Shrimp Pasta Salad

5 from 4 votes
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Shrimp pasta salad is the perfect summer main course or side dish. You’ll love the fresh shrimp and tender pasta in a vibrant lemon dill sauce. It’s a flavor explosion!

Shrimp pasta salad on a plate.
Featured with this recipe
  1. Shrimp Pasta Salad Ingredients
  2. How to Make Shrimp Pasta Salad
  3. Using Fresh Dill
  4. Frequently Asked Questions
  5. What to Serve with this Salad
  6. Shrimp Pasta Salad Recipe

This shrimp pasta salad combines the zesty, fresh flavors of lemon, dill, and shrimp for a delicious summer meal. This recipe features a light, tangy dill sauce with chunky fresh veggies tossed in with big shrimp bites and pasta. You will love this light meal that is packed with tons of flavor!

Taste the refreshing and delicious shrimp pasta with all the flavor at your next barbeque get-together. This shrimp pasta salad is quick and easy to make. Make a homemade dressing, cook the pasta, and add the protein and vegetables for an all-around delicious salad. Watch this salad disappear at your next gathering!

Shrimp Pasta Salad Ingredients

Don’t let these ingredients scare you! There are enough to make the dressing recipe, pasta, and chop and slicing the vegetables. It is a simple recipe that can be tossed together quickly and easily. This shrimp pasta salad is a creamy, zesty, and flavorful side dish everyone loves!

  • Lemon – Zest the whole lemon and juice it for the dressing recipe. This gives that lemon zest, tangy, and sweet balance with all the ingredients.
  • Mayonnaise – A soft and creamy mayo base that has flavor but also creaminess for dressing.
  • Sour cream – Thickness for the dressing. This is the base that forms the dressing and gives it the thickness it needs to pour over the salad.
  • Fresh dill – Dill is citrus-like and has an earthy, grassy taste too. A bite of dill is not the best but when adding it to the dressing you have a refreshing and delicious herb.
  • Bowtie farfalle pasta – Cook the pasta according to the package directions. You can also use elbow macaroni or rotini, or penne if that is what you have on hand. The pasta shape will absorb and hold in the dressing with these types of pasta.
  • Shrimp – Look for a medium size shrimp and some that have been deveined, shelled, and already cooked. You can even use imitation crab meat if needed or shredded chicken also tastes good.
  • Cucumber – Peel and sliced into thin round slices.
  • Carrots – Slice the carrots into small and thin round shapes. Small enough to manage using a fork.
  • Red bell pepper – Thick chunks cubed for extra flavor and crunch.
  • Green onions – Thinly slice the green onions to garnish the pasta salad.

How to Make Shrimp Pasta Salad

Plan your next cookout with this shrimp pasta salad recipe. Grab a large bowl and mix the dressing, pasta, and vegetables until it is all well combined. This pasta salad is always a favorite at picnics, potlucks, or a side dish for your home dinners!

  1. Mix dressing – For the dressing, zest the whole lemon and then juice it. Combine the zest, lemon juice, mayonnaise, sour cream, fresh dill, and salt. Set aside.
  2. Boil – Cook the pasta in a large pot according to the package instructions al dente. Once cooked, drain the pasta water. Place the colander under cold water and rinse the noodles until they are cold.
  3. Toss together – Combine pasta, shrimp, cucumber, carrots, pepper, and green onions.
  4. Combine – Pour dressing over salad ingredients and mix well.
  5. Refrigerate – Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, but several hours or overnight is best.

Using Fresh Dill

Fresh dill brings this shrimp pasta salad to life! If you have never used fresh herbs, it is effortless to work with and enhances any dish. Here are a few tips and ideas on how to pick, take care of, and handle fresh dill stalks.

  • Store – Find it at your local market in the produce section or grow your own.
  • Farmers market – In the market, it comes in long stems with feathery leaves of the dill weed coming off the stem.
  • Cut – I have found the easiest way to cut small amounts for recipes like this is to use kitchen shears or a pair of clean scissors. Clip the feathery leaves into approximately ⅛ inch pieces until you have the needed amount. Don’t use the thick stems, just the feathery leaves.
  • Refrigerate – If you can, allow the salad to fridge overnight; the flavor and fragrance of the dill grow stronger as it sits and enhances whatever dish you’re using it in.

“This is absolutely delicious!! That dressing is sooo good and flavorful. Thx for sharing 😊👍”

-Elena

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of shrimp do I use for pasta salad?

You can find raw shrimp at your market’s meat counter or you can use frozen pre-cooked shrimp. You can also devein and boil your own. It only takes a few minutes; shrimp cooks up fast! Just make sure the shrimp is chilled before you add it to the rest of the salad ingredients.

How long can you keep shrimp pasta salad?

You can keep shrimp pasta salad in the refrigerator in an airtight container for three to four days long. When you are ready to enjoy, stir the pasta salad together.

What to Serve with this Salad

Shrimp Pasta Salad can be served all on its own as a main course or as a side dish to any grilled meat. Try some of these recipes alongside your salad!

Shrimp Pasta Salad on a Plate

Shrimp Pasta Salad

5 from 4 votes
Shrimp Pasta Salad is the perfect summer main course or side dish. You'll love the fresh shrimp and tender pasta in a vibrant lemon dill sauce. It's a flavor explosion!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Refrigeration 30 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Salad
Cuisine Seafood
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 lemon
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 tbsp. fresh dill
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 cups bow tie farfalle pasta uncooked
  • 1 pound medium shrimp shelled, deveined and cooked
  • 1 cucumber sliced
  • 3 carrots sliced
  • 1 red pepper chopped in thick chunks
  • 4 green onions with tops thinly sliced

Instructions

  • For the dressing, zest the whole lemon and then juice it. Combine the zest, lemon juice, mayonnaise, sour cream, fresh dill, and salt. Set aside.
  • Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and rinse with cold water.
  • Combine pasta, shrimp, cucumber, carrots, pepper, and green onions.
  • Pour dressing over salad ingredients and mix well.
  • Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, but several hours or overnight is best.

Notes

Using Fresh Dill:
    • Store – Find it at your local market in the produce section or grow your own.
    • Farmers market – In the market, it comes in long stems with feathery leaves of the dill weed coming off the stem.
    • Cut – I have found the easiest way to cut small amounts for recipes like this is to use kitchen shears or a pair of clean scissors. Clip the feathery leaves into approximately ⅛ inch pieces until you have the needed amount. Don’t use the thick stems, just the feathery leaves.
    • Refrigerate – If you can, allow the salad to fridge overnight; the flavor and fragrance of the dill grow stronger as it sits and enhances whatever dish you’re using it in.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 316kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 17gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 156mgSodium: 682mgPotassium: 337mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 4615IUVitamin C: 34mgCalcium: 129mgIron: 2mg

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About the author

Echo Blickenstaff

Echo lives in Pleasant Grove, Utah with her husband, Todd, who works in advertising, and her four kids: two girls and two boys. She deploys her accounting degree as the blog’s resident problem solver. In her time outside the kitchen, Echo loves to get away from the phones and busy schedules and spend quality time with the family. Anywhere’s great – but getting out into nature in the mountains or on the beach – is the best kind of getaway.

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