Shrimp Quinoa Bowl
Shrimp quinoa bowl is the perfect easy meal for weeknight dinners. It’s filled with whole grain quinoa, blackened shrimp, and toppings of choice. This healthy dinner recipe is packed with flavor and a great option for everyone in your family.
What is Shrimp Quinoa Bowl?
If this is your first time cooking grain bowls, you’re in for a treat! We love quinoa salad with feta plus so many other quinoa recipes!
Most quinoa recipes are bland and lack flavor, but this recipe is packed with fresh ingredients, seasonings, and herbs. Just like our chicken fajita rice bowl, it’s perfect for serving on busy nights when you don’t have a lot of time to cook a big meal.
All you need to do is cook the quinoa, saute the shrimp, and add your favorite toppings. Don’t forget to drizzle this delicious meal with cilantro lime crema or cilantro vinaigrette. It’s the perfect addition to these quinoa power bowls.
Meal Prep Tip: Spend a little time on meal prep earlier in the week, so it’s even easier to assemble the bowls. When you’re ready to eat, layer the cilantro quinoa in a large bowl first, place a few cooked shrimp on top, and scoop on your toppings of choice.
How to Pick the Best Shrimp
Shrimp is the star of this dish, so you want to make sure you get the best quality you can find.
Either fresh shrimp or frozen shrimp will work wonderfully as long as it’s good quality.
If you buy fresh shrimp from the seafood department at the grocery store, ask when they were caught. This needs to be within 24 hours. If not, go with frozen shrimp instead.
Frozen shrimp are a great option since they’re flash frozen when they’re still fresh. You can buy a bag in the frozen seafood department of the grocery store.
You can choose to buy peeled or unpeeled shrimp depending on if you want to take the extra time to devein and peel them.
To peel the shrimp, remove the shell and use a knife to scrape off the dark vein along the inside of the shrimp. Rinse them free of any lingering shells or veins and place them in a large bowl.
It’s best to buy raw large or extra-large shrimp for this recipe.
Ingredients
Quinoa:
- Dry quinoa
- Fresh lime juice
- Fresh cilantro
Shrimp:
- Large shrimp
- Chili powder
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Ground cumin
- Dried oregano
- Salt and black pepper
- Olive oil
How to Make Shrimp Quinoa Bowl
Cook the quinoa in broth or water and then remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes, covered. Remove the lid and fluff with a fork. Stir in lime juice, cilantro, and season with salt and pepper.
In a bowl, toss the shrimp with spices and oil. Cook the shrimp for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until fully cooked.
Serve cooked shrimp over quinoa with toppings of your choice.
Variations
Here are some tasty options to make this shrimp quinoa bowl your own.
- Meat: chicken, tofu, scallops, salmon
- Grains: farro, barley, brown rice, wheat berries, black or red quinoa
- Fresh Veggies: red peppers, red onion, asparagus, mushrooms, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, romaine lettuce, corn, green onions
- Cheese: cheddar cheese, Colby jack cheese
- Herbs: parsley, oregano, cilantro
- Seasonings: curry powder, red pepper flakes
Recipe Tips
- Don’t overcook! Don’t overcook the shrimp, or it will be tough. Cook time will depend on the size of the shrimp. I used large shrimp for this recipe which requires about 2-3 minutes per side.
- Too much liquid? If the quinoa is cooked, but there’s still too much water in the pan, you can pour out any extra. Put the pan back on the stove for a minute to allow the rest of the water to evaporate.
- Prep ahead. This is a great recipe to make ahead. Toss thawed shrimp with spices and oil in the morning so it’s ready to cook later in the day. Cook quinoa the day before, reheat, and just before serving stir in lime juice and cilantro.
Other Ways to Cook this Dish
There are a couple of other ways to cook shrimp and quinoa that work great for this recipe.
You can cook the shrimp in the oven as well. Place the shrimp on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Make sure the shrimp are thawed and seasoned. Bake at 400 F until shrimp is juicy and opaque, about 4 to 6 minutes depending on the size of the shrimp.
Make the quinoa in an instant pot if you don’t want to cook it on the stove. You can also use vegetable or chicken broth for added flavor.
How to Serve
Top this healthy meal with salsa, avocados, guacamole, sour cream, black beans, or lime wedges. You can also drizzle it with sauce, creamy dressing, or vinaigrette.
Serve it for a hearty lunch or for dinner with pita bread or side dishes, such as:
Storing Tips
Refrigerate: Keep leftover shrimp and quinoa stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheat: Gently reheat the shrimp until just warm enough, or eat them cold. You can heat the quinoa until warmed through in the microwave or eat it cold as well.
Freeze: If you’d like to make this dish in advance, you can freeze it and save it for later.
Place the shrimp in a single layer on a parchment-covered baking sheet and put it in the freezer for 15 minutes. Remove the shrimp and put them in a large freezer bag and back in the freezer.
Scoop the quinoa into a container with a lid and into the freezer.
Be sure to label and date everything, so you know what you’ve saved later.
FAQs
If your shrimp tastes rubbery, that means it was cooked too long.
Using ingredients like salt, pepper, cilantro, broth, and lime juice will help make your quinoa very flavorful.
Cooked shrimp should be opaque in color and curl into a nice “C” shape.
More Shrimp Recipes
Print
Shrimp Quinoa Bowl
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
Shrimp quinoa bowl is the perfect easy meal for weeknight dinners. It’s filled with whole grain quinoa, blackened shrimp, and topped with guacamole, salsa, and cilantro lime crema.
Ingredients
Quinoa
- 2 cups water or broth
- 1 cup dry quinoa
- 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
- Kosher salt and fresh black pepper
Shrimp
- 1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- Kosher salt, to taste
Toppings
- Guacamole or sliced avocado
- Pico de gallo
- Black beans
- Cilantro lime crema
- Lime wedges
Instructions
Quinoa
- In a saucepan, combine the water and quinoa. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cook covered until all of the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes, covered. Remove the lid and fluff with a fork. Stir in lime juice, cilantro, and season with salt and pepper.
Shrimp
- In a bowl, toss the shrimp with spices and oil.
- Heat a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until fully cooked. Immediately remove to a serving bowl. The shrimp will continue to cook if left in a hot skillet.
To Serve
- Served cooked shrimp over quinoa with toppings of choice.
Notes
- Leftovers: Store leftover quinoa and shrimp in separate containers for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup cooked quinoa, 4 ounces shrimp (does not include toppings)
- Calories: 321
- Sugar: 0.2 g
- Sodium: 162.6 mg
- Fat: 10.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 29 g
- Protein: 29.1 g
- Cholesterol: 182.5 mg
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Hi! I'm Katya -- a former corporate paralegal turned full-time recipe developer and blogger behind Little Broken. Here you'll find family-friendly and seasonal recipes made from real ingredients.
Simply delicious! Easy to make, great flavor, and lasts for days when I pre-make these for multiple work lunches.
Made it with chicken cubes instead of shrimp and still very good!
This recipe is amazing!! Due to my husbands high blood pressure and diabetes we had to make some lifestyle changes and that is so hard when all we eat is Mexican food. This gives us a great healthy option for one of our favorite dishes.
That’s great to hear Celena! So glad you found a recipe you like. Thanks so much for your feedback.