Blackberry Spring Greens Salad with Grilled Spicy Shrimp

Spring is just around the corner – the perfect time to lighten up our weekly whole food meal plans with simple, yet sensational dinner salads like this delightful Blackberry Spring Greens Salad with Grilled Spicy Shrimp.

What makes this salad so amazing is the flavorful combination of slightly sweet homemade blackberry dressing paired with the kick of spicy grilled shrimp. The shrimp gets its kick from my homemade version of Emeril’s Essence Seasoning Blend. This easy-to-make seasoning is not only a great accent for seafood, meats and poultry, but it’s also delicious on grilled or roasted veggies!

Of course, living in Southern California, we pretty much grill year-round. But if spring hasn’t sprung for you yet, it’s an easy solution to simply broil the seasoned shrimp instead (see recipe instructions below).

In addition, if fresh blackberries aren’t in season in your area, simply substitute with thawed frozen berries. Frozen berries are available year-round and are often sweeter, since they’re picked at the peak of ripeness and then flash frozen.

This salad is absolutely wonderful! But guess what? You can kick-it-up another notch with the addition of crumbled feta cheese. And another delicious option is to add some Slow Cooker Spiced Nuts for extra crunch and flavor! Talk about YUM!

Looking for more delicious dinner salad recipes? Be sure to check out our "Sensational Salads Recipe Round Up."

Blackberry Spring Greens Salad with Grilled Spicy Shrimp

Serves 4 • Recipe courtesy of The Nourishing Home

Ingredients

For the Blackberry Lime Dressing
1 cup fresh blackberries
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp minced fresh basil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp honey
1/4 tsp sea salt
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp lime zest
Optional: Feta cheese and Spiced Nuts

For the Grilled Shrimp Salad
8 cups mixed salad greens
1 1/2 cups artichoke hearts (halved)
1 cup cucumber slices (halved)
1 cup fresh blackberries
32 medium shrimp, peeled & deveined, tails-on
“Emeril’s Essence” Seasoning (click for recipe)

Instructions

For the salad dressing: Place all ingredients (except the olive oil and lime zest) into a blender. Blend until puréed. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl (to remove seeds). Whisk in the olive oil and lime zest. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

For the shrimp: Preheat grill to medium heat. Pat dry shrimp and thread onto skewers. Lightly brush shrimp with a little olive oil and sprinkle with Homemade Emeril’s Essence Seasoning Blend.

Grill shrimp 2-3 minutes per side until shrimp is opaque. (Or to broil the shrimp, preheat oven on broil setting. Place the seasoned shrimp on a baking sheet and broil about 7-8 inches from the heat for 6-7 minutes, turning once.)

For the salads: Divide the salad greens, artichoke hearts, cucumber slices, blackberries and grilled shrimp among four plates. (For an extra kick, top salads with some crumbled feta cheese and spiced nuts, if desired.) Drizzle salads with the blackberry lime dressing and enjoy!