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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!
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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! It pairs perfectly with burgers, bbq chicken, just about anything you throw on the grill.
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 creamy 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
These simple ingredients 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! Here’s what you need:
- 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.
- Salt and black pepper – to taste
How to Make Shrimp Pasta Salad
Plan your next cookout with this shrimp macaroni 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!
- 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.
- 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.
- Toss together – Combine pasta, shrimp, cucumber, carrots, pepper, and green onions.
- Combine – Pour dressing over salad ingredients and mix well.
- 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.
Add-ins and Substitutions
My favorite thing about most pasta salad recipes is how versatile they are. You can add chopped just about anything to the salad for extra textures and flavors:
- Add in a couple teaspoons Dijon mustard for a bolder sauce flavor. You could also add a dash of garlic powder and a drizzle of olive oil if the salad seems too dry.
- Diced celery – about two stalks celery would be the perfect amount for this recipe
- Sliced avocado
- Olives
- Spinach leaves
- Fresh basil
- Corn – fresh corn on the cob is a delightful addition
- Feta cheese
- Green peas
Shrimp Pasta Salad Storage
This shrimp pasta salad recipe tastes delicious cold, straight out of the refrigerator. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three to four days. It won’t freeze very well, but works great in the fridge. If you’re taking it to a picnic or potluck, make sure to store in a cooler with plenty of ice to maintain the salad’s freshness. Always err on the side of caution when serving a dish with shrimp and mayonnaise; you don’t want it to come to room temperature for very long. It’s fresher and safer to eat when it’s cold.
“This is absolutely delicious!! That dressing is sooo good and flavorful. Thx for sharing 😊👍”
-Elena
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
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.
If you’re like me, you love a big serving of day-old pasta salad. Why? The pasta, vegetables, and cheeses get time to absorb the dressing and take on additional flavor. They absorb the seasoning from the dressing, ensuring every bite is as flavorful as possible. You can always add extra dressing if it’s too dry.
READ MORE: 50+ Picnic Food Ideas
More Favorite Shrimp Recipes
Shrimp is one of those proteins that I tend to forget about sometimes, but shrimp is easy to work with and tastes delicious in just about anything! Try our Top 10 Shrimp Recipes or some of these favorites:
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!
How to Make Shrimp Pasta Salad
Shrimp Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lemon
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 cups bow tie farfalle pasta uncooked
- 1 pound medium shrimp shelled, deveined and cooked
- 1 cucumber sliced
- 2 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
-
- 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.
I love getting your recipes. I have tried most and love them all.
This is absolutely delicious!! That dressing is sooo good and flavorful. Thx for sharing 😊👍
Nice recipe. Thank you and have a great week.