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These Shrimp Stuffed Avocados are an easy, healthy meal made with tangy cilantro lime shrimp and creamy avocado. Ready in 10 minutes, these avocado shrimp boats are high in protein, low in carbs, and make a quick lunch or light dinner.
Table of Contents
- Why you’ll love this recipe
- Health Benefits of Avocado Shrimp Boats
- Ingredients
- Variations/ Adaptations
- How to make Shrimp Stuffed Avocados
- Rachel’s Tips for Best Results
- Serving Suggestions
- Leftover Storage and Reheat Instructions
- Recipe Frequently Asked Questions
- More Healthy Low Carb Recipes You’ll Love:
- Shrimp Stuffed Avocados (Avocado Shrimp Boats) Recipe
Why you’ll love this recipe
Everything about this avocado shrimp recipe is perfect in my food world. Everything. I could eat these avocado shrimp boats several times each month because they are soooo satisfying thanks to all the flavorful fresh ingredients + high protein + healthy fat. Together they feel like an absolute indulgence to me. Here are some of the other reasons I think you’ll love these:
- Done in 10 minutes: Since this avocado and shrimp recipe uses pre-cooked shrimp, it only takes about 5 minutes to whip up the shrimp salad, and another 1-3 minutes to melt the cheese on top.
- Low carb/keto friendly: The high amount of healthy fats, without any carbs, makes this a great low carb shrimp avocado meal if you are eating a keto diet.
- Easy lunch, light dinner: This avocado boat recipe is totally filling for an easy lunch, and if you pair it with a few more veggies
- High Protein: The high protein comes from the shrimp and also the avocado! I bet you didn’t know avocados are a good source of protein and can help build muscles!
If you’re looking for more healthy low carb meal recipes similar to this one, then try these taco stuffed avocados made with ground turkey or chicken, our chipotle tuna salad stuffed avocados for an easy no-bake recipe, or these tasty buffalo chicken stuffed peppers for something a little different but still low carb friendly.
Health Benefits of Avocado Shrimp Boats
Shrimp, like a lot of seafood, is a great source of lean protein. Meaning it is low in fat, and high in protein.
The avocado in this recipe contains not only healthy fats, but as I mentioned above, it is also a source of protein!
A whole avocado may not astound you with high protein numbers (as it only has 3-4 grams), but it does have all of the nine essential amino acids that serve as our body’s building blocks. These are histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine – and they’re all found in an avocado!
They are called ‘essential’ because our bodies require them in developing and healing muscles, cells, and body systems. Our bodies cannot produce these proteins, so they have to come from the food we consume.
This makes avocado a VERY fitting accompaniment for our fitness + muscle building, or muscle retention + fat loss goals!
Learn more about the Health Benefits of Avocados!
Ingredients
The ingredients that make these shrimp stuffed avocados perfect for an easy healthy meal are the following:
4 Servings
- 1 lb cooked shrimp, peeled, chopped
- 1 fresh lemon or lime, juiced
- 2 ripe but firm avocados, peeled and halved
- 1/4 cup homemade mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsps fresh cilantro, chopped and divided
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
- sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup pepper jack or cheddar cheese, freshly shredded and divided
- fresh lemon or lime wedges, to serve
See the recipe card for full information on all ingredients and instructions.
Variations/ Adaptations
- Adjust the spice: For more spice, add more jalapenos, for less…well you get it 😉
- Different Cooking Method: If you don’t feel like firing up the oven, you can pop these into the air fryer or onto a hot grill for a few minutes to melt the cheese on top.
- Change the Flavors: Blackened shrimp, garlic butter shrimp, and spicy shrimp all will work in these avocado boats and create new flavors.
- Dairy-Free: Omit the cheese or add a vegan cheese alternative.
- Swap shrimp for crab, salmon
- Add tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, feta, bacon cheddar ranch, spicy mayo like we did in this spicy tuna recipe, or mango to make tropical shrimp boats.
How to make Shrimp Stuffed Avocados
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees f.
- Prepare the boats by cutting the avocados in half and removing the pit.
- Using a spoon, scoop out some flesh to create a larger spot for your filling.
- Rub a slice of lemon (or brush with fresh lemon juice) on the surface to prevent the avocado from browning.
