This Southwestern Fruit Salad with Grilled Prawns and Tequila Lime Dressing blends fresh fruit from the sunny south with wild-caught seafood. A healthy shrimp fruit salad with a little Southwest heat!
Here's the thing about this Southwestern Fruit Salad with Grilled Prawns: you must try it now! It's just that good.
This fruit and shrimp salad is quick, it's easy, it's sweet and juicy, and it's packed full of protein from fresh prawns or shrimp. Not only that, it has just the right amount of crunch from romaine and jicama and a little bite from hot peppers!
It's tossed in a to-die-for lime dressing: a tequila lime dressing that puts this southwestern fruit and shrimp salad over the top!
When I think of the food we have enjoyed the most during our trips to Mexico over the years, fresh fruit ripened in the southern sunshine springs to mind. Jicama soaked in lime juice, tequila, hot peppers and fresh prawns all bring back fond food memories.
It's time to recreate those flavours at home in this Southwestern Fruit Salad! Here's what you'll need.
Ingredients
- cantaloupe chunks
- honeydew melon chunks
- pineapple chunks
- mango, peeled and cubed
- oranges, in sections
- strawberries, sliced
- jicama, julienne cut or very finely chopped
- crisp romaine leaves: these will form a bed for the fruit
- poblano pepper or finely minced ancho chili pepper. An ancho chili is a dried poblano pepper. Poblano peppers are quite mild. Ancho chilis have much more heat.
- grilled prawns: toss with a little garlic butter, skewer and grill
Instructions
- Begin by making the Tequila Lime Dressing. Combine lime juice and zest, honey and tequila in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the cilantro and process until smooth. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil to emulsify. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Prepare the prawns (or large shrimp.) Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Stir in minced garlic until fragrant, about 2 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Thread shrimp onto skewers and brush with 2 tablespoons of the garlic.
- Preheat grill to medium high heat.
- Add skewers to grill, and cook, for 2 minutes on each side, just until the shrimp are pink and opaque.
- Combine all salad ingredients except the seafood in a large salad bowl.
- Toss with tequila lime dressing, and top with fresh grilled prawns or shrimp.
Why should you make this Southwestern fruit salad?
- it's sweet
- it's spicy
- it has a little heat from the peppers
- tequila adds a zing!
Storage
Store leftover salad and dressing separately in covered container in the fridge. This shrimp fruit salad is best if used within a day or two.
📖 Recipe
Southwestern Fruit Salad with Grilled Prawns
Ingredients
- 1 cup cantaloupe, cubed or in balls
- 1 cup honeydew melon, cubed or in balls
- ½ cup pineapple, cubed
- 1 mango, cubed
- 2 oranges, sectioned
- 1 cup strawberries, sliced or halved
- ½ cup jicama, julienne cut or finely chopped
- 3 tablespoon poblano pepper OR 1 tablespoon ancho chili pepper finely minced
- romaine leaves
Grilled Prawns
- 1.5 lbs prawns or large shrimp
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
Tequila Lime Dressing
- 2 tablespoon lime juice freshly squeezed
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoon tequila
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
Tequila Lime Dressing
- Combine lime juice and zest, honey and tequila in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add cilantro and process until smooth. With machine running, slowly add the olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside to allow flavours to blend.
Grilled Prawns (or Shrimp)
- Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Stir in minced garlic until fragrant, about 2 minutes; season with salt and pepper.
- Thread shrimp onto skewers and brush with 2 tablespoons of the garlic butter.
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Add skewers to grill, and cook for 2 minutes on each side, just until the prawns are pink and opaque.
Salad
- Combine all ingredients except seafood in a large salad bowl, toss with tequila lime dressing, and top with fresh grilled prawns or shrimp.
Notes
Nutrition
Marv
Outstanding salad!!
That dressing was the best. I will use it over and over from now on. I sauted some large shrimp in butter and garlic, let them cool, then spread them around the plate and then piled the wonderful salad in the middle. Meal for 3 or 4 easy.
Elaine
Thanks Marv! My mouth is watering imagining how you've made this salad! Thanks for the 5 star rating--much appreciated!