When lunchtime needs to be quick, cold, and delicious, put your jazz hands up for this Whole30 Thai shrimp salad with the easiest almond dressing that brings all flavors together like a big happy family. This make-ahead, 10-minute meal is perfect for paleo people and Whole30 enthusiasts too. Simple, healthy ingredients and major flavor!
You know when you randomly throw together a lunch on the fly that’s so full of flavor and so simple and so insanely delicious that you grab your camera immediately and start snapping photos of the masterpiece? No? Maybe it’s just a food blogger thing.
But I’m telling you my friends, the minute I tasted the sweet Thai almond dressing (a easier-to-make rival of a traditional peanut sauce), I knew it was magic and HAD to be shared.
I love Thai food – but so many recipes I’ve made at home require too many ingredients and too many steps for this busy lady. I need easy/quick/painless every meal. I just don’t have the time to spend hours in the kitchen!
That’s why this Thai shrimp & pineapple cabbage salad is just my style. It’s a paleo and Whole30 compliant lunch (or dinner) that I can make in just minutes. After I devour it in like 3.4 seconds, I make myself a mental note to throw this together over and over again (then I lick the bowl clean because that almond butter dressing is LIFE).
Simple ingredients like cocktail shrimp, sliced cabbage, bell pepper, cucumber, and canned pineapple make up the salad, then combined condiments like almond butter, coconut aminos, rice vinegar, and lime juice make up the BOMB-tastic sauce to top. Then if the overachievers want more, throw in extras like grated ginger or chili flakes and beef up the salad a bit more with avocado, cilantro, sliced almonds or cashews.
This is the kind of lunch you can quickly throw together, or arrange beforehand to have all your coworkers stunned at your homemade creation while they’re spending $14 on a dinky salad across the street.
This Whole30 recipe is a perfect way to mix up the mundane and will undoubtably make its appearance on your meal planning calendar again!
And if simple, make-ahead lunches are your gig, be sure to check out this Peri Peri Chicken Salad, Whole30 Cold Taco Salad, Stuffed Sweet Potato Burritos, or these Simple Shrimp Pineapple Spring Rolls.
PrintThai Shrimp & Pineapple Cabbage Salad (paleo + Whole30)
A simple to throw together or make-ahead lunch – this Thai Shrimp & Pineapple Cabbage salad is a paleo + Whole30 recipe with simple ingredients! Top it with a sweet almond dressing for maximum flavor.
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Total Time: 10 Minutes
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cups purple cabbage
- 3 baby cucumbers, sliced (*can sub for 1/3 cup diced cucumber)
- 1/4 sliced bell pepper
- 1/3 cup pineapple tidbits (canned is fine)
- 1/2 cup large cocktail shrimp (roughy 12–14 shrimp)
Almond Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons almond butter (or sub for peanut butter)
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos (can sub for tamari or soy sauce)
- 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
Instructions
- Combine salad ingredients in a bowl
- Mix the dressing ingredients until creamy and smooth. Add a splash of water to thin it out if needed
- Pour dressing over the salad and serve cold
Notes
*Dressing can be made beforehand and stored in the refrigerator until ready to serve. It will thicken chilled, so let sit at room temperature 30 minutes before pouring over the salad.
You may have some leftover which can be refrigerated for up to a week
Love this almond dressing!!
★★★★★