🍤🌿 This Creamy Shrimp Pasta Salad recipe features tender pasta, juicy shrimp, crunchy celery, bell peppers, and peas tossed in a tangy, zesty dressing. Quick and easy to make, it’s great for summer gatherings to serve as a side salad or a stand-alone meal!
Easy Shrimp Pasta Salad
I love pasta salads, especially during warmer months. From Amish pasta salad to Italian chicken pasta salad, BLT pasta salad, they’re always delicious and give me all the summer vibes. And this easy shrimp pasta salad is no exception!
- There’s a delightful medley of flavors and textures, with the sweetness of shrimp, crunchiness of celery and bell peppers, along with peas for a fresh green pop, and a refreshing burst of fresh dill, which is always a lovely match with fish and seafood.
- The homemade pasta salad dressing is creamy and tangy thanks to a splash of lemon juice and vinegar, and it coats the pasta, shrimp, and other veggies beautifully
- This cold pasta salad can be whipped up with less than 20 minutes of active prep time (although you do want to budget time for chilling the salad).
I have made this recipe many times for family. They love it. Making it again at the weekend
Sue Howorth
Ingredients You’ll Need
For this easy, light yet comforting seafood pasta salad, you’ll need the following ingredients.
Pasta Salad
- Cooked pasta: Use small pasta such as elbow macaroni, small shells, rotini, wheels, bowtie, farfalle, penne, or your favorite. You can use whole-grain pasta or gluten-free pasta (that you’ve tested and you know you like, because I have not tested with GF pasta)
- Cooked shrimp: Using a bag of frozen (and thawed) shrimp is great. Make sure they are cooked shrimp, though! I recommend small-sized shrimp. If using fresh shrimp, make sure to boil them first. I would say U30 size range or just nice bite-sized shrimp. I do not recommend big, beautiful shrimp. Save the big beauties for Shrimp Scampi
- Veggies: Celery, bell peppers, fresh or frozen peas, and green onions. Add or substitute vegetables according to your preferences. Cherry tomatoes, cucumber, or zucchini are great options
- Fresh dill: I don’t recommend dried dill, but you can try it if you don’t think you’ll mind
Creamy Dressing
- Mayonnaise: Greek yogurt or a combination of Greek yogurt and sour cream can be used as a mayo alternative for a lighter version. However, they don’t have the creaminess that mayonnaise does, and they’re more tangy. I suggest using 1/2 cup mayo and then 1/2 cup sour cream/Greek yogurt as the best compromise for creaminess and flavor
- Lemon juice: Fresh is best
- Granulated sugar
- White wine vinegar: White wine vinegar is my favorite, but white vinegar, rice vinegar, red wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar are other options
- Salt and pepper
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How To Make Shrimp Pasta Salad
This pasta salad with shrimp is best served chilled, so you’ll need to budget at least 2 hours total time for it to really properly chill, since there’s freshly boiled hot pasta. It’s a great salad to make in the morning and then have it for lunch or dinner that day.
- Boil the pasta just to al dente according to package instructions, drain, and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Add hte pasta to a large bowl.
- Add the shrimp, vegetables, and herbs.
- Whisk together all the dressing or sauce ingredients.
- Pour the dressing over the other ingredients, and stir and toss to combine.
- Cover and chill well before serving, and garnish with fresh herbs.
What to serve with shrimp Pasta salad
Shrimp Pasta Salad
Equipment
- 1 Medium Bowl
Ingredients
Pasta Salad
- 1 pound macaroni pasta, small-shaped pasta such as small shells, rotini, wheels, bowtie, etc. are all fine
- 8 ounces small cooked shrimp, such as from a bag of frozen shrimp that were previously cooked, now thawed and drained
- 1 cup celery, diced small
- 1 cup green bell pepper, diced small (or any color bell peppers)
- 1 cups peas, I use frozen that I thaw and drain well; or fresh peas are fine
- ½ cup green onions, sliced into thin rounds (I use both white and green parts)
- ¼ cup fresh dill, finely minced (plus more for garnishing if desired)
Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise, read ingredient notes in post for my thoughts on substitutions
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, white vinegar, rice vinegar, red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar may be substituted
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste if desired
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste if desired
Instructions
- Pasta Salad – Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions. Rinse pasta under cold water when done boiling to stop the cooking process. Drain well. Tip – Add a tablespoon or so of olive oil to the pasta cooking water while it's boiling to help prevent sticking. Move on to the next steps like chopping while the pasta is cooking.