- Place the boats in a baking dish and set them aside. Keep the remaining avocado flesh to add to the filling
- In a large bowl, add the avocado flesh together with your fresh lemon or lime juice and mash it together with a fork. Add in the homemade mayonnaise, half of the fresh cilantro, green onions, jalapeno, sea salt, and pepper to taste, half of the cheese, and all of your chopped shrimp.
- Stir well to combine.
- Divide your shrimp mixture equally between each of the avocado boats and then top with the remaining cheese. Broil for 3-5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with remaining fresh cilantro and serve immediately with fresh lemon or lime wedges.
Enjoy!
💚Rachel
Rachel’s Tips for Best Results
These simple tips will help you make the best shrimp stuffed avocados every time.
- You want your avocados to be slightly soft, but not mushy.
- Use precooked shrimp so this is a super fast meal.
- Use fresh lime juice, not bottled, for a bright taste.
- Mix any extra avocado into your shrimp salad mixture.
- Watch the broil closely so you don’t burn the cheese or the avocado, which can turn bitter. 1-3 minutes max.
- Serve immediately for best texture and to prevent the avocados from browning.
Shrimp is such a quick and easy meal idea that you may want to also try these high protein shrimp power bowls for busy weeks, this easy blackened shrimp recipe to add to a salad, or a fast one-pan garlic shrimp and quinoa dish.
Serving Suggestions
These creamy avocado shrimp boats are best served immediately otherwise, the texture of the avocado could become too mushy or turn brown. They are perfect for a healthy shrimp lunch or light shrimp dinner, meal prep if you cut the avocados right before serving, and also make a great little appetizer for a gathering.
As a side dish, I recommend a fresh side salad with a light vinaigrette dressing, easy roasted cauliflower, or grilled vegetables.
Leftover Storage and Reheat Instructions
For any leftover cilantro lime shrimp salad you can refrigerate it up to 3 days and use as meal prep. It is recommended to not cut and store the avocados but instead, cut the avocados right before you plan to eat the shrimp stuffed avocados. Melt the cheese over the whole thing right before eating as well. To make this faster, you can pop them into an air fryer for 1-3 minutes instead of using the broiler.
Recipe Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use frozen shrimp for this recipe?
Yes, you will need to take the extra time to thaw and cook the shrimp (if it is not already cooked) before using it in the shrimp salad mix. Make sure to pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel before using so your avocado filling does not become watery.
Are shrimp stuffed avocados keto friendly?
Yes, these shrimp stuffed avocados are low carb and therefore keto friendly. They are high in healthy fats from the avocados and high in protein from the shrimp.
Can I make avocado shrimp boats ahead of time?
You can make the shrimp filling ahead and store it in the refrigerator however, I recommend adding the filling into the avocado and melting the cheese over it all right before serving.
Can I make these shrimp boats without cheese?
I have made these without the cheese before and they are still creamy and delicious, so go for it!
How long do these shrimp stuffed avocados last in the refrigerator?
If you have assembled the shrimp and avocado boats entirely, I would recommend only keeping them in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. A better idea is to store just the cilantro lime shrimp mixture in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and stuff it into an avocado right before you eat it.
More Healthy Low Carb Recipes You’ll Love:
Shrimp Stuffed Avocados (Avocado Shrimp Boats)
Ingredients
- 1 lb cooked shrimp, peeled, chopped
- 1 fresh lemon or lime, juiced
- 2 ripe but firm avocados, peeled and halved
- 1/4 cup homemade mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsps fresh cilantro, chopped and divided
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
- sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup pepper jack or cheddar cheese, freshly shredded and divided
- fresh lemon or lime wedges, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees f.
- Prepare the boats by cutting the avocados in half and removing the pit.
- Using a spoon, scoop out some flesh to create a larger spot for your filling.
- Rub a slice of lemon (or brush with fresh lemon juice) on the surface to prevent the avocado from browning.
- Place the boats in a baking dish and set them aside. Keep the remaining avocado flesh to add to the filling.
- In a large bowl, add the avocado flesh together with your fresh lemon or lime juice and mash it together with a fork. Add in the homemade mayonnaise, half of the fresh cilantro, green onions, jalapeno, sea salt, and pepper to taste, half of the cheese, and all of your chopped shrimp.
- Stir well to combine.
- Divide your shrimp mixture equally between each of the avocado boats and then top with the remaining cheese. Broil for 3-5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with remaining fresh cilantro and serve immediately with fresh lemon or lime wedges.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
