Seafood Pasta Salad

A light and refreshing Seafood Pasta Salad recipe for a lunch you can enjoy all week or side dish for get togethers! This Shrimp Pasta Salad is so easy and uses just a few ingredients. It’s the ultimate summer pasta salad!

It’s no secret that I love pasta salad. It is the ultimate spring and summer side dish or refreshing lunch. This Seafood Pasta Salad is a great recipe for summer get togethers like Memorial Day, the 4th of July, Labor Day and more! Cold pasta salad is also a great addition to any outdoor gathering!

Over the years I’ve shared several easy pasta salad recipes. My ever popular Light and Easy Pasta Salad Recipe, Italian Pasta Salad, Lemon Basil Pasta Salad and Mexican Pasta Salad are always a hit.

In fact, I’ve got an entire post dedicated to rounding up all the reader-fave easy pasta salad recipes around here. Don’t miss it– you’ll want to pin and save it for later!

The idea for this Shrimp Pasta Salad recipe stemmed from my insanely popular White Wine Sauce recipe. It’s light, low in calories and the perfect bed for shrimp, scallops and crab.

Psst… love shrimp as much as we do? Don’t miss these delicious tequila lime shrimp skewers!

I adapted it to make an easy summer pasta salad to enjoy during nice weather. In the spring and summer months get togethers are never in a shortage. I like to take an easy, standout, crowd pleasing dish that looks as pretty as it tastes.

This Seafood Pasta Salad is quick and easy to make. It comes together in minutes and can be made in advance. It’s also easy to tote for get togethers, barbecues and beach picnics.

Seafood Pasta Salad Ingredients

This Shrimp Pasta Salad is loaded with flavor. 

White Wine Dressing – A blend of olive oil, butter, white wine, salt, and red pepper is so light, yet flavorful. It’s a Seafood Pasta Salad without mayonnaise. That means it’s great for outdoor entertaining because it keeps better.

Grated Parmesan – Fresh grated parmesan adds texture and flavor, without adding a lot of calories.

Parsley – You know my motto, fresh is always best and that’s no exception in this summer pasta salad. It’s the perfect garnish to add a little color.

Pasta – You can use your favorite pasta. I love the way corkscrew (also known as cellentani) looks and holds up, but any will do! Some favorites include macaroni, bow tie and penne. If you want to add a little more color, use a tri-colored pasta!

Shrimp – Small shrimp work best for this recipe. You can use pre-cooked frozen shrimp, canned shrimp or even chop some larger shrimp. It adds so much color to this beautiful recipe!

Crab Meat – I wanted to make this Seafood Pasta Salad with real crab meat. I am always a little leery given we live smack dab in the middle of the US and it’s not always easily accessible. I’m not in favor of imitation crab or imitation anything, but you can substitute it if you wish. My friend gave me a great tip! Use lump crab meat. It is usually located in the refrigerated section of your grocery store, near fresh seafood. She eats it straight out of the can. It’s so incredible!

Tips for the Best Summer Pasta Salad

Prepare Noodles Al Dente

Don’t overcook your noodles, prepare them al dente. This will prevent your pasta salad from becoming mushy and toss easier. Overcooking your noodles will result in a mushier pasta salad.

Rinse Pasta with Cold Water

After straining noodles, rinse them with cold water. This shocks them and will help them stand up to the pasta salad dressing. Allow your pasta to cool before adding the pasta salad dressing and ingredients.

Refrigerate Before Serving

Let your pasta salad marinate. The best pasta salads are made in advance to allow the dressing to soak into your bow tie pasta and toppings. This makes it so flavorful!

Shrimp Pasta Salad Recipe with White Wine Dressing

This easy summer pasta salad is tossed in a white wine salad dressing. It’s the best of both worlds, or should I say all three? Seafood, pasta and salad!

Summer is a great time to lighten up recipes. In lieu of the traditional creamy dressing that is typically used in shrimp pasta salad I use a white wine dressing. 

The blend of olive oil, butter, white wine, salt, and red pepper is so light, yet flavorful. It’s a great recipe for those counting calories wanting a pasta salad fix. It has just 198 calories a serving (side dish portion).

If you want to add a even more spice to this Seafood Pasta Salad recipe, use a little Old Bay.

You can use your favorite dry white wine like a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio. You can also use white cooking wine.

How to Make Seafood Pasta Salad

You can get the full printable recipe below but I like to break it down into more detail for those who prefer it. This shrimp pasta salad recipe comes together start to finish in 15 minutes!

1. Boil your pasta al dente.
2. Drain your noodles and rinse them in cold water. 
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine olive oil, melted butter, white wine, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper in a jar with a lid.
   

   

4. Add pasta, shrimp, crab meat, and parmesan. I like to layer it because fresh grated parmesan and crab meat can tend to lump together. That way it tosses evenly.
5. Garnish with fresh parsley, green onions or crushed red pepper.
6. Refrigerate until serving, at least 2+ hours to allow the dressing to soak into the pasta and seafood.

Looking for serving suggestions? Don’t skip the best Side Dishes for Fish – it’s a free guide full of incredible inspiration! Pasta salad also makes one of the best Pulled Pork Sides.

Variations

I like to toss it with crab meat, too! Lobster and scallops also taste amazing in this summer pasta salad. 

If you love shrimp, don’t skip my Roasted Shrimp Cocktail and Homemade Cocktail Sauce for the holidays or any time of year!

Originally published April 2018