The Perfect Pasta Salad
Today I’m sharing my take on my grandmother’s shrimp pasta salad recipe. It’s a close cousin to my popular macaroni salad with a surprisingly tasty seafood twist. The perfect companion to your next BBQ, serve it alongside pulled BBQ chicken and ice cold lemonade (though really it can be a meal in and of itself!). My family has been enjoying this recipe for years and I was a little surprised that it hadn’t made its way onto the blog yet (plenty of her other recipes have, like her hot milk cake and apple dumplings). Because I can’t help myself, I made a few variations to make this recipe my own, but if you’d like to see her original recipe just scroll to the bottom of the post beneath the recipe card.
What You Need (and Why!)
Basic ingredients are all you need, but let’s go over them before we dig in!
Pasta. You can use any small pasta, but elbow macaroni is a classic choice and my preference.Veggies. chopped celery, onion, and bell pepper are all you need! My grandmother uses the celery leaves as well as the stalks, but I always remove the leaves, personally.Shrimp. Salad shrimp are the perfect bite-sized shrimp for this pasta, and I always buy mine pre-cooked (they’re usually frozen). If you can only find larger shrimp, simply chop them into bite-sized pieces before adding to the salad (and make sure you cook them first, of course!). See the notes in the recipe card for more details on how to use larger shrimp for this recipe.Mayo. This is the base of our dressing; choose a quality mayo that you enjoy the taste of. My grandmother’s original recipe uses Miracle Whip (and does not add sugar, vinegar, or sour cream), so that’s another option. I have used mayo made with olive oil and been happy with those results!Sour cream. We’re only adding two tablespoons (such a small amount I forgot to capture it in the photo above 🤫), but it adds a subtle depth of flavor that takes this shrimp pasta salad to the next level. Vinegar. This not only helps to thin the consistency of the dressing but also adds a slight tang that balances the richness of the mayo. I use distilled white vinegar, but white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar will work instead. Granulated sugar. This won’t make the salad sweet, but it does enhance the flavor. Spices. Celery seed is a critical flavor, do not omit or substitute. You’ll also need a small bit of ground mustard as well as salt and pepper to taste.
This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How To Make Shrimp Pasta Salad
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Enjoy! Let’s bake together! Make sure to check out the how-to VIDEO in the recipe card!
