Kino Meals: Blackened Shrimp Bowl

Time for another Kino Meal! 

This recipe is compliments of Emily Ness from CookingUpHappiness.com and co-author (and head recipe creator) of Kino Chef, the Kinobody cookbook.

Emily, take it away…

If you love Chipotle burrito bowls and also love seafood, then you’ll really enjoy this delicious new recipe: blackened shrimp bowl with mango salsa.

We incorporate seafood into our dinner line-up every week, and you should too. It’s a great way to mix up the “normal” recipes like chicken and potatoes, but what’s more – shrimp is relatively low in calories, so you can have a ton of it without splurging on the calories.

To put it in perspective, 3 ounces of shrimp clocks in at under 100 calories, so you can have an entire pound of shrimp for under 400 calories (which is a lot). THAT is pretty awesome…

That’s what’s so great about this bowl; even with a heaping portion of shrimp and rice, this bowl is still lower in calories than most take-out bowls (even from Chipotle), and the fresh flavors are crazy delicious.

We make this in our house every week, and after trying it, you probably will too.

Note: if shrimp isn’t your thing, just sub it out for some tilapia, mahi mahi, cod or even chicken. The seasonings work great with any lean meat you prefer.

Now, one quick thing before we get to the recipe. The ingredients below are to make your own blackened rub/seasoning, and manga salsa. This is encouraged, but optional. To make things easier, I’ve included ways to shortcut the process and take a lot of the work out of it, like using a blackened spice mix, etc.

Do what you’re comfortable with and what you have time for, and don’t feel that you must follow the recipe exactly.

That said, let’s get to it!

Blackened Shrimp Bowl Ingredients:

For the Blackened Shrimp Bowl:

• 2 lbs. uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 1/2 tbsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 2 tbsp. olive oil, for cooking
• jasmine rice (I just used the microwavable or boil-in-a-bag kind)

If you don’t want to make your own blackened seasoning, you can sub all the above ingredients (except for the shrimp, rice, and olive oil) for a blackened, cajun, or jerked spice mix, like this one:

For the Mango Salsa:

• 6 oz. mango, cubed small
• 1 roma tomato, diced small
• 1/3 cup red onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup cilantro, loosely packed then chopped
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 stevia packet
• optional: 1 jalapeno, diced and seeded

To make this salsa easier, you can sub this for a mango salsa (they sell a good one at Target).

For the Spicy Greek Yogurt Sauce:

• 2/3 cup plain non-fat greek yogurt
• 1 tsp. hidden valley ranch dry mix
• 1 tsp. Sriracha
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1/8 tsp. cumin
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne

Don’t skimp on this – it’s simple to make and is great with virtually any dish.

Directions:

To Make the Mango Salsa:

1. If you’re using the ingredient list above to make your own salsa, chop all salsa ingredients into small pieces; stir together to combine. Place into the fridge until ready to serve.

To Make the Spicy Ranch Sauce:

1. Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To Make the Blackened Shrimp:

1. Peel and devein shrimp, then place into a large bowl.
2. Add paprika, cayenne, garlic, oregano, thyme, onion powder, salt and pepper (or your seasoning mix of choice, if you’re not making this from scratch). Toss to completely coat each shrimp with blackened seasoning.
3. In a large skillet heat 1 tbsp. olive oil on medium heat, then add 1/2 the amount of shrimp into the oiled pan and cook for 3-5 minutes or until shrimp is fully cooked. Remove shrimp from pan.
4. Add remaining tablespoon to the skillet, add the other half of the shrimp and cook for 3-5 minutes.

To Build your Bowl:

1. Start with 3/4 cup jasmine rice on the bottom.
2. Top with 6 oz. blackened shrimp and mango salsa, then drizzle with 2 tbsp. spicy ranch and serve.

Nutritional Information

Servings: 5 approx.
Serving Size: 6 oz. cooked shrimp, 3/4 cup cooked jasmine rice, mango salsa and 2 tbsp. spicy ranch

Calories: 385
Fat: 8 g
Carbohydrates: 39 g
Sugar: 1 g
Fiber: 0 g
Sodium: 351 mg
Protein: 42 g

There you have it: a simple, delicious, and entirely macro-friendly meal that doesn’t take more than 20 minutes to whip up.

If you think this is beyond you, then guess again… Anyone can make this, and it’s really damn good. Like I said, we have it in our house nearly every week.

Go ahead and give it a try and let me know what you think!