When you want a dinner that feels light and fresh but still delivers serious protein, a tiger prawn salad is hard to beat. Juicy prawns, quickly cooked with garlic and chilli, piled onto crisp leaves with avocado and a zingy lime dressing, give you 30g of protein for around 360 calories in barely ten minutes. It is fresh, fast, low-carb and feels a bit special — a perfect GLP-1 dinner for a warm evening or when you are short on time.
A quick word first: I am not a doctor or a dietitian, just someone who lived this. None of these foods or supplements are medication, and if you are on a GLP-1, check anything new with your GP or pharmacist. Right, let us get to it.
For more evening ideas, see my high-protein dinner ideas, and for hitting your protein, how much protein per day.
Why prawns are a brilliant fast protein
Prawns are one of the most underused quick proteins, and they are perfect for a GLP-1 dinner.
30g of high-quality protein, very lean. Prawns are almost pure protein with very little fat, so you get a big protein hit for few calories — ideal on a GLP-1.
They cook in minutes. Prawns take just a couple of minutes to cook, making this one of the fastest proper dinners you can make when time or energy is short.
Fresh, light and low-carb. Piled onto leaves with avocado and lime, this is a light, refreshing dinner that still leaves you satisfied thanks to the protein.
Quick proteins for when energy is low
One of the realities of life on a GLP-1 is that your energy can be unpredictable, and there are plenty of evenings when the idea of cooking anything involved is simply too much. Those are exactly the evenings when good intentions collapse and a takeaway or something unhealthy wins. The solution I found was to build a repertoire of genuinely quick proteins — things that go from fridge to plate in ten minutes or less — so that even on a low-energy evening, a proper high-protein dinner is realistic. Prawns are a star of that repertoire, and this salad is a perfect example.
Prawns cook in about two minutes, so a dish like this is faster than ordering a takeaway and infinitely better for you. Other quick proteins worth keeping on hand include eggs, tinned fish, pre-cooked chicken, smoked salmon and tofu — all of which can become a proper meal in minutes. Keeping a bag of frozen prawns in the freezer means you are never more than ten minutes from a 30g-protein dinner, even when you have not shopped and cannot face cooking. That kind of convenience is genuinely important for staying on track, because consistency beats perfection, and the meals that keep you consistent are the easy ones. Building your own list of go-to quick proteins, and keeping the ingredients on hand, is one of the most practical things you can do to protect your progress on the evenings when your energy is at its lowest. This prawn salad is proof that fast food can be genuinely good food.
The macros that matter
Here is roughly what one serving gives you. Treat these as a guide rather than gospel, since it depends on your exact ingredients and portions:
| Approx per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | ~360 kcal |
| Protein | 30g |
| Carbohydrate | 16g |
| Fat | 18g |
| Fibre | 6g |
The protein figure is the one I watch on a GLP-1. As a rough guide I aim for somewhere around 1.2 to 1.6g of protein per kilo of body weight across the day to protect muscle while losing fat, and I judge every meal by how much of that it contributes. I log meals like this in Cronometer (it is free) so I know I am actually hitting my targets rather than hoping. The first time I tracked properly I realised I was eating far less protein than I thought, so if you have never done it, give it two weeks.
What you need (serves 1)
- 200g raw or cooked tiger prawns
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- ½ red chilli, finely sliced
- 2 big handfuls of crisp salad leaves
- ½ avocado, sliced
- ¼ cucumber, sliced
- A handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Juice of 1 lime
- Fresh coriander, salt and black pepper
How to make it
- If using raw prawns, heat the olive oil in a pan and cook the prawns with the garlic and chilli for 2–3 minutes until pink and just cooked through. If using cooked prawns, warm them briefly with the garlic and chilli.
- Pile the crisp salad leaves into a bowl as the base.
- Add the avocado, cucumber and tomatoes.
- Top with the warm garlicky prawns.
- Whisk the lime juice with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and drizzle over.
- Scatter with fresh coriander and serve straight away.
Adjusting it to your goals
This is high-protein and low-carb, and flexible:
Make it a tofu version. Pan-fried marinated tofu in place of prawns gives a plant-based version with good protein.
Add a carb if you need it. Some rice, noodles or a slice of bread rounds it out for a hungrier day.
Add more veg or beans. For extra fibre and volume. See fibre on GLP-1.
How to cook prawns perfectly every time
Prawns are one of the quickest and most rewarding proteins to cook, but they are also easy to ruin, because the line between perfectly cooked and rubbery and overdone is a matter of seconds. The good news is that once you know the signs, they are foolproof. Raw prawns are grey and translucent; as they cook, they turn pink and opaque and curl into a loose C shape. That is your signal that they are done — usually just two to three minutes in a hot pan. The mistake almost everyone makes is leaving them on the heat too long, at which point they curl into a tight O shape and turn tough and rubbery. So watch them closely, and take them off the moment they are pink and opaque; they will finish cooking in their residual heat. Get them at that sweet spot and they are plump, juicy and tender. A few other tips: pat raw prawns dry before cooking so they sear rather than steam, get your pan properly hot, and do not overcrowd it. If you are using frozen prawns, defrost them fully and pat them dry first. Cooked prawns just need warming through briefly rather than cooking again, so add them at the very end. Master this simple bit of timing and prawns become one of the most reliable quick proteins in your kitchen — a genuine ten-minute route to a high-protein dinner, as this fresh salad shows.
