This cold shrimp pasta salad with peas, bell pepper, celery and a creamy dressing is tasty, crunchy and refreshing and it's perfect for picnics and summer parties.
You guys might know that I love me some shrimp.
It’s such an easy, accessible seafood, can take on any flavor you throw at it, is endlessly versatile, and even my kids love it.
Previously, I’ve shared this quick and easy Mexican shrimp skillet, which is in our standard rotation. And these spicy roasted shrimp that I make often.
Today’s recipe for shrimp pasta salad is an old classic, one that you would have maybe seen at a church potluck.
(Full disclosure, I don’t think I’ve ever been to a church potluck. But I imagine this was something often on display.)
We’ve got elbow pasta, tons of bites of shrimp throughout, some sweet pops from the red bell pepper and peas, a little crunch from the celery and a creamy dressing to bring it all together.
Seriously good eats in every bite!
And so refreshing too, so it’s perfect for summer get togethers.
Speaking of, just a note for clarity: This is a cold and creamy shrimp pasta salad. Not a hot one.
If you are looking for a hot version, you can check out this shrimp and penne pasta with arugula recipe that I got from my aunt. It makes a yummy dinner.
And stay tuned because I have a hot shrimp and orzo pasta recipe coming up for you soon.
You can sign up for my free e-newsletter to get all of my new recipes delivered straight to your inbox so you never miss a thing. I’ll even send you my free e-cookbook, Healthy Weeknight Dinners, as a thank you!
But back to today’s recipe and some spring and summertime shrimp goodness.
Let’s get cooking.
Now, I’ve got some notes and tips coming up below on how to make shrimp pasta salad. Just tryin’ to be helpful.
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Notes on making shrimp pasta salad:
- Pasta: I always use elbow macaroni for this pasta salad; it’s the only one I’ve ever seen used. However, you could try this with a small shell pasta if you prefer.
- Shrimp: Use salad shrimp if you can find them. If not, use a very small shrimp (like the 71-90 size) and just cut them in half. The shrimp do need to be cooked as well as thawed if you use frozen, so plan accordingly.
- Drain well: Be sure to drain the pasta very well, drain the shrimp well if you’re thawing them and same goes for the peas. You don’t want a lot of extra water on any of those that could water down the salad dressing.
- Greek yogurt: You could try swapping in mayonnaise or sour cream for the Greek yogurt if you’d like. I just like the healthy boost from the Greek yogurt.
- Herbs: Some people use chopped fresh dill in their shrimp pasta salad, so feel free to add some if you’d like. (I’m not a big fan so I skip it.)
- Hot sauce: I use a few dashes of hot sauce in the dressing to add a little extra flavor, but not really much heat. Feel free to skip if you’d rather.
And this dish comes together so quickly.
You cook the pasta and then rinse it in cold water to cool it right down.
Then just combine the pasta with the shrimp, bell pepper, peas, celery and green onion and mix.
Whisk together everything for your dressing, add it to the pasta salad and ta-da! Your dish is done.
And if you prep everything else while the pasta is cooking, this can be done in about 10-15 minutes!
Now, it does help if you can cover and chill the salad in the fridge for about an hour to help all the flavors really come together.
As for serving, this is pretty much an all-in-one dish on its own.
You could certainly top it with some extra sliced green onions or a few sprigs of fresh herbs for presentation if you’d like.
Or if you’re having a whole big BBQ party and need some other dishes to set out, I’ve got you covered there.
These cheesy baked BBQ chicken sliders are always a hit and you could also do some burgers or kabobs or hot dogs as main dishes.
As for sides, this creamy pea salad with bacon is a family favorite, and this black bean and mango salad adds some color and freshness to the table. And deviled eggs are always welcome.
Oh, and this Southern summer succotash will give you all the comfort food vibes while this healthy broccoli apple salad offers some seriously satisfying crunch in every bite.
Very last thing... what to do with the leftovers.
The leftovers of this salad will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. It's supposed to be chilled, so that works out well. But I'm wary of leftover seafood after a couple of days so I don't recommend keeping it on hand for longer than that.
There you have it!
Whether for your summer picnics or backyard get togethers, church potlucks or neighborhood parties, I hope you try this shrimp pasta salad for an old classic.
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
Shrimp Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 8 oz. elbow macaroni
- 1 lb. frozen, cooked salad shrimp or other small shrimp, thawed
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
- ¾ cup diced celery
- 2 green onions, sliced
For the dressing:
- ¾ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Few dashes of hot sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and then rinse with cold water to cool it down. Transfer the cooled pasta to a large bowl.
- Add the shrimp, bell pepper, peas, celery and green onions to the bowl with the pasta.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing until well combined.
- Pour the dressing over the pasta salad and stir well to get everything coated. Cover and chill for an hour (if you have the time) to help the flavors come together. Serve chilled and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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