30 minutes. Check to see if it needs to be rotated and add more time as needed.
- Make the dish spicy by adding some red pepper flakes into the chimichurri sauce.
- Make the chimichurri in the food processor if you don't want to spend the time chopping the ingredients.
- How to serve chimichurri shrimp: if you don't want to make this into a quinoa bowl, you can serve the shrimp over rice, polenta, pasta, grits, or simply with some roasted veggies.
- Serve as a bowl for a main dish or simply serve the chimichurri shrimp on skewers or with little utensils as an appetizer.
- Grill your shrimp instead of sautéing them if you're cooking outside or just prefer it that way!
FAQs
Chimichurri is an Argentinian herb sauce that is most traditionally made with parsley, oregano, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, and served alongside steaks and other meats, but can also be paired with poultry or fish.
This recipe adds some additional less traditional ingredients into the mix.
More on the history of chimichurri here.
Chimichurri on its own can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for 2-3 weeks. The vinegar will help it stay fresh.
Chimichurri shrimp can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for a few days.
You can! Air-tight container for up to 3 months. Defrost by leaving it in the fridge overnight.
More shrimp recipes
📖 Recipe
Chimichurri Shrimp Bowls
INGREDIENTS
- 1 lb large shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the chimichurri (makes about 1 cup):
- 1 large shallot diced (¼ cup)
- 3 cloves garlic diced
- 1 cup fresh parsley
- 1 cup fresh cilantro
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoon fresh lime juice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
To serve:
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 1 avocado
- ½ cup purple cabbage
- 1 tsp fresh lime juice
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat a skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. When hot, add the shrimp and cook 3-4 minutes per side until no longer translucent. Set aside.
- While the shrimp are cooking, combine the shallot, garlic, cilantro, parsley, olive oil, red wine vinegar, lime, salt and pepper.
- Toss the cooked shrimp with ½ of the chimichurri sauce.
- Serve the shrimp over cooked quinoa with avocado, limey cabbage, a drizzle of extra chimichurri sauce, and a lime wedge.
Andrea
Delicious and super easy to make with the mini food processor! Even without the fresh cilantro and fresh parsley which I did not have on hand. Used dried parsley. Thanks for the recipe.
Haley
I'm so glad it worked without those fresh herbs and that you loved it! Thanks for leaving a review 🙂