About
Low Carb Shrimp Bowls with Quinoa is a wonderful protein-packed, Low Carb meal. Argentinian Red shrimp are salted and seasoned with garlic powder and tossed into an air fryer. The cook time is quick, about 4 minutes! The cooked shrimp is placed on top of a lovely salad made from baby spinach, kalamata olives, crispy cucumber, and sliced red onion, which has been tossed with a fresh, homemade lemon vinaigrette. The entire dish screams springtime! You can toss the base salad mix without the spinach if you want to make it ahead of time. Then right before serving, toss the spinach in and top it with the cooked shrimp.
Can I use regular shrimp?
Ues! Feel free to use regular shrimp instead of Red Argentinian shrimp. However, red shrimp has a lobster-like flavor which is quite delicious.
Is quinoa low carb?
You can safely consume quinoa on a Low Carb Diet in small amounts (or however much your macros will allow). It is a high protein grain that is full of fiber that you should enjoy. You will love the fun texture it adds to a classic salad. However, free to eliminate it from the salad if you would like.
What if I do not own an Air Fryer?
If you do not have an Air Fryer, the shrimp can be sauteed quickly in a pan until pink or baked in a 400 F oven for several minutes.
Serving suggestions
To make this a wonderfully complete meal, serve these Low Carb New York Cheesecake Bars for dessert
Ingredients
- ¼ cup quinoa
- ½ cup water
- 5 cup spinach, raw
- 20 olives pitted kalamata olives marinated with herbs & napa valley cabernet
- 6 tablespoon lemon juice
- 6 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt, sea salt
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ cup red onion
- 1 medium cucumber
- 1 lb shrimp
- ½ teaspoon salt, sea salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 each avocado
Instructions
- First, cook the quinoa. Add quinoa to a dry, small saucepan and toast the quinoa, constantly stirring until it smells nutty. Add ½ cup of water to the quinoa and cover the pot with a lid. Bring the water to a simmer and allow to cook until the pan is almost dry. Turn off the heat and leave the lid on the pot for 5-7 minutes until the rest of the water is absorbed. Stir the quinoa and chill it in the freezer while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Prep the vegetables so they are ready to go into a large mixing bowl. This includes dicing the cucumbers, draining the olives, and slicing the red onion.
- To a large mixing bowl, add in the spinach, cooled, quinoa, olives, sliced red onion, and diced cucumber. Set it aside.
- Combine the vinaigrette ingredients, including fresh lemon juice, olive oil, 1 ½ tsp sea salt, and one garlic clove (grated on a Microplane). Whisk well until combined. The color should lighten once the olive oil has emulsified into the lemon juice. Wait to pour over the dressing until the shrimp is cooked and ready to go.
- Season the shrimp with ½ tsp sea salt and ½ tsp garlic powder. Place the shrimp into the Air Fryer basket (if you do not own one, please see the notes section above). Cook the shrimp at 400 F for 4 minutes. Toss the salad with the vinaigrette and top it with the shrimp. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts
- Servings: 4
- Calories: 427.9kcal/1790.3kJ (per serving)
- Fat: 29.4g (per serving)
- Carbs: 13.3g (per serving)
- Protein: 30.1g (per serving)