A genuinely fast fresh dinner
This is a make-and-eat dinner, and since it takes barely ten minutes, that is the whole point — it is your go-to for a low-energy or time-poor evening. Keep a bag of frozen prawns in the freezer and the salad ingredients to hand, and you are always minutes from a high-protein meal. Cooked prawns are also lovely cold in a next-day high-protein lunch salad. The fastest option in my meal prep ideas for Mounjaro arsenal.
How it fits a full day of eating
At 30g of protein for around 360 calories, this fresh salad pulls solid weight for a dinner, and it does it in minutes. I still aim for a solid high-protein breakfasts and high-protein lunch, but a quick, high-protein dinner like this makes hitting my target easy even on a busy day.
Being low-carb, it suits an evening where I have had carbs earlier, or I add rice or noodles if I need the energy. a protein shake covers any post-workout gap. This is exactly the kind of fast, high-protein dinner that protects your progress on a low-energy evening — my complete GLP-1 guide explains how I plan around it.
No appetite today?
Light, fresh and quick, a prawn salad is one of the more manageable dinners on a low-appetite evening while still banking a big protein hit, and the lime and chilli can help wake up an appetite. Even a few prawns with some avocado deliver good protein. When even this feels like too much, HelloFresh keeps proper meals coming. More in what to eat with no appetite.
Supplements that pair well
Prawns are lean and low in omega-3 compared to oily fish, so I make sure to take Super Omega-3 EPA on days like this. A daily Super Supplemental covers general gaps. If you eat this lean, make sure the rest of your day includes enough healthy fats. The free Lily & Loaf lifestyle analysis matches a routine to your goals.
Frequently asked questions
Are prawns good for weight loss?
Excellent — they are almost pure protein with very little fat, so you get a big protein hit for few calories. At 30g of protein for around 360 calories, this salad is a genuinely smart, satisfying dinner that cooks in minutes.
How do I stop prawns going rubbery?
Do not overcook them — they are done the moment they turn pink and opaque and curl into a loose C, usually just 2–3 minutes. Take them off the heat immediately; leaving them longer makes them tough and rubbery.
Can I use frozen prawns?
Yes — frozen prawns are a brilliant freezer staple. Defrost them fully and pat them dry before cooking, or use pre-cooked frozen prawns and just warm them through. Either way you are minutes from a high-protein dinner.
Can I make a vegetarian version?
Yes — pan-fried marinated tofu in place of the prawns gives a plant-based version with good protein. Season it with the same garlic, chilli and lime for a similar fresh, punchy flavour.
Is it filling enough on its own?
With the avocado and a big pile of veg, and thanks to the 30g of protein, yes for most people. Add rice, noodles or bread for a hungrier day or after a workout if you need more energy.
The bottom line
Tiger prawn salad is proof that fast food can be genuinely good food — 30g of lean protein in a fresh, zingy, low-carb dinner ready in barely ten minutes. Building a repertoire of quick proteins like prawns protects your progress on the low-energy evenings when good intentions usually collapse. Keep frozen prawns on hand, learn to cook them perfectly, and you are always minutes from a proper high-protein meal. To match your supplements to a lean, fresh diet, the free Lily & Loaf lifestyle analysis is a quick, no-pressure check.
The tools I lean on
If you are putting a GLP-1 routine together, this is the order I would do it in, free tools first:
- Track a fortnight of food in Cronometer so you can see your real protein and calories.
- Take the free Lily & Loaf lifestyle analysis to find the supplements actually worth buying.
- Start an Audible trial for something to listen to while you cook or walk.
- Keep HelloFresh on standby for the weeks cooking from scratch just is not happening.
- Batch-cook and freeze portions in a set of freezer-safe containers so there is always a healthy dinner a few minutes away.
A bit about me
I am Alan Spicer. I lost around seven stone on Mounjaro and filmed the whole thing, warts and all, on my YouTube channel. Simple, protein-first dinners like this were a real part of how I held onto muscle and kept the weight off.
This article shares my personal experience and general information only. It is not medical advice. Food and supplements support a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle and do not replace it or any treatment prescribed by your doctor. Speak to your GP or pharmacist before making changes, especially while on a GLP-1 medication. Nutrition figures are approximate and will vary with the exact ingredients and brands you use.
Inspired by the kind of fresh, wholefood dinners in the Lily & Loaf evening meals collection. This is my own version, written from my own kitchen.
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