5 Spice Blackened Shrimp with Warm Pineapple & Corn Salsa

We love simple dinners with complex flavors-especially ones that are ready in 30 minutes. This blackened shrimp with pineapple and corn salsa is so fast, you’ll barely have time to set the table.

I think when it comes to quick dinners, so often folks forget about shrimp.

Shrimp thaws out in less than an hour from the freezer, can be ready in a flash, and is a low fat- high protein dinner pretty much everyone loves. While at first glance, you may think shrimp are expensive, factor in the ease of preparation and high quality- shrimp are definitely worth the price. If you purchase your shrimp when they are on sale, you can create some special dinners for your family.

It doesn’t take much to have these little crustaceans tasting fantastic. For this recipe, I used all my favorite warm and smokey spices. I made a quick pineapple, corn, purple onion, red pepper and blistered tomato salsa in the skillet after the shrimp cooked. Then I threw in my trusty Ninja Blender an avocado, lots of fresh lime juice, garlic, and greek yogurt to create a cool crema.

Hunky Hubbie loves his sauces.

Add some sliced mango and more avocado and you have a mighty fine dinner in less than 30 minutes.

5 Spice Blackened Shrimp with Warm Pineapple & Corn Salsa

Recipe by Meggen WilsonCourse: Uncategorized

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Calories

364

kcal

Ingredients

• 1 lb (26-30) Shrimp, peeled and deveined

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp garlic powder
  

• 1 tsp cumin

• 1 tsp ground ginger

• 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper OR Old Bay Season

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

• 2 TBSP Olive Oil, divided

• Juice of one large lime- about 1 TBSP

• Corn & Pineapple Salsa

• 1 cup fresh pineapple, cut into cubes

• 1 red pepper, seeded, rough chopped

• 1 cup purple onion, peeled and rough chopped

• 2 ears of corn, shucked, cut the kernels off the cob

• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes

• Avocado Crema

• 1 ripe avocado

• 3 TBSP fresh lime juice

• 1 cup Plain, full fat Greek yogurt

• 1 large clove of garlic, peeled

• 1 TBSP olive oil

• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt

• Garnish

• mango, sliced thin

• avocado, sliced thin

• cilantro for garnish, if desired

• 1 cup cooked basmati rice

Directions

• In a shallow bowl, create a spice rub by combining smoked paprika, garlic powder, ginger, cumin, cayenne pepper and sea salt. Use Old Bay (instead of Cayenne) if you prefer a less spicy dish. Toss the shrimp in the spice rub and coat throughly. In a large skillet, on medium high heat, add one TBSP of olive oil to the pan. Once shimmering hot, add the shrimp– leave some the spice mix behind in the bowl for the salsa. Cook the shrimp on each side for about 1-2 minutes until pink and just cooked through. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, toss together the pineapple, red pepper, corn, purple onion with the remaining spices from the shrimp dry rub. Add remaining 1 TBSP of olive oil the same pan you used for the shrimp. Add the pineapple mixture to the hot pan and cook over medium high heat until the pineapple is golden brown and releases it juice. Add the tomatoes and the juice of 1 lime for brightness. Toss the tomatoes in the skillet with the other vegetables and pineapple until they burst from cooking.
• In a high power blender add the ripe avocado, 3 TBSP of lime juice, greek yogurt, garlic, olive oil and salt. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add more lime juice if needed to thin the sauce, but it should be very thick.
• To Serve: Spoon a serving of cooked rice into a shallow bowl, spoon the warm pineapple salsa over the rice, add the shrimp and top with the sliced mango and avocado. Spoon a healthy serving of the crema off to the side and top with cilantro leaves.

Notes

• You can omit the cilantro. For a larger group, add drained and rinsed black beans cooked with a sautéed onion to increase the number of servings.

I served the entire dish on a bed of warm basmati rice in shallow bowls- just seems more special when served in these great bowls for some reason- a little fresher take I suppose. Give this recipe a try this week and let me know in the comments how you liked it.

Other great shrimp recipes to try:

• Southern Shrimp & Grits
• 20 Minute Spicy Shrimp & Soba Noodles
• Roasted Shrimp, Feta & Orzo Salad
• Meggen’s Shrimp & cod Seafood Chowder

Nutritional Information

• Calories: 364 per serving
• Total fat: 22.5 grams
• Total Carbs 37.9 grams
• Protein 11grams
• Cholesterol 33 mg
• Sodium 402.5 mg
• Sugars: 18.8 g
• Potassium: 421.9 mg
• Vitamin A: 61.8%
• Vitamin C: 108.8%
• Calcium: 24.6%
• Iron 5.5%