- To a large mixing bowl (make sure it's pretty big so everything fits), add the shrimp, celery, bell peppers, peas, green onions, dill, and stir to combine. Shrimp Tips – Read the ingredient notes in the blog post about what shrimp to use in more detail, but I prefer previously cooked and then frozen shrimp that I then just simply thaw and drain. Look for small, bite-sized shrimp. Whatever shrimp you use, make sure they are cooked before adding them here!
- When the pasta has been cooked, rinsed, and drained very well, add it to the bowl with the other ingredients; set aside momentarily.
- Dressing – To a separate medium bowl, add all ingredients, and whisk well to combine. Tips – If you want this dressing to read lemony, you can replace the 1 tablespoon vinegar with 1 tablespoon lemon juice (for 2 total tablespoons lemon juice). The sugar helps balance the acidity and I recommend adding it.
- Pour the dressing over the pasta salad ingredients and stir well to combine. I like to use a rubber spatula to make sure I am really getting everything tossed, coated, and combined.
- Taste the pasta salad, and if desired, add more salt or pepper. Flavor Tips – If it tastes at all flat, boring, or dull, it probably could use more salt since you're flavoring about 2 pounds worth of ingredients so don't be afraid to add another teaspoon or so. The same is true for pepper, but more so for salt. Additional dill, green onions, or a bit of lemon zest will also add more flavor intensity.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and serve chilled, or as desired. Garnish with additional fresh dill before serving, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy shrimp recipes
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Classic Macaroni Salad — This fast and easy pasta salad recipe with tender elbow macaroni, bell peppers, carrots, celery, ham, and a super creamy dressing is a family FAVORITE! You can make it up to a day in advance if you want to get ahead and serve it at your next casual get together, backyard barbecue, picnic, potluck, or weeknight family dinner! Everyone always wants seconds!
Quick and Easy Tuna Pasta Salad – 👏🏻🧑🏻🍳 Jazz up a can of tuna with this FAST and EASY pasta salad that’s creamy, satisfying, and chock full of flavor! Perfect for lunch or as a great side dish for dinner! Made with simple, common, and inexpensive ingredients which is always a WIN!
BLT Pasta Salad — EASY, ready in 15 minutes, feeds a crowd, and PERFECT for potlucks and parties. Creamy ranch dressing perfectly coats the pasta and BACON. Guaranteed family FAVORITE!
Taco Pasta Salad — EASY, ready in 20 minutes, and loaded with great Mexican-inspired ingredients including corn, black beans, tomatoes, cilantro, avocado, and more! Perfect for picnics, parties, and potlucks!
Basil Lemon Pasta Salad with Chicken — 🍋🥒🍅 This chicken pasta salad is loaded with flavor, ready in minutes, and showcases Mediterranean-inspired ingredients! It’s perfect for summer potlucks and barbecues (no mayo!) and feeds a crowd. Or make it as an EASY family dinner with planned leftovers!
Amish Pasta Salad — A family-favorite classic pasta salad recipe with al dente pasta, bell peppers, celery, red onions, and hard-boiled eggs tossed in a creamy tangy-sweet dressing!
Italian Chicken Pasta Salad — This Italian Chicken Pasta Salad is easy, ready in 20 minutes, and showcases some of my favorite summer ingredients. It’s perfect for summer potlucks and BBQs, or as a no-fuss family dinner!
Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad — The BEST version of a chicken Caesar salad because there’s tender pasta, too! EASY, ready in 20 minutes, makes a big batch, and a guaranteed family FAVORITE!
I have made this recipe many times for family. They love it. Making it again at the weekend
Thanks for the 5 star review, Sue, and I’m glad to hear this is a winner for you and your family and you’re making it again this weekend